Westfield

Westfield, New Jersey
—  Town  —
Map of Westfield in Union County. Inset: Location of Union County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Westfield, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°39′06″N 74°20′38″W / 40.65167°N 74.34389°W / 40.65167; -74.34389
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Union
Formed	January 27, 1794
Incorporated	February 21, 1798
Government
- Type	Special Charter
- Mayor	Andrew Skibitsky
Area
- Total	6.7 sq mi (17.5 km2)
- Land	6.7 sq mi (17.4 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation [1]	118 ft (36 m)
Population (2006)[2]
- Total	29,944
- Density	4,403.1/sq mi (1,700.1/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	07090-07091
Area code(s)	908
FIPS code	34-79040[3][4]
GNIS feature ID	0885436[5]
Website	http://www.westfieldnj.gov

Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 29,644.

The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the Elizabethtown Tract.

Westfield was originally formed as a township on January 27, 1794, from portions of Elizabeth Township, while the area was still part of Essex County, and was incorporated as a one of New Jersey's first 104 townships by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. It became part of the newly-formed Union County on March 19, 1857. Portions of the township have been taken to form Rahway Township (February 27, 1804), Plainfield Township (April 5, 1847), Cranford Township (March 14, 1871), Fanwood Township (March 6, 1878, now known as Scotch Plains), Mountainside (September 25, 1895) and Hillside (April 3, 1913). The Town of Westfield was incorporated on March 4, 1903, replacing Westfield Township.

Geography

Westfield is located at 40°39′0″N 74°20′35″W / 40.65°N 74.34306°W / 40.65; -74.34306 (40.649869, -74.343183).^[6] Westfield's ZIP Code is 07090.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.5 km²), of which, 6.7 square miles (17.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.30%) is water.

Six municipalities border the town of Westfield: Mountainside to the north, Springfield Township to the northeast, Garwood and Cranford to the east, Clark to the southeast and Scotch Plains to the west and southwest.

Police

The Westfield Police Department (WPD) has been a vital part of the town's culture since its foundation and in more recent years has been focusing its attention on aggressively monitoring the downtown parking meters. In 2007 for example, the WPD issued 27,444 parking tickets of which 16,306 were for overtime parking at meters or in pay station lots.^[7] As of 2008^[update], the chief of police is John Parizeau. Each division of the WPD operates different vehicles. As of October, 2009, they are as follows:

• Patrol Division: Ford Crown Victorias with low-profile LED and halogen lightbars and a Ford Expedition
• Traffic Safety Bureau: Ford Crown Victoria, Chevy Suburban and Ford F-150
• Parking Enforcement: Ford Crown Victorias and a Jeep Cherokee.
• Emergency Services Unit: Ford E-150, Ford Expedition,and a trailer.
• Other: 2 BMW motorcycles donated by JMK BMW and a Segway patrol that operates in the Central Business District (CBD).

Fire

The Westfield Fire Department was formed in 1875 following a fire that destroyed a city block on East Broad St.. As of 1/1/2009 the WFD is a combination department with 39 paid/career firefighters and 6 volunteer firefighters. There are 4 platoons of 9 (1 Captain, 2 Lieutenants, and 6 Firefighters) working a 24/72 hour work schedule out of 2 fire stations. Administrative members include the Chief of Department, the Deputy Chief of Operations, and the Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention. As of 2009^[update], the Chief of Department is Daniel J. Kelly.

Fire Headquarters, located at 405 North Ave. W., is manned 24 hours a day by 1 Captain (Platoon Commander), 1 Lieutenant, and 4 Firefighters. These personnel man an Engine Company, first due on the north side of town, and the Ladder Company. A reserve Engine Company and a Utility Pick-Up are also housed at Fire Headquarters. The office of the Chief of Department and the Deputy Chief of Operations are located here as well. All requests for Mutual Aid are filled out by Fire Headquarters companies due to more manpower.

Station 2, located at 1029 Central Ave., is manned 24 hours a day by 1 Lieutenant and 2 Firefighters. These personnel man an Engine Company, first due on the south side of town. A reserve Engine Company, a Utility Pick-Up, and a spare SUV are also housed at Station 2. The Fire Prevention Bureau is located at Station 2 and houses the office of the Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention.

The WFD in 2009 operates a fleet of 4 E-One Engines (2 x 2,000 GPM & 2 x 1,500 GPM) and 1 E-One 110' Ladder with 2 support pick-ups and 4 staff 4x4 vehicles. The paint scheme for the older apparatus (Engine 4 and Truck 1) are yellow, with the newer apparatus (Engine 2,3,5) being red bodies with white cabs. The support vehicles, a Ford Pick-Up (Utility 7), a Chevy Pick-Up (Utility 8), and a Jeep Cherokee (Car 9) are red with white striping and the remaining staff vehicles, for Chief Officers, are unmarked Dodge Durangos (Car 1,11,12)

The WFD responds annually to approximately 2,000 calls for service. The WFD serves as a back-up EMS agency for the town if the Westfield Volunteer Rescue Squad is not readily available. All members are CPR-Defib certified with 26 members currently New Jersey certified EMT's with the remaining members trained to the first responder level. Both stations are manned by at least 1 FF/EMT 24 hours a day.

The WFD is also a partner in the Union County Fire Mutual Aid agreement, responding to numerous requests for aid to any of the other 20 municipalities in Union County.

The career firefighters (excluding Chief Officers) are members of The New Jersey Firefighter's Mutual Benevolent Association Local # 30 (NJ FMBA).

Downtown

Downtown Westfield, NJ. July 21, 2005

Westfield's downtown is highly successful, featuring many local and national stores, such as Lord and Taylor and several landmarks that were shown and used in the NBC network television show Ed such as the Rialto Theater. There are about 50 restaurants and casual dining establishments throughout town. Downtown is located mostly north of the Westfield train station. The downtown area has a wonderful mix of independent stores and boutiques as well as national stores, and provides a pleasant shopping environment. Over one-third of the retailers and restaurants have existed for 25 years or more.

Downtown Westfield, with over 200 retail establishments and 400 commercial enterprises, is a regional destination in New Jersey. The Downtown Westfield Corporation (DWC) manages the downtown area's growth and enhancement. The DWC is a National Main Street program associated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is funded by a Special Improvement District assessment on downtown properties and operates as the district's management agency. The DWC sponsors marketing efforts and promotions, special event planning, urban design and building improvement projects. The DWC works closely with the town government and volunteer groups to improve the downtown area. In 2004, Westfield won the Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust. Downtown Westfield also attracts citizens from other communities in Union County such as Scotch Plains, NJ, Plainfield, NJ, Cranford, NJ, and Clark, NJ

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 29,644 people, 10,622 households, and 8,178 families residing in the town. The population density was 4,403.1 people per square mile (1,700.7/km²). There were 10,819 housing units at an average density of 1,607.0/sq mi (620.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.98% White, 3.88% African American, 0.09% Native American, 4.08% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.62% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.82% of the population.

There were 10,622 households out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

According to a 2007 estimate^[9], the median income for a household in the town was $120,978, and the median income for a family was $146,891. Males had a median income of $82,420 versus $45,305 for females. The per capita income for the town was $47,187. About 1.7% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Westfield is governed under a Special Charter granted by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature. The government consists of a Mayor and an eight-member Town Council, with all positions filled in partisan elections. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Town Council consists of eight members, with two members elected from each of four wards. Town Council members are elected to serve four-year terms on a staggered basis, with one seat in each ward coming up for election every other year.^[10] The Town Council holds weekly meetings open to the public where it discusses legislation under consideration.

As of 2008^[update], members of the Town Council are:^[11]

• Mayor - Andrew Skibitsky (R)
• 1st Ward - Frank Arena (R) and Sal Caruana (R)
• 2nd Ward - Vicki Kimmins (R) and JoAnn Neylan (R)
• 3rd Ward - Mark Ciarrocca (R) and David Haas (D)
• 4th Ward - James Foerst (R) and Tom Bigosinski (D)

In the 2007 Town Council election, Republican incumbents JoAnn Neylan, Mark Ciarrocca, and James Foerst all were victorious in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Wards, respectively. In the 1st Ward, newcomer Republican Frank Arena was victorious over Democrat Ross Katz.^[12] The GOP will continue to hold a 7-2 majority in the council (including Mayor Skibistky) through 2009 when the mayoral seat and four town council seats will be open.

Westfield politics are dominated by a two-party system in which the Republican Party and the Democratic Party compete for elected offices. Of late, Westfield politics have been dominated by the GOP, and in 2003 Republicans took complete control of the Town Council. A majority of registered voters in the town are Republican. However, in the 2004 Presidential election, a majority of Westfield voters voted for Democrat John Kerry over Republican George W. Bush, who made a visit to the town in 2005 to discuss his plan for Social Security, and in the 2005 Gubernatorial election, a majority of Westfield voters voted for Democrat Jon Corzine over Republican Doug Forrester. The Westfield Republican Committee is chaired by Assemblyman Jon Bramnick and the Westfield Democratic Committee is chaired by Ken Rotter.

Federal, state and county representation

Westfield is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 21st Legislative District.^[13]

New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District, covering portions of Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, Somerset County and Union County, is represented by Leonard Lance (R, Clinton 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 21st 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 Nancy Munoz (R, Summit).^[14] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).^[15]

Union County is governed by a nine-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, elected at-large to three-year terms on a staggered basis. Union County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella (Roselle Park), Freeholder Vice Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan (Elizabeth), Angel G. Estrada (Elizabeth), Chester Holmes (Rahway), Bette Jane Kowalski (Cranford), Rick Proctor (Rahway), Deborah P. Scanlon (Union), Rayland Van Blake (Plainfield), and Nancy Ward (Linden).^[16]

Neighborhoods

Westfield consists of two sides of the town, the North Side and the South Side. The following are distinct neighborhoods in the town.

• The Gardens
• Wychwood
• Brightwood
• Indian Forest
• Stoneleigh Park
• Downtown
• Manor Park

Education

Students in Kindergarten through 12th grade attend the Westfield Public Schools. The district has six K - 5 elementary schools and two grade 6 - 8 middle schools, which are divided by a "North Side / South Side" boundary. The schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[17]) are as follows:

The public schools on the north side consist of Franklin Elementary School with 592 students, Washington Elementary School with 348 students, Wilson Elementary School with 582 students and Theodore Roosevelt Intermediate School [2] with 721 students.

Schools on the south side are Jefferson Elementary School with 491 students, McKinley Elementary School with 334 students, Tamaques Elementary School with 468 students and Thomas Alva Edison Intermediate School with 719 students. Thomas Alva Edison Intermediate School is noted for its excellence in academics, activities, and the arts.

Students on each side of town are divided amongst the three elementary schools on their side, go to a common intermediate school, and then join the other side of town in Westfield High School, which has 1,769 students in grades 9 - 12. The sides of town are divided into North side and South side, and they are divided by the train track for the New Jersey Transit Raritan Line that runs directly through town.

Starting in the 2008/2009 school year, all kindergarten classes in the school district were centered at Lincoln School on the south side of town.

There is also a Middle States accredited Catholic school, Holy Trinity Interparochial School, run by the three parishes of Holy Trinity in Westfield, St. Helen's in Westfield and Our Lady of Lourdes in Mountainside, which offers education from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade.

Public transportation

New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line provides rail service from the Westfield train station to Newark Penn Station in Newark with connecting service to Penn Station New York. Westfield's position and schedule on the Raritan Valley line make it highly desirable for commuters, as several times in the morning and evening rush hours a non-stop service is operated to/from the Newark transfer station. On these non-stop services, the one-way journey time to/from New York Penn Station is 50 minutes, or 20 minutes to/from Newark Penn Station[3]. New Jersey Transit's 113 route provides bus service to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal seven days per week from the town center, taking approximately 1 hour to NYC. In addition, express service to New York City is available along Route 22 on the northern edge of the town, taking approximately 45 minutes. Olympia Trails also offers weekday bus service to New York City. New Jersey Transit's 59 route provides local bus service, operating between Plainfield and Newark.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 20 minutes away, most conveniently reached via Route 22, and Linden Airport, a general aviation facility is in nearby Linden, New Jersey.

Services

Residential telephone service is handled by Verizon Communications [4]. Westfield cable television is supplied by Comcast [5], which also delivers the Westfield Community Channel (ch 36), News 12 New Jersey (ch 62) and Scotch Plains Local Access Channel (ch 34). Verizon's Fiber Optic Service (FiOS) is also offered in Westfield, which gives the option of digital cable, high-speed internet and telephone service. Power is supplied through the Public Service Electric and Gas Company. Gas is supplied via Elizabethtown Gas and water by American Water of NJ. Recycling is collected curbside by the Department of Public Works on a biweekly basis, while trash is collected by private haulers.

Media

Westfield was served by two weekly newspapers The Westfield Leader, The Record-Press, until The Record-Press ended publication in 2008, leaving the town with only The Westfield Leader. It is one of the communities served by the daily newspaper The Courier News (based in Bridgewater N.J.) and The Star Ledger based in Newark, New Jersey. The Westfield Patch is an online newsource dedicated strictly to local Westfield news. It is updated around the clock by editor John Celock and a staff of volunteer contributors.

Westfield Community Television (WCT)

The local community access channel 36 operates out of the Municipal Building on Broad Street in Westfield on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and half of every Sunday. WCT provides limited community related programming, coverage of town council meetings, and operates the WCT Bulletin Board. WCT shares time on channel 36 with Blue Devils Television which originates from Westfield High School and produces nearly 200 original productions each academic year.^[18]

Popular culture

• A recent article in the New York Times provides a short introduction to the town's attributes for potential home buyers (with photos). [6]
• The TV show Ed was partially filmed in Westfield's downtown, which served as the basis for Stuckeyville's downtown.
• The movie The Perfect Holiday was partially filmed in Downtown Westfield. It stars Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard, as well as Jill Marie Jones (of the sitcom Girlfriends) Rachel True (of the show Half & Half), Gabrielle Union and Morris Chestnut.
• The opening shots for the (Christopher) Walken Family Reunion sketch on Saturday Night Live featured Sweet Waters Steakhouse in Downtown Westfield. A Volkswagen commercial was recently filmed in Downtown Westfield.

Notable residents

Current and former notable residents of Westfield include

• Charles Addams (1912-1988), cartoonist for the The New Yorker magazine, most famous for his cartoons of The Addams Family.^[19]
• Dr. Virginia Apgar (1909-1974), creator of the Apgar score for assessing health of newborns.^[20]
• Billy Ard (born 1959), former NFL guard for the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers.^[21]
• Dave Brown (born 1970), NFL Quarterback, 1992-2000 (New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals).^[22]
• Robert Nietzel Buck (1914-2007), Aviator and author who broke the junior transcontinental airspeed record and thirteen other junior airspeed records in the 1930s started his flying career at the Westfield Airport.^[23]
• Steve Cheek (born 1977), NFL Punter, 2001-2005 (San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers).^[24]
• Michael Chertoff (born 1953), United States Secretary of Homeland Security and former United States district court Judge.^[25]
• Geoff Edwards (born 1931), Actor and Game Show Host.^{[citation needed]}
• Edward Einhorn (born 1970) Children's author, director and playwright ^[26]
• Langston Hughes (1902-1967), Poet.^[27][28]
• Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), folklorist.^[27][29]
• Thomas Kean, Jr. (born 1968), U.S. Senate candidate and son of Former Governor of New Jersey and 9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas Kean.^[30][31]
• Kevin Kelly (born 1952), Founder of Wired magazine.^[32]
• Martin Kunert - Film director and TV writer/producer (Voices of Iraq, MTV's Fear, Campfire Tales).^{[citation needed]}
• Marilyn Lange (born 1952), Playmate of the month May 1974. Then Playmate of the year for 1975.^[33]
• Margaret Carver Leighton (1896-1987), children's author.^[34]
• John List (1925-2008), murderer.^[35]
• John D. Luerssen - Nationally Recognized pop music writer, award-winning author of Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story. Luerssen is a fourth-generation Westfielder, born in Summit.^[36]
• Andrew McCarthy (born 1962), actor (Weekend at Bernie's, among others).^[37]
• Denise DeFabio (1969), Self-made millionaire, named 15th most influential in United States by Money Magazine, native of Westfield
• Earl "The Pearl" Monroe (born 1944), NBA player, 1967-1980 (Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks), NAIA Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Fame, NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, USBL Commissioner
• Randolph Perkins (1871-1936), mayor of Westfield from 1903 to 1905, and represented New Jersey's 6th congressional district from 1921-1936.^[38]
• James Perry - Venture Capitalist, voted 13th most influential in United States by Forbes Magazine^{[39][citation needed]}
• Paul Robeson (1898-1976), Athlete, Actor, Singer, Political Activist, NFL Guard 1920-1922 (Akron Pros, Milwaukee Badgers).^[40]
• Bret Schundler (born 1959), former Mayor of Jersey City and former New Jersey gubernatorial candidate.^[41]
• Matthew Sklar (born 1973), Tony Award-nominated composer for the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer. Associate conductor for many productions including 42nd Street, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Nine and Caroline or Change.^[42]
• Jeff Torborg (born 1941), MLB Player/Manager, 1964-current (Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, Cleveland Indians (manager), Chicago White Sox (manager), New York Mets (manager), Montreal Expos (manager), Florida Marlins (manager)).^[43]
• P. Roy Vagelos (born 1929), Former Chairman and CEO of Merck & Co.^[44]
• Harrison A. Williams (1919-2001) Former U.S. Senator^[45]
• Harold "Butch" Woolfolk (born 1960), NFL Running back, 1982-1988 (New York Giants, Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions).^[46]
• Dan Yemin, influential punk rock guitarist.^[47]*[

Musical groups based in Westfield

• The Static Jacks
• The Full Count Big Band
• The Westfield Symphony
• The Westfield Community Band
• The Oratorio Singers
• New Jersey Workshop for the Arts
• New Jersey Field Music
• Miami 90210

References

External links

• Westfield Town official website
• Westfield Public Schools
• Westfield Public Schools's 2007–08 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Westfield Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• The Downtown Westfield Corporation
• The Presbyterian Church in Westfield
• Westfield Profile with Graphics

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