Berkeley Township, New Jersey
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| Berkeley Township, New Jersey | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Ocean |
| Incorporated | March 31, 1875 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) |
| - Mayor | Jason J. Varano (2011) |
| Area | |
| - Total | 55.8 sq mi (144.5 km²) |
| - Land | 42.9 sq mi (111.1 km²) |
| - Water | 12.9 sq mi (33.4 km²) |
| Elevation [1] | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Population (2006)[2] | |
| - Total | 42,577 |
| - Density | 932.3/sq mi (360.0/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08757 |
| Area code(s) | 732 |
| FIPS code | 34-05305[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882073[4] |
| Website: http://www.berkeleytownship.org | |
Berkeley Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 39,991.
Berkeley Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 31, 1875, from portions of Dover Township (now Toms River Township). Sections of the township were taken to form Seaside Park (March 3, 1898), Seaside Heights (February 6, 1913), Beachwood (March 22, 1917), Ocean Gate (February 28, 1918) Pine Beach (February 26, 1925), South Toms River (March 28, 1927) and Island Beach (June 23, 1933, reabsorbed into Berkeley Township in 1965).[5]
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[edit] The resort community of Pinewald
Army officer named Lt. Edward Farrow began buying up woodland with the idea of building a retirement community for former Army and Navy officers.
Farrow built a railroad station, shops and even a resort hotel called The Pines with the idea of attracting people. But only 11 people ever built houses in what Farrow called "Barnegat Park," and eventually he went bankrupt.[6]
In the 1920s Benjamin Sangor purchased the area. The New York and Miami developer imagined a vast and luxurious resort town catering to wealthy urban vacationers. Between 1928 and 1929, about 8,000 lots were sold in Pinewald, a "new-type, residential, recreational city-of-the sea-and-pines." It was to contain a golf course, recreation facilities, and estate homes.[7]
The developers immediately began construction of the Pinewald pavilion and pier at the end of Butler Avenue. The Royal Pines Hotel, a $ 1.175 million investment facing Crystal Lake, was built on the site of an earlier hotel dating back to the days of Barnegat Park.[8] It was the focal point of the new community. The hotel was also used as an asylum, then later a nursing home which changed ownerships. It's now the Crytal Lake Nursing & Rehabilitation center.
Mystery surrounds the former hotel. It was constructed by Russian architect W. Oltar-Jevsky in the early 1920s. Al Capone may have frequented its halls, perhaps even venturing beneath the lake in tunnels especially designed for smuggling alcohol during the Prohibition. One newspaper article interviewed an unidentified man who claimed that "in the early 1930s the then Royal Pines Hotel was frequented by society's elite who, for $1.90 a drink, consumed prohibition liquor under the watchful eye of men who had guns strapped under their coats."
In 1929, during the Great Depression, the resort community went bankrupt. Now, development is starting off slowly.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 55.8 square miles (144.5 km²), of which, 42.9 square miles (111.1 km²) of it is land and 12.9 square miles (33.4 km²) of it (23.12%) is water.
The Township is located in the central part of Ocean County along the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay, which is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Approximately 72% of the Townships land area is within the federally designated New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. Approximately 38% is within the State's Pineland Area, which is within the Pinelands National Reserve. Toms River Township forms the northern border of the Township, Cedar Creek and Lacey Township form the Township's southern border. The barrier island, on which South Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park are situated, is the Township's eastern boundary[9].
Holiday City-Berkeley (2000 Census population of 13,884), Holiday City South (4,047), Holiday Heights (2,389) and Silver Ridge (1,311) are census-designated places and unincorporated areas located within Berkeley Township. Bayville is an unincorporated area located within the Township.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 811 |
|
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| 1940 | 1,127 | 39.0% | |
| 1950 | 1,550 | 37.5% | |
| 1960 | 4,272 | 175.6% | |
| 1970 | 7,918 | 85.3% | |
| 1980 | 23,151 | 192.4% | |
| 1990 | 37,319 | 61.2% | |
| 2000 | 39,991 | 7.2% | |
| Est. 2006 | 42,577 | [2] | 6.5% |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[10] | |||
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 39,991 people, 19,828 households, and 12,174 families residing in the township. The population density was 932.3 people per square mile (359.9/km²). There were 22,288 housing units at an average density of 519.6/sq mi (200.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.10% White, 1.30% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population.
There were 19,828 households out of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 29.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.52.
In the township the population was spread out with 11.4% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 14.7% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 52.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 66 years. For every 100 females there were 79.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $32,134, and the median income for a family was $40,208. Males had a median income of $41,643 versus $28,640 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,198. About 3.4% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
[edit] Local government
Since July 1, 1983, Berkeley Township has been governed under the Mayor-Council system of municipal government under the Faulkner Act.[11] The Township is governed by a Mayor who is elected for a four-year term and a seven-member Council elected on a staggered basis for terms of four years, with the respective terms commencing on January 1st; the Mayor and the three at-large seats come up for election every four years, with the four ward seats up for election two years later.
The members of the Berkeley Township Committee are:[12][13]
- Jason J. Varano, Mayor (D, 2011)
- Council at Large Nathan Abbe, Board Of Health Chairman (D, 2010)
- Council at Large Peter J. Mustardo, Council President (D, 2010)
- Council at Large Anne M. Wolff, Council Vice President, Vice Chairman of Board of Health (D, 2010)
- Council Ward 1 Karen Davis (R, 2009)
- Council Ward 2 Carmen F. Amato, Jr. (R, 2009)
- Council Ward 3 Glennon Depetris (D, 2009)
- Council Ward 4 John R. Napurano (D, 2009)
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
Berkeley Township is in the Third Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 9th Legislative District.[14]
New Jersey's Third Congressional District, covering portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Ocean County, is represented by Jim Saxton (R, Mount Holly). 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 9th district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Christopher J. Connors (R, Lacey Township) and in the Assembly by Brian E. Rumpf (R, Little Egg Harbor Township) and Daniel Van Pelt (R, Ocean Township).[15] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).[16]
Ocean County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members, elected at large in partisan elections and serving staggered three-year terms. As of 2008, Ocean County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari (Toms River Township, term ends December 31, 2008), Freeholder Deputy Director John C. Bartlett, Jr. (Pine Beach, 2009), John P. Kelly (Eagleswood Township, 2010), James F. Lacey (Brick Township, 2010) and Gerry P. Little (Surf City, 2009).[17]
[edit] Education
The Berkeley Township School District serves public school students in grades K through 6. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[18]) are Bayville School (444 students), Clara B. Worth School (474), and H & M Potter School (428), all of which serve K-4, and Berkeley Township Elementary School for grades 5&6 (557).
Public school students in grades 7 through 12 attend the schools of the Central Regional School District, which serves students from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.[19] The total student population in the district is approximately 2,400, instructed by 200 staff members. The schools in the district are Central Regional Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (833 students), and Central Regional High School for grades 9 - 12 (1,494 students).
[edit] Transportation
The Garden State Parkway is the primary access route, with two exits in the Township. U.S. Route 9 and Route 37 run westerly from the Barrier Island to Route 70.
[edit] Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Berkeley Township include:
- Megan McCafferty (1973-), author best known for her series of books about Jessica Darling, a witty teenage heroine.[20]
[edit] References
- ^ USGS GNIS: Township of Berkeley, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed January 4, 2008.
- ^ a b Census data for Berkeley township, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 14, 2007.
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 201.
- ^ Schweiger, Tristan J. "Berkeley has had many names", Asbury Park Press, February 8, 2007. Accessed October 14, 2007.
- ^ Pinewald
- ^ Resort Development in the Twentieth Century, An Historic Theme Study of the, National Park Service. Accessed October 14, 2007.
- ^ Berkeley Township General Information, accessed February 25, 2006
- ^ Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
- ^ 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 49.
- ^ Berkeley Township Government, Berkeley Township. Accessed April 22, 2008.
- ^ 2008 Elected Officials of Ocean County, Ocean County, New Jersey. p. 2. Accessed April 22, 2008.
- ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 54. 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.
- ^ Board of Chosen Freeholders, Ocean County, New Jersey. Accessed March 27, 2008.
- ^ Data for the Berkeley Township Elemetary Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 22, 2008.
- ^ Central Regional School District 2007 School Reprt Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 22, 2008. "The Central Regional School District is located in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township and draws from the constituent districts of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights, and Seaside Park."
- ^ Ervolino, Bill. "Jessica's a step behind her author", The Record (Bergen County), September 9, 2007. Accessed December 28, 2007. "Like her heroine, McCafferty knows her way around the Garden State, having grown up in Bayville before moving to Brooklyn and Manhattan and then getting married and settling in -- ahem -- Princeton."
[edit] External links
- Berkeley Township website
- Manitou Park Fire Company - Station 18, Berkeley Township Fire Department
- Pinewald Pioneer Fire Company - Station 20, Berkeley Township Fire Department
- Berkeley Township School District
- Berkeley Township School District's 2006-07 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for the Berkeley Township Elementary Schools
- Central Regional School District
- Berkeley Branch of Ocean County Library
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