Carteret, New Jersey

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Borough of Carteret, New Jersey
settlement_type = Borough
nickname =
motto =


imagesize =
image_caption =


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imagesize =
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mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Map of Carteret in Middlesex County. Inset: Location of Middlesex County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.


mapsize1 = 250x200px
map_caption1 = Census Bureau map of Carteret, New Jersey
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_name1 = New Jersey
subdivision_name2 = Middlesex
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Daniel J. Reiman (2010)
leader_title1 = Council President
leader_name1 = Joseph Sitarz (2009)
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = April 11, 1906 as "Roosevelt"
established_title1 = Renamed
established_date1 = November 7, 1922 as "Carteret"
area_magnitude =
area_total_sq_mi = 4.4
area_total_km2 = 11.3
area_land_sq_mi = 3.8
area_land_km2 = 9.7
area_water_sq_mi = 0.6
area_water_km2 = 1.6
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_urban_km2 =
area_metro_sq_mi =
area_metro_km2 =
population_as_of = 2006
population_footnotes =
population_total = 22264
population_metro =
population_urban =
population_density_km2 = 1833.9
population_density_sq_mi = 4747.4
timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern (EDT)
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 40 |latm = 35 |lats = 01 |latNS = N
longd = 74 |longm = 13 |longs = 43 |longEW = W
elevation_footnotes = [Gnis|885181|Borough of Carteret, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed January 4, 2008.]
elevation_m = 4
elevation_ft = 13
website = http://www.ci.carteret.nj.us/
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 07008
area_code = 732
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 34-10750GR|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 = 0885181GR|3
footnotes =

Carteret is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 20,709.

What is now Carteret was originally created as the borough of Roosevelt on April 11, 1906, from portions of Woodbridge Township, based on the results of a referendum approved on May 22, 1906. The name was changed to Carteret as of November 7, 1922. The borough was also called Carteret during the period from December 19, 1921, to January 16, 1922."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 169.]

History

Named for Sir George Carteret, one of the first proprietors of New Jersey, and/or his son Philip Carteret, who served as the first Governor of New Jersey.

Race Riot

Saturday night into Sunday, 1926-04-25, a racial altercation took place in Carteret. John Carroll, a local Boxer, and Ralph Johnson, both of them White employees of the United States Metal Refining Company of Carteret, were walking through the segregated African American neighborhood in the southeast side of Carteret on their way home after working the night shift. As they passed a group of African Americans who were standing on the street, offensive words were passed between the two groups, and a fight started. Carroll was stabbed almost immediately over the heart with a pocket knife. His assailants took off running, with Johnson in pursuit. Johnson soon caught up to the fleeing men, when one of them turned and stabbed Johnson in the abdomen. The assailants then fled.

Johnson was taken by ambulance to the Perth Amboy hospital, where his condition was judged as serious.Carroll’s body was taken to Burns’ Undertaking Parlor in Carteret, where he was embalmed and set up for a Wake and Funeral. During the day, many White men came to view Carroll’s body, and to discuss the incident. The group grew into a mob centered on the locus defined by Union Street and Roosevelt Avenue, in the African American neighborhood known colloquially and disparagingly as The Jungle. their intent evolved into a concerted effort to drive all of the African Americans from Carteret. The discussion evolved into action when at about 9 PM, two African Americans—who apparently had nothing to do with the event, and were unaware— got off a Streetcar from Carteret Junction on Roosevelt Avenue close to the mob. Instantly, fifty white men from the mob surrounded the two African Americans, and marched them to the town limits and ordered them to not return. The mob then returned to their previous location. On the way, they looked for more African Americans, but apparently the word spread, and they remained in their homes out of sight. In the meantime, some or all of the original group of African Americans returned to their homes in Carteret, including Robert Duceast, age 24, who resided at 27 Hudson Street in "The Jungle".

In an attempt to prevent further violence, Mayor Thomas Mulvihill, Police Chief Henry J. Harrington, and County Prosecutor John E. Toolan placed the entire 21-man Carteret Police Force on extended duty, with orders to suppress any violence. The police established a Deadline between the two Segregated neighborhoods, and – although the streets of the African American neighborhood remained deserted, no whites were permitted to enter. However, fits of violence continued to occur. Two African Americans who were found by a group from the Mob near the Lieb Chemical Works on the outskirts of Carteret were attacked. At about the same time, another African American who was sighted near Carroll’s house, was chased by a patrol, and had to be rescued by several policemen. An unrelated group of African Americans in a car drove up on Roosevelt Avenue to where the main group was, parked their car unaware of what was happening, and got out. The Mob surged towards them, but the police was able to intercept the African Americans, order them back into their car, and order them to drive away and not return. The near-victims escaped unharmed.

The violence started to escalate when the Mob started to switch to Arson as a means of getting the African Americans to leave. A group boarded a car, and went off, followed by approximately 40 others on foot, to the intersection of Salem Avenue and Bergen Street to destroy the restaurant and barber shop of James McDougall, a prosperous African American who was a political ally of Mayor Mulvihill. In the meantime, the Police were informed, and they rushed a car with several Officers to the location to prevent the arson from taking place, but the Police had to use drawn pistols and clubs to get the group to cease and desist. No arrests were made, and McDougall wasn’t harmed.

The Mob then decided to destroy the First Baptist Church on Larch Street [The NY Times article spells it “Lark Street”] , which was the main church for African Americans in Carteret. The Reverend George H. Reed was in the middle of his Sermon when the mob arrived. The Mob wasn’t armed with firearms, so they resorted to using clubs and cudgels. Stones were thrown through the church windows, and the Mob invaded the church and forced the Pastor and Congregation out. Early Monday morning, the Mob returned, some of them masked to avoid recognition, hell bent on burning the church. The Mob placed Tinder around the wood frame church, and then set the building on fire. Shortly, the building was ablaze, and would have quickly been consumed except that Carteret’s Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene and soon made short work of extinguishing the fire. In the meantime, the Mob stood by silently, and did nothing to hinder the firemen. Police Chief Harrington ordered the Mob to disperse, and they ignored him. He finally got them to disperse by ordering the Engine Company to turn their hoses on the Mob. They dispersed, but went off and reformed and entered The Jungle while the firemen and police were focused elsewhere. They started banging on doors and shouting through the windows. What they shouted was very specific: “Get out of town, and stay out.” The men, women and children of the neighborhood were escorted to the Carteret- Woodbridge border, where they were released. The Mob returned to the church, relit the fire, and this time the building was reduced to ashes. That same day, Mr. Duceast and five other African Americans were arrested for the original stabbing incident. Mr. Duceast was charged with Murder, while the others were held as material witnesses. News of the rioting started an investigation into the status of African Americans in the Borough of Carteret. The investigation was carried out by Reverend George S. Miller of the Washington Baptist Church of Orange, New Jersey; Reverend Charles Mayhew of the First Baptist Church of Arlington, New Jersey; and Reverend Otto Laegeler, Superintendent of Religious Education of the New Jersey Baptist Conference. They met with African American members of the Segregated Baptist Conference to discuss what was to be done. That same day the members of Carteret Fire Company #2 raised $1,000 as a fund for the widow and children of John Carroll.

Subsequently, many of the African Americans who were forced out returned to Carteret, and their numbers increased over the years [ [http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F10612F83B5D1A728DDDAE0A94DC405B868EF1D3 | MOB BURNS CHURCH; EJECTS ALL NEGROS; NY Times; 1926-04-27; Pages 1 and 18.] ] .

Geography

Carteret is located at coor dms|40|34|57|N|74|13|48|W|city (40.582504, -74.229976)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 5.0 square miles (12.9 km²), of which, 4.4 square miles (11.3 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (12.63%) is water.

Demographics

USCensusPop
1930= 13339
1940= 11976
1950= 13030
1960= 20502
1970= 23137
1980= 20598
1990= 19025
2000= 20709
estimate= 22264
estyear=2006
estref= [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&geo_id=06000US3402500070&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US34%7C05000US34025%7C06000US3402500070&_street=&_county=carteret&_cityTown=carteret&_state=04000US34&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=060&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= Census data for Carteret borough] , United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 31, 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.] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 20,709 people, 7,039 households, and 5,208 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,747.4 people per square mile (1,833.9/km²). There were 7,320 housing units at an average density of 1,678.1/sq mi (648.2/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 68.76% White, 9.54% African American, 0.24% Native American, 8.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.26% from other races, and 3.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.37% of the population.

There were 7,039 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the borough the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $47,148, and the median income for a family was $54,609. Males had a median income of $40,172 versus $28,132 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,967. About 8.6% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Carteret has a large Punjabi Sikh population. These numbers increased between 1999-2004. Two gurdwaras, Singh Sabha and Deshmesh Darbar, are located in Carteret. The Sikh community has dubbed Carteret as "kartarpur", in remembrance of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.Fact Date=July 2008

Government

Local government

Carteret is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a six-member Borough Council, with all positions elected at large in partisan elections. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. Members of the Borough Council are 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. 87.]

The Current Mayor of Carteret is Democrat Daniel J. Reiman, whose term of office will end on December 31, 2010. As of 2008, members of the Borough Council are Council President Joseph Sitarz (2009), Vincent Bellino (2010), Iris Colon (2008), Jorge Diaz (2010), Randy Krum (2008) and Susan Naples (2008); A position with a term ending in 2009 is vacant. [ [http://www.ci.carteret.nj.us/content/99/default.aspx Governing Body] , Borough of Carteret. Accessed May 19, 2008.]

Federal, state and county representation

Carteret is in the Thirteenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 19th Legislative District. [ [http://www.lwvnj.org/pubs/CG06.pdf 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government] , New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 55. Accessed August 30, 2006.]

Education

The Carteret School District serves 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=3402820 Data for the Carteret School District] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 10, 2008.] ) are three K-5 elementary schools — [http://www.carteretschools.org/school/columbus/start.asp Columbus School] (674 students), [http://www.carteretschools.org/school/nathan_hale/start.asp Nathan Hale School] (654) and [http://www.carteretschools.org/school/private_minue/start.asp Private Nicholas Minue School] (587) — [http://www.carteretschools.org/school/middle_school/start.asp Carteret Middle School] for grades 6-8 (888) and
Carteret High School for grades 9-12 (1,090).

A private rabbinical college, Yeshiva Gedola of Carteret is a recent addition to the community.

Commerce

Portions of Carteret 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

New Jersey Transit local bus service is provided on the 116 route to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan and on the 62 route to Newark. [ [http://www.njtransit.com/sf_tp_rc_middlesex.shtml Middlesex County Bus/Rail Connections] , New Jersey Transit. Accessed June 21, 2007.]

Places of interest

*Carteret Waterfront
*Carteret Park

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Carteret include:
*Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros of the pop/rock group The Smithereens are all former Carteret residents. All three met while in school in Carteret. [Cahillane, Kevin. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E7DC143BF933A25753C1A9629C8B63 "Not Fade Away: The Smithereens' Monument to Persistence"] , "The New York Times", October 10, 2004. Accessed November 3, 2007. "The band formed in 1980 when three Carteret High School graduates (class of 1975) and childhood friends (Mr. Babjak, Dennis Diken on drums and Mike Mesaros on bass) met Pat DiNizio, a Scotch Plains singer-songwriter-garbage man."]
*Joseph A. Cafasso (1956-), former Fox News consultant on military and counterterrorism issues who left the network after allegations surfaced that he misrepresented his military record. [Rutenberg, Jim. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EFD81E3EF93AA15757C0A9649C8B63 "At Fox News, the Colonel Who Wasn't"] , "The New York Times", April 29, 2002. Accessed November 29, 2007. " Born in 1956, he graduated from Carteret High School in Carteret, N.J., military records show."]
*Jim Conti of the ska band Streetlight Manifesto.Fact|date=February 2008
*Jim McGreevey (1957-), former Governor of New Jersey, grew up in Carteret. [Slackman, Michael; and Jacons, Andrew. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E6D9123FF936A2575BC0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 "THE GOVERNOR RESIGNS: THE CONFLICT; Sex, Ambition and the Politics of the Closet: A Double Life"] , "The New York Times", August 15, 2004. Accessed October 26, 2007. "Mr. McGreevey was molded both by the stern expectations of his father, who believed that discipline was best dispensed with a firm hand, and the Catholic, working-class ethos of his hometown, Carteret."]
*Joe "Ducky" Medwick (1911-1975), left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the "Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968, by the Veterans Committee. [ [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=medwijo01 Joe Medwick at Baseball Almanac] , accessed December 7, 2006.] Ranked #7 on the "Sports Illustrated" list of "The 50 Greatest New Jersey Sports Figures". [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/features/si50/states/new_jersey/greatest/ The 50 Greatest New Jersey Sports Figures] , "Sports Illustrated", December 27, 1999.]
*Paul J. Pluta, Rear Admiral, United States Coast Guard (Ret.) [ [http://www.homelanddefensejournal.com/hdl/bio_paul_pluta.asp Paul J. Pluta, Rear Admiral, USCG (ret.) ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.ci.carteret.nj.us/ Borough of Carteret]
* [http://www.carteretfd.com Carteret Fire Department Website]
* [http://www.carteretschools.org/ Carteret School District]
* [http://www.carteretfirstaid.org Carteret First Aid Squad Website]
*NJReportCard|23|0750|0|Carteret School District
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3402820 Data for the Carteret School District] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.topix.net/forum/city/carteret-nj Carteret forum on topix]
* [http://www.nj.com/forums/carteret Carteret forum on New Jersey website]