Bergenfield, New Jersey
Bergenfield is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 26,247.Bergenfield was formed on the basis of a referendum held on June 25, 1894, from portions of Englewood Township and Palisades Township at the height of the 'boroughitis' phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County.New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Bergenfield as its 231st best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the 'Best Places To Live' in New Jersey.
Geography
Bergenfield is located at 40°55′25″N 73°59′56″W / 40.923748°N 73.998795°W / 40.923748; -73.998795 (40.923748, -73.998795).According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km2), all of it land.
Demographics
Bergenfield is informally known as the Little Manila of Bergen County. Of the 14,224 Filipino population in the county as a whole, 3,133 (22% of the county total) live in Bergenfield.As of the census of 2000, there were 26,247 people, 8,981 households, and 6,753 families residing in the borough. The population density was 9,065.4 people per square mile (3,494.5/km2). There were 9,147 housing units at an average density of 3,159.3/sq mi (1,217.8/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 62.90% White (16,509 Whites), 6.90% African American (1,811 African Americans), 0.24% Native American (63 Native Americans), 20.41% Asian (5,357 Asian), 0.02% Pacific Islander (5 Pacific Islander), 6.47% from other races (1,696 others), and 3.06% from two or more races (803 multiple races). Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.05% of the population.(4,475 Hispanic or Latino). (NOTE: Some races overlap.)There were 8,981 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.41.In the borough the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.The median income for a household in the borough was $62,172, and the median income for a family was $71,187 (these figures had risen to $73,803 and $87,358 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $42,074 versus $35,137 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $24,706. About 2.6% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
Bergenfield is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.The Mayor of Bergenfield is Timothy J. Driscoll (D, term ends December 31, 2011). Members of the Borough Council are Council President Bruce Carlson (D, 2010), Barry Doll (D, 2010), Robert Gilman (D, 2009), Thomas A. Lodato (D, 2009), Dennis Mulligan (D, 2008) and Elaine Rabbitt (D, 2008).In the 2008 General Election, Democrats Peter Christopher Tully (5,225 votes) and Carlos Aguasvivas (5,134) won election to fill two open seats vacated by Democrats who didn't run for re-election, holding off Republican former mayor Richard J. Bohan Sr. (4,091) and his running mate Benedict L. Cabrera (4,052).In elections held on November 6, 2007, voters filled a four-year term for mayor and two three-year seats on the Borough Council. Democrat Timothy J. Driscoll (2,600 votes), outran Republican Patricia Walsh Di Rienzo (1,116), and write-in campaigns for Republican Mayor Richard Bohan (289) and Democratic Councilman Dennis Mulligan (167). Incumbent Democratic Councilmember Bruce Carlson (2,749) and newcomer running mate Barry Doll (2,623) won council seats, outpolling Republicans Costas Constantinou (1,361) and James P. Kneisler (1,297). With these election wins, the Democrats retained complete control in the 2008 Council.On Election Day, November 7, 2006, Democrats Thomas A. Lodato (3,294 votes) and Robert Gillman (3,161) swept the two open seats on the Borough Council, defeating Republicans Matthew G. Capizzi (2,952) and Mary S. Kirsch (2,823) and Independent Laurie Shestack (655). When the two took office on January 1, 2007, the council was all Democrats. Two ballot initiatives — one increasing salary ranges for borough officials and the other seeking a new reassessment of properties in the borough — both failed, by margins of 4,263-612 and 2,928-1,973 resepectively.
Federal, state and county representation
Bergenfield is in the 5th Congressional district. New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District is represented by Scott Garrett (R, Wantage Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).Bergenfield is in the The 37th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Loretta Weinberg (D, Teaneck) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Valerie Huttle (D, Englewood) and Gordon M. Johnson (D, Englewood).Bergen County's County Executive is Dennis McNerney (D). The executive, along with the seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. As of 2010[update], Bergen County's Freeholders are Chairman James M. Carroll (D, Demarest), Vice-Chairwoman Elizabeth Calabrese (D, Wallington), John Driscoll, Jr. (R, Paramus), David L. Ganz (D, Fair Lawn), Robert G. Hermansen (R, Mahwah), Bernadette P. McPherson (D, Rutherford) and Tomas J. Padilla (D, Park Ridge). Other countywide elected officials are Sheriff Leo P. McGuire (D), Surrogate Court Judge Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill) and County Clerk Kathleen Donovan (R, Rutherford).
Politics
As of Election Day, November 4, 2008, there were 12,988 registered voters. Of registered voters, 4,846 (37.3% of all registered voters) were registered as Democrats, 2,171 (16.7%) were registered as Republicans and 5,962 (45.9%) were registered as Undeclared. There were 9 voters registered to other parties.On the national level, Bergenfield leans toward the Democratic Party. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 57.6% of the vote here, defeating Republican John McCain, who received 41.3% of the vote, with 82.0% of registered voters participating. In the 2004 election, Democrat John Kerry received 55% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 45%.
Education
Students in grades Kindergarten through 12 are educated by the Bergenfield Public Schools which serve a total of 3,900 students. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are five elementary schools serving Kindergarten - 5th grade — Franklin School with 454 students, Hoover School with 239 students, Jefferson School with 280 students, Lincoln School with 417 students, Washington School with 280 students — Roy W. Brown Middle School with 907 students in grades 6 - 8 and Bergenfield High School with 1,287 students.New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Bergenfield High School as its 192nd best New Jersey high school in its 2006 ranking of the 'Top High Schools' in New Jersey.
Transportation
New Jersey Transit bus service is available from Bergenfield to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 166, 167 routes and the George Washington Bridge Bus Station on the 186 route; and to other New Jersey communities served on the 753, 756 and 772 routes.Main roads include Washington Avenue, Main Street, and New Bridge Road.
Community
On May 4, 2006, the hit show on ABC, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition came to Bergenfield to build a home for the Llanes family. The episode aired as the pre-season two-hour special originally broadcast on September 17, 2006.On July 22, 2007, the Team Bergenfield Roller Hockey Club, won the NARCh National Roller Hockey Championship defeating the Nor-Cal Patriots 6-5 in Estero, Florida. Team Bergenfield went 6-0-1 in the tournament en route to winning the Men's Silver Championship. The team formed in Bergenfield in 1994 and is currently one of the longest running roller hockey clubs in the United States.In 1954, several scenes for the Harlem Globetrotter movie, Go, Man, Go! were filmed at Franklin School, and along nearby Prospect Ave. The actors Dana Clark (Abe Saperstein) and Pat Breslin (Sylvia Saperstein) were involved. Many of the school's 5th grade boys were used as extras.[citation needed]
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Bergenfield include:Tomm Bauer(born 1982), actor who has appeared onCSI: MiamiandDays of Our Lives.[citation needed]
Al Di Meola(born 1954), a highly technical,jazz fusionguitarist, attended Bergenfield High School.
Frank Eufemia,Major League Baseball, pitcher.
Thom Fitzgerald(born 1968), filmmaker,The Hanging Garden,3 Needles.
George Gately(1928–2001), creator of theHeathcliffcomic strip.
Bob Gaudio(born 1942), fromthe Four Seasons.
Bob Guccione(born 1930), founder and former owner ofPenthouse.
The Knickerbockers, 1960s band took their name from Knickerbocker Avenue in Bergenfield.
David Lat(b. 1975), blogger.
Jimmy Lydon(born 1923), who playedHenry Aldrichin the movies, honored in the Bergenfield Hall of Fame.
Mucky Pup(1985–1996), American hardcore band.
Tom Reilly, actor who played Bobby Nelson onCHiPs.
Vincent Scuro(born 1951), award-winning authorand columnist.
Floyd James Thompson(1933–2002), America's longest heldPrisoner of War.
Ron Villone(born 1970),Major League Baseballrelief pitcherwho played for theNew York Yankeesin the 2006 season.
Jacklyn Zeman(born 1953), actress who has played Barbara 'Bobbie' Spencer onGeneral Hospitalsince 1977.
The Cadets of Bergen County
Corporate residents
Prestige Records, a major producer of jazz recordings that was established in 1949, had its offices located here from the mid-1960s until its sale in 1972.
Popular culture
SingerTom Russellwrote a song calledBergenfield, discussing the suicide via carbon monoxide of four teenagers in the borough in 1987.There is also a book written about the teenage suicides called,Teenage Wasteland.
Sources
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^Stevens, Jean.' Popular roast pig finds a following in North Jersey',Herald News, September 12, 2007. Accessed December 8, 2007. 'One might find more lechon in Passaic these days. The city may be North Jersey's next so-called Little Manila, following Bergenfield, Bloomfield and Belleville.'
^Filipino Population by County,Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Accessed April 10, 2006.
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^In a Game with Action in Both Ends, Team Bergenfield Held on to Win the National Title 6 - 5.July 22, 2007.
^Al Di Meola,Telarc International Corporation. Accessed September 20, 2007. '“In the ‘60s, if you didn’t play like Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page, you weren’t accepted,” he recalls of his high school years in Bergenfield, New Jersey.'
^Hertzel, Bob.'EUFEMIA PLAYING FOR PUREST MOTIVES',The Record (Bergen County), March 2, 1995. Accessed June 24, 2007. 'Frank Eufemia once was a major league pitcher. Today the right-hander from Bergenfield becomes a replacement pitcher.'
^Loos, Ted.'Where Death Shall (or Shall Not) Have Dominion',The New York Times, May 10, 1998. Accessed April 5, 2008. 'Mr. Fitzgerald grew up mostly in Bergenfield, N.J. He attended Cooper Union in Manhattan, but at the age of 19, he transferred to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax.'
^Hernandez, Cava.'GEORGE GATELY : Creador del gato Heathcliff',El Mundo (Spain), October 6, 2001. Accessed November 20, 2007. 'George Gately Gallagher nació en Queens Village, Nueva York, en 1928, meses antes de que estallase la Gran Depresión. Pero, a todos los efectos, hay que considerarle un habitante de New Jersey, en cuya localidad de Bergenfield es donde transcurrieron su infancia y su adolescencia.'
^Park, Eunnie.'An original 'Jersey Boy' returns to Bergenfield',The Record (Bergen County), March 31, 2007. Accessed October 9, 2007. 'Before 'Jersey Boys' and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Bob Gaudio was a 15-year-old musical whiz from Bergenfield who had to decide between staying in school and touring with Chuck Berry.'
^Rotella, Mark.'Straight Out of Newark',The New York Times, October 2, 2005. Accessed October 9, 2007. 'Originally from the Bronx, Mr. Gaudio had, at age 15, written the hit 'Who Wears Short Shorts,' which he made up while driving with friends along the main drag in Bergenfield.'
^Bob Guccione (Producer),Penthouse (magazine)CaligulaCast and Crew. Accessed September 20, 2007. 'Coming from a conventional background--he was born in Brooklyn, raised in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and educated at Blair Academy--Guccione became interested in less than conventional activities after he left school.'
^Mr. G, where might you be? Nary a peep on Penthouse publisher's eviction,Media LifeAugust 11, 2003, 'Guccione, who is originally from Bergenfield, N.J., bought his 45-room, 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) mansion back in Penthouse’s 1970s heyday. Located on East 67th Street between Central Park and Madison Avenue, its décor includes a swimming pool modeled on a Roman bath and a collection of paintings by the likes of Picasso and Matisse.'
^Staff.'Land of a thousand laments - So far, 1119 letters and e-mails',The Star-Ledger, June 13, 2005. Accessed October 25, 2009. 'The Liverpool sound by way of Bergenfield, NJ, the home of the one-hit wonders the Knickerbockers.'
^He Fought the Law. They Both Won.The New York Times, January 22, 2006
^Feldberg, Robert.'HOW WE HAD FUN',The Record (Bergen County), May 7, 1995. Accessed October 25, 2009. 'And Bergenfield-bred Jimmy Lydon, who played the eternal teenager Henry Aldrich on radio and in B movies, had married his high-school sweetheart.'
^Mucky Pup,last.fm. Accessed October 25, 2009. 'Mucky Pup was a hardcore band formed in Bergenfield, New Jersey, USA in 1985.'
^viaAssociated Press,'New stars for 'Chips'',The Free Lance–Star, July 27, 1982. Accessed October 25, 2009.
^
^
^Martin, Douglas.'F. J. Thompson, 69, Longtime P.O.W., Dies',The New York Times, July 18, 2002. Accessed April 5, 2008. 'Floyd James Thompson was born in Bergenfield, N.J., on July 8, 1933, the son of a bus driver. He worked in a grocery store and graduated from Bergenfield High School in 1951.'
^MARINERS TAKE EX-BERGENFIELD STAR -- VILLONE PICKED 14TH OVERALL.The Record (Bergen County), June 2, 1992. 'The call came a little later than anticipated, but Ron Villone of Bergenfield got what he expected Monday afternoon.'
^Jacklyn Zeman: Bobbie Spencer on General Hospital,WCHS-TV, accessed January 4, 2006.
^Fields, Joe.'Ozzie Cadena: (9/26/1924 – 4/9/2008)',JazzTimes, March 2009. Accessed July 31, 2009.
^Hanley, Robert.' 4 JERSEY TEEN-AGERS KILL THEMSELVES IN DEATH PACT',The New York Times, March 12, 1987. Accessed October 20, 2007. 'All four, Mr. McClure said at a news conference, werevery troubled.The older three had dropped out of Bergenfield High School before graduation, and Lisa Burress had recently been suspended from classes.'
^Schoemer, Karen.'Sounds Around Town',The New York Times, July 24, 1992. Accessed October 20, 2007. 'Bergenfield,from his albumPoor Man's Dream'(Philo/ Rounder), is a look at suburban teen-age suicide.'
'History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630-1923;' by 'Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858-1942.'
'Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties)' prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958.