Ventnor

Ventnor City, New Jersey
—  City (New Jersey)  —
Atlantic Ocean shoreline
Motto: Shore'ly the Best!
Map of Ventnor City in Atlantic County. Inset: Location of Atlantic County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Ventnor City, New Jersey
Coordinates: 39°20′32″N 74°28′55″W / 39.34222°N 74.48194°W / 39.34222; -74.48194Coordinates: 39°20′32″N 74°28′55″W / 39.34222°N 74.48194°W / 39.34222; -74.48194
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Atlantic
Incorporated	March 17, 1903[1]
Government [2]
- Type	Walsh Act (New Jersey)
- Mayor	Theresa Kelly
Area
- Total	3.5 sq mi (9.2 km2)
- Land	2.1 sq mi (5.5 km2)
- Water	1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2)
Elevation [3]	7 ft (2 m)
Population (2007)[4]
- Total	12,316
- Density	6,023.2/sq mi (2,329.2/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	08406
Area code(s)	609
FIPS code	34-75620[5][page needed][6]
GNIS feature ID	0881438[7][page needed]
Website	http://www.ventnorcity.org/

Ventnor City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey on the Atlantic Ocean. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 12,910.

Ventnor City was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1903, from portions of Egg Harbor Township.^[1]

Geography

Ventnor City is located at 39°20′32″N 74°28′55″W / 39.342299°N 74.481922°W / 39.342299; -74.481922 (39.342299, -74.481922).^{[8][page needed]}

Ventnor City is located on 8.1-mile long Absecon Island, along with Atlantic City to the northeast, and Margate City and Longport on the southeast.^[9] "Construct an approximate $63 million beach and dune system along the 8.1 mile oceanfront of Absecon Island that includes, the cities of Atlantic City, Ventnor, Margate and Longport.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.2 km²), of which, 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) of it (39.44%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^{[5][page needed]} of 2000, there were 12,910 people, 5,480 households, and 3,255 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,023.2 people per square mile (2,329.2/km²). There were 8,009 housing units at an average density of 1, 445.0/km² (3,736.6/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 77.10% White, 2.94% African American, 0.19% Native American, 7.45% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.37% from other races, and 2.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.14% of the population.

The major ethnic groups in Ventnor City are: Italian (22.8%), Irish (15.5%), German (8.7%), English (6.2%), Russian (4.2%), Polish (3.6%).^[11]

There were 5,480 households out of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 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 city was $42,478, and the median income for a family was $52,701. Males had a median income of $31,300 versus $26,788 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,631. About 3.4% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

In the latter part of the 19th Century, an American couple visiting Great Britain became so impressed with the beauty of the locality, that in 1889, when the Camden and Atlantic Land Company decided to name the section of the land south of Atlantic City, they remembered Ventnor, a town on the south coast of the Isle of Wight.

Mrs. S. Bartram Richards, suggested that the name, Ventnor, would be an ideal fit for this exciting new area. This name was suggested on January 8, 1889, by Mrs. Richards, who was the wife of the secretary-treasurer of the land company.

This name was formally adopted the following day. Although the City received its name in January 1889, it was not officially recognized until it received its incorporation by the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1903.

Chapter 51 of the laws and Sessions of the State of New Jersey provided the noble beginning to Ventnor City stating, "Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of New Jersey that all part or portion of the County of Atlantic, formerly a part of Egg Harbor Township, situated on Absecon Beach, lying between the Westwardly limit of Atlantic City and the Eastwardly limit of South Atlantic City, the Atlantic Ocean on the south as far as the jurisdiction of the State extends, and to the center of Beach Thoroughfare on the North, be, and is hereby constituted as a City of this State, and all of the inhabitants of the State residing within the limits aforesaid be and they are hereby ordained, constituted and declared to be from time to time forever hereafter one body politic and corporate, in fact and in name, by the name, Ventnor City. This act shall take effect immediately, and was approved on March 17, 1903."

These meetings were originally held in the Carisbrooke Inn, which was located behind the present City Hall, on Atlantic Avenue between Cambridge and Sacramento Avenues; Carisbrooke is also a place name taken from the Isle of Wight. The first meeting was held on April 20, 1903, with a follow up meeting being conducted on April 27, 1903.^[12]

Government

Local government

On September 17, 1968, the then existing Mayor-Council form of government was changed to a Commission form of government, under the Walsh Act, and consists of three Commissioners. Voters choose three Commissioners to serve four-year terms of office in non-partisan elections. After each election, the three elected commissioners then choose one their members to serve as Mayor.^[2][13]

The Mayor of Ventnor City is Theresa Kelly (Commissioner of Public Affairs and Public Safety). The other Commissioners are John Piatt (Commissioner of Revenue and Finance) and Stephen Weintrob (Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property).^[14][15]

Federal, state and county representation

Ventnor City is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 2nd Legislative District.^[16]

New Jersey's Second Congressional District, covering all of Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County and Salem County and portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Gloucester County, is represented by Frank LoBiondo (R, Ventnor City). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 2nd legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Jim Whelan (D, Atlantic City), and in the Assembly by John F. Amodeo (R, Margate) and Vincent J. Polistina (R, Egg Harbor Township).^[17] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).^[18]

Atlantic County's County Executive is Dennis Levinson (Linwood).^[19] The Board of Chosen Freeholders, the county's legislature, consists of nine members elected to three-year terms on a staggered basis, with three seats coming up for election each year. As of 2009^[update], Atlantic County's Freeholders are four at-large members Alisa Cooper (Linwood, term expires December 31, 2011), Frank V. Giordano (Hamilton Township, 2009), Joseph C. McDevitt (Ventnor City, 2010) and Jim Schroder (Northfield, 2011); and five members elected from districts District 1 (Atlantic City (part), Egg Harbor Township (part) and Pleasantville) Charles T. Garrett (Atlantic City, 2010), District 2 - (Atlantic City (part), Egg Harbor Township (part), Longport, Margate, Somers Point and Ventnor) Vice Chairman Thomas Russo (Atlantic City, 2009), District 3 (Egg Harbor Township (part), Hamilton Township (part), Linwood and Northfield) - Frank Sutton (Egg Harbor Township, 2011), District 4 (Absecon, Brigantine, Galloway Township and Port Republic - Richard Dase (Galloway Township, 2010) and District 5 (Buena Borough Buena Vista Township, Corbin City, Egg Harbor City, Estell Manor, Folsom, Hamilton Township (part), Hammonton, Mullica Township and Weymouth) - Freeholder Chairman James Curcio (Hammonton, 2009).^[20]

Education

The Ventnor City School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The two schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[21]) are Ventnor Elementary School (680 students) and Ventnor Middle School (325 students). They are operated as separate schools but are located in a single, large building known as the Ventnor Educational Community Complex or VECC. The original school was built in 1970.

Public school students in grades 9-12, along with those from Brigantine, Longport and Margate City, attend Atlantic City High School in neighboring Atlantic City, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Atlantic City School District that has existed since 1920.^[22]

Holy Family Regional School is a Catholic elementary school, operated under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Camden.^[23]

References

External links

• Ventnor City website
• Ventnor Educational Community Complex
• Ventnor City School District's 2007–08 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Ventnor City School District, National Center for Education Statistics
• The Current of Ventnor
• Taxpayer private citizens group

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Atlantic County, New Jersey County seat: Mays Landing Cities Absecon | Atlantic City | Brigantine | Corbin City | Egg Harbor City | Estell Manor | Linwood | Margate City | Northfield | Pleasantville | Port Republic | Somers Point | Ventnor City Boroughs Buena | Folsom | Longport Town Hammonton Townships Buena Vista | Egg Harbor | Galloway | Hamilton | Mullica | Weymouth CDPs Collings Lakes | Elwood-Magnolia | Mays Landing | Pomona Communities Dorothy | Elwood | Landisville | Richland | Smithville | Sweetwater