Bloomfield, New Jersey encyclopedia topics

Geography

Bloomfield is located at (40.803000, -74.188959).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.8 km²), of which, 5.3 square miles (13.8 km²) of it is land and 0.19% is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 47,683 people, 19,017 households, and 12,075 families residing in the township. The population density was 8,961.5 people per square mile (3,460.6/km²). There were 19,508 housing units at an average density of 3,666.3/sq mi (1,415.8/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 70.09% White, 11.69% African American, 0.19% Native American, 8.38% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 6.42% from other races, and 3.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.47% of the population.

There were 19,017 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the township the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $53,289, and the median income for a family was $64,945. Males had a median income of $43,498 versus $36,104 for females. The per capita income for the township was $26,049. About 4.4% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The Mayor of Bloomfield is Raymond McCarthy. Members of the Bloomfield Township Council are:

First-Ward Councilwoman - Janice Maly
Second-Ward Councilman - Ray Tamborini
Third-Ward Councilwoman - Patricia Ritchings
Councilwoman-At-Large - Patricia Spychala
Councilwoman-At-Large - Pat Barker
Councilman-At-Large - Bernard Hamilton

Federal, state and county representation

Bloomfield is in the Eighth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 28th Legislative District.

Politics

On the national level, Bloomfield leans toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 57% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received 42%.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The Bloomfield Public Schools serve students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are eight elementary schools serving kindergarten through sixth grade — Berkeley Elementary School Brookdale Elementary School, Carteret Elementary School, Demarest Elementary School, Fairview Elementary School, Franklin Elementary School, Oak View Elementary School, Watsessing Elementary School — Bloomfield Middle School for grades 7 and 8, and Bloomfield High School for grades 9-12. Forest Glen School provides individualized programs and services to special needs students in grades 7-12.

Both the middle school and high school have police assigned to school.

Bloomfield Tech High School is a regional public high school that offers occupational and academic instruction for students in Essex County, as part of the Essex County Vocational Technical Schools

Colleges and universities

Bloomfield College, a liberal arts college founded in 1868, is located in downtown Bloomfield near the town green. The college has approximately 2000 students.

Transportation

The major New Jersey highway artery that serves Bloomfield is the Garden State Parkway. Its Essex toll plaza is located in the city, as well as two service areas.

Bloomfield is served by the New Jersey Transit Montclair-Boonton Line to Hoboken Terminal or on Midtown Direct trains (about 55%) to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan via the Secaucus Junction. The Bloomfield train station is located off of Bloomfield Avenue in the downtown area. The Watsessing Avenue rail station sits at the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street, and is located below ground.

The Grove Street station on the Newark City Subway provides service to Newark Penn Station.

New Jersey Transit bus service is available to Newark on the 11, 27, 28, 29, 34, 72, 90, 92, 93 and 94 routes, with local service on the 705 and 709 bus lines.

Bloomfield is 12.37 miles from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark / Elizabeth, and 28.8 miles from LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, Queens.

History

Bloomfield was incorporated as a township from portions of Newark Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 23, 1812. The new township took its name from the Presbyterian parish, which had been named for Governor of New Jersey Joseph Bloomfield.

At that time it covered 20.52 square miles (now 5.4 square miles) and included several villages which left Bloomfield during the century. Their names and dates of separation were Belleville (April 8, 1839), Montclair (April 15, 1868), Woodside (March 24, 1869) and Glen Ridge (February 13, 1895). Bloomfield was incorporated as a town on February 26, 1900. In July 1981, residents voted to revert the designation to Township.