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Roselle, New Jersey

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Roselle is a Borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 21,274.

On January 19, 1883, the first electric lighting system employing overhead wires began service in Roselle, and was built by Thomas Edison, as part of an experiment to demonstrate that an entire community could be lit by electricity. The First Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of West 5th and Chestnut, was the first church in the world to be lit by electricity.

Roselle was incorporated on December 20, 1894, at the height of the Boroughitis phenomenon sweeping through New Jersey at the time, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier, from portions of Linden.

Geography

Roselle is located at (40.653502, -74.260584).

The borough is bordered by Roselle Park to the north, Elizabeth to the east, Linden to the south and Cranford to the west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.7 square miles (6.9 km²), of which, 2.6 square miles (6.8 km²) of it is land and 0.38% is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,274 people, 7,520 households, and 5,226 families residing in the borough. The population density was 8,048.8 people per square mile (3,111.3/km²). There were 7,870 housing units at an average density of 2,977.5/sq mi (1,151.0/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 35.58% White, 51.32% African American, 0.31% Native American, 2.71% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 6.07% from other races, and 3.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.11% of the population.

There were 7,520 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the borough the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $51,254, and the median income for a family was $58,841. Males had a median income of $37,604 versus $32,535 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,269. About 5.8% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Roselle is incorporated under the Borough system of municipal government. The governing body is the Borough Council which is made up of six members and a mayor. The mayor and council representative-at-large are elected by the entire borough. The remaining five council members are elected from five wards, one from each ward in which the member resides. The Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

Roselle has the "weak" mayor-council form of government. The mayor has less control and the council more over fiscal operations and the appointment and removal of executive officers. The mayor has no vote except in case of a tie. The mayor can veto legislation, but the veto can be overridden by two-thirds vote of the council.

A borough administrator, appointed by the Borough Council, tends to the day-to-day operations of the municipal government.

The Mayor of the Borough of Roselle is Garrett Smith, whose term of office expires on December 31, 2011. Member of the Roselle Borough Council are:

  • Jamel Holley - Councilman At Large (2010)
  • Sally Samuel - Council Member, Ward 1 (2008)
  • Sylvia Turnage - Council Member, Ward 2 (2009)
  • Cecilia Dallis-Ricks - Council Member, Ward 3 (2008)
  • Samantha Dow - Council Member, Ward 4 (2010)
  • Christine Dansereau - Council Member, Ward 5 (2009)

Federal, state and county representation

Roselle Borough is in the Tenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 20th Legislative District.

Education

The borough is served by the Roselle Public Schools. Schools in the district are three K-3 elementary schools ( Dr. Charles C. Polk Elementary School, Harrison Elementary School and Washington Elementary School), two middle schools ( Grace Wilday Junior High School for grades 6&7 and Leonard V. Moore Middle School for grades 4&5 ) and Abraham Clark High School for grades 8-12.

Transportation

New Jersey Transit provides bus service to New York City and New Jersey points.

Conrail's freight-only Lehigh Line passes through the community along the tracks of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. The town once shared a passenger station with Roselle Park on the mainline of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. That line is abandoned.

The Staten Island Railway passed through the community but is currently out of service.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately six miles from Roselle.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Roselle include:

References

External links



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Last updated on Thursday February 07, 2008 at 22:33:51 PST (GMT -0800)
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