North Bergen, New Jersey

North Bergen is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township had a total population of 60,773. Originally founded in 1843, the town was much diminished in territory by a series of secessions. Situated on the Hudson Palisades, it is one of the "hilliest" municipalities in the United States. Like neighboring North Hudson communities, North Bergen is among those places in the nation with the highest population density and a majority Hispanic population.

Geography
North Bergen is located at 40.79418°N, -74.02496°W (40.794175,-74.02496). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 5.575 square miles (14.438 km2), of which, 5.134 square miles (13.296 km2) of it is land and 0.441 square miles (1.142 km2) of it (7.91%) is water.

North Bergen is roughly shaped like an inverted "L". It northern section stretches east-west and is south of Bergen County. Its north-south section lies between Secaucus to the west and Guttenberg, West New York, and Union City, which with it meets Jersey City at a single point at its southern end.

North Bergen has a diverse geological features. Partially situated on the North River (Hudson River), the Hudson Palisades rise from the waterfront, while the northern part of the town sits atop the plateau. The cuesta, or slope, on the west side of area makes North Bergen the city with the second most hills per square mile in the United States after San Francisco, some of which are extremely steep. A rock formation along the slope (located at 40.8075°N, -74.01806°W) is composed of unusual serpentinite rock and made up of small rock cliffs. Because of this, it is one of the few undeveloped parts of North Bergen. Low-lying areas along the west side are part of the New Jersey Meadowlands. The unusual shape and diverse topography of North Bergen have create a diverse historical and contemporary neighborhoods.




 * Bergenline runs to Nungessers at the Fairview border near North Hudson Park
 * Racetrack-between Bergenline and Kennedy Boulevard on the plateau
 * Bergenwood, on the steep slopes of the west side of the Palisades
 * New Durham site of colonial American Three Pigeons near the Bergen Turnpike and Tonnelle Avenue
 * Meadowview, behind the Municipal Building between the many cemeteries:
 * Flower Hill Cemetery, Hoboken Cemetery, Grove Church Cemetery, and Weehawken Cemetery
 * Bulls Ferry, on the Hudson Waterfront site of Roc Harbor, Palisades Medical Center the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway
 * Babitt, in the Meadowlands, a part of which is a wetlands preserve known as the Eastern Brackish Marsh.
 * Woodcliff on the Hudson Palisades around the North Hudson Park
 * Transfer Station near the single point border Union City and Jersey City near Paterson Plank Road, Kennedy Boulevard, and Secaucus Road.
 * Schuetzen Park/Columbia Park Kennedy Boulevard where Hackensack Plank Road becomes the Bergen Turnpike

Colonial era
At the time of European colonization the area was the territory of Hackensack tribe of the Lenape, who maintained a settlement, Espatingh, on the west side of the hills. and where a Dutch trading post was established after the Peach Tree War. In 1658, Peter Stuyvesant, then Director-General of New Netherland, repurchased from them the area now encompassed by the municipalities of Hudson County east of the Hackensack River. In 1660 he granted permission to establish the semi-autonomous colony of Bergen, with the main village located at today's Bergen Square, considered to be the first chartered municipality in what would became the state of New Jersey. At the time, the area of North Bergen was heavily forested, traversed by paths used by the indigenous and colonizing population and became known as Bergen Woods, a name recalled in today's neighborhood. After the 1664 surrender of Fort Amsterdam the entire New Netherland colony came into the possession of the British, who established the Province of New Jersey. In 1682, the East Jersey legislature formed the state's first four counties, including Bergen County, which consisted of all the land in the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers; that is, the eastern portions of what today is Bergen and Hudson Counties. In 1693, Bergen County was divided into two townships: Hackensack Township in the north, and Bergen Township, encompassing the Bergen Neck peninsula, in the south. The border between the two townships is the current Hudson-Bergen county line. While settlement was sparse, communities developed along the Bergen Turnpike at the Three Pigeons and Maisland, later New Durham. French botanist André Michaux developed his gardens nearby. On the Hudson River, Bulls Ferry became an important landing for crossings to Manhattan. While ostensibly under British control during the American Revolutionary War, the area was patrolled by the Americans on foraging, espionage, and raiding expeditions., most notably the Battle of Bull's Ferry.

Toponymy, secession, and urbanization
On February 22, 1838, Jersey City was incorporated as a separate municipality, and in 1840 Hudson County, comprising the city and Bergen Township, was created from the southern portion of Bergen County. North Bergen was incorporated as a township on April 10, 1843, by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature, from the northern portion of Bergen Township. At the time, the town included everything east of the Hackensack River and north of and including what is now Jersey City Heights. The entire region which is now known as North Hudson experienced massive immigration and urbanization during the latter half of the 19th century, and led to the creation of various new towns. Portions of the North Bergen were taken to form Hoboken Township (April 9, 1849, now the City of Hoboken), Hudson Town (April 12, 1852, later part of Hudson City), Hudson City (April 11, 1855, later merged with Jersey City), Guttenberg (formed within the township on March 9, 1859, and set off as an independent municipality on April 1, 1878), Weehawken (March 15, 1859), Union Township and West Hoboken Township (both created on February 28, 1861), Union Hill town (March 29, 1864) and Secaucus (March 12, 1900). During this era many of Hudson County's cemeteries were developed along the town's western slope of the Hudson Palisades. At their foot in the Meadowlands the Erie, the New York, Susquehanna and Western, and the West Shore railroads ran right-of-ways to their terminals on the Hudson, the last building its tunnel through Bergen Hill at North Bergen. The area was important destination during peak German immigration to the United States, and is recalled today in Schuetzen Park, founded in 1874. Further north, the Guttenburg Racetrack became a notable and notorious destination which after its closing became a proving ground for new technologies, the automobile and the airplane.

20th century
The development of Hudson County Boulevard, now known by its two sections which meet in North Hudson Park, Kennedy Boulevard and Boulevard East, was completed in the early 20th century,and by 1913 it was considered to be fine for "motoring". Residential districts along and between the boulevards were developed. Bergenline Avenue, a broad street which accommodated the North Hudson County Railway streetcars to Nungesser's became (and remains) an important commercial and transit corridor. In 1935, in one of the most stunning upsets in boxing history, local hero James J. Braddock won the world heavyweight championship. A resident of the town until his death, the county park in North Bergen is now named for him. Soon after the opening of the Lincoln Tunnel Approach, the Susquehanna Transfer was built to accommodate passengers who wished to transfer to buses through the tunnel. At the time of its construction in 1949 the WOR TV Tower, in the midst the residential Woodcliff Section, was the tenth-tallest man-made structure in the world. In the early 1960s two notable paleontological finds of fossils from the Newark Basin were made near the foot of the cliffs at one of several former quarries, the Granton, of which today's avenue is a namsake. The former quarry remained an archeological site until at least 1980. In contrast to other Hudson County communities during the latter half of the century, North Bergen grew significantly in population. Many residents are part of the wave of Spanish language speakers which had begun in the 1960s with Cuban émigrés, leading to the moniker "Havana on the Hudson" for the North Hudson area.

2000 Census
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,092 people, 21,236 households, and 14,249 families residing in the township. The population density was 11,179.6 people per square mile (4,313.4/km²). There were 22,009 housing units at an average density of 1, 634.2/km² (4,235.5/sq mi). The racial makeup of the township was 67.36% White, 2.72% African American, 0.40% Native American, 6.47% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 15.53% from other races, and 7.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 57.25% of the population.

There were 21,236 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the township the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

Males had a median income of $35,626 versus $29,067 for females. The per capita income for the township was $20,058. About 9.6% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Commerce
North Bergen has several retail districts, along Bergenline Avenue, Tonnelle Avenue, and near Transfer Station. It is a state-established "Urban Enterprise Zone", implemented through a program designed to assist businesses in communities across New Jersey. Businesses within the zone are eligible for a variety of incentives, including a sales tax reduction to customers of 3½% (from the mandated 7% statewide sales tax), with no tax on clothing or on purchases made by merchants related to running their businesses. Revenue generated from the reduced sales tax is maintained in a special fund dedicated for use within the zone for specific economic development and physical improvement projects. The zone was established in February 1995 through the efforts of Senator Sacco, one of the sponsors of legislation creating the zones.

The Vitamin Shoppe is headquartered in North Bergen. Hudson News and Liz Claiborne are large employers. New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway operates five intermodal freight transport facilites within the township.

Local government
North Bergen is governed under the Walsh Act form of New Jersey municipal government since 1931. The government consists of five commissioners elected at large to the Township Committee in non-partisan elections to serve four-year terms of office on a concurrent basis. After each election, the commissioners select one of their members to serve as mayor and each individual is assigned to head one of the five commissions.

Members of the North Bergen Township Committee are:


 * Nicholas Sacco – Mayor and Commissioner of Public Affairs
 * Hugo D. Cabrera – Commissioner of Revenue and Finance
 * Theresa V. Ferraro – Commissioner of Public Safety
 * Frank J. Gargiulo – Commissioner of Public Works
 * Allen Pascual – Commissioner of Parks and Public Property

Federal, state and county representation
North Bergen is part of both the 9th and 13th US Congressional districts, the 32nd NJ Legislative district, and the 8th Hudson County Freehold district.

Hudson County, New Jersey.

Politics
In the 2008 United States presidential election, Barack Obama received 14,791 votes (70% of the votes cast) from North Bergen voters, while John McCain received 6,100 votes (29%), with 62% of registered voters participating.

Public safety
The North Bergen Police Force was founded in 1923, replacing the peace force known as "roundsmen". North Bergen's fire department merged with those of neighboring communities in 1999 to form North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue (NHRFR). Engine 1, Engine 6, Engine 9/Battalion 3, Engine 13 and Ladder 5 are all located in North Bergen. NHRFR and North Bergen Emergency Medical Services (headquartered at 63rd St. and Granton Ave) were among the many Hudson County agencies that responded to the January 2009 crash of Flight 1549, as did Palisades Medical Center, where 57 of the survivors were treated for injuries.

Education
The North Bergen School District serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2009–10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are six elementary schools — Franklin School (grades 1–8; 610 students), Robert Fulton School (K-8; 1,156), John F. Kennedy School (1–8; 522), Lincoln School (PreK-8; 1,447), Horace Mann School (1–8; 1,091), McKinley School (K-8; 377) — and North Bergen High School for grades 9–12 (2,549 students). Students from Guttenberg attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Guttenberg Public School District.

North Bergen is also home to A Step Ahead Preschool, a private pre-K through kindergarten school established in 1993.

Transportation
Public transportation in North Bergen is provided by bus and light rail service.

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) service is available at the Tonnelle Avenue station and Bergenline Station to points in Weehawken, Hoboken, Jersey City and Bayonne.

Bus service is provided along busy north-south corridors on Kennedy Boulevard, Bergenline Avenue, and Boulevard East by New Jersey Transit and privately operated guagua (minibus) within Hudson County, and to Bergen County and Manhattan, New York City. Nungessers is a major origination and transfer point. Lines terminating at Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan are the 121, 125, 127, 128, 154, 156, 158, 159, 165, 166, 168, 320 routes. The 181 and 188 lines terminate at George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal in Upper Manhattan. Lines 22, 23, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88 and 89 terminate either at Journal Square or Hoboken Terminal. The 751 travels to Edgewater and Hackensack.

Route 495 travels between the Lincoln Tunnel and the New Jersey Turnpike with interchanges for Route 3 and U.S. Route 1/9, which runs north-south on the western edge side of town.

Media and culture
North Bergen is located within the New York media market, with most of its daily papers available for sale or delivery. The Jersey Journal is a local daily paper based in Jersey City. Local weeklies include the free bilingual paper, Hudson Dispatch Weekly, (named for the former daily Hudson Dispatch), North Bergen Reporter (part of the Hudson Reporter group of local weeklies), and the Spanish language El Especialito. River View Observer is a monthly newspaper that covers the Hudson Waterfront market.

In the late 2000s, North Bergen, Weehawken, Union City and West New York came to be dubbed collectively as "NoHu", a North Hudson haven for local performing and fine artists, many of whom are immigrants from Latin America and other countries, in part due to lower housing costs compared to those in nearby art havens such as Hoboken, Jersey City and Manhattan.

Notable residents

 * Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, charged in 2010 with conspiring to join a terrorist group and kill, maim, and kidnap people outside the U.S
 * James J. Braddock (1905–1974), heavyweight boxing champion from 1935 to 1937.=
 * John O. Brennan (born 1954), Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security in the Obama White House
 * James L. Brooks (born 1940), Television and movie director
 * Edd Cartier (1914–2008), pulp magazine illustrator
 * Leo Cullum (1942–2010), cartoonist best known for his work in The New Yorker
 * Joey Diaz, stand up comedian, actor
 * Paquito D'Rivera (born 1948), musician-composer
 * Henry Escalante, pop musician, and one of the 15 finalists from the 2007 season of the MTV reality show Making Menudo
 * Louis Freeh (born 1950), former Federal Bureau of Investigations director
 * Dan Kurzman (1922–2010), military historian
 * Lionel Loueke (born 1973), African Jazz guitarist and sideman to Herbie Hancock
 * Robert Loughlin (1949–2011), artist and furniture dealer
 * Danny McDermott (born 1979), professional Lightweight boxer who was raised in the city
 * Steve Mocco (born 1981), Olympic wrestler
 * Ed Murawinski (born 1951), award-winning cartoonist for the Daily News
 * Feisal Abdul Rauf (born 1948), Muslim imam, author, and activist.
 * John Scarne (1903–85), author, expert on gambling, card games and magic tricks
 * Rena Sofer (born 1968), actress
 * Hal Turner (born 1962), white supremacist shortwave/Internet radio host
 * Ice T (born 1958), rap music pioneer and actor
 * Mariuz Wach, heavyweight boxer

In media

 * Oak Hill, a low-budget film starring Sally Kirkland, and directed by former Guttenberg mayor Peter Lavilla, about three former entertainers whose depression and addiction has led them to a homeless shelter, was filmed in both Union City's PERC homeless shelter, and a synagogue in North Bergen. In 2008, it was entered into the Sundance, Tribeca, and Hoboken Film Festivals.
 * Cinderella Man starring Russel Crowe as James J. Braddock, depicted North Bergen during the Great Depression.
 * North Bergen is the production base for the NBC drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, with scenes set in the police station and courtroom filmed on a stage at NBC's Central Archives building on West Side Avenue.
 * Meat Men is a Food Network reality show about a North Bergen-based family-owned and operated meat purveyor.