Irvington, New Jersey

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Irvington, New Jersey
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
image_caption =


image_

---

mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Map of Irvington in Essex County. Inset: Location of Essex County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.


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

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New Jersey
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Essex
government_footnotes =
government_type = Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council)
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Wayne Smith
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = March 27, 1874

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 7.7
area_land_km2 = 7.7
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 3.0
area_land_sq_mi = 3.0
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2006
population_footnotes =
population_total = 58024
population_density_km2 = 7926.0
population_density_sq_mi = 20528.3

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes = [Gnis|877363|Township of Irvington, Geographic Names Information System, accessed January 4, 2008.]
elevation_m = 47
elevation_ft = 154
latd = 40 |latm = 43 |lats = 32 |latNS = N
longd = 74 |longm = 13 |longs = 55 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 07111
area_code = 973
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 34-34450GR|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.]
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0877363GR|3
website = http://www.irvington.net/index.htm
footnotes =

Irvington is a City in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 60,695.

Geography

Irvington is located at coor dms|40|43|32|N|74|13|55|W|city (40.725651, -74.232076)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.7 km²), all of its land.

Demographics

USCensusPop
1880=1677
1890=
1900=5255
1910=11877
1920=25480
1930=56733
1940=55328
1950=59201
1960=59379
1970=59743
1980=61493
1990=61018
2000=60695
estimate=58024
estyear=2006
estref= [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=06000US3401334450&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US34%7C16000US3419390&_street=&_county=irvington&_cityTown=irvington&_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 Irvington township] , United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 14, 2007.]
footnote=Population 1930 - 1990 [ [http://www.wnjpin.net/OneStopCareerCenter/LaborMarketInformation/lmi01/poptrd6.htm New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990] , Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.] [cite web
url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/41084506no553.zip
format=ZIP
title=Fourteenth Census of The United States: 1920; Population: New Jersey; Number of inhabitants, by counties and minor civil divisions
publisher=U.S. Census Bureau
accessdate=2007-03-21
author=Wm. C. Hunt, Chief Statistician for Population] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 60,695 people, 22,032 households, and 14,408 families residing in the township. The population density was 20,528.3 people per square mile (7,917.1/km²). There were 24,116 housing units at an average density of 8,156.5/sq mi (3,145.7/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 8.97% White, 81.66% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 3.68% from other races, and 4.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.38% of the population.

As part of the 2000 Census, 81.66% of Irvington's residents identified themselves as being African American. This was one of the highest percentages of African American people in the United States, and the third-highest in New Jersey (behind Lawnside at 93.6%, and East Orange at 89.46%) of all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. [ [http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/African-American.html African American Communities] , Epodunk. Accessed August 25, 2007.]

There were 22,032 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.2% were married couples living together, 27.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the township the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $36,575, and the median income for a family was $41,098. Males had a median income of $32,043 versus $27,244 for females. The per capita income for the township was $16,874. About 15.8% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.

High Crime Rate

Irvington experienced the crack epidemic of the 1980s and the city still struggles with the aftermath today. The city still has a violent crime rate six times higher than New Jersey overall and a murder rate eight times higher than statewide statistics. As of 2007, the New Jersey State Police reported that Irvington had a violent crime rate of 22.4 incidents per 1,000 population, the highest of all 15 major urban areas in the state. [Jones, Richard G. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/20/nyregion/20scene.html?pagewanted=all "A Cruel Turn for Irvington, a Town Already Battling Crime and Blight"] , "The New York Times", October 20, 2007. Accessed August 19, 2008. "On Tuesday, the State Police reported that Irvington had the highest violent crime rate of the state’s 15 major urban areas, with 22.4 incidents for every 1,000 residents."] Irvington is more dangerous than Camden, but since it has a population less than 75,000, Irvington wasn't eligible to rank as one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

History

Clinton Township, which included what is now Irvington, Maplewood and parts of Newark and South Orange, was created on April 14, 1834. The area was known as "Camptown" until the mid-1800s. In 1850, after Stephen Foster published his ballad, "Camptown Races,", residents were concerned that the activities described in the song would be associated with their community. Lydia Crawford, the wife of the local postmaster, suggested Camptown's new name, "Irvingtown," in honor of Washington Irving.

Irvington was incorporated as an independent village on March 27, 1874, from portions of Clinton Township. [http://www.irvington.net/home/history.htm History of Irvington] , Irvington Township. Accessed May 9, 2007.] What remained of Clinton Township was absorbed into Newark on March 5, 1902."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 126 re Clinton Township, p. 128 re Irvington.] On March 2, 1898, Irvington was incorporated as a Town, replacing Irvington Village. Laws approved in Trenton in both 1903 and 1908 that would have annexed Irvington to Newark were rejected by local voters.

The 1967 Newark riots hastened an exodus of families from that city, many of them moving the few short blocks to Irvington. Until 1965, Irvington was almost exclusively white. By 1980, the town was nearly 40% black, by 1990 it was 70%. On July 1, 1980, Fred Bost, the first black to serve on the Town Council, was sworn in as East Ward Councilman. [ [http://www.homesurfer.com/crimereports/view/crime_report.cfm?state=NJ&area=Irvington Crime statistics for Irvington] , Homesurfer. Accessed August 14, 2007.] Michael G. Steele, the town's first black mayor, was elected in 1990, followed by Sara B. Bost in 1994. The current Mayor is Wayne Smith.

Government

Local government

Irvington is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) form of municipal government. ["2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book", Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 129.]

Mayor Wayne Smith was directly elected by the residents to serve a four year term that began on July 1, 2002. As Chief Executive of the township, Mayor Smith has the enforcement responsibility for all ordinances, charter provisions, and preparation of the municipal budget. While the Mayor has the right to speak at Council meetings, he has no vote and is not required to attend.

The Council is the legislative body of the municipality and is composed of seven members. Four are elected from Wards and three are elected at-large. The Council can, by a majority vote, reduce items in the Mayor's budget, but needs a ⅔ majority to increase any item in the budget.

Members of the governing body are elected for four year terms the 2nd Tuesday in May each year. Terms are staggered biennially and the elections are non-partisan.

Members of the Township Council are: [ [http://www.irvington.net/council_chamber/council_main.htm Mayor - Council Plan] , Township of Irvington. Accessed March 9, 2007.]
* [http://www.irvington.net/council_chamber/council_member1.htm John Sowell] , West Ward, President
* [http://www.irvington.net/council_chamber/council_member2.htm Andrea C. McElroy] , At-Large, First Vice President
* [http://www.irvington.net/council_chamber/council_member3.htm D. Bilal Beasley] , At-Large, Second Vice President
* [http://www.irvington.net/council_chamber/council_member4.htm Lebby C. Jones] , At-Large
* [http://www.irvington.net/council_chamber/council_member5.htm Sandra R. Jones] , South Ward
* [http://www.irvington.net/council_chamber/council_member6.htm Quinzell R. McKenzie] , East Ward
* [http://www.irvington.net/council_chamber/council_member7.htm David Lyons] , North Ward

Federal, state and county representation

Irvington is in the Tenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 28th Legislative District. [ [http://www.lwvnj.org/pubs/CG06.pdf 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government] , New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 59. Accessed August 30, 2006.]

Politics

On the national level, Irvington leans strongly toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 92% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 7%.

Education

Irvington's public schools are operated by Irvington Public Schools. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide. [ [http://www.nj.gov/cgi-bin/education/abbotts/abbotturls.pl?string=code&maxhits=100 Abbott Districts] , New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 31, 2008.]

Irvington High School serves the city of Irvington. Of 316 Public High Schools examined, Irvington was ranked lowest in the state in a cover story in the September 2006 issue of "New Jersey Monthly" magazine. [ [http://www.njmonthly.com/topschools/hslist3.lasso?-MaxRecords=50&-SkipRecords=300&-SortField=rank&-SortOrder=ascending&county=&high_school= "New Jersey Monthly", September 2006.]

Commerce

Portions of Irvington are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3½% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide). [ [http://www.state.nj.us/njbusiness/financing/tax/geographic.shtml#2 Geographic & Urban Redevelopment Tax Credit Programs: Urban Enterprise Zone Employee Tax Credit] , State of New Jersey. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

Transportation

Irvington is served by New Jersey Transit bus routes 1, 13, 25, 26, 27, 37, 39, 42, 70, 90, 94, and 107. [ [http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=BusSchedulesTo New Jersey Transit bus schedules] accessed November 7, 2007 ]

Scheduled airline service is available at Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring Newark and Elizabeth.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Irvington include:
*Paul Boris (born 1955), former pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. [ [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/Paul-Boris.shtml Paul Boris Statistics] , "The Baseball Cube". Accessed January 19, 2008.]
*Austin Gunsel (1909-1974), best remembered for serving as the National Football League's interim commissioner following the death of Bert Bell on October 11, 1959. ["N.F.L. Picks Interim Chief; GUNSEL IS CHOSEN BY CLUB OWNERS Acting Chief of Pro League Since Bell's Death to Serve Until January", "The New York Times", October 15, 1959.]
*James J. Howard (1927-1988), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1965–1988. [ [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000840 James John Howard] , "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress". Accessed August 30, 2007.]
*Cullen Jones (born 1984), Gold Medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay. [Mallozzi, Vincent M. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sports/olympics/03Rolympic.html?ref=nyregionspecial2 "U.S. Swimmer Hopes to Inspire"] , "The New York Times", August 3, 2008. Accessed August 10, 2008.]
*Yaki Kadafi (1977-1996) rapper, was part of his god brother Tupac Shakur's Outlawz crew.Fact|date=July 2008
*Queen Latifah (born 1970), rapper, singer, actress, producer. [Guthrie, Marissa. [http://www.popmatters.com/pm/news/article/31528/life-of-a-queen-latifah-digs-deep-for-an-hbo-movie "'Life' of a Queen: Latifah digs deep for an HBO movie"] , copy of article from "New York Daily News", March 8, 2007, accessed April 19, 2007. "Latifah—who’ll turn 37 this month—grew up in Irvington, N.J."]
*Jerry Lewis (born 1926), comedian, actor, director. [Sragow, Michael. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E6DB1639F93AA35755C0A960958260 "Funny Bones" review of "KING OF COMEDY The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis". By Shawn Levy] , "The New York Times", June 9, 1996. "Mr. Levy locates the seeds of Mr. Lewis's king-size ambitions and insecurities in his struggling show-biz family (his parents devoted themselves primarily to his father's career as a would-be Jolson), and in his sometime hometown of Irvington, N.J., which in the 1930's was rife with German-American support for Hitler."]
*Blanche Noyes, (1900-1981), pioneering female aviator who was among the first ten women to receive a pilot's license. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0B14F93F58107A93C6A81783D85F428385F9 "MRS. NOYES GETS AIR POST; Irvington Woman Is Appointed Federal Marking Pilot."] , "The New York Times", August 14, 1936. Accessed January 2, 2008. "Mrs. Blanche Noyes of Irvington, N.J., was appointed today an air-marking pilot for the Bureau of Air Commerce by Eugene L. Vidal, the director. Mrs. Noyes has been flying since 1929 and was one of the first ten women pilots to receive an air transport license."]
*Robert Randolph, singer and guitarist for Robert Randolph & the Family band. [Wise, Brian. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E5DE163AF93BA35751C0A9629C8B63 "Eclectic Sounds of New Jersey, Echoing From Coast to Coast"] , "The New York Times", February 8, 2004. Accessed November 22, 2007.]
*Mark William Rudd (born 1947), educator and anti-war activist. [ [http://www.markrudd.com/Homepage/Who%20is%20Mark%20Rudd.htm Who is Mark Rudd?] , dated July 2005, accessed April 19, 2007. "Mark was born on June 2, 1947 in Irvington, N.J."]

References

External links

* [http://www.irvington.net/index.htm Township of Irvington homepage]
* [http://irvington.k12.nj.us/ Irvington Public Schools]
*NJReportCard|13|2330|0|Irvington Public Schools
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3407680 Data for the Irvington Public Schools] , National Center for Education Statistics