This article is about the township in New Jersey, for the suburb in Melbourne, Victoria see; Brunswick East, Victoria

East Brunswick is a suburban Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey near the Raritan River. According to the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 46,756. Route 18 runs through the eastern part of the township. The town lies on Exit 9 of the New Jersey Turnpike.

It was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1860, from portions of both Monroe Township and North Brunswick Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Washington town within the township (February 23, 1870; became independent as South River on February 28, 1898), Helmetta (March 20, 1888), Milltown (January 29, 1889) and Spotswood (April 15, 1908).

Based on the results of the 2000 Census, New Jersey's center of population is located on Milltown Road in East Brunswick.

History

The general area of central New Jersey was once occupied by the Lenape Native Americans. Around the late 1600s, settlers began arriving in the northern part of East Brunswick, and by the mid-1800s, a small village had formed in the southeastern part, known as the Old Bridge section of the town. This area is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The area today known as East Brunswick was composed of parts of North Brunswick and Monroe townships. The township was incorporated in 1860 and grew steadily as a rural farming community.

After decades as a quiet farming area, East Brunswick began to change in the 1930s. Large scale housing and road construction, especially after World War II, transformed the sleepy community into a large suburban town. The extension of the New Jersey Turnpike to East Brunswick in 1951 led to a sharp spike in population growth.

In the early 1970s a citizens group Concerned Citizens of East Brunswick sued the New Jersey Turnpike Authority over a proposed major widening project. The citizens group effectively won this case gaining concessions in turnpike design, scale and mitigation measures for noise and air quality. The citizens group presented technical data from their own experts and prevailed in what was one of the earliest technical confrontations regarding urban highway design related to environmental factors in U.S. history.

East Brunswick was also the site of the Turnpike Exit 9 shootout in 1973.

Geography

East Brunswick is located at (40.434239, -74.405040). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 58.0 km² (22.4 mi²) of which 56.9 km² (22.0 mi²) is dry land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) is water (1.92%).

East Brunswick Township borders South River and the Sayreville on the east; Old Bridge Township on the southeast; Spotswood and Helmetta on the south; Monroe Township and South Brunswick Township on the southwest; North Brunswick Township and Milltown on the northwest; and New Brunswick and Edison Township on the north.

The town is located 35 miles southwest of New York City.

Lawrence Brook, a tributary of the Raritan River, runs through the township.

Climate

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 46,756 people, 16,372 households, and 13,081 families residing in the township. The population density was 822.4/km² (2,129.7/mi²). There were 16,640 housing units at an average density of 292.7/km² (758.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 77.56% White, 2.83% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 16.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.12% from other races, and 2.12% from two or more races. 4.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Ancestries include Italian (15.0%), Irish (13.8%), Polish (11.5%), German (10.6%), Russian (7.8%), United States (4.2%).

English is spoken by 71.25% of the township. The most common languages spoken other than English are Chinese (5.22%), Spanish (3.7%), Russian (3.14%), and Arabic (2.5%).

Of the 16,372 households, 40.5% included children under the age of 18, 68.6% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 17.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the township the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $75,956 in 2000, with a 2005 estimate of $84,200, and the median income for a family was $86,863. Males had a median income of $60,790 versus $38,534 for females. The per capita income for the township was $33,286. 2.8% of the population and 2.1% of families were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

The median price of a home is $419,500.

Government

Local government

The Township of East Brunswick was established in 1860. Since January 1, 1965, the Township has operated under the Mayor-Council Plan E form of government pursuant to the Faulkner Act, Chapter 69A of Title 40 of the New Jersey Statutes.

The Mayor is the chief executive of the community who is chosen for a four year term at the regular Presidential election in November and serves part-time. While the Mayor does not preside over, nor have a vote on the Council, he or she may vote in the case of a tie on the question of filling a Council vacancy. The Mayor also has veto power over ordinances, but vetoes can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the Council.

The Mayor of East Brunswick is William P. Neary (D); he was first elected in 1996.

The Township Council is the legislative body. There are five members elected at large for staggered four-year terms at the general election held in even-numbered years. The Council's powers consist of: adopting all ordinances; reviewing, revising and adopting the budget; making appropriations; levying taxes; authorizing bond issues; providing for the internal structure of the local government; providing by ordinance for the creation and abolition of jobs; fixing salaries; and establishing general municipal policy.

The Council has the authority to initiate hearings for the purposes of gathering information for ordinance making, airing public problems and supervising the spending of its appropriations.

Members of the Township Council are:

Name	Elected	Political Party	Position
William P. Neary	1996	Democrat	Mayor
Catherine Diem	2002	Democrat	Council President
Edward Luster	2006	Democrat	Council Vice President
Donald Klemp	1996	Democrat	Councilman
Nancy Pinkin	2004	Democrat	Councilwoman
David Stahl	2002	Democrat	Councilman

Federal, state and county representation

East Brunswick is in the Twelfth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 18th Legislative District.

Education

The East Brunswick Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Bowne-Munro (298 students), Central (newly expanded/renovated for 2007-08, including 14 new classrooms; 442), Murray A. Chittick (557), Frost (528), Irwin (533), Lawrence Brook (newly expanded/renovated for 2007-08, including 12 new classrooms; 452), Memorial (379) and Warnsdorfer (585). All students in kindergarten through grade 5 attend the elementary school closest to them; There are two middle-level schools; Hammarskjold Middle School for grades 6 and 7 (1,466) and Churchill Junior High School for grades eight and nine (1,495). The secondary school of the district is East Brunswick High School (2,298).

Transportation

Route 18 passes through East Brunswick, and is an important artery connecting not only to New Brunswick/U.S. Route 1 to the Jersey Shore, but also to the New Jersey Turnpike (which also passes through the township). Route 18 connects with Exit 9 of the Turnpike around mile marker 83.43. Currently, there are 15 lanes at the 9 toll gate. The Turnpike's Joyce Kilmer service area is located between Interchanges 8A and 9 northbound at milepost 78.7.

At the present time, there are plans to widen the Turnpike between Exit 9 in East Brunswick Township to Exit 8A in Monroe Township. This would change the turnpike's dual-dual configuration to "3-3-3-3" (as opposed to 2-3-3-2). East Brunswick currently houses the section of the turnpike where an extra lane in the outer truck lanes begins/merges (which is located south of Exit 9).

East Brunswick is 25.5 miles from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark / Elizabeth, via the New Jersey Turnpike. John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens is 51.1 miles away, traveling via the Belt Parkway after crossing through Staten Island.

New Jersey Transit bus service is provided on the 134 and 138 routes to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, on the 68 to Jersey City, and on the 811, 815 and 818 local routes.

Points of interest

• Over 50 acres of parkland and open spaces provide an array of recreational opportunities. The Division of Parks maintains 12 developed and 3 undeveloped parks with extensive facilities for tennis, basketball, hangball (a local sport), handball, roller skating, soccer, and baseball. Playgrounds, nature trails and lakes and rivers for fishing and boating complete a well-rounded system that beckons young and old alike to enjoy rest and recreation close to home. The township is also the home of Crystal Springs Family Aquatic Center, a township-operated waterpark for residents of all ages.
• Playhouse 22 - East Brunswick's Community Theatre and Performing Arts - will be residing in the new multi-purpose community arts center to be opened this winter at Heavenly Park, East Brunswick's newest park. Recognized in 2000, as Community Theatre of the Year in New Jersey, Playhouse 22 has staged many hit musicals, dramas, comedies and original works. The East Brunswick Arts Commission also hosts the annual Young Musicians Concert, featuring high school students, as well the Visual Arts' League Arts Festival every June around the Municipal Complex.
• The Tower Center complex includes two 23-story office towers and a 15-story Hilton Hotel, located at the intersection of the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 18. The two towers are among the tallest structures in Central Jersey, and can be plainly seen for several miles up and down the Turnpike and U.S. Route 1 and 18. The towers are so tall that they cast a shadow into the Rutgers Village neighborhood in New Brunswick.
• Several Weird NJ destinations are in East Brunswick, including the Mary Murray Ferry (seen from the Turnpike) and Port Street, near Helmetta.
• The town also has a golf course (Tamarack) as well as the Giarmese Farm, and Lake-View Day Camp.
• The County Fair Grounds is where the Middlesex County Fair embarks every August for eight days and provides festivities and food for families not only in Middlesex County but throughout Central Jersey.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of East Brunswick Township include:

• Colie Edison, a cast member from MTV's Real World Denver
• Lorie Van Auken, one of the "Jersey Widows" (aka "Jersey Girls" and "Witches of East Brunswick", by Ann Coulter) - who lost her husband Kenneth in the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. She was very vocal in demanding the US administration to investigate the intelligence failures which led to 9/11.
• Chris Cimino, WNBC weatherman.
• Wally Dallenbach, Sr. (born 1936), professional car racer.
• Marc Ecko (born 1972), clothing designer.
• Actress Hallie Kate Eisenberg (born 1992) and brother, Jesse Eisenberg (born 1983).
• Margaret Kemble Gage (1734-1824), who allegedly spied on her husband General Thomas Gage in order to supply military intelligence to the American Revolutionary Army.
• Actor Dule Hill (born 1975), Currently plays Burton Guster on Psych
• Tomas Kalnoky, singer and guitarist of Streetlight Manifesto and formerly Catch 22.
• Chris Greer, drummer of the band Catch 22
• Greg T The Frat Boy, radio personality on Z100
• Mindy Kleinberg, née Rubin, one of the "Jersey Widows" (aka "Jersey Girls" and "Witches of East Brunswick", by Ann Coulter) - who lost her husband Alan Kleinberg in the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. She was very vocal in demanding the US administration to investigate the intelligence failures which led to 9/11.
• Doug Lawrence (born 1969), the voice of evil and power hungry Plankton and various other characters from the animated TV series SpongeBob SquarePants.
• Anne Milgram, New Jersey Attorney General.
• Josh Miller (born 1970), NFL Super Bowl winning punter.
• Heather O'Reilly (born 1985), Olympic games gold medalist.
• The band Streetlight Manifesto
• Jack Petruzzelli, guitarist & singer with The Fab Faux, an internationally-renowned Beatles tribute band. Also played on-stage with Eric Clapton, Joan Osborne, Dixie Chicks & others.
• Matt Pinfield, MTV VJ/Rolling Stone writer.
• Michael Pinnella (born 1969), musician, keyboardist for progressive metal band Symphony X.
• Badal Roy (born 1945), tabla player.
• Daniel Shalikar and Joshua Shalikar, child actors who played Adam Szalinski in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience at several Disney theme parks themed to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series.
• Philip Streczyk, World War II hero.
• James Crawford Thom (1835-1898), artist
• Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks on Air America Radio.
• Jim Vallely, Emmy Award winner writer from Arrested Development.
• Lenny Veltman (born 1967), Reality Show Contestant on The Apprentice.
• Cary Woodworth (born 1977), actor.
• Henrietta Christian Wright, writer.
• Aaron Yoo (born 1979), actor, recently starred in the film 21.

References

External links

• East Brunswick, New Jersey
• East Brunswick Public Schools
• Data for the East Brunswick Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• East Brunswick Public Library
• East Brunswick History [http://www.ebdirectory.com/ East Brunswick Directory
• East Brunswick Rescue Squad
• East Brunswick Fire District #1
• East Brunswick Independent Fire Company/Fire District #2
• East Brunswick Fire District #3
• East Brunswick Police Department
• If You're Thinking of Living in: East Brunswick, The New York Times, December 2, 1990
• Tower Center complex