Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Berkeley Heights, New Jersey

Berkeley Heights is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 13,407.

What is now Berkeley Heights was originally incorporated as New Providence Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 8, 1809, from portions of Springfield Township, while the area was still part of Essex County. New Providence Township became part of the newly-formed Union County at its creation on March 19, 1857. Portions of the township were taken on March 23, 1869, to create Summit, and on March 14, 1899, to form the borough of New Providence. On November 6, 1951, the name of the township was changed to Berkeley Heights, based on the results of a referendum held that day.

In Money magazine's 2007 Best Places to Live rankings, Berkeley Heights ranked 45th of out of a potential 2,800 places in the United States with populations above 7,500 and under 50,000.

Geography

Berkeley Heights is located at (40.677405, -74.429711).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.2 km²), of which, 6.3 square miles (16.2 km²) of it is land and 0.16% is water.

Berkeley Heights is located in partially on the crest of the Second Watchung Mountain and in the Passaic River Valley, aptly named as the Passaic River forms the township's northern border.

Berkeley Heights is the western-most community in Union County, at the confluence of Union, Morris, and Somerset Counties. Berkeley Heights is bordered by New Providence and Summit to the east, Scotch Plains to the southeast, Chatham to the north, Watchung to the south, and Warren Township to the west.

Downtown

Downtown Berkeley Heights is unofficially located along Springfield Avenue, approximately between the Plainfield Ave. intersection and the Snyder Avenue intersection. In addition, a post office, the Municipal Building, police station, train station, and many other shops and services are located in this part of town. There is an abundance of pizzerias, delicatessens and other restaurants in downtown Berkeley Heights. There is also a variety of banks, including Commerce Bank, Bank of America, and Wachovia.

A brick walk with personalized bricks engraved with the names of many long-time Berkeley Heights residents runs from near the railroad station towards Kings grocery store. A memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks adjoins a wooded area alongside Park Avenue, just southwest of downtown.

History of Berkeley Heights

The earliest construction in Berkeley Heights began in an area that is now part of the 1,960 acre (7.9 km²) Watchung Reservation, a Union County park that includes 305 acres (1.2 km²) of the township.

The first European settler was Peter Willcox, who received a 424 acre (1.7 km²) land grant in 1720 from the Elizabethtown Associates, a group that bought much of northern New Jersey from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans in the late 17th century. Mr. Willcox built a grist and lumber mill across Green Brook.

In 1793, a regional government was formed. It encompassed the area from present-day Springfield Township, Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights, and was called Springfield Township. Growth continued in the area, and by 1809, Springfield Township divided into Springfield Township and New Providence Township. New Providence Township included present day Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.

In 1845, Mr. Willcox's heirs sold the mill to David Felt, a paper manufacturer from New York, who built a small village called Feltville around the mill. It included homes for workers and their families, dormitories, orchards, a post office and a general store with a church above it.

In 1860, Feltville was sold to sarsaparilla makers, after which it was used for a number of manufacturing operations, before going into bankruptcy in 1882. When residents moved away, it became known as Deserted Village, the remains of which consist of on which there are seven houses, the store, the mill and a barn.

The site, on the National Register of Historic Places, is under restoration by the Union County Parks Department, with grants of almost $2 million from various state agencies. Deserted Village, in the Watchung Reservation, is open daily for unguided walking tours during daylight hours. Please note that if you would like to learn more about Feltville, you may be able to join the "Friends of Feltville" Yahoo! group by requesting membership from Matt Tomaso, MA, RPA, ABD, Acting Director, Center for Archaeological Studies, Montclair State University.

On March 23, 1869, Summit Township (now the City of Summit) seceded from New Providence Township. On March 14, 1899, the Borough of New Providence seceded from New Providence Township. Present day Berkeley Heights remained as New Providence Township. Many of the townships and regional areas in New Jersey were separating into small, locally governed communities at that time due to acts of the New Jersey Legislature that made it economically advantageous for the communities to due so.

Due to confusion between the adjacent municipalities of the Borough of New Providence and the Township of New Providence, the township conducted a referendum in 1952 and voted to change the name to Berkeley Heights Township. The origin of the township's name has never been fully established, but is believed to have been taken from an area of town that was referred to by this moniker, which itself was assumed to be derived from Lord John Berkeley, who was co-proprietor of New Jersey from 1664 to 1674.

Early life in Berkeley Heights is documented in the Littell-Lord Farmhouse Museum & Farmstead (31 Horseshoe Road in Berkeley Heights), an 18 acre museum surrounding two houses, one of which was built in the 1750s and the other near the turn of the century. The museum is open 2-4 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month from April through December, or by appointment. Call (908) 464-0961 for more information.

Among the exhibits are a Victorian master bedroom and a Victorian children's room, furnished with period antiques. The children's room also has reproductions of antique toys, which visitors can play with. The museum, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, also includes an outbuilding that was used as a summer kitchen, a corncrib dating to the 19th century and a spring house, built around a spring and used for refrigeration.

The township owes its rural character to its late development. Until 1941, when the American Telephone and Telegraph Company built its Bell Laboratories research facility in the township, it was a sleepy farming and resort community. According to a history compiled by the League of Women Voters in 1963, the population mushroomed to 9,500 in 1962 from 2,194 in 1940.

Free Acres

Another early Berkeley Heights community of note is the 67 acre Free Acres, established in 1910 by Bolton Hall, a New York entrepreneur and reformer. Mr. Hall believed in the idea of Henry George, the economist, of single taxation, under which residents pay tax to the community, which, in turn, pays a lump sum to the municipality. Among the early residents of Free Acres were the actor James Cagney and his wife, Billie.

To this day, residents of Free Acres pay tax to their association, which maintains its streets and swimming pool, approves architectural changes to homes and pays a lump sum in taxes to the municipality.

Society of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Society was founded in 1909 in Berkeley Heights and celebrates annually on July 16, the Saint's day. The Mt. Carmel Society built their first hall in 1925 next to the Church of the Little Flower on Plainfield Avenue. In 1952, the Society sold the hall to the town and the Berkeley Heights Public Library, previously in a small real estate office, moved in. The Mt. Carmel Society subsequently moved to its present River Road location.

Every year from July 12 to 16, the Society celebrates the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel with a festival on the grounds of the Mt. Carmel Hall. On July 16, the festival ends with a parade at midday down Plainfield Avenue to the Church of the Little Flower. The members of the Society bear a statue of the saint onto which parade goers clip money, getting a small scapular in return. The five day festival ends with fireworks at 11:00 pm on the grounds of Mt. Carmel Hall.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,407 people, 4,479 households, and 3,717 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,140.7 people per square mile (826.9/km²). There were 4,562 housing units at an average density of 728.4/sq mi (281.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 89.65% White, 1.11% African American, 0.08% Native American, 7.87% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.68% of the population.

There were 4,479 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.1% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.0% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the township the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $107,716, and the median income for a family was $118,862. Males had a median income of $83,175 versus $50,022 for females. The per capita income for the township was $43,981. About 1.5% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

In accordance with a ballot question that was passed in November 2005, Berkeley Heights switched from a Township Committee form to a Mayor-Council-Administrator form of government under the Faulkner Act. The switch took effect on January 1, 2007. In the fall 2006 elections all seats were open. Under the new form of government, the mayor is directly elected to a four-year term. The Township Committee has been replaced with a Township Council consisting of six members elected to staggered, three-year terms. With all six Township Council seats open in 2006, two councilpersons were elected to one-year terms, after which those seats will be open for three-year terms in 2007. Two other seats were open for two-year terms in 2006. The final two were open for three-year terms from the beginning. The responsibilities of the Township Administrator are unchanged.

The first Township Council was elected in November 2006; accordingly, the Township Committee ceased to exist on December 31, 2006, and the Township Council was inaugurated on January 1, 2007.

In the 2006 election, the Republican nominees were David Cohen for mayor, Louis DiPasquale and John Haddad for three-year terms on the Council, Elaine Perna and Joseph Bruno for two-year Council terms, and David Ronner and Thomas Pirone for one-year terms. The Democrats did not run a mayoral candidate, but did field four Township Council candidates: Thomas Battaglia and Charles Hasz for three-year terms, Alexandra Chirinos for a two-year term, and John Bonacci for a one-year term. In addition, John Miller ran for mayor as an independent write-in candidate.

Cohen defeated Miller both on Election Day and in a subsequent recount, which Miller demanded despite the election not being especially close (Cohen won roughly 52% to the vote to Miller's 48%). In contrast, the race between Battaglia and Haddad was very close; in a recount, Battaglia won by 10 votes. The other winning Council candidates were DiPasquale, Perna, Bruno, Pirone, and Bonacci; thus, the Township Council consists of four Republicans and two Democrats. Cohen, DiPasquale, Perna, Bruno, and Ronner were sitting Township Committee members in 2006; Battaglia sat on the Committee in the 1990s. Ronner was the only Township Committee incumbent who was unseated.

On January 1, 2007, the Township Council elected Elaine Perna Council President, after Mayor Cohen broke a tie vote and therefore defeated Louis DiPasquale's candidacy for the presidency. The Council then elected Joseph Bruno Council vice president. The Council president has no authority other than to chair Council meetings in the mayor's absence; the Council vice president chairs meetings in the absence of both the mayor and the Council president. If all three officials are absent, then the remaining Council members must choose a temporary presiding officer.

Also on January 1, Mayor Cohen re-nominated Angela Devanney as Township Administrator; the Council then confirmed her re-appointment.

The Mayor of Berkeley Heights is David A. Cohen, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2010. Members of the Township Council are Council President Thomas Battaglia (2009), Council Vice President John C. Bonacci (2010), Joseph G. Bruno (2008), Louis DiPasquale (2009), Gerald Nelson (2010), Elaine K. Perna (2008).

The Berkeley Heights Municipal Building is located at 29 Park Avenue.

Federal, state and county representation

Berkeley Heights Township is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 21st Legislative District.

Education

Public Schools

The Berkeley Heights Public Schools serves over 2,815 students in six district schools. The superintendent of the district is Judith Rattner. The Board of Education and administrative offices for the district are located in the original Columbia School building on Plainfield Avenue, adjacent to middle school building. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:

The Early Childhood Center at the Hamilton Terrace School houses pre-Kindergarten through first grade (437 students). This school opened in 1997 after the Berkeley Heights school district bought the former Westlake School property. The concept of a pre-kindergarten - grade one school came about as a result of proposals to address school space issues in a way that would enhance the educational program in the district.

There are three elementary schools in the district, each of which houses students of grades two through five. These schools are Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School (313), Mountain Park Elementary School (265) and William Woodruff Elementary School (226).

Columbia Middle School (589) is the single middle school in the district. It houses grades six through eight. It also houses the School Administration Offices in the town in the old school building.

Governor Livingston High School (1,004 students) is the single high school in the district. It houses approximately 1,000 students in grades nine through twelve. In addition to serving the public school students of Berkeley Heights Township, high school students from the neighboring Borough of Mountainside are educated at the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Mountainside School District. Governor Livingston also provides programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Cognitively Impaired, of which students are enrolled from all over north-central New Jersey.

Private Schools

There are three private pre-kindergarten schools in Berkeley Heights. The Westminster Nursery School is located at the corner of Plainfield Ave. and Mountain Avenue, the Union Village Nursery is located bordering Warren Township at the corner of Mountain Avenue and Hillcrest Road, and the Diamond Hill Montessori is located along Diamond Hill Road opposite McMane Avenue.

There are no primary or secondary private schools in Berkeley Heights.

Civic amenities

Health

The Summit Medical Group is located on Mountain Avenue and there is also an entrance on Diamond Hill Road. It it the main medical facility in Berkeley Heights.

Public Library

The Berkeley Heights Public Library at 290 Plainfield Avenue, next to the Church of the Little Flower and across from the Columbia Middle School, is a member of the Infolink region of libraries, the Morris Union Federation (MUF) and the Middlesex Union Reciprocal Agreement Libraries (MURAL). The library catalog is available online.

Police, fire, and emergency services

The Berkeley Heights Police Department is located at the Municipal Building, 29 Park Avenue. This is also the location of the Berkeley Heights Municipal Court. The Berkeley Heights Volunteer Fire Department is located on Hamilton Avenue.

The Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad is located at the corner of Snyder Avenue and Locust Avenue. The closest trauma centers are Morristown Memorial Hospital (Morristown, NJ) and University Hospital (Newark, NJ).

The Berkeley Heights Fire Department is located at 411 Hamilton Avenue, which is directly across from the intersection of Roosevelt Ave and Hamilton Ave. The department has three engines, one ladder truck, a rescue truck with the Jaws of Life, an air truck, and several support vehicles.

Parks and Recreation

Located in Berkeley Heights are many municipal parks, including the largest one, Columbia Park (located along Plainfield Avenue). Columbia Park boasts tennis courts, two baseball fields, basketball courts, and a large children's play area. It is owned by the Recreation Commession. In addition to those located at each of the schools, athletic fields are located along Snyder Avenue (Sansone Field) and along Springfield Ave.

There are three Swimming clubs located in Berkeley Heights: the Berkeley Heights Community Pool (Locust Avenue), the Berkeley Swim Club (behind Columbia Park), and Berkeley Aquatic (off of Springfield Avenue).

Also, the Watchung Reservation and Passaic Valley Park are in the township and maintained by Union County. The Watchung Reservation has hiking trails, horseback riding trails, a large lake (Lake Surprise) and picnic areas.

Roads

The major roads in Berkeley Heights are Springfield Avenue, Mountain Avenue, Snyder Avenue, Plainfield Avenue, and Park Avenue. Springfield Avenue and Mountain Avenue run east-west, Snyder Avenue and Plainfield Avenue run north-south, while Park Avenue runs northeast-southwest. Each of these roads is heavily residential (except parts of Springfield Ave.) with only one travel lane in each direction.

Berkeley Heights is served by Interstate 78, which runs from the Holland Tunnel to the Pennsylvania State Line.

Public transportation

The Berkeley Heights station is part of the Gladstone Branch of the New Jersey Transit commuter rail system, serving Hoboken Terminal, Newark Broad Street Station, and Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. Berkeley Heights is also in close proximity of the Summit train station, which provides frequent commuter rail service to New York City.

NJ Transit offers local bus service on the 986 route. Lakeland Bus Lines also provides commuter bus service to New York City Port Authority Bus Terminal and a connection to Gladstone.

Freight rail transportation is provided by Norfolk Southern via off-peak use of New Jersey Transit's Gladstone Branch line. The Berkeley Heights plant of Reheis Chemical located on Snyder Avenue is an active freight rail customer.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately east of Berkeley Heights.

Business and industry

Berkeley Heights is home to the Murray Hill Bell Labs headquarters of Alcatel-Lucent. The transistor, solar cell, and laser were invented in this facility when it was part of AT&T.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Berkeley Heights include:

Al Aronowitz (1928-2005), pioneer rock journalist, claimed that Bob Dylan wrote his famous "Mr. Tambourine Man" in Aronowitz's former Berkeley Heights home. He is also the man responsible for introducing Dylan to the Beatles (and the Beatles to marijuana), a meeting which changed rock and roll forever.
Steve Balboni (born 1957), former New York Yankee.
Bedlight for Blue Eyes, an alternative rock band, is from Berkeley Heights.
Dennis Boutsikaris (born 1952), actor.
James Cagney, actor, formerly resided in Free Acres.
David Cantor (born 1954), actor, resides in Berkeley Heights.
Ronald Chen, Public Advocate of New Jersey, nominated to fill the position on January 5, 2006, by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine.
Christopher Durang (born 1949), playwright and actor, grew up in Berkeley Heights.
Scott M. Gimple, television and comic book writer, grew up in Berkeley Heights.
MacKinlay Kantor (1904-1977), screenwriter and novelist, formerly resided in Free Acres.
Harry Kelly, anarchist.
Victor Kilian (1891-1979), actor.
P. F. Kluge (born 1942), novelist, grew up in Berkeley Heights.
Mary Jo Kopechne (1940-1969), a young political aide hailing from Berkeley Heights, drowned off Chappaquiddick Island when Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) drove his car off a bridge on July 18, 1969.
John R. Pierce (1910-2002), communications engineer, scientist, and father of the communications satellite.
Bertha Runkle (1879-1958), novelist and playwright.
Peter Sagal, playwright, screenwriter, actor, and host of the National Public Radio game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! grew up in Berkeley Heights.
Jill Santoriello, playwright and author of the new Broadway musical A Tale of Two Cities, graduated from Governor Livingston High School.
Thorne Smith (1892-1934), author.