Carteret, New Jersey

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Borough of Carteret, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°35′01″N 74°13′43″W / 40.58361, -74.22861
Country United States
State New Jersey
County Middlesex
Incorporated April 11, 1906 as Roosevelt
Renamed November 7, 1922 as Carteret
Government
 - Mayor Daniel J. Reiman (2010)
 - Council President Joseph Sitarz (2009)
Area
 - Total 4.4 sq mi (11.3 km²)
 - Land 3.8 sq mi (9.7 km²)
 - Water 0.6 sq mi (1.6 km²)
Elevation [1] 13 ft (4 m)
Population (2006)[2]
 - Total 22,264
 - Density 4,747.4/sq mi (1,833.9/km²)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 07008
Area code(s) 732
FIPS code 34-10750[3]
GNIS feature ID 0885181[4]
Website: http://www.ci.carteret.nj.us/

Carteret is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 20,709.

What is now Carteret was originally created as the borough of Roosevelt on April 11, 1906, from portions of Woodbridge Township, based on the results of a referendum approved on May 22, 1906. The name was changed to Carteret as of November 7, 1922. The borough was also called Carteret during the period from December 19, 1921, to January 16, 1922.[5]

Contents

[edit] History

Named for Sir George Carteret, one of the first proprietors of New Jersey, and/or his son Philip Carteret, who served as the first Governor of New Jersey.

[edit] Race Riot

Saturday night into Sunday, 1926-04-25, a racial altercation took place in Carteret. John Carroll, a local Boxer, and Ralph Johnson, both of them White employees of the United States Metal Refining Company of Carteret, were walking through the segregated African American neighborhood in the southeast side of Carteret on their way home after working the night shift. As they passed a group of African Americans who were standing on the street, offensive words were passed between the two groups, and a fight started. Carroll was stabbed almost immediately over the heart with a pocket knife. His assailants took off running, with Johnson in pursuit. Johnson soon caught up to the fleeing men, when one of them turned and stabbed Johnson in the abdomen. The assailants then fled.

Johnson was taken by ambulance to the Perth Amboy hospital, where his condition was judged as serious. Carroll’s body was taken to Burns’ Undertaking Parlor in Carteret, where he was embalmed and set up for a Wake and Funeral. During the day, many White men came to view Carroll’s body, and to discuss the incident. The group grew into a mob centered on the locus defined by Union Street and Roosevelt Avenue, in the African American neighborhood known colloquially and disparagingly as The Jungle. their intent evolved into a concerted effort to drive all of the African Americans from Carteret. The discussion evolved into action when at about 9 PM, two African Americans—who apparently had nothing to do with the event, and were unaware— got off a Streetcar from Carteret Junction on Roosevelt Avenue close to the mob. Instantly, fifty white men from the mob surrounded the two African Americans, and marched them to the town limits and ordered them to not return. The mob then returned to their previous location. On the way, they looked for more African Americans, but apparently the word spread, and they remained in their homes out of sight. In the meantime, some or all of the original group of African Americans returned to their homes in Carteret, including Robert Duceast, age 24, who resided at 27 Hudson Street in "The Jungle".

In an attempt to prevent further violence, Mayor Thomas Mulvihill, Police Chief Henry J. Harrington, and County Prosecutor John E. Toolan placed the entire 21-man Carteret Police Force on extended duty, with orders to suppress any violence. The police established a Deadline between the two Segregated neighborhoods, and – although the streets of the African American neighborhood remained deserted, no whites were permitted to enter. However, fits of violence continued to occur. Two African Americans who were found by a group from the Mob near the Lieb Chemical Works on the outskirts of Carteret were attacked. At about the same time, another African American who was sighted near Carroll’s house, was chased by a patrol, and had to be rescued by several policemen. An unrelated group of African Americans in a car drove up on Roosevelt Avenue to where the main group was, parked their car unaware of what was happening, and got out. The Mob surged towards them, but the police was able to intercept the African Americans, order them back into their car, and order them to drive away and not return. The near-victims escaped unharmed.

The violence started to escalate when the Mob started to switch to Arson as a means of getting the African Americans to leave. A group boarded a car, and went off, followed by approximately 40 others on foot, to the intersection of Salem Avenue and Bergen Street to destroy the restaurant and barber shop of James McDougall, a prosperous African American who was a political ally of Mayor Mulvihill. In the meantime, the Police were informed, and they rushed a car with several Officers to the location to prevent the arson from taking place, but the Police had to use drawn pistols and clubs to get the group to cease and desist. No arrests were made, and McDougall wasn’t harmed.

The Mob then decided to destroy the First Baptist Church on Larch Street[6], which was the main church for African Americans in Carteret. The Reverend George H. Reed was in the middle of his Sermon when the mob arrived. The Mob wasn’t armed with firearms, so they resorted to using clubs and cudgels. Stones were thrown through the church windows, and the Mob invaded the church and forced the Pastor and Congregation out. Early Monday morning, the Mob returned, some of them masked to avoid recognition, hell bent on burning the church. The Mob placed Tinder around the wood frame church, and then set the building on fire. Shortly, the building was ablaze, and would have quickly been consumed except that Carteret’s Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene and soon made short work of extinguishing the fire. In the meantime, the Mob stood by silently, and did nothing to hinder the firemen. Police Chief Harrington ordered the Mob to disperse, and they ignored him. He finally got them to disperse by ordering the Engine Company to turn their hoses on the Mob. They dispersed, but went off and reformed and entered The Jungle while the firemen and police were focused elsewhere. They started banging on doors and shouting through the windows. What they shouted was very specific: “Get out of town, and stay out.” The men, women and children of the neighborhood were escorted to the Carteret- Woodbridge border, where they were released. The Mob returned to the church, relit the fire, and this time the building was reduced to ashes. That same day, Mr. Duceast and five other African Americans were arrested for the original stabbing incident. Mr. Duceast was charged with Murder, while the others were held as material witnesses. News of the rioting started an investigation into the status of African Americans in the Borough of Carteret. The investigation was carried out by Reverend George S. Miller of the Washington Baptist Church of Orange, New Jersey; Reverend Charles Mayhew of the First Baptist Church of Arlington, New Jersey; and Reverend Otto Laegeler, Superintendent of Religious Education of the New Jersey Baptist Conference. They met with African American members of the Segregated Baptist Conference to discuss what was to be done. That same day the members of Carteret Fire Company #2 raised $1,000 as a fund for the widow and children of John Carroll.

Subsequently, many of the African Americans who were forced out returned to Carteret, and their numbers increased over the years[7].

[edit] Geography

Carteret is located at 40°34′57″N, 74°13′48″W (40.582504, -74.229976)[8].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 5.0 square miles (12.9 km²), of which, 4.4 square miles (11.3 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (12.63%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1930 13,339
—
1940 11,976 -10.2%
1950 13,030 8.8%
1960 20,502 57.3%
1970 23,137 12.9%
1980 20,598 -11.0%
1990 19,025 -7.6%
2000 20,709 8.9%
Est. 2006 22,264 [2] 7.5%
Population 1930 - 1990.[9]

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 20,709 people, 7,039 households, and 5,208 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,747.4 people per square mile (1,833.9/km²). There were 7,320 housing units at an average density of 1,678.1/sq mi (648.2/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 68.76% White, 9.54% African American, 0.24% Native American, 8.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.26% from other races, and 3.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.37% of the population.

There were 7,039 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the borough the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $47,148, and the median income for a family was $54,609. Males had a median income of $40,172 versus $28,132 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,967. About 8.6% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

Carteret is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a six-member Borough Council, with all positions elected at large in partisan elections. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. Members of the Borough Council are elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.[10]

The Current Mayor of Carteret is Democrat Daniel J. Reiman, whose term of office will end on December 31, 2010. As of 2008, members of the Borough Council are Council President Joseph Sitarz (2009), Vincent Bellino (2010), Iris Colon (2008), Jorge Diaz (2010), Randy Krum (2008) and Susan Naples (2008); A position with a term ending in 2009 is vacant.[11]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Carteret is in the Thirteenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 19th Legislative District.[12]

New Jersey's Thirteenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, and Union Counties, is now represented by Albio Sires (D, West New York), who won a special election held on November 7, 2006 to fill the vacancy the had existed since January 16, 2006. The seat had been represented by Bob Menendez (D), who was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine. 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 19th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Vitale (D, Woodbridge) and in the Assembly by Joseph Vas (D, Perth Amboy) and John S. Wisniewski (D, Sayreville).[13] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).[14]

Middlesex County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis. As of 2008, Middlesex County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel (Milltown), Freeholder Deputy Director Stephen J. "Pete" Dalina (Fords), Camille Fernicola (Piscataway), H. James Polos (Highland Park), Ronald Rios (Carteret), Christopher D. Rafano (South River) and Blanquita B. Valenti (New Brunswick).[15]

[edit] Education

The Carteret School District serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[16]) are three K-5 elementary schools — Columbus School (674 students), Nathan Hale School (654) and Private Nicholas Minue School (587) — Carteret Middle School for grades 6-8 (888) and Carteret High School for grades 9-12 (1,090).

A private rabbinical college, Yeshiva Gedola of Carteret is a recent addition to the community.

[edit] Transportation

New Jersey Transit local bus service is provided on the 116 route to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan and on the 62 route to Newark.[17]

[edit] Places of interest

  • Carteret Waterfront
  • Carteret Park

[edit] Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Carteret include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ USGS GNIS: Borough of Carteret, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed January 4, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Census data for Carteret borough, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 31, 2007.
  3. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 169.
  6. ^ The NY Times article spells it “Lark Street”
  7. ^ | MOB BURNS CHURCH; EJECTS ALL NEGROS; NY Times; 1926-04-27; Pages 1 and 18.
  8. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  9. ^ Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
  10. ^ 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 87.
  11. ^ Governing Body, Borough of Carteret. Accessed May 19, 2008.
  12. ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 55. Accessed August 30, 2006.
  13. ^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
  14. ^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
  15. ^ Elected County Officials, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Accessed February 21, 2007.
  16. ^ Data for the Carteret School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 10, 2008.
  17. ^ Middlesex County Bus/Rail Connections, New Jersey Transit. Accessed June 21, 2007.
  18. ^ Cahillane, Kevin. "Not Fade Away: The Smithereens' Monument to Persistence", The New York Times, October 10, 2004. Accessed November 3, 2007. "The band formed in 1980 when three Carteret High School graduates (class of 1975) and childhood friends (Mr. Babjak, Dennis Diken on drums and Mike Mesaros on bass) met Pat DiNizio, a Scotch Plains singer-songwriter-garbage man."
  19. ^ Rutenberg, Jim. "At Fox News, the Colonel Who Wasn't", The New York Times, April 29, 2002. Accessed November 29, 2007. " Born in 1956, he graduated from Carteret High School in Carteret, N.J., military records show."
  20. ^ Slackman, Michael; and Jacons, Andrew. "THE GOVERNOR RESIGNS: THE CONFLICT; Sex, Ambition and the Politics of the Closet: A Double Life", The New York Times, August 15, 2004. Accessed October 26, 2007. "Mr. McGreevey was molded both by the stern expectations of his father, who believed that discipline was best dispensed with a firm hand, and the Catholic, working-class ethos of his hometown, Carteret."
  21. ^ Joe Medwick at Baseball Almanac, accessed December 7, 2006.
  22. ^ The 50 Greatest New Jersey Sports Figures, Sports Illustrated, December 27, 1999.
  23. ^ Paul J. Pluta, Rear Admiral, USCG (ret.)

[edit] External links

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