Park Ridge, New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Park Ridge is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The population was 8,708 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] Geography
Park Ridge is located at (41.034672, -74.040656)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²). 6.7 km² (2.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.52%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 8,708 people, 3,161 households, and 2,389 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,293.1/km² (3,353.3/mi²). There were 3,258 housing units at an average density of 483.8/km² (1,254.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.48% White, 0.86% African American, 0.14% Native American, 3.86% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.32% of the population.
There were 3,161 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $86,632, and the median income for a family was $97,294. Males had a median income of $71,042 versus $40,714 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $40,351. About 1.2% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
[edit] Local government
The Mayor of the Borough of Park Ridge is Don Ruschman. Members of the Park Ridge Borough Council are Council President John Burkhardt, Ron Cangialosi, Rich Henning, Tamara Levinson, Don Malcuit and Barbara Koehler Martine[1].
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
Park Ridge is in the Fifth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 39th Legislative District[2].
New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District, covering the northern portions of Bergen County, Passaic County and Sussex County and all of Warren County, is represented by Scott Garrett (R, Wantage Township). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Hoboken).
The 39th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Gerald Cardinale (R, Cresskill) and in the Assembly by John E. Rooney (R, Emerson) and Charlotte Vandervalk (R, Westwood). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Bergen County's County Executive is Dennis McNerney. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Bergen County's Freeholders are Chairwoman Bernadette P. McPherson of Rutherford, Vice-Chairman David L. Ganz of Fair Lawn, Elizabeth Calabrese of Wallington, James M. Carroll of Demarest, Tomas J. Padilla of Park Ridge, Elizabeth Randall of Westwood and Valerie Vainieri Huttle of Englewood.
[edit] Politics
Out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 8,970 in Park Ridge, there were 5,577 registered voters (62.2% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 890 (16.0% vs. 20.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,234 (22.1% vs. 19.2% countywide) were registered as Republicans and 3,453 (61.9% vs. 60.1% countywide) were registered as Undeclared. There were no voters registered to other parties[3].
On the national level, Park Ridge leans strongly toward the Republican Party. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 57% of the vote here, defeating Democrat John Kerry, who received around 42%[4].
[edit] Education
The Park Ridge Public Schools serve students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are West Ridge Elementary School (PreK-6), East Brook Elementary School (K-6) and Park Ridge High School (7-12).
[edit] Transportation
Park Ridge is served by New Jersey Transit on the Pascack Valley Line at the Park Ridge train station. The station is located at Hawthorne and Park Avenues.
This line runs north-south to Hoboken Terminal with connections via the Secaucus Junction transfer station to New Jersey Transit one-stop service to New York Penn Station and to other NJ Transit rail service. Connections are available at the Hoboken Terminal to other New Jersey Transit rail lines, the PATH train at the Hoboken PATH station, New York Waterways ferry service to the World Financial Center and other destinations and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service.
The Pascack Valley Line is a single-track line providing service towards Hoboken during the morning rush hour and service from Hoboken in the evening rush hour.
[edit] Trivia
- Park Ridge's landscapes were aired on the Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids "Heroes of the Game" segment
- Park Ridge's "Pascack Historical Society" houses the only remaining wampum-making machine. The wampum-making machine was invented in Park Ridge and allowed enormous amounts of trade with Native Americans in the area.
- Park Ridge is currently home to the North American headquarters of Sony and Hertz.
[edit] Noted residents
Notable current and former residents include:
- Jedh Colby Barker, was a United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War in September 1967.
- Karen Duffy, model, grew up in Park Ridge.
- James Gandolfini, star of the HBO TV show, The Sopranos, grew up in Park Ridge and attended Park Ridge High School.
- Former President Richard Nixon resided in Park Ridge, in the upscale townhome complex known as "Bears Nest." He and his wife, Pat, had moved to Park Ridge from their mansion in neighboring Saddle River in the early 1990's.
- The rock/pop band The Roches is from Park Ridge.
- Brian Cushing, linebacker for the USC Trojans
[edit] PKRG-TV
PKRG-TV, the public access television station in Park Ridge has produced and documented many shows over the past ten years. They continue to remain on the leading edge of public-television stations in the area, producing a weekly live show every Monday night. The station also broadcasts events in the town such as parades, sporting events, school plays, and charity events.
[edit] References
- ^ Park Ridge Borough Council, accessed August 9, 2006
- ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 62, accessed August 30, 2006
- ^ "County of Bergen: Voter Statistics by Municipality, Ward & District," dated April 1, 2006
- ^ 2004 Presidential Election results: Bergen County New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety: Division of Elections, dated December 13, 2004
[edit] External links
- Park Ridge Borough website
- Park Ridge Public Schools
- Park Ridge Public Schools's 2004-2005 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for the Park Ridge Public Schools
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
