Belleville, New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Belleville, New Jersey | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Essex |
| Incorporated | April 8, 1839 |
| Government [1] | |
| - Type | Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) |
| - Mayor | Ray Kimble |
| - Manager | Victor Canning[2] |
| Area | |
| - Total | 3.4 sq mi (8.8 km²) |
| - Land | 3.3 sq mi (8.7 km²) |
| - Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²) |
| Elevation [3] | 30 ft (9 m) |
| Population (2006)[4] | |
| - Total | 34,444 |
| - Density | 10,744.3/sq mi (4,148.4/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07109 |
| Area code(s) | 973 |
| FIPS code | 34-04695[5][6] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1729713[7] |
| Website: http://www.bellevillenj.org | |
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 3,004 |
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| 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% | |
| 1990 | 34,213 | −3.3% | |
| 2000 | 35,928 | 5% | |
| Est. 2006 | 34,444 | [4] | −4.1% |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[8] | |||
Belleville is a Township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 35,928.
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.[9] Belleville adopted its current township form of government in 1981.[10]
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[edit] Geography
Belleville is located at (40.793500, -74.161448)[11], north of
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²), of which, 3.3 square miles (8.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (2.05%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[5] 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/sq mi (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.
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%).[12]
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.
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.
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.
[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]
The members of the Belleville Township Council are Mayor Ray Kimble, Deputy Mayor Kevin G. Kennedy, John Notari, Marie Strumolo Burke, Michael Nicosia, Paul McDonald and Steven Rovell.[13] The township manager is Victor Canning.[2]
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
Belleville is in the Eighth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 28th Legislative District.[14]
New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Passaic County and northern sections of Essex County, is represented by Bill Pascrell Jr. (D, Paterson). 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 28th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Ronald Rice (D, Newark) and in the Assembly by Ralph R. Caputo (D, Belleville) and Cleopatra Tucker (D, Newark).[15] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).[16]
Essex County's County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Essex County's Freeholders are Freeholder President Blonnie R. Watson (at large), Freeholder Vice President Ralph R. Caputo (District 5), Johnny Jones (at large), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (at large), Patricia Sebold (at large) Samuel Gonzalez (District 1), D. Bilal Beasley (District 2), Carol Y. Clark (District 3) and Linda Lordi Cavanaugh (District 4).[17]
[edit] Politics
On the national level, Belleville leans toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 52% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 47%.
[edit] Education
The Belleville School District serves public school students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[18]) are seven K-6 elementary schools — School 3 (313 students), School 4 (323 students), School 5 (353 students) School 7 (443 students), School 8 (474 students), School 9 (139 students) and School 10 (147 students) — Belleville Middle School for grades 7&8 (686 students), and Belleville High School for grades 9-12 (1,581 students).
[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.[19]
[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. Also take a Cab from the Belleville Taxi Service
Season 4- Even though Furio Guinta's house stated it was in Nutley, the actual location of the house is in Belleville on Essex Street.
[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] Trivia
- Originally known as "Second River," the inhabitants renamed the settlement "Belleville" in 1797. Today, the Second River forms much of the border between Belleville and Newark as it runs through Branch Brook Park, home to an annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
- The township of Belleville has given itself the nickname the Cherry Blossom Capital of America.
- Belleville is mentioned several times in the Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys.
[edit] Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Belleville include:
- Russell Baker (born 1925), Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Growing Up.[20]
- Moe Berg (1902-1972), Major League Baseball catcher who also served briefly as a spy for the United States.
- Dennis Diken (former Smithereens drummer)
- Tommy DeVito (born 1936), musician and singer.[21]
- Connie Francis (born 1938), singer.
- Bob Gaudio (born 1942), singer, songwriter and producer.[21]
- Scott Graham (born 1965), former Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster
- David Grant (former NFL player)
- Frank Iero (born 1981), rhythm guitarist for the band My Chemical Romance, co-founder of Skeleton Crew and lead vocalist for the band Leathermouth.[22]
- Nick Massi (1935-2000), early member of the the Four Seasons.[21]
- Tony Meola (born 1969), soccer goalie.[23]
- Joe Pesci (born 1943), actor.
- Diane Ruggiero, That's Life series creator and Veronica Mars writer.[24]
- Ray Toro (born 1977), lead guitarist for the band My Chemical Romance.[25]
- Frankie Valli (born 1934), lead singer of The Four Seasons.[21]
- Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990), jazz singer.
- Gerard Way (born 1977), lead vocalist for the band My Chemical Romance and writer of the comic The Umbrella Academy.[26]
- Mikey Way (born 1980), bassist for the band My Chemical Romance and younger brother of lead vocalist Gerard Way.[27]
- The Delicates, Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti and Peggy Santiglia -- late 50's/early 60's girl group. "Murray the K's Dancing Girls!"
[edit] Belleville characters in The Sopranos
[edit] References
- ^ a b 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 128.
- ^ a b Elected Officials, Township of Belleville. Accessed August 4, 2008.
- ^ USGS GNIS: Township of Belleville, Geographic Names Information System, accessed January 4, 2008.
- ^ a b Census data for Belleville township, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 1, 2007.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 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). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 125.
- ^ Karcher, Alan J. (1998). New Jersey's Multiple Municipal Madness. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 120. ISBN 978-0813525662.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Belleville, New Jersey, city-data.com. Accessed September 2, 2007.
- ^ Belleville Elected Officials, Township of Belleville. Accessed April 13, 2008.
- ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 55. Accessed August 30, 2006.
- ^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
- ^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
- ^ The Board of Chosen Freeholders, Essex County, New Jersey. Acecssed August 8, 2008.
- ^ Data for the Belleville School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 17, 2008.
- ^ Essex County Bus/Rail Connections, New Jersey Transit. Accessed July 6, 2007.
- ^ 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."
- ^ 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."
- ^ 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."
- ^ Jersey-kid Meola ready for KC, The Kansas City Star, February 6, 1999, "Born and raised in Belleville, N.J...."
- ^ 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."
- ^ LaGorce, Tammy. " Bellowing Like Iron Maiden, but Very, Very Sensitive", The New York Times, November 7, 2004. Accessed July 14, 2008. "Which is more what Mr. Way -- along with his bassist and brother, Mikey; Ray Toro, a guitarist from Belleville..."
- ^ La Gorce, Tammy. "Bellowing Like Iron Maiden, but Very, Very Sensitive", The New York Times, November 7, 2004. Accessed March 17, 2008.
- ^ Michel, Sia. "Fresh From the Garden State, in Black Leather and Eyeliner", The New York Times, October 22, 2006. Accessed April 13, 2008. "It was there that Gerard and Mikey Way, the band’s singer and bassist, grew up, in the belly of a two-family home in Belleville, N.J., a blue-collar town about 10 miles from Manhattan."
[edit] External links
- Township of Belleville
- Belleville School District
- Belleville School District's 2006-07 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- Data for the Belleville School District, National Center for Education Statistics
- Belleville Public Library
- Belleville Historical Website History of Belleville, including famous residents
- Belleville Community Website
- Belleville, NJ History
- Belleville, NJ Historical Photos
- Belleville, New Jersey is at coordinates Coordinates:
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