Ridgefield, New Jersey

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Ridgefield, New Jersey
settlement_type = Borough
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
image_caption =


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mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Map highlighting Ridgefield's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey.


mapsize1 = 250x200px
map_caption1 = Census Bureau map of Ridgefield, New Jersey

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New Jersey
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Bergen
government_footnotes =
government_type = Borough (New Jersey)
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Anthony R. Suarez (D, 2011)
leader_title1 = Administrator
leader_name1 = Roberta Stern [ [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/administration/index.html Borough Administrator] , Borough of Ridgefield. Accessed December 24, 2007.]
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = May 26, 1892

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 7.4
area_land_km2 = 6.8
area_water_km2 = 0.7
area_total_sq_mi = 2.9
area_land_sq_mi = 2.6
area_water_sq_mi = 0.3

population_as_of = 2006
population_footnotes =
population_total = 10996
population_density_km2 = 1602.2
population_density_sq_mi = 4149.8

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes = [Gnis|879684|Borough of Ridgefield, Geographic Names Information System, accessed December 24, 2007.]
elevation_m = 13
elevation_ft = 43
latd = 40 |latm = 49 |lats = 57 |latNS = N
longd = 74 |longm = 0 |longs = 18 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 07657
area_code = 201
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 34-62910GR|2 [ [http://mcdc2.missouri.edu/webrepts/commoncodes/ccc_nj.html A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey] , Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.] [ [http://mcdc2.missouri.edu/webrepts/commoncodes/ccc_nj.html A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey] , Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.]
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0879684GR|3
website = http://www.ridgefieldboro.com
footnotes =

Ridgefield is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 10,830.

Ridgefield was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 26, 1892, from portions of Ridgefield Township."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 84.]

Geography

Ridgefield is located at coor dms|40|49|57|N|74|0|18|W|city (40.832590, -74.004960)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.4 km²), of which, 2.6 square miles (6.8 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (9.06%) is water.

Ridgefield is unofficially divided into three sections because of the geographical contour of the land. The first section is known as Ridgefield, and lies partly in the valley on both the east and west sides and partly on the first hill. The second section is known as Morsemere, and is located in the northern part of the Borough. The third section is Ridgefield Heights, on the second hill at the extreme eastern part of the Borough, running north and south.

Morsemere was named by a real estate development company in honor of Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph and the Morse code. During the middle 1800s, Mr. Morse owned vast tracts of land in the Ridgefield section of the Borough.

Demographics

USCensusPop
1900= 584
1910= 966
1920= 1560
1930= 4671
1940= 5271
1950= 8312
1960= 10788
1970= 11308
1980= 10294
1990= 9996
2000= 10830
estimate=10894
estyear=2007
estref= [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US3462910&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US34%7C16000US3461680&_street=&_county=ridgefield&_cityTown=ridgefield&_state=04000US34&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= Census data for Ridgefield] , United States Census Bureau. Accessed October 9, 2008]
footnote=Population 1930 - 1990 [ [http://www.wnjpin.net/OneStopCareerCenter/LaborMarketInformation/lmi01/poptrd6.htm New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990] , accessed March 1, 2007] [ [http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/planning/data/HistoricalPop.pdf Historical Population Trends in Bergen County (1900 - 2000)] , Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed December 23, 2007.] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 10,830 people, 4,020 households, and 2,966 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,149.8 people per square mile (1,602.1/km²). There were 4,120 housing units at an average density of 1,578.7/sq mi (609.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 75.87% White, 0.77% African American, 0.08% Native American, 17.42% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.50% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.80% of the population.

As of the 2000 census, 16.31% of Ridgefield's residents identified themselves as being of Korean ancestry, which was the sixth highest in the United States and fourth highest of any municipality in New Jersey — behind Palisades Park (36.38%), Leonia (17.24%) and Fort Lee (17.18%) — for all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. [ [http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Korean.html Korean Communities] , Epodunk. Accessed June 28, 2006.] In the same census, 3.0% of Ridgefield's residents identified themselves as being of Croatian ancestry. This was the third highest percentage of people with Croatian ancestry in any place in New Jersey with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry [ [http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Croatian.html Croatian Communities] , accessed August 23, 2006] . 2.4% of Ridgefield's residents identified themselves as being of Armenian ancestry, the 16th highest percentage of Armenian people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. [ [http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Armenian.html Armenian Communities] , Epodunk. Accessed June 28, 2006.]

There were 4,020 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $54,081, and the median income for a family was $66,330. Males had a median income of $47,975 versus $36,676 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $25,558. About 4.7% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Ridgefield is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office and only votes to break a tie. 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."2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book", Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 160.]

The Mayor of Ridgefield Borough is [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/government/suarez.html Anthony R. Suarez] (D), whose term of office ends on December 31, 2011. Members of the Ridgefield Borough Council are Council President [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/government/mayor-council/council-president-avery.php Robert Avery] (R; 2008), [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/government/mayor-council/councilman-blackley.php Thomas Blackley] (R; 2008), [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/government/mayor-council/councilman-lonzisero.php Nicholas P. Lonzisero] (R; 2010), [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/government/mayor-council/council-serverino.php Angelo W. Severino] (R; 2010), [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/government/mayor-council/councilman-todd.php Angus Todd] (R; 2009) and [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/government/mayor-council/councilman-vincentz.php Warren Vincentz] (R; 2009). [ [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/government/mayor-council/mayor-suarez.php Welcome to the Ridgefield Mayor & Council Page] , Borough of Ridgefield. Accessed January 23, 2008.] ref> [http://co.bergen.nj.us/ParksPDF/CountyDirectory.pdf "County of Bergen: 2008 County and Municipal Directory"] , Bergen County, New Jersey, p. 59. Accessed July 10, 2008.]

In elections held on November 6, 2007, 47% of voters turned out to fill the position of mayor and two seats on the borough council. Democratic incumbent Anthony R. Suarez (1,279 votes) won re-election for another four-year term as mayor over Republican challenger Robert W. Avery (1,175). With neither of the council's two Democratic incumbents running for office, Republicans Angelo W. Severino (1,267) and Nicholas P. Lonzisero (1,224) defeated Democratic candidates Russell Castelli (1,193) and Javier Acosta (1,152), giving Republicans control of all six seats on the 2008 Council. [Firschein, Merry. [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjEyNDc5 "Ridgefield municipal elections"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", October 25, 2007. Accessed December 24, 2007.] [Dawkins, Walter. [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjE4MzUw "Ridgefield election results"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 6, 2007. Accessed December 24, 2007.] [ [http://www.northjersey.com/dngmedia/media_server/tr/2007/11/06election/bergencounty2007.html Bergen County election results] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 7, 2007. Accessed November 10, 2007.]

On Election Day, November 7, 2006, voters filled two open three-year seats on the Borough Council from among six candidates running for office. As of Election Day, the council was split with four Democrats and two Republicans, in a community in which registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a 5-4 margin. Republican challengers Warren Vincentz (1,471 votes) and Angus Todd (1,396) won election, with Democratic Party incumbent John Quaregna in fourth place (1,139) and Independent Javier Acosta (who had been elected as a Democrat, but ran as an independent) a distant fifth (404). Also falling short were Democrat Marlene Caride (1,145) and Independent Mercedes Penabad (223). The two victors took office on January 1, 2007. [ [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDEzNjkx Ridgefield Election Guide] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 1, 2006.] [ [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDE2Njg0 Ridgefield election results] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 8, 2006.] [ [http://151.198.187.55/countyclerk/2006%20General/2006_General.pdf Bergen County 2006 General Election Results] , accessed February 1, 2007] With the win, Republicans will take control of the Ridgefield Council for the first time since 2000, after winning two seats in 2005 on what had been at the time an all-Democratic council. [ [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDE3MDg4 Republicans gaining power in Ridgefield] , "The Record (Bergen County)", November 9, 2006.]

Federal, state and county representation

Ridgefield is in the Ninth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 38th Legislative District. [ [http://www.lwvnj.org/pubs/CG06.pdf 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government] , New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 63. Accessed August 30, 2006.]

Politics

As of April 1, 2006, out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 11,005 in Ridgefield, there were 5,434 registered voters (49.4% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 1,364 (25.1% vs. 20.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,142 (21.0% vs. 19.2% countywide) were registered as Republicans and 2,927 (53.9% vs. 60.1% countywide) were registered as Undeclared. There was one voter registered to another party ["County of Bergen: Voter Statistics by Municipality, Ward & District," dated April 1, 2006] .

On the national level, Ridgefield leans toward the Democratic Party. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 51% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 48%. [ [http://www.nj.gov/lps/elections/2004results/04_Municipality_pdf%27s/presidential_bergen_co_2004.pdf 2004 Presidential Election results: Bergen County] , New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety: Division of Elections, dated December 13, 2004.]

Education

The Ridgefield School District serves public school students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics [ [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3413770 Data for the Ridgefield School District] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed May 4, 2008.] ) are [http://www.ridgefieldschools.com/shaler_academy.htm Shaler Academy] (Pre-K and Kindergarten, 173 students), [http://www.ridgefieldschools.com/BergenBlvd.htm Bergen Boulevard School] (Grade 1 and 2, 287 students), [http://www.ridgefieldschools.com/slocum_skewes.htm Slocum-Skewes School] (Grades 3-8, 1,009 students), and
Ridgefield Memorial High School (Grades 9-12, 677 students).

Transportation

The New Jersey Turnpike passes through Ridgefield. The Turnpike's Vince Lombardi service area is located between Interchanges 18E/18W and the George Washington Bridge at mileposts 116E on the Eastern Spur and 115.5W on the Western Spur [ [http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/nj-vcenter-lombardi.htm New Jersey Turnpike: Vince Lombardi Service Area] , accessed May 31, 2006] .

U.S. Route 1/9, U.S. Route 46, Route 63 and Route 5 also pass through Ridgefield.

New Jersey Transit bus routes 83, 127, 154, 155, 157, 165, 166, 168 and 321 serve Ridgefield with the bus routes 167 and 321 leaving from the Vince Lombardi Park & Ride. Travel time to New York from Vince Lombardi is 18 minutes on route 321 and 27 minutes on route 167. [ [http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=BusRoutesBergenCountyTo Routes by County: Bergen County] , New Jersey Transit. Accessed August 8, 2008.]

History

Grantwood was an artist's colony established in 1913 by Man Ray, Alfred Kreymborg and Samuel Halpert and became known as the Others group of artists. [Churchill, "op. cit." page 51] The colony was comprised a number of clapboard shacks on a bluff. To this day the names of the streets in this part of the town (Sketch Place, Studio Road, Art Lane) pay homage to Grantwood's history. [Brandon, "op. cit." page 82] Kreymborg moved to Ridgefield and launched "" with Skipwith Cannell, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams in 1915.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Ridgefield include:
*, contestant on the eleventh season of "Survivor". [Schwarz, Marc. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-116060852.html "TALKING TO JUDD SERGEANT"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", December 5, 2005. Accessed May 4, 2008. "Judd Sergeant, the 35-year-old doorman from Ridgefield, was loud, aggressive and one of the most talked-about contestants on 'Survivor: Guatemala.'"]
*Alexander Shaler (1827-1911), Union Army general in the American Civil War who later served as mayor of Ridgefield. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C02E3D91231E233A2575BC2A9649D946096D6CF "GEN. A. SHALER DEAD IN HIS 84TH YEAR; Distinguished Civil War Veteran and Long Prominent in State National Guard."] , "The New York Times", December 28, 1911. Accessed July 10, 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.ridgefieldboro.com/ Ridgefield Borough official web site]
* [http://www.ridgefieldschools.com/ Ridgefield School District]
*NJReportCard|03|4370|0|Ridgefield School District
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3413770 Data for the Ridgefield School District] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.nj.com/forums/ridgefield/ Ridgefield community forum]