New Providence, New Jersey

New Providence is a borough on the northwestern edge of Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is located on the Passaic River, which forms the county boundary with Morris County. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 11,907.

Geography
New Providence is located at 40.7005°N, -74.4031°W (40.700501, -74.403096).

New Providence is bordered to the north by Chatham Township, across the Passaic River. New Providence maintains its waste treatment plant on that river. Berkeley Heights lies to the southwest and south, and Summit to the east. Much of the unincorporated area of Murray Hill lies in New Providence, with the remainder in Berkeley Heights.

The borough lies on the western slope of Second Watchung Mountain. There are several creekbeds carved into the landscape, most of which are forks and branches of Salt Brook. These creeks join together near the center of town then flow into the Passaic River. Over nine percent of New Providence's land area is permanently protected, publicly owned parkland. Most of this land is wooded floodplain adjacent to the Passaic. Union County owns much of the riverfront parkland and New Providence owns the remainder. There are several Borough-owned parks that bracket Salt Brook, including Veterans Memorial Park on South Street, Lyons Park on Livingston Avenue, and Clearwater Park near the end of Central Avenue.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the New Providence has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.5 km2), all of it land.

History
The written history of New Providence begins in 1664 when James, Duke of York and brother to King Charles II, purchased the land from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. This acquisition was known as the Elizabethtown Tract.

Its first European settlers were members of a Puritan colony established in 1720, which was the first permanent settlement of its type. The settlement was originally called Turkeytown, due to the presence of wild turkeys in the area.

By 1737, the Presbyterian Church was formed and became the center of this growing community.

In 1759, the balcony of the Presbyterian Church in the town collapsed. The lack of serious injuries was declared by Divine Providence, and the town was renamed to New Providence.

According to local tradition, George Washington spent the night in a local home, which still stands to this day. Supposedly, the local stream, Salt Brook, is named for an incident when the salt supply of the colonial village was dumped into the brook to prevent passing British soldiers from taking it. Ironically, the British Army never crossed the Watchung Mountains into this region. Salt Brook winds through town, starting near the eponymous Salt Brook Elementary School.

On April 14, 1794, Springfield Township was formed, which included the present-day township, along with the towns of Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.

Growth continued in the area, and on November 8, 1809, New Providence Township was formed from within Springfield Township. It included what is now Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.

On March 23, 1869, Summit withdrew from the New Providence Township and reincorporated as a township without any other town. It remained under a township form of government until April 11, 1899, when Summit reincorporated as a city.

On March 14, 1899, New Providence also withdrew from the New Providence Township and was reincorporated as a borough. With Boroughitis sweeping across the state, many communities within townships were reverting to small, locally-governed communities (mostly reincorporating as boroughs) due to acts of the New Jersey Legislature that made it economically advantageous for communities so do so. (Present-day Berkeley Heights retained the name of New Providence Township until November 6, 1951.)

The cultivation of roses played an important role in the local economy in the 1900s.

New Providence is a semi-dry town. There are no bars, and no restaurants are permitted to sell alcoholic beverages. Retail liquor sales are legal, however, and restaurant-goers may bring their own alcoholic beverages.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,907 people, 4,404 households, and 3,307 families residing in New Providence. The population density was 3,236.9 people per square mile (1,249.3/km2). There were 4,485 housing units at an average density of 1,219.2/sq mi (470.6/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 89.77% White, 0.88% African American, 0.03% Native American, 7.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.50% of the population.

There were 4,404 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.13.

In New Providence the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $90,964, and the median income for a family was $105,013. Males had a median income of $72,926 versus $46,948 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $42,995. About 1.3% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over. Currently, based on per-capita income, New Providence is ranked 48th among municipalities in the state.

Local government
New Providence is governed under the borough system of municipal government. The government consists of a mayor and a borough council composed of six council members, with all positions elected at large. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The mayor of New Providence is John Thoms, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2010. Members of the New Providence Borough Council are Council President Terri Keller (term of office ends in 2008), Michael Gennaro, J. Brooke Hern (2009), Julia MacDermott (2011), Dr. Bob Robinson (2008), and Stephen Vengrow (2009).

Federal, state and county representation
New Providence is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 21st Legislative District.

Education
The New Providence School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Students from Murray Hill share the New Providence school facilities.

Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are:
 * Allen W. Roberts Elementary School (grades K-6; 602 students)
 * Salt Brook Elementary School (K-6; 595)
 * New Providence Middle School (7&8; 335) / New Providence High School (9-12; 654): both schools share the same building and some of the same facilities (art rooms, auditorium, east wing, west wing, gyms, music rooms, TV production room, cafeteria). Recently a new gym was added to the building.

New Providence is also home to a private Catholic elementary school in the Archdiocese of Newark, The Academy of Our Lady of Peace. Accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, The Academy has students in PreK-3 through Grade 8.

Landmarks

 * The Presbyterian Church is a large, white, historic church in the center of town. Every month the church used to host an event called "The Fire Escape" (Closed in 2007), which was an event aimed at increasing youth participation in the church by attracting high school aged students with a band stage, gym and lounge. It has now been replaced by "1307" (13-0-7) which host a clean dance club, remodeled coffee/acoustic lounge, and the newer main rock stage. A student run board decides funding and usually gives profits away to credible causes. Every month the church also hosts an event called "The Zone" which is aimed at teen-aged residents and it is a gathering with a dance atmosphere.
 * The Village Shopping Center is a shopping center in the middle of downtown. The shopping center takes up the majority of space that comprises downtown New Providence.
 * Right outside of New Providence is Alcatel-Lucent, in Murray Hill. New Providence School District currently links together the computer networks of its buildings by using a wireless LAN which includes Yagi antennas at two towers by the large copper pyramid-shaped roof. The transistor and laser were invented in this Bell Laboratories when it was part of AT&T.
 * Our Lady of Peace is a Roman Catholic church and school located on South Street. Once every spring, for three days, the parking lot at OLP becomes the home of the town's OLP fair. Complete with rides, games, food, and an indoor auction/junk fest.

Transportation
Service on the New Jersey Transit Gladstone Branch of the Morris & Essex Lines is available at the New Providence and Murray Hill stations, offering service to Hoboken Terminal and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. Two Gladstone Branch trains each weekday morning offer one-seat rides to Manhattan, and two evening trains leave New York and stop at both of New Providence's stations on the way to Gladstone. All other rail service is to or from Hoboken. These trains connect at Summit or Newark Broad Street with Manhattan-bound trains.

Lakeland Bus Lines offers weekday rush hour service from stops along Springfield Avenue to New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately sixteen miles east of New Providence.

Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of New Providence include:
 * Victor Bucossi, stunt man in films including 28 Days, Kate & Leopold, and Analyze This; and several TV shows, most notably The Sopranos. He taught Psychology and coached Wrestling, Football and Basketball at NPHS.
 * Lloyd Burlew, World Jet Ski Champion, went to NPHS and is the son of the former proprietor of Lloyd's Sporting Goods in downtown New Providence.
 * Andrew Fastow (1961-), convicted CFO of Enron, went to NPHS and grew up in New Providence on the same street as the Allen W. Roberts Elementary School.
 * Jeff Grob, drummer of the 1970s rock band Looking Glass, was born and raised in New Providence and is a current resident.
 * Andrew Lewis, professional soccer player for the MetroStars and the Chicago Fire, was born in New Providence.
 * Thomas McCarthy (1966-), NPHS graduate has been actor in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night and Good Luck; television shows, such as Boston Public, Law & Order and The Wire; and director of the indie film The Station Agent.
 * Gerry Polci, drummer of The Four Seasons, is currently the middle school music teacher and band director.
 * David Stambaugh, an actor who was most notably, Toby, in The Bad News Bears original and sequels, attended Salt Brook Elementary and NPHS.
 * D.D. Verni, bassist for the heavy metal band Overkill, grew up in New Providence and is an NPHS graduate.
 * Liam Mellor (Resident from 1992-2004) Film actor who has had roles in Superbad (2007) Signs (2002) has appeared on Law and Order (2006) and most recently as a stunt double in Brokeback Mountain
 * Jim Wood, President of USA Swimming from 2006-present.
 * Lov Grover, Indian-American computer scientist. Originator of the Grover database search algorithm.
 * Lov Grover, Indian-American computer scientist. Originator of the Grover database search algorithm.