Pleasantville is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 19,012.

Pleasantville was originally incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 10, 1889, from portions of Egg Harbor Township, based on the results of a referendum held on December 15, 1888. Pleasantville was incorporated as a city on April 14, 1914, replacing Pleasantville borough, based on the results of a referendum held that same day.

Geography

Pleasantville is located at (39.395566, -74.522956).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.3 square miles (19.0 km²), of which, 5.8 square miles (15.0 km²) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (4.0 km²) of it (21.17%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,012 people, 6,402 households, and 4,366 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,291.3 people per square mile (1,270.0/km²). There were 7,042 housing units at an average density of 1,219.1/sq mi (470.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 25.01% White, 57.70% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.95% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 10.96% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.87% of the population.

There were 6,402 households out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.0% were married couples living together, 24.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.44.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,913, and the median income for a family was $40,016. Males had a median income of $26,909 versus $25,886 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,668. About 12.2% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Pleasantville operates under the City form of New Jersey municipal government, led by a Mayor and a seven-member City Council. The City Council consists of two members elected from wards to three-year terms, and five members elected at-large to four-year terms in office, all of whom are elected in partisan elections on a staggered basis.

The Mayor of the City of Pleasantville is Ralph Peterson, Sr. Members of the Pleasantville City Council are Council President Jesse L. Tweedle Sr., Rodman Nelson, Ricky Cistrunk, Lincoln Green, Dr. Johnson Harmon, Stanley Swan, Jr. and Judy Ward.

Federal, state and county representation

Pleasantville is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 2nd Legislative District.

Education

Students in Kindergarten through 12th grade are educated by the Pleasantville Public Schools. The school district is an Abbott District. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are four pre-K to fourth grade elementary schools — Leeds Avenue School with 560 students, North Main Street School with 315 students, South Main Street School with 541 students, Washington Avenue School with 477 students — Pleasantville Middle School with 712 students in grades 6 - 8, and Pleasantville High School with 1,105 students in grades 9 through 12. The district also includes the Greyhound Academy Students from Absecon attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.

On September 6, 2007, five members of the Pleasantville school board were arrested as part of a federal corruption case that included several state lawmakers and other public officials. Included in the sweep were the arrests of Assemblymen Mims Hackett and Alfred E. Steele, and Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera. Indictments were filed against four sitting members of the Board of Education charging that they had accepted bribes to steer insurance or roofing business from the district. Charged were Jayson Adams (accused of accepting $15,000 in bribes), James McCormick ($3,500), James Pressley ($32,200) and Rafael Velez ($14,000). Former board member Maurice 'Pete' Callaway, a member of the Pleasantville City Council, was accused of accepting $13,000 in bribes as part of the scheme.

Commerce

Portions of Pleasantville are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3½% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).

Transportation

U.S. Route 9, U.S. Route 40, U.S. Route 322 and the Atlantic City Expressway pass through Pleasantville.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Pleasantville include:

• Sonora Webster Carver (1904-2003), first female horse diver.
• Walter Evans Edge (1873-1956), served as a United States Senator representing New Jersey from 1919 to 1929, and was twice the Governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, serving as governor during both World War I and World War II.
• Ty Helfrich (1890-1955), former major league baseball player.
• Rodney Jerkins (born 1977), Grammy Award-winning songwriter, record producer, and musician.
• Simon Lake (1866-1945), mechanical engineer and naval architect.

Trivia

• During the making of the movie Pleasantville, Pleasantville residents were given a free Pleasantville pin by the movie studio.

References

External links

• Pleasantville City website
• Pleasantville Public Schools
• Data for the Pleasantville Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• The Current of Pleasantville Local community newspaper