Berkeley Heights is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census,
the township population was 13,407.
What is now Berkeley Heights was originally incorporated as New Providence Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 8, 1809, from portions of Springfield
Township, while the area was still part of Essex County. New Providence
Township became part of the newly-formed Union County at its creation on March 19,
1857. Portions of the township were taken on March 23,
1869, to create Summit, and on March 14, 1899, to form the borough of New Providence. On November 6, 1951, the name of the township was changed to Berkeley Heights, based on the results of a referendum held
that day.[1]
In Money magazine's 2007 Best Places to Live rankings, Berkeley Heights
ranked 45th of out of a potential 2,800 places in the United States with populations above 7,500 and under 50,000.[2]
Geography
Berkeley Heights is located at 40°40′39″N, 74°25′47″W (40.677405,
-74.429711).1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total
area of 16.2 km² (6.3 mi²). 16.2 km² (6.3 mi²) of
it is land and 0.16% is water.
Berkeley Heights is located in partially on the crest of the Second Watchung
Mountain and in the Passaic River Valley, aptly named as the Passaic River forms
the township's northern border.
Berkeley Heights is the western-most community in Union County, at the confluence of Union, Morris, and Somerset Counties. Berkeley
Heights is bordered by New Providence and Summit to the east, Scotch Plains to the
southeast, Chatham to the north, Watchung to the south, and Warren Township to
the west.
Downtown
Downtown Berkeley Heights is unofficially located along Springfield Avenue, approximately between the Plainfield Ave.
intersection and the Snyder Avenue intersection. In addition, a post office, the Municipal Building, police station, train
station, and many other shops and services are located in this part of town. There is an abundance of pizzerias, delicatessens
and other restaurants in downtown Berkeley Heights. There is also a variety of banks, including Commerce Bank, Bank of America,
and Wachovia.
A brick walk with personalized bricks engraved with the names of many long-time Berkeley Heights residents runs from near the
railroad station towards Kings grocery store. A memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks adjoins a wooded area alongside Park Avenue, just
southwest of downtown.
History of Berkeley Heights
The earliest construction in Berkeley Heights began in an area that is now part of the 1,960 acre (7.9 km²) Watchung
Reservation, a Union County park that includes 305 acres (1.2 km²) of the township.
The first European settler was Peter Willcox, who received a 424 acre (1.7 km²) land grant in 1720 from the Elizabethtown
Associates, a group that bought much of northern New Jersey from the Lenni Lenape
Native Americans in the late 17th century. Mr. Willcox built a
grist and lumber mill across Green Brook.
In 1793, a regional government was formed. It encompassed the area from present-day Springfield Township, Summit,
New Providence, and Berkeley Heights, and was called Springfield Township.
Growth continued in the area, and by 1809, Springfield Township divided into Springfield Township and New Providence Township.
New Providence Township included Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.
In 1845, Mr. Willcox's heirs sold the mill to David Felt, a paper manufacturer from New York, who built a small village called
Feltville around the mill. It included homes for workers and their families, dormitories, orchards, a post office and a general
store with a church above it.
In 1860, Feltville was sold to sarsaparilla makers, after which it was used for a number
of manufacturing operations, before going into bankruptcy in 1882. When residents moved away, it became known as Deserted
Village, the remains of which consist of 130 acres on which there are seven houses, the store, the mill and a barn.
The site, on the National Register of Historic Places, is under
restoration by the Union County Parks Department, with grants of almost $2 million from various state agencies. Deserted Village,
in the Watchung Reservation, is open daily for unguided walking tours during daylight hours. Please note that if you would like
to learn more about Feltville, you may be able to join the "Friends of Feltville" Yahoo! group by requesting membership from Matt
Tomaso, MA, RPA, ABD, Acting Director, Center for Archaeological Studies, Montclair
State University.
In 1869, Summit seceded from New Providence Township. The Borough of New Providence and the City of Summit both incorporated
in 1899. Present day Berkeley Heights remained as New Providence Township, (a name it kept until 1952) but also chose to
incorporate in 1899. Many of the townships and regional areas in New Jersey were separating into small, locally governed
communities at that time due to acts of the New Jersey Legislature that made it
economically advantageous for the communities to due so.
Early life in Berkeley Heights is documented in the Littell-Lord Farmhouse Museum & Farmstead (31 Horseshoe Road in
Berkeley Heights), an 18-acre museum surrounding two houses, one of which was built in the 1750's and the other near the turn of
the century. The museum is open 2-4 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month from April through December, or by appointment. Call
(908) 464-0961 for more information.
Among the exhibits are a Victorian master bedroom and a Victorian children's room, furnished with period antiques. The
children's room also has reproductions of antique toys, which visitors can play with. The museum, which is on the
National Register of Historic Places, also includes an outbuilding
that was used as a summer kitchen, a corncrib dating to the 19th century and a spring house, built around a spring and used for
refrigeration.
Although the origin of the township's name has never been completely established, it is believed that the name Berkeley refers
to Lord John Berkeley, one of the two proprietors who jointly held all of New Jersey by grant. The term "Heights" probably refers
to the hilly section of the township. The township owes its rural character to its late development. Until 1941, when the
American Telephone and Telegraph Company built its Bell
Laboratories research facility in the township, it was a sleepy farming and resort community. According to a history
compiled by the League of Women Voters in 1963, the population mushroomed to
9,500 in 1962 from 2,194 in 1940.
Free Acres
Another early Berkeley Heights community of note is the 67-acre Free Acres, established in
1910 by Bolton Hall, a New York entrepreneur and reformer. Mr. Hall believed in the idea of Henry
George, the economist, of single taxation, under which residents pay tax to the community, which, in turn, pays a lump sum
to the municipality. Among the early residents of Free Acres were the actor James Cagney
and his wife, Billie.[3]
To this day, residents of Free Acres pay tax to their association, which maintains its streets and swimming pool, approves
architectural changes to homes and pays a lump sum in taxes to the municipality.[3]
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 13,407 people, 4,479 households, and 3,717 families residing
in the township. The population density was 826.9/km² (2,140.7/mi²). There were 4,562
housing units at an average density of 281.4/km² (728.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 89.65% White, 1.11% African American, 0.08% Native American, 7.87% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.68% of the population.
There were 4,479 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.1% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.0% were
non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the township the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8%
from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0
males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $107,716, and the median income for a family was $118,862. Males had a
median income of $83,175 versus $50,022 for females. The per capita income for the
township was $43,981. About 1.5% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
In accordance with a ballot question that was passed in November 2005, Berkeley Heights switched from a Township Committee
form to a Mayor-Council-Administrator form of government
under the Faulkner Act that took effect as of January 1, 2007. In the fall 2006 elections all seats were open. Under the new
form of government, the mayor is directly elected to a four-year term. The Township Committee has been replaced with a Township
Council consisting of six members elected to staggered, three-year terms. With all six Township Council seats open in
2006, two councilpersons were elected to one-year terms, after which those seats will be open for three-year terms in 2007. Two
other seats were open for two-year terms in 2006. The final two were open for three-year terms from the beginning. The
responsibilities of the Township Administrator are unchanged.
The first Township Council was elected in November 2006; accordingly, the Township Committee ceased to exist on
December 31, 2006, and the Township Council was inaugurated on
January 1, 2007.
In the 2006 election, the Republican nominees were David Cohen for mayor, Louis DiPasquale and John Haddad for three-year
terms on the Council, Elaine Perna and Joseph Bruno for two-year Council terms, and David Ronner and Thomas Pirone for one-year
terms. The Democrats did not run a mayoral candidate, but did field four Township Council candidates: Thomas Battaglia and
Charles Hasz for three-year terms, Alexandra Chirinos for a two-year term, and John Bonacci for a one-year term. In addition,
John Miller ran for mayor as an independent write-in candidate.
Cohen defeated Miller both on Election Day and in a subsequent recount, which Miller demanded despite the election not being
especially close (Cohen won roughly 52% to the vote to Miller's 48%). In contrast, the race between Battaglia and Haddad was very
close; in a recount, Battaglia won by 10 votes. The other winning Council candidates were DiPasquale, Perna, Bruno, Pirone, and
Bonacci; thus, the Township Council consists of four Republicans and two Democrats. Cohen, DiPasquale, Perna, Bruno, and Ronner
were sitting Township Committee members in 2006; Battaglia sat on the Committee in the 1990s. Ronner was the only Township
Committee incumbent who was unseated.
On January 1, 2007, the Township Council elected Elaine Perna
Council President, after Mayor Cohen broke a tie vote and therefore defeated Louis DiPasquale's candidacy for the presidency. The
Council then elected Joseph Bruno Council vice president. The Council president has no authority other than to chair Council
meetings in the mayor's absence; the Council vice president chairs meetings in the absence of both the mayor and the Council
president. If all three officials are absent, then the remaining Council members must choose a temporary presiding officer.
Also on January 1, Mayor Cohen re-nominated Angela Devanney as Township Administrator; the Council then confirmed her
re-appointment.
The Mayor of Berkeley Heights is David A. Cohen, whose term of office ends on December
31, 2010. Members of the Township Council are Council President Elaine K. Perna (2008),
Council Vice President Joseph G. Bruno (2008), Thomas Battaglia (2009), John C. Bonacci (2007), Louis DiPasquale (2009) and
Thomas Pirone (2007).[6]
The Berkeley Heights Municipal Building is located at 29 Park Avenue.
Federal, state and county representation
Berkeley Heights Township is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 21st Legislative
District.[7]
New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District, covering
portions of Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, Somerset County and
Union County, is represented by Mike Ferguson (R). New
Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank
Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
The 21st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State
Senate by Thomas Kean Jr. (R, Westfield) and in the
Assembly by Jon Bramnick
(R, Westfield) and
Eric Munoz (R, Summit). The Governor of New Jersey is
Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Union County is governed by a nine-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. As of the January 2007 reorganization, Union County's
Freeholders are Freeholder Chairwoman Bette Jane Kowalski, Freeholder Vice Chairman Angel G. Estrada, Chester Holmes, Adrian O.
Mapp, Alexander Mirabella, Rick Proctor, Deborah P. Scanlon, Daniel P. Sullivan and Nancy Ward.
Union County freeholder meetings
Union County Freeholders meet publicly on a monthly basis. Citizens have the ability to provide feedback and comment on issues
that concern them.
Education
Public Schools
The Berkeley Heights Public Schools serves over 2,815 students in six
district schools. The superintendent of the district is Judith Rattner. The Board of
Education and administrative offices for the district are located in the original Columbia School building on Plainfield
Avenue, adjacent to middle school building.
The Early Childhood Center at the Hamilton
Terrace School houses pre-Kindergarten through first grade students. This school opened in 1997 after the Berkeley
Heights school district bought the former Westlake School property. The concept of a pre-kindergarten - grade one school came
about as a result of proposals to address school space issues in a way that would enhance the educational program in the
district.
There are three elementary schools in the district, each of which houses students of grades two through five. These schools
are the Mountain Park Elementary School,
the Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School,
and the William Woodruff Elementary
School.
Columbia Middle School is the single
middle school in the district. It houses grades six through eight.
Governor Livingston High School is the single high school in
the district. It houses approximately 1,000 students in grades nine through twelve. In addition to serving the public school
students of Berkeley Heights Township, high school students from the neighboring Borough of Mountainside are educated at the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Mountainside School District. Governor Livingston also provides programs for the Deaf and
Hard of Hearing and Cognitively Impaired, of which students are enrolled from all over north-central New Jersey.
Private Schools
There are three private pre-kindergarten schools in Berkeley Heights. The Westminster Nursery School is located at the corner
of Plainfield Ave. and Mountain Avenue, the Union Village Nursery is located bordering Warren Township at the corner of Mountain
Avenue and Hillcrest Road, and the Diamond Hill Montessori is located along Diamond Hill Road opposite McMane Avenue.
There are no primary or secondary private schools in Berkeley Heights.
Civic amenities
Public Library
The Berkeley Heights Public Library at 290
Plainfield Avenue, next to the Church of the Little Flower and across from the Columbia Middle School, is a member of the
Infolink region of libraries and the Morris Union Federation (MUF). The library catalog is available online.
Police, fire, and emergency services
The Berkeley Heights Police Department is located
at the Municipal Building, 29 Park Avenue. This is also the location of the Berkeley Heights Municipal Court. The Berkeley Heights Volunteer Fire Department
is located on Hamilton Avenue.
The Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue
Squad is located at the corner of Snyder Ave. and Locust Ave. The closest trauma centers are Morristown Memorial
Hospital (Morristown, NJ) and University
Hospital (Newark, NJ).
The Berkeley Heights Fire Department is
located at 411 Hamilton Ave, which is directly across from the intersection of Roosevelt Ave and Hamilton Ave. The department has
3 engines, 1 ladder truck, a rescue truck with the Jaws of Life, an air truck, and several support vehicles.
Parks and Recreation
Located in Berkeley Heights are many municipal parks, including the largest one, Columbia Park (located along Plainfield
Avenue). Columbia Park boasts tennis courts, two baseball fields, basketball courts, and a large children's play area. In
addition to those located at each of the schools, athletic fields are located along Snyder Avenue (Sansone Field) and along
Springfield Ave.
There are three Swimming clubs located in Berkeley Heights: the Berkeley Heights Community Pool (Locust Avenue), the Berkeley
Swim Club (behind Columbia Park), and Berkeley Aquatic (off of Springfield Avenue).
Also, the Watchung Reservation and Passaic Valley
Park are in the township and maintained by Union County. The Watchung Reservation has hiking trails, horseback riding
trails, a large lake (Lake Surprise) and picnic areas.
Roads
The major roads in Berkeley Heights are Springfield Avenue, Mountain Avenue, Snyder Avenue, Plainfield Avenue, and Park
Avenue. Springfield Avenue and Mountain Avenue run east-west, Snyder Avenue and Plainfield Avenue run north-south, while Park
Avenue runs northeast-southwest. Each of these roads is heavily residential (except parts of Springfield Ave.) with only one
travel lane in each direction.
Berkeley Heights is served by Interstate 78, which runs from the Holland Tunnel to the Pennsylvania State Line.
Public transportation
The Berkeley Heights station is part of the Gladstone Branch of the New Jersey Transit commuter rail
system, serving Hoboken Terminal, Newark Broad Street Station, and Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan.
Berkeley Heights is also in close proximity of the Summit train station, which
provides frequent commuter rail service to New York City.
NJ Transit offers local bus service on the 986 route.[8] Lakeland Bus Lines also provides commuter bus service to New York City.
Freight rail transportation is provided by Norfolk Southern via off-peak use
of New Jersey Transit's Gladstone Branch line. The Berkeley Heights plant of Reheis Chemical located on Snyder Avenue is an
active freight rail customer.
Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 18 miles
east of Berkeley Heights.
Business and industry
- Berkeley Heights is home to the Murray Hill Bell Labs headquarters of Alcatel-Lucent.
The transistor and laser were invented in this facility when
it was part of AT&T.
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Berkeley Heights include:
- Al Aronowitz, pioneer rock journalist, claimed that Bob
Dylan wrote his famous "Mr. Tambourine Man" in Aronowitz's former Berkeley Heights home. He is also the man responsible
for introducing Dylan to the Beatles (and the Beatles to marijuana), a meeting which changed rock and roll forever.[9]
- Steve Balboni, former New York
Yankee.[10]
- Bedlight for Blue Eyes, an alternative rock-soul band, is from Berkeley
Heights.
- James Cagney, actor, formerly resided in Free Acres.[3]
- Ronald Chen, Public Advocate of
New Jersey, nominated to fill the position on January 5,
2006, by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine.[11]
- Christopher Durang, playwright and actor, grew up in Berkeley Heights.
- Scott M. Gimple, television and comic book writer, grew up in Berkeley Heights.
- Mackinlay Kantor, screenwriter and novelist, formerly resided in Free Acres.
- P. F. Kluge, novelist, grew up in Berkeley Heights.
- Mary Jo Kopechne, a young political aide hailing from Berkeley Heights, drowned off
Chappaquiddick Island when Senator Ted
Kennedy (D-Mass.) drove his car off a bridge on July 18, 1969.
- John Robinson Pierce, communications engineer, scientist, and father of the
communications satellite.[12]
- Bertha Runkle, novelist and playwright.[13]
- Peter Sagal, playwright, screenwriter, actor, and host of the National Public Radio game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! grew up in Berkeley Heights.[14]
References
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P.
Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 237.
- ^ Best Places to Live: Top 100 - 45. Berkeley Heights, N.J., Money
(magazine). Accessed July 16, 2007.
- ^ a b c
- ^ Census data for Berkeley Heights township, United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 1,
2007.
- ^ Jersey
Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
- ^ Mayor and Township Council, Township of Berkeley Heights. Accessed February 5, 2007.
- ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women
Voters, p. 54. Accessed August 30, 2006.
- ^ Union County Bus/Rail Connections, New Jersey
Transit. Accessed July 3, 2007.
- ^ Al Aronowitz, 77, a Writer Of 1960s Scene, New York Sun,
August 4, 2005. "Aronowitz claimed that Mr. Dylan composed "Mr.
Tambourine Man" during a long night of repeated listenings to Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness" at Aronowitz's home in Berkeley
Heights, N.J."
- ^ YANKEES: Where Have You Gone? By Maury Allen, p. 164 "'I grew up in Massachussetts and I
was a Red Sox fan of course,' said Balboni from his home in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey."
- ^ Corzine Names Public Advocate and Environmental Protection Commissioner, press release
dated January 5, 2006, accessed April
15, 2007.
- ^ "Satellite Scientist: John Robinson Pierce", The New York Times,
August 13, 1960. Accessed June
4, 2007. "Then he drove thirty-five miles to his home on McMane Avenue, Berkeley Heights,
N.J."
- ^ Famous Women Authors: Bertha Runkle, accessed May 9,
2007. "The mind of Miss Bertha Runkle was first stimulated to literary expression at Berkeley
Heights, New Jersey ; a small place, a quiet place, and a distinctly suburban place..."
- ^ Peter Sagal, NPR Biography, accessed April 5,
2007. "A native of Berkeley Heights, N.J., he attended Harvard University and subsequently
squandered that education while working as a literary manager for a regional theater, a stage director, an actor, an extra in a
Michael Jackson video, a travel writer, an essayist, a ghost writer for a former adult film impresario and a staff writer for a
motorcycle magazine."
External links
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