Irvington

Irvington, New Jersey
—  Township  —
Map of Irvington in Essex County. Inset: Essex County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Irvington, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°43′32″N 74°13′55″W / 40.72556°N 74.23194°W / 40.72556; -74.23194Coordinates: 40°43′32″N 74°13′55″W / 40.72556°N 74.23194°W / 40.72556; -74.23194
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Essex
Incorporated	March 27, 1874
Government
- Type	Township
- Mayor	Wayne Smith
Area
- Total	3.0 sq mi (7.7 km2)
- Land	3.0 sq mi (7.7 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation [1]	154 ft (47 m)
Population (2008)[2]
- Total	56,299
- Density	20,528.3/sq mi (7,926.0/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	07111
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	34-34450[3][4]
GNIS feature ID	0877363[5]
Website	http://www.irvington.net/index.htm

Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 60,695.

Geography

Irvington is located at 40°43′32″N 74°13′55″W / 40.725651°N 74.232076°W / 40.725651; -74.232076 (40.725651, -74.232076).^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.7 km²), all of its land.

It is bordered by Maplewood to the west, Newark to the east, Hillside to the south, South Orange is to the northwest, Union is to the southwest, Orange is to the north, and East Orange is to the northeast.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 60,695 people, 22,032 households, and 14,408 families residing in the township. The population density was 20,528.3 people per square mile (7,917.1/km²). There were 24,116 housing units at an average density of 8,156.5/sq mi (3,145.7/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 8.97% White, 81.66% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 3.68% from other races, and 4.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.38% of the population.

As part of the 2000 Census, 81.66% of Irvington's residents identified themselves as being Black or African American. This was one of the highest percentages of African American and Caribbean American people in the United States, and the third-highest in New Jersey (behind Lawnside at 93.6%, and East Orange at 89.46%) of all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. Irvington also has a large Haitian-American population, with 5,812 persons claiming Haitian ancestry in the 2000 Census.^[9]

There were 22,032 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.2% were married couples living together, 27.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the township the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $36,575, and the median income for a family was $41,098. Males had a median income of $32,043 versus $27,244 for females. The per capita income for the township was $16,874. About 15.8% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.

High Crime Rate

Irvington experienced the crack epidemic of the 1980s and the city still struggles with the aftermath today. The city still has a violent crime rate six times higher than New Jersey overall and a murder rate eight times higher than statewide statistics. As of 2007, the New Jersey State Police reported that Irvington had a violent crime rate of 22.4 incidents per 1,000 population, the highest of all 15 major urban areas in the state.^[10] Irvington is more dangerous than Camden, but since it has a population less than 75,000, Irvington wasn't eligible to rank as one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

History

Clinton Township, which included what is now Irvington, Maplewood and parts of Newark and South Orange, was created on April 14, 1834.^[11] The area was known as Camptown until the mid-1800s. In 1850, after Stephen Foster published his ballad, Camptown Races, residents were concerned that the activities described in the song would be associated with their community. The town was renamed, Irvingtown, in honor of Washington Irving.^[12]

Irvington was incorporated as an independent village on March 27, 1874, from portions of Clinton Township.^[12] What remained of Clinton Township was absorbed into Newark on March 5, 1902.^[11] On March 2, 1898, Irvington was incorporated as a Town, replacing Irvington Village.^[11] Laws approved in Trenton in both 1903 and 1908 that would have annexed Irvington to Newark were rejected by local voters.^[11]

The 1967 Newark riots hastened an exodus of families from that city, many of them moving the few short blocks to Irvington. Until 1965, Irvington was almost exclusively white. By 1980, the town was nearly 40% black, by 1990 it was 70%. On July 1, 1980, Fred Bost, the first black to serve on the Town Council, was sworn in as East Ward Councilman.^[13] Michael G. Steele, the town's first black mayor, was elected in 1990, followed by Sara B. Bost in 1994. The current Mayor is Wayne Smith.^[12]

Government

Local government

Irvington is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) form of municipal government.^[14]

Mayor Wayne Smith was directly elected by the residents to serve a four year term that began on July 1, 2002. As Chief Executive of the township, Mayor Smith has the enforcement responsibility for all ordinances, charter provisions, and preparation of the municipal budget. While the Mayor has the right to speak at Council meetings, he has no vote and is not required to attend.

Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith is Muslim and has made controversial statements in reference to America's foreign policy in the middle east.

The Council is the legislative body of the municipality and is composed of seven members. Four are elected from Wards and three are elected at-large. The Council can, by a majority vote, reduce items in the Mayor's budget, but needs a ⅔ majority to increase any item in the budget.

Members of the governing body are elected for four year terms the 2nd Tuesday in May each year. Terms are staggered biennially and the elections are non-partisan.

As of 2009^[update], members of the Township Council are:^[15]

• John Sowell, West Ward, President
• Quinzell R. McKenzie, East Ward, First Vice President
• D. Bilal Beasley, At-Large, Second Vice President
• Lebby C. Jones, At-Large
• Andrea C. McElroy, At-Large
• Sandra R. Jones, South Ward
• David Lyons, North Ward

Federal, state and county representation

Irvington is in the Tenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 28th Legislative District.^[16]

New Jersey's Tenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex County, Hudson County, and Union County, is represented by Donald M. Payne (D, Newark). 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 28th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Ronald Rice (D, Newark) and in the Assembly by Ralph R. Caputo (D, Belleville) and Cleopatra Tucker (D, Newark).^[17] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).^[18]

Essex County's County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Essex County's Freeholders are Freeholder President Blonnie R. Watson (at large), Freeholder Vice President Ralph R. Caputo (District 5), Johnny Jones (at large), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (at large), Patricia Sebold (at large) Samuel Gonzalez (District 1), D. Bilal Beasley (District 2), Carol Y. Clark (District 3) and Linda Lordi Cavanaugh (District 4).^[19]

Politics

On the national level, Irvington leans strongly toward the Democratic Party. In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama received 97% of the vote here, defeating Republican John McCain.^[20]

Education

Irvington's public schools are operated by Irvington Public Schools. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide.^[21]

Irvington High School serves the city of Irvington. Of 316 Public High Schools examined, Irvington was ranked lowest in the state in a cover story in the September 2006 issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine.^[22]

Commerce

Portions of Irvington are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3½% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).^[23]

Transportation

Irvington is served by New Jersey Transit bus routes 1, 13, 25, 26, 27, 37, 39, 42, 70, 90, 94, and 107.^[24]

Scheduled airline service is available at Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring Newark and Elizabeth.

Taxi service is provided by the Red Top Taxi Company of Irvington

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Irvington include:

• Paul Boris (born 1955), former pitcher for the Minnesota Twins.^[25]
• Austin Gunsel (1909-1974), best remembered for serving as the National Football League's interim commissioner following the death of Bert Bell on October 11, 1959.^[26]
• James J. Howard (1927-1988), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1965–1988.^[27]
• Cullen Jones (born 1984), Gold Medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay.^[28]
• Yaki Kadafi (1977-1996) rapper, was part of his god brother Tupac Shakur's Outlawz crew.^{[citation needed]}
• Queen Latifah (born 1970), rapper, singer, actress, producer.^[29]
• Jerry Lewis (born 1926), comedian, actor, director.^[30]
• Sybil Moses (c. 1939-2009), Prosecutor of the "Dr. X" Mario Jascalevich murder case and New Jersey Superior Court judge.^[31]
• Blanche Noyes, (1900-1981), pioneering female aviator who was among the first ten women to receive a pilot's license.^[32]
• Robert Randolph, singer and guitarist for Robert Randolph & the Family band.^[33]
• Mark William Rudd (born 1947), educator and anti-war activist.^[34]
• Raheem Morris (born 1976), head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[35]

References

External links

• Township of Irvington homepage
• Irvington Public Schools
• Irvington Public Schools's 2007–08 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Irvington Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
•  "Irvington". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. 

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