Belleville, New Jersey

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Belleville, New Jersey
—  Township  —
Nickname(s): Cherry Blossom Capital of America
Map of Essex County showing the location of Belleville Township. Inset: Location of Essex County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Belleville, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°47′37″N 74°9′41″W / 40.79361°N 74.16139°W / 40.79361; -74.16139Coordinates: 40°47′37″N 74°9′41″W / 40.79361°N 74.16139°W / 40.79361; -74.16139
Country United States
State New Jersey
County Essex
Incorporated April 8, 1839
Government[1]
 • Type Faulkner Act (Council-Manager)
 • Mayor Ray Kimble (term ends 2014)[2]
 • Manager Victor Canning[3]
Area[4]
 • Total 3.41 sq mi (8.8 km2)
 • Land 3.34 sq mi (8.7 km2)
 • Water 0.07 sq mi (0.2 km2)  2.05%
Elevation[5] 30 ft (9 m)
Population (2010 Census)[6][7]
 • Total 35,926
 • Density 10,535.5/sq mi (4,082.5/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 07109[8]
Area code(s) 862/973
FIPS code 34-04695[9][10]
GNIS feature ID 1729713[11]
Website http://www.bellevillenj.org

Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful town"[12]) is a Township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 35,926.[7]

Contents

[edit] History

Originally known as "Second River" or "Washington", the inhabitants renamed the settlement "Belleville" in 1797.[13] Belleville was originally incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1839, from portions of Bloomfield. Portions of the township were taken to create Woodside Township (March 24, 1869, now defunct) and Franklin Township (February 18, 1874, now known as Nutley). The independent municipality of Belleville city was created within the township on March 27, 1874, and was dissolved on February 22, 1876. On November 16, 1910, Belleville was reincorporated as a town, based on the results of a referendum held eight days earlier.[14] Belleville adopted its current township form of government in 1981.[15]

[edit] Geography

Belleville is located at 40°47′37″N 74°09′41″W / 40.793500°N 74.161448°W / 40.793500; -74.161448 (40.793500, −74.161448)[16]. Today, the Second River forms much of the border between Belleville and Newark as it runs through Branch Brook Park.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 3.41 square miles (8.8 km2), of which, 3.34 square miles (8.7 km2) of it is land and 0.07 square miles (0.18 km2) of it (2.05%) is water.[4]

The township of Belleville has given itself the nickname the Cherry Blossom Capital of America, with an annual display that is larger than the famed Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., site of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.[17][18]

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1880 3,004
—
1890 3,487 16.1%
1900 5,987 71.7%
1910 9,891 65.2%
1920 15,660 58.3%
1930 26,974 72.2%
1940 28,167 4.4%
1950 32,019 13.7%
1960 35,005 9.3%
1970 37,629 7.5%
1980 35,367 −6.0%
1990 34,213 −3.3%
2000 35,928 5.0%
2010 35,926 0%
Population sources:1920-1930[19]
1930-1990[20] 2000[21] 2010[7][22]

As of the 2010 Census, Belleville had a population of 35,926. The median age was 37.2. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 60.5% White, 9.1% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 12.0% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 14.0% some other race and 4.0% reporting two or more races. 39.3% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[22]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 35,928 people, 13,731 households, and 9,089 families residing in the township. The population density was 10,744.3 people per square mile (4,153.3/km2). There were 14,144 housing units at an average density of 4,229.8 per square mile (1,635.0/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 69.44% White, 5.36% African American, 0.17% Native American, 11.31% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 9.83% from other races, and 3.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.68% of the population.[21]

As of the 2000 Census, the most common ancestries listed were Italian (30.9%), Irish (9.4%), German (6.9%), Polish (4.5%), United States (2.6%) and English (2.2%).[23]

There were 13,731 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.23.[21]

In the township the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.[21]

The median income for a household in the township was $48,576, and the median income for a family was $55,212. Males had a median income of $38,074 versus $31,729 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,093. About 6.3% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.[21]

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

Belleville is governed under the Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) form of New Jersey municipal government by a seven-member Township Council. Two members of the council are elected at-large, one is elected as a mayor, and one each from four wards. Members are elected to serve four-year terms of office on a staggered basis.[1]

As of 2011, members of the Belleville Township Council are Mayor Raymond Kimble, Deputy Mayor Steven Rovell, Marie Burke, Vincent Cozzarelli, Kevin G. Kennedy, Michael Nicosia and John Notari.[24] The Township Manager is Victor Canning.[3]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Belleville is in the 8th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 28th state legislative district.[25] The township was relocated to the 29th state legislative district by the New Jersey Apportionment Commission based on the results of the 2010 Census.[7] The new district will be in effect for the June 2011 primary and the November 2011 general election, with the state senator and assembly members elected taking office in the new district as of January 2012.[25]

New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District is represented by Bill Pascrell (D, Paterson). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 28th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Ronald Rice (D, Newark) and in the General Assembly by Ralph R. Caputo (D, Belleville) and Cleopatra Tucker (D, Newark).[26] The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham).[27] The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).[28]

Essex County's County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr.[29] The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. The county's Board of Chosen Freeholders consists of nine members, four elected on an at-large basis and one from each of five wards, who serve terms of office on a concurrent basis.[30] As of 2011 Essex County's Freeholders are Freeholder President Blonnie R. Watson (at large)[31], Freeholder Vice President Ralph R. Caputo (District 5)[32], Rufus I. Johnson (at large)[33], Donald M. Payne, Jr. (at large)[34], Patricia Sebold (at large)[35], Samuel Gonzalez (District 1)[36], D. Bilal Beasley (District 2)[37], Carol Y. Clark (District 3)[38] and Linda Lordi Cavanaugh (District 4).[39][40]

[edit] Politics

On the national level, Belleville leans toward the Democratic Party. In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama received 57% of the vote here, defeating Republican John McCain, who received around 41%. However, In the 2009 state elections, the Republicans made significant gains, with Chris Christie closing the gap significantly in his race with incumbent Jon Corzine, and taking the town's conservative Second Ward. Also, while Assemblyman Ralph Caputo won the town handily in his re-election attempt, his GOP opponents Herbert Glenn and Andrew Bloschak received about 13% more of the vote than they did in 2007 against Caputo.1[41]

[edit] Education

School Number 7

The Belleville School District serves public school students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[42]) are seven K-6 elementary schools — School 3 (374 students), School 4 (379), School 5 (393) School 7 (383), School 8 (533), School 9 (140) and School 10 (184) — Belleville Middle School for grades 7&8 (706), and Belleville High School for grades 9–12 (1,452).

The Belleville Public Library and Information Center has collection of 105,452 volumes and is a member of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System, a consortium of municipal libraries in the northeastern New Jersey counties of Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, and Essex, .[43]

[edit] Transportation

Route 7 and New Jersey Route 21 as well as County Route 506 all pass through Belleville.

The Silver Lake station on the Newark City Subway provides service to Newark Penn Station.

New Jersey Transit bus service is available to Newark on the 13, 27, 72, 74, 90, 92, 93 and 94 bus lines.[44]

[edit] Places of interest

[edit] Belleville locations in The Sopranos

  • Episode 3 ("Denial, Anger, Acceptance"): Christopher Moltisanti's "mock execution" is on the pier in the Passaic River used by Belleville High School's crew team (technically, perhaps, in Kearny).
  • Episode 28 ("Proshai, Livushka"): Livia Soprano's funeral is held at the Irvine-Cozzarelli Memorial Home, across the street from Belleville Middle School on Washington Avenue.
  • Season 4- Even though Furio Giunta's house was stated to be in Nutley, its actual location was Belleville on Essex Street.
  • Episode 54 ("Rat Pack"): Junior gets lost and tells the policemen who find him that he lives in Belleville.
  • Episode 76 ("Cold Stones"): Rosalie Aprile briefly dates a much younger French motorcyclist named Michel, who hails from Belleville, Paris. Ro expresses a particular sense of kinship with Michel given his connection to a town with the same name as the New Jersey town where members of her inner circle live (e.g., Corrado Soprano) and do business (e.g., the Irvine-Cozzarelli Memorial Home).

[edit] 1996 Torch Relay

On June 18, 1996, the Olympic Torch Relay came through the township of Belleville. The relay entered Belleville from Rutgers, made a left onto Washington Avenue, passing the Belleville Town Hall, a right onto Belleville Avenue and stayed on Belleville into the township of Bloomfield. The torch relay ended at Atlanta, Georgia for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

[edit] Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Belleville include:

Moe Berg

[edit] Belleville characters in The Sopranos

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 128.
  2. ^ 2011 New Jersey Mayors Directory, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Elected Officials, Township of Belleville. Accessed March 30, 2011.
  4. ^ a b GCT-PH1. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2000 for Essex County, New Jersey -- County Subdivision and Place, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Township of Belleville, Geographic Names Information System, accessed January 4, 2008.
  6. ^ Census 2010: Essex County, Asbury Park Press. Accessed June 3, 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d 2011 Apportionment Redistricting: Municipalities sorted alphabetically, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed June 2, 2011.
  8. ^ Look Up a ZIP Code, United States Postal Service. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  9. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  10. ^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
  11. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  12. ^ BELLEVILLE HISTORY: PEOPLE AND EVENTS , Westfield Historical Society. Accessed November 8, 2011. "Belleville, a place carrying the French name for 'beautiful town,' stands on the west bank of the Passaic River in Essex County, New Jersey."
  13. ^ "BELLEVILLE HISTORY: PEOPLE AND EVENTS - A TOWN GETS ITS NAME", Belleville Public Library and Information Center, last updated July 9, 2007. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  14. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 125.
  15. ^ Karcher, Alan J. (1998). New Jersey's Multiple Municipal Madness. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0813525662. 
  16. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  17. ^ A HISTORY OF BRANCH BROOK'S CHERRY BLOSSOMS - Belleville: The Cherry Blossom Capital of America, Belleville Public Library and Information Center. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  18. ^ Staff. "Editorial: Give Belleville tourists reason to stay", Belleville Times, April 21, 2011. Accessed April 21, 2011. Accessed November 8, 2011. "Each spring, people flock to Essex County's Cherry Blossom Festival in Branch Brook Park. The county park system has the largest variety of blossoms in the world.... Belleville already promotes itself as a cherry blossom capital, but perhaps more could be done, especially this time of year, when so many people descend on Branch Brook Park. It's one of the few major events attracting people outside the area to Belleville."
  19. ^ "Fifteenth Census of the United States : 1930 - Population Volume I", United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 29, 2011.
  20. ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network, backed up by the Internet Archive as of May 2, 2009. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  21. ^ a b c d e Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights: Belleville township, Essex County, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  22. ^ a b Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2010 for Belleville township, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  23. ^ Belleville, New Jersey, city-data.com. Accessed September 2, 2007.
  24. ^ Belleville Elected Officials, Township of Belleville. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  25. ^ a b 2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 54. Accessed June 3, 2011.
  26. ^ Legislative Roster 2012-2013 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 11, 2012.
  27. ^ "About the Governor". New Jersey. http://www.nj.gov/governor/about/. Retrieved 2010-01-21. 
  28. ^ "About the Lieutenant Governor". New Jersey. http://www.nj.gov/governor/lt/. Retrieved 2010-01-21. 
  29. ^ Essex County Executive, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  30. ^ Definition of a Freeholder, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  31. ^ Blonnie R. Watson, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  32. ^ Ralph R. Caputo, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  33. ^ Rufus I. Johnson, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  34. ^ Donald M. Payne, Jr., Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  35. ^ Patricia Sebold, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  36. ^ Samuel Gonzalez, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  37. ^ D. Bilal Beasley, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  38. ^ Carol Y. Clark, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  39. ^ Linda Lordi Cavanaugh, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  40. ^ The Board of Chosen Freeholders, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  41. ^ "New Jersey Division of Elections". State.nj.us. http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/results_2009_doe.html. Retrieved February 13, 2011. 
  42. ^ Data for the Belleville School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  43. ^ "Belleville Free Public Library". librarytechnology.org. September 2011. http://www.librarytechnology.org/lwc-displaylibrary.pl?RC=21670. Retrieved 2011-09-29. 
  44. ^ Essex County Bus/Rail Connections, New Jersey Transit, backed up by the Internet Archive as of May 22, 2009. Accessed November 8, 2011.
  45. ^ Rowe, Jonathan. "The Gap Between Us", the Christian Science Monitor, January 24, 1991. Accessed August 14, 2007. "IN his book Growing Up, Russell Baker; the New York Times columnist, described the kitchen table of his child hood. It was in Belleville, N.J., during the depths of the Depression."
  46. ^ Encyclopedia of ethnicity and sports .... http://books.google.com/books?id=xdV_JV1fbZMC&pg=PA63&dq=belleville+moe+berg&hl=en&ei=nDtXTZ2zBsT7lweVhL3UBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=belleville%20moe%20berg&f=false. Retrieved February 13, 2011. 
  47. ^ "Scholar-Player Moe Berg Dies". Chicago Tribune. June 1, 1972. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/616508272.html?dids=616508272:616508272&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+01%2C+1972&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Scholar-Player+Moe+Berg+Dies&pqatl=google. Retrieved February 13, 2011. 
  48. ^ a b c d Glassberg, Lauren. "A Sneak Peek At Broadway's 'Jersey Boys'", WABC-TV, December 5, 2005. Accessed September 25, 2007. "The music is contagious and the story about four guys from Belleville, New Jersey is more intriguing than you may have expected. It's Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.... Here's a bit of trivia: Joe Pesci the actor introduced Tommy Devito, Nick Massi, Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio in 1959."
  49. ^ Bondy, Halley. "Belleville to honor hometown girl, the resilient Connie Francis", The Star-Ledger, October 22, 2009. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  50. ^ via Associated Press. "Seminar stresses school to college-bound athletes", Lawrence Journal-World, June 25, 1983. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  51. ^ Bruder, Jessica. "Loud, Proud and Important", The New York Times , May 29, 2005. Accessed March 28, 2008. "Among some of the station's most ardent fans are the bands that WSOU has boosted. That's all I listen to when I go home, said Frank Iero, a guitarist in My Chemical Romance and a Belleville native."
  52. ^ Jersey-kid Meola ready for KC, The Kansas City Star, February 6, 1999, "Born and raised in Belleville, N.J...."
  53. ^ Smith, Red. "Homecoming for a Yankee Fan; Sports of The Times The View from Jersey A Seat in the Bull Pen", The New York Times, March 16, 1979. Accessed June 19, 2009. "He was born in Belleville, N.J., attended high school in Parsippany, now lives in Boonton Manor."
  54. ^ Colford, Paul D. "FLASH! The latest entertainment news and more", Newsday, August 19, 1998. Accessed January 3, 2010. "Pesci, a high school dropout who grew up in Belleville, NJ..."
  55. ^ Sato, Steven. "CBS' 'That's Life' Is All That: Paul Sorvino, Creator Diane Ruggiero Talk About New Show", WEWS-TV. Accessed July 14, 2008. "Cinderella had nothing on a young woman named Diane Ruggiero. Ruggiero, a native of Belleville, N.J., was working as a waitress and a part-time writer."
  56. ^ Stephey, M.J. (May 7, 2009). "Imprisoned Journalist Roxana Saberi". Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1896532,00.html. Retrieved June 15, 2009. "Born April 26, 1977 in Belleville, New Jersey to a Japanese mother and Iranian father. When she was 6 months old, the family moved to Fargo, North Dakota." 
  57. ^ Childs, Marti Smiley; and March, Jeff. "Then and Now: Peggy Santiglis", Echoes of the Sixties, p. 85, Billboard Books, 1999. ISBN 0823083160. Accessed May 15, 2011. "Raised in Belleville, New Jersey, Peggy grew up in a musical household."
  58. ^ La Gorce, Tammy. "Bellowing Like Iron Maiden, but Very, Very Sensitive", The New York Times, November 7, 2004. Accessed January 3, 2011.
  59. ^ LaGorce, Tammy. "Bellowing Like Iron Maiden, but Very, Very Sensitive", The New York Times, November 7, 2004. Accessed May 15, 2011. "Wait too long, and the cartoonish geek punk who leads My Chemical Romance -- the guy dipped in the requisite all black, with thick mascara and smudges of orange shadow beneath both eyes before a recent show at Irving Plaza in Manhattan -- overtakes the boyish 27-year-old from Belleville given to explaining the band's progression through stories about his grandma and his Dungeons and Dragons addiction."

[edit] External links

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