Ramsey

Borough of Ramsey, New Jersey
—  Borough  —
Map highlighting Ramsey's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Ramsey, New Jersey
Coordinates: 41°3′33″N 74°8′46″W / 41.05917°N 74.14611°W / 41.05917; -74.14611Coordinates: 41°3′33″N 74°8′46″W / 41.05917°N 74.14611°W / 41.05917; -74.14611
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Bergen
Incorporated	March 10, 1908
Government [1]
- Type	Borough (New Jersey)
- Mayor	Christopher C. Botta (R, 2010)
- Administrator	Nicholas C. Saros[2]
Area
- Total	5.6 sq mi (14.5 km2)
- Land	5.6 sq mi (14.4 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation [3]	351 ft (107 m)
Population (2007)[4]
- Total	14,647
- Density	2,583.2/sq mi (997.4/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	07446
Area code(s)	201
FIPS code	34-61680[5][6]
GNIS feature ID	0885364[7]
Website	http://www.ramseynj.com

Ramsey is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located twenty-six miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 14,351.

Ramsey was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1908, from portions of Hohokus Township (now Mahwah). Additional territory was annexed from Waldwick in 1921, and portions of the borough were ceded to Saddle River in 1925.^[8]

Geography

Ramsey is located at 41°03′32″N 74°08′33″W / 41.058819°N 74.142382°W / 41.058819; -74.142382 (41.058819, -74.142382).^[9]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 5.6 square miles (14.5 km²), of which 5.6 square miles (14.4 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.89%, is water.

Ramsey is bordered by Upper Saddle River on the east, Allendale on the southeast, and Mahwah on the north, west, and south.

Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 14,351 people, 5,313 households, and 3,947 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,583.2 people per square mile (996.6/km²). There were 5,400 housing units at an average density of 972.0/sq mi (375.0/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 91.62% White, 0.78% African American, 0.10% Native American, 5.85% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.93% of the population.

There were 5,313 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the borough the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $88,187, and the median income for a family was $104,036. Males had a median income of $75,017 versus $43,205 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $41,964. About 1.4% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Konica Minolta USA's headquarters are at 100 Williams Drive in Ramsey.^[12]

Government

Local government

Ramsey 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 and only votes to break a tie. 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.^[1]

The mayor of the Borough of Ramsey is Christopher C. Botta (R, term of office ends December 31, 2010). Members of the Ramsey Borough Council are Council President Bruce Vozeh (R, 2008), Deirdre A. Dillon (R, 2009), Vanessa Jachzel (R, 2010), William J. Jones (R, 2009), Arthur Nalbandian (R, 2010) and Andrew Siemsen (R, 2008).^[13][14]

In elections held on November 6, 2007, voters filled two seats on the borough council. Republican candidates ran unopposed, with incumbent Arthur M. Nalbandian (1,731 votes) and newcomer Vanessa Jachzel (1,729) elected to three-year terms on the council.^[15][16]

On Election Day, November 7, 2006, voters filled a four-year term for Mayor and two three-year seats on the Borough Council. As of Election Day, Ramsey had a Democratic Mayor and an all-Republican Borough Council, in a community in which registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by a 5-3 margin. Incumbent Mayor Richard Muti (2,294 votes), running as an Independent, fell short in his bid for a second term, defeated by Republican Council President Christopher Botta (2,483). Francis "Doc" Kelaher (878), the Democratic Party candidate, came in a distant third. With Chris Botta running for mayor, and Dave Bissailon not seeking re-election, two council seats were open. Republicans Deirdre A. Dillon (3,183 votes) and William J. Jones (2,950) defeated Democrats Kyle Cook (2,151) and Steve Duva (2,020). With the Republican sweep, Ramsey will have a fully Republican Mayor and Council in 2007, the first time this has occurred since 2003.^[17][18][19]

Federal, state and county representation

Ramsey is in the Fifth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 39th Legislative District.^[20]

New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District, covering the northern portions of Bergen County, Passaic County and Sussex County and all of Warren County, is represented by Scott Garrett (R, Wantage Township). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

For the 2008-2009 Legislative Session, the 39th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Gerald Cardinale (R, Demarest) and in the Assembly by John E. Rooney (R, Northvale) and Charlotte Vandervalk (R, Hillsdale).^[21] The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham).^[22] The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).^[23]

Bergen County's County Executive is Dennis McNerney (D).^[24] The executive, along with the seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. As of 2008^[update], Bergen County's Freeholders are Chairman James M. Carroll (D, Demarest), Vice-Chairwoman Julie O'Brien (D, Ramsey), Elizabeth Calabrese (D, Wallington), David L. Ganz (D, Fair Lawn), Bernadette P. McPherson (D, Rutherford), Tomas J. Padilla (D, Park Ridge) and Vernon Walton (D, Englewood).^[25]

Other countywide elected officials are Sheriff Leo McGuire (D), Surrogate Court Judge Mike Dressler (D, Cresskill) and County Clerk Kathleen Donovan (R, Rutherford).^[26]

Politics

As of April 1, 2006, out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 14,601 in Ramsey, there were 9,323 registered voters (63.9% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 1,242 (13.3% vs. 20.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 2,235 (24.0% vs. 19.2% countywide) were registered as Republicans and 5,842 (62.7% vs. 60.1% countywide) were registered as Undeclared. There were four voters registered to other parties.^[27]

On the national level, Ramsey leans toward the Republican Party. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 58% of the vote here, defeating Democrat John Kerry, who received around 41%.^[28]

Education

Students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade attend the schools of the Ramsey Public School District. Schools in the district (with 2005–06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[29]) are Mary A. Hubbard School with 531 students in K-3, Wesley D. Tisdale with 503 students in K-3, John Y. Dater with 405 students in grades 4-5, Eric S. Smith Middle School with 785 students in 6-8 and Ramsey High School with 832 students in 9-12.

Students from Saddle River have the option of attending either Ramsey High School or Northern Highlands Regional High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with both districts.^[30]

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Ramsey High School as the 13th best high school in New Jersey in its 2008 rankings of the "Top Public High Schools" in New Jersey.^[31]

Ramsey is also the home of two Catholic schools: St. Paul Interparochial School, a K-8 school, and Don Bosco Preparatory High School, an all-boys Roman Catholic high school for grades 9-12.

Transportation

A number of roadways serve Ramsey and its neighboring communities, providing the borough with easy driving access to New York State (including New York City) and other points within New Jersey. NJ Route 17 and County Route 507 intersect the areas east and north of Ramsey's downtown business district, while I-287 and U.S. Route 202 pass through the Darlington section of Mahwah to the west and the New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287) and NY Route 59 run through Suffern, New York to the north.

In addition, Ramsey has two New Jersey Transit train stations which provide mass transit access to Manhattan via Hoboken Terminal or Secaucus Junction. The Ramsey Main Street station is located on Main Street just east of Central Avenue in the borough's downtown area, while the Ramsey Route 17 station, which opened on August 22, 2004, is a park-and-ride facility and regional commuter hub located along Route 17 South in the northern section of town. Both of these stations are stops along NJ Transit's Main Line and Bergen County Line.

Popular culture

Scenes from the The Happy Wanderer episode of the HBO series The Sopranos were shot in Ramsey at the Maple Shade Motel.

Some scenes from the movie World Trade Center released in 2006 were filmed in a house in Ramsey.

A segment from the second episode of Rescue 911 features two residents from Ramsey who were heroically saved from an oncoming freight train.

Notable residents

The historic Old Stone House in Ramsey

Notable current and former residents of Ramsey include:

• Danny Aiello (born 1933), stage and film star lived in Ramsey for many years during the 1980s and 1990s.^[32]
• Tom Austin, drummer and lyricist for the 1950s / 1960s rock band Royal Teens, whose one-hit Short Shorts was featured in commercials for the product Nair.^{[citation needed]}
• Edd Cartier (1914-2008), pulp magazine illustrator.^[33]
• Jonathan Halyalkar, child actor who played Billy on the popular 1980s sitcom Who's the Boss?^[34]
• Charles Ernest Hosking, Jr. (1924-1967), United States Army Master Sergeant and Medal of Honor awardee, who was recognized with the nation's highest military honor for events that took place in Phuoc Long Province, Republic of Vietnam, on March 21, 1967. He was awarded the honor for stopping a Viet Cong prisoner in possession of a live grenade by grabbing him in a "bear hug" and forcing the prisoner to the ground, taking the full force of the grenade's blast and saving several of his commanders. Hosking Way, a road off Darlington Avenue, is named in his honor.^[35]
• Bob McAdoo (born 1951), former New York Knicks player lived in Ramsey during the 1970s/1980s/1990s.^[36]
• Ryan McGinley (born 1977), Photographer.^[37]
• Bill Pellington: Linebacker who played 12 seasons in the NFL for the Baltimore Colts

Corporate residents

Konica Minolta's U.S. offices are in Ramsey.

Flight Centre, parent company of Liberty Travel and GOGO Worldwide Vacations, is located at 69 Spring Street.

References

External links

• Ramsey Borough website
• Ramsey Public School District
• Ramsey Public School District's 2007–08 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Ramsey Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• Ramsey Free Public Library
• Ramsey Police
• Ramsey Volunteer Rescue Squad
• Ramsey Volunteer Ambulance Corps
• Ramsey Office of Emergency Management
• Ramsey Volunteer Fire Department
• Ramsey Historical Society

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