Pennington is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census,
the borough population was 2,696.
Pennington was established as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey
Legislature on January 31, 1890, from portions of
Hopewell Township, based on the results of a referendum
held on January 21, 1890.[4]
Geography
Pennington is located at 40°19′30″N, 74°47′32″W (40.325057,
-74.792105)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total
area of 2.5 km² (1.0 mi²), all land.
Pennington is an independent municipality surrounded by Hopewell Township.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 2,696 people, 1,013 households, and 761 families residing in
the borough. The population density was 1,084.3/km² (2,801.0/mi²). There were 1,040
housing units at an average density of 418.3/km² (1,080.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.96% White, 2.63% African American, 1.00% Asian, 0.41% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population.
There were 1,013 households out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were
non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the borough the population was spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 27.9%
from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2
males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $90,366, and the median income for a family was $107,089. Males had a
median income of $84,912 versus $43,068 for females. The per capita income for the
borough was $45,843. About 0.7% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Pennington uses the Borough form, which remains the most common form of local in
New Jersey.
The Borough Mayor is elected at large to a four-year term. The Mayor retains all general law authority, presides over council
meetings and can vote in case of a tie. The Mayor appoints, with the advice and consent of the council, all subordinate and
officers of the municipality.
Six Borough Council members are elected at-large to staggered three-year terms, with two seats coming up for election each
year. The Council is the legislative body of the Borough. All executive responsibilities not placed in the office of the Mayor by
general law or the Borough law, lies with the Council.
Like the other traditional forms of local government in New Jersey, a Borough may appoint an administrator and delegate all or
a portion the executive responsibilities to the administrator. The Council may also adopt an administrative code which describes
how the Council performs its duties.[6]
Anthony Persichilli was elected to fill the mayoral vacancy left by James Loper on November
7, 2006, in an election that saw council members Joseph Lawver and Eileen Heinzel
reelected.[7] He will complete the unexpired term of office
through December 31, 2007, that was previously held by interim
mayor James E. Benton. James Loper, the previous elected Mayor of Pennington, had resigned from
office effective February 1, 2006. The Pennington Republican
Committee nominated three candidates to take his place and the Council selected Benton from the three candidates to fill Loper's
vacancy.[8] That same procedure was repeated on
December 4, 2006, when the members of the Pennington Borough
met to decide that, of three Democratic candidates, Diane Zompa would fill the unexpired term left by Persichilli.[9]
Members of the Borough Council are Council President Edwin "Weed" Tucker (D, 2007), Robert DiFalco (D, unexpired term to
2008), David S. Garber (D, 2007), Eileen Heinzel (D, 2009), Joseph Lawver (D, 2009) and Diane M. Zompa (D, unexpired term to
2007).[10]
Federal, state and county representation
Pennington is in the Twelfth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 15th Legislative District.[11]
New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional District, covering all of
Hunterdon County and portions of Middlesex County, Monmouth County,
Morris County, and Somerset
County, is represented by Rush D. Holt Jr. (D). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and
Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
The 15th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State
Senate by Shirley Turner (D, Ewing) and in the
Assembly by Reed Gusciora
(D, Trenton) and
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, Trenton). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Mercer County's County Executive is Brian
M. Hughes. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders
administer all county business. As of 2007, Mercer County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chair Pasquale "Pat"
Colavita, Jr. (term ends December 31, 2009;
Lawrenceville), Freeholder Vice Chair Lucylle R. S.
Walter (2008; Ewing Township), Ann M. Cannon
(2009; East Windsor Township), Anthony P.
Carabelli (2007; Trenton), Keith V.
Hamilton (2007; Hamilton Township), Tony Mack (2008;
Trenton) and Elizabeth Maher
Muoio (2006; Pennington Borough).[15]
Education
Public school students in grades K through 12 attend the Hopewell
Valley Regional School District, a comprehensive regional public school district serving nearly 4,000 students from
Hopewell Borough (371 students), Hopewell Township (2,998 students) and Pennington Borough (497
students).
Schools in the district include four Elementary Schools (K-5) — Bear Tavern Elementary School with 498 students, Hopewell Elementary School with 520 students, Stony Brook Elementary School with 461 students,
Toll Gate Grammar School with 312 students
— Timberlane Middle School with 945
students in grades 6 -8, and Hopewell Valley Central High School,
which has an enrollment of 1,103 students in grades 9 - 12.
The Pennington School (1838) is located within Pennington.
Transportation
Route 31 passes through Pennington, providing access to Interstate 95 at Exit 4. Additionally, Exit 3B along I-95 will take you to Scotch Road N,
which provides access to all of Hopewell Township, New Jersey.The town is
also home to a newly designated NJ Transit bus stop at the corner of S Main St. and West Delaware Ave.
Community
- Pennington Day - typically in the middle of May, an annual event where local organizations and businesses set up booths in a
street-fair style on Main Street. Complete with local music and a parade early in the day, and lasts until 4 pm.
Points of interest
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Norwood include:
References
- ^ Administration and Finance, Borough of Pennington. Accessed June
3, 2007.
- ^ a b
- ^ USGS GNIS:
Pennington, Geographic Names Information System, accessed
June 3, 2007.
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P.
Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 194.
- ^ Jersey
Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
- ^ Pennington Borough Form of Government, Pennington Borough. Accessed March 18, 2007.
- ^ Pennington keeps council, changes mayor, Pennington Post, November
8, 2006.
- ^ Pennington Borough Mayor Resigns, Hopewell Valley News, February 2,
2006.
- ^ Council complete, Pennington Post, December 7, 2006.
- ^ 2007 Elected Officials, Borough of Pennington. Accessed June 3,
2007.
- ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women
Voters, p. 55. Accessed August 30, 2006.
- ^ Hoffman, Jan. " PUBLIC LIVES; A League President in the Dreams Business", The New York
Times, May 26, 2000. Accessed June 3, 2007. "AS a girl, thinking about what she would be when she grew up, Val
Ackerman just assumed she'd be an athletic director.... When she was a teenager in Pennington, N.J., playing field hockey,
swimming butterfly and freestyle, competing in track and field, and emerging as a star small forward in basketball, her father
was her high school's athletic director."
- ^ Gomes, Jay. NJ pair sign with Seton Hall, NJHoops.com, November
14, 2002. Accessed September 16, 2007.
- ^ a b Bell, Jack. "
SOCCER; Father-and-Son Quality Time Comes to the MetroStars", The New York
Times, April 14, 2004. Accessed October 8, 2007. . "Michael lives with his family in Pennington, N.J., but goes
to workouts with Eddie Gaven, another promising young midfielder, behind the wheel."
- ^ Meet the
Freeholders, Mercer County. Accessed July 4, 2007.
External links
Coordinates:
40.325057° N 74.792105°
W
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