Seaside Heights is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 3,155. Seaside Heights is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean.
Seaside Heights was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 26, 1913, from portions of both Berkeley Township and Dover Township (now Toms River Township), based on the results of a referendum held on March 25, 1913.[7]
Seaside Heights is a resort community, with a beach, an amusement-oriented boardwalk, and numerous clubs and bars, making it a popular destination. Seaside Heights calls itself, "Your Home For Family Fun Since 1913!"[8] Peak months are July and August, but the season actually runs March-October. Summer population explodes upwards to thirty thousand persons.[9] Route 37 in Toms River is routinely gridlocked on Friday afternoons in the summer months as vacationers pack the barrier islands.
The Seaside Heights Boardwalk has been featured worldwide, most notably by MTV in 1998 and 2002.
Geography
Seaside Heights is located at 39°56′35″N 74°04′27″W / 39.943068°N 74.074193°W / 39.943068; -74.074193 (39.943068, -74.074193).[10]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.0 km2), of which, 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km2) of it (19.74%) is water.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1930 |
399 |
|
—
|
| 1940 |
549 |
|
37.6% |
| 1950 |
862 |
|
57.0% |
| 1960 |
954 |
|
10.7% |
| 1970 |
1,248 |
|
30.8% |
| 1980 |
1,802 |
|
44.4% |
| 1990 |
2,366 |
|
31.3% |
| 2000 |
3,155 |
|
33.3% |
| Est. 2007 |
3,319 |
[3] |
5.2% |
| Population 1930 - 1990[3] |
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 3,155 people, 1,408 households, and 691 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,162.2 people per square mile (1,997.0/km2). There were 2,840 housing units at an average density of 4,646.8/sq mi (1,797.6/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 89.95% White, 4.03% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 1.17% from other races, and 3.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.70% of the population.
There were 1,408 households out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.8% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.9% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $25,963, and the median income for a family was $27,197. Males had a median income of $30,354 versus $21,899 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,665. About 21.9% of families and 24.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.9% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Seaside Heights 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.[1]
The Mayor of Seaside Heights is P. Kenneth Hershey (R, term ends December 31, 2011). Borough Council members are William Akers (R, 2009), Joyce Camera (R, 2009), Joann Duszczak (R, 2008), Arline Ottoson (R, 2010), Agnes Polhemus (R, 2008) and Richard Tompkins (R, 2010). As of January 2006, Seaside Heights had an historic, first-time four-woman majority on its governing body.[11][12]
Mayor Hershey has been in politics in Seaside Heights uninterrupted for over 35 years. He has been Mayor since 1992. His predecessor George Tompkins (father of current councilman Rich Tompkins) served 16 years from 1985-1991, and Mayor J. Stanley Tunney served for 25 years from 1939-1964. Councilwoman Agnes Polhemus served from 1972-1993, and returned in 2006.
Seaside Heights Borough Attorney George R. Gilmore, Esq. is grandson of the late Seaside Heights Mayor J. Stanley Tunney and is the Ocean County Republican Chairman.
Federal, state and county representation
Seaside Heights is in the Third Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 10th Legislative District.[13]
New Jersey's Third Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Ocean County, is represented by John Adler (D, Cherry Hill). 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 10th district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Andrew R. Ciesla (R, Brick) and in the Assembly by James W. Holzapfel (R, Toms River) and David W. Wolfe (R, Brick). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).[14]
Ocean County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members, elected at large in partisan elections and serving staggered three-year terms. As of 2009[update], Ocean County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director John C. Bartlett, Jr. (Pine Beach, term ends December 31, 2009), Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little (Surf City, 2009), John P. Kelly (Eagleswood Township, 2010), James F. Lacey (Brick Township, 2010) and Joseph H. Vicari (Toms River, 2011).[15]
Education
The Seaside Heights School District is a public school district for students in Kindergarten through sixth grade. Hugh J. Boyd, Jr. Elementary School served 245 students as of the 2005-06 school year.[16] The school was built in 1967, and is dedicated to Hugh J. Boyd Jr., its late, longtime Superintendent of Schools and legend of Seaside Heights Beach Patrol. Its addition built in 2005 is dedicated in the name of a late, longtime Board of Education Member Harry M. Smith III. The Board of Education is made up of five members, each elected to three-year terms. The Principal of Hugh J. Boyd Elementary School is Dr. Gemma MacCarrick.
The Toms River Regional Schools provides administrative, maintenance, food and other services to The Seaside Heights Board of Education, and has done so since 2003. Superintendent of Schools is Michael J. Ritacco, who is also the Superintendent of the Toms River Regional School District. The Seaside Heights / Toms River relationship is a first in the State of New Jersey.
Public school students in grades 7 through 12 attend the schools of the Central Regional School District, which also serves students from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate and Seaside Park.[17] The total student population in the district is approximately 2,400, instructed by 200 staff members. The schools in the district are Central Regional Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (833 students), and Central Regional High School for grades 9 - 12 (1,494 students).
Transportation
Route 35 and Route 37 both pass through Seaside Heights, intersecting at the approach to the Thomas A. Mathis and J. Stanley Tunney Bridges.
New Jersey Transit provides seasonal bus service in Seaside Heights on the 137 route to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan and to Newark on the 67 line.[18]
Points of interest
Casino Pier and Funtown Pier are amusement parks, each situated on a pier extending approximately 300 feet (100 m) into the Atlantic Ocean. Each of the two piers is part of the 2-mile boardwalk, which offers many family-friendly attractions from arcades, to games of chance, to beaches, to the wide variety of foods and desserts, all within walking distance. Breakwater Beach, formerly known as Water Works, is a water park situated across the street from Casino Pier. Seaside Heights hosted the AVP volleyball tournament for 2 years during the Summers of 2006 and 2007.
Popular culture
New Jersey rock band Bon Jovi filmed most of their music video for the song "In and Out of Love" in Seaside Heights, mainly on the boardwalk.[citation needed]
Portions of the 2006 movie Artie Lange's Beer League were filmed in Seaside Heights.[19]
MTV's True Life: I Have A Summer Share was filmed in Seaside Heights.[citation needed]
The MTV summer beach house was located in Seaside Heights for many summers in the early 2000s.
MTV's reality TV series "Jersey Shore" was filmed in Seaside Heights and Toms River for a period of one month in August 2009.
References
- ^ a b 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 53.
- ^ USGS GNIS: Seaside Heights, Geographic Names Information System, accessed May 10, 2007.
- ^ a b c Census data for Seaside Heights borough, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 30, 2008.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 205.
- ^ Seaside Heights Beach Information, accessed April 5, 2007
- ^ ABOUT SEASIDE HEIGHTS, accessed May 10, 2007. "A community of 3,100 year-round residents, Seaside Heights expands to more than 30,000 in the summer."
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Seaside Heights Borough Government, Seaside Heights Borough. Accessed April 22, 2008.
- ^ 2008 Elected Officials of Ocean County, Ocean County, New Jersey. p. 10. Accessed April 22, 2008.
- ^ 2008 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 64. Accessed September 30, 2009.
- ^ "About the Governor". New Jersey. http://www.nj.gov/governor/about/. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
- ^ Board of Chosen Freeholders, Ocean County, New Jersey. Accessed January 19, 2009.
- ^ Data for the Seaside Heights Public School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 22, 2008.
- ^ Central Regional School District 2007 School Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 22, 2008. "The Central Regional School District is located in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township and draws from the constituent districts of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights, and Seaside Park."
- ^ Ocean County Bus/Rail Connection, New Jersey Transit. Accessed August 6, 2007.
- ^ Filming locations for Beer League, Internet Movie Database. Accessed August 6, 2007.
External links
