Fort Lee, New Jersey
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Map highlighting Fort Lee's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey. |
Fort Lee is a
borough in
Bergen County,
New Jersey,
United States. As of the
United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 35,461.
Fort Lee was formed on
April 18,
1904 from the remaining portions of
Ridgefield Township. With the creation of Fort Lee, Ridgefield Township became defunct and was dissolved
["History of Bergen County," Vol. 1, pp. 361-364.].
Fort Lee is located at (40.849879, -73.975014). It is north of
Edgewater, New Jersey and is on the
Hackensack Peninsula between the
Hackensack River and the
Hudson River.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 7.5
km² (2.9
mi²). 6.6 km² (2.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (12.15%) is water.
Fort Lee is named as a result of
George Washington and named after General
Charles Lee, who camped in this area, defending
New York City. George Washington and his troops actually walked on a road which is called Main Street in Fort Lee. In fact, it was during Washington's retreat from Fort Lee in November 1776 that
Thomas Paine composed his pamphlet, "The American Crisis", which began with the recognized phrase, "These are the times that try men's souls". The
George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey to the
Washington Heights neighborhood in uptown
Manhattan,
New York City, has its western terminus located in Fort Lee.
In recent years, Fort Lee has seen a surge of residents of
Korean origin which has led to the conversion of much of the town into a large
Koreatown, similar to Chinatowns of such cities as New York and San Francisco in that many traditional Korean stores and restaurants may be seen in Fort Lee, and the
Hangul letters of the Korean alphabet are as common as signs in English in parts of the downtown area.
The rapid increase of the Korean population has seen the decline of many other immigrant communities once centered in Fort Lee, notably the
Greek and
Italian communities, once quite large but now all but extinct. Luxury high-rises built near the George Washington Bridge have attracted many New York City residents to the city as well, as Fort Lee offers some relief from the stresses and prices of living in New York City. A sizable
Russian immigrant community has also sprung up in recent years, also attracted by the urban setting of Fort Lee.
The
history of cinema in the United States can trace its roots to the
East Coast where at one time, Fort Lee was the motion picture capital of America. The industry got its start at the end of the 19th century with the construction of
Thomas Edison's "Black Maria", the first
motion picture studio in
West Orange, New Jersey. Cities in New Jersey offered land at costs considerably less than
New York City, and the cities and towns of New Jersey near New York benefited greatly as a result of the phenomonal growth of the film indusry at the turn of the 20th century.
Filmmaking began attracting both capital and an innovative workforce and when the
Kalem Company began using Fort Lee in 1907 as a location for filming in the area, other filmmakers quickly followed. In 1909 a forerunner of
Universal Studios, the
Champion Film Company, built the first studio. They were quickly followed by others who either built new studios or who leased facilities in Fort Lee. In the 1910s and 1920s, film companies such as the
Independent Motion Picture Co.,
Peerless Studios,
The Solax Company,
Éclair Studios,
Goldwyn Picture Corporation,
World Pictures,
Biograph Studios,
Fox Film Corporation,
Pathé Frères, ,
Victor Film Company,
Selznick Pictures Corporation were all making pictures in Fort Lee. Such notables as
Mary Pickford got their start at Biograph Studios.
With the offshoot businesses that sprang up to service the film studios, for nearly two decades Fort Lee experienced unrivaled prosperity. However, just as the development of Fort Lee production facililities was gaining strength,
Nestor Studios of
Bayonne, New Jersey, built the first studio in
Hollywood in 1911.
California's more hospitable and cost effective climate led to the eventual shift of virtually all filmmaking to the
West Coast by the 1930s.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 35,461 people, 16,544 households, and 9,396 families residing in the borough. The
population density was 5,411.7/km² (14,001.7/mi²). There were 17,446 housing units at an average density of 2,662.4/km² (6,888.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 62.75%
White, 1.73%
African American, 0.07%
Native American, 31.43%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 1.69% from
other races, and 2.26% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 7.87% of the population.
There were 16,544 households out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were
married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the borough the population was spread out with 17.5% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $58,161, and the median income for a family was $72,140. Males had a median income of $54,730 versus $41,783 for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $37,899. About 5.7% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
The
Mayor of the Borough of Fort Lee is Jack Alter, whose term of office ends in 2007. Members of the Fort Lee Borough Council are Council President Joseph L. Cervieri, Jr. (term ends in 2006), Ila Kasofsky (2007), Armand Pohan (2008), Michael Sargenti (2008), Mark Sokolich (2006) and Michael Villano (2007)
[Fort Lee Mayor & Borough Council, accessed February 23, 2006].
Federal, state and county representation
Fort Lee is part of New Jersey's 38th Legislative District and is in the Ninth Congressional District.
Politics
Out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 37,310 in Fort Lee, there were 17,434 registered voters (46.7% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 4,788 (27.5% vs. 20.7% countywide) were registered as
Democrats, 2,016 (11.6% vs. 19.2% countywide) were registered as
Republicans and 10,628 (61.0% vs. 60.1% countywide) were registered as
Undeclared. There were two voters registered to other parties
["County of Bergen: Voter Statistics by Municipality, Ward & District," dated April 1, 2006].
On the national level, Fort Lee leans strongly toward the Democratic Party. In the
2004 presidential election, Democrat
John Kerry received 61% of the vote here, defeating Republican
George W. Bush, who received around 38%
[ 2004 Presidential Election results: Bergen County New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety: Division of Elections, dated December 13, 2004].
The
Fort Lee School District serves students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district include four K-6 elementary schools (
School 1,
School 2,
School 3 and
School 4),
Fort Lee Middle School (grades 7 and 8) and
Fort Lee High School [
1] (grades 9-12).
*The
Long Path, is a 330-mile (528 km)
long-distance hiking trail that starts at the
George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee and continues to
Altamont,
New York, in the
Albany area.
*
NBC owns a building in Fort Lee that houses operations for
WNJU, licensed to
Linden. The same building served as the original
MSNBC studios from
15 July 1996 to
November of that year, when MSNBC moved to
Secaucus.
*"History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630-1923;" by "Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858-1942."
*"Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties)" prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey);
December 1,
1958.
*
The Borough's web site*
Fort Lee School District*
National Center for Education Statistics data for the Fort Lee School District*
Fort Lee Online community web site*
Fort Lee Film Commission web site*
an enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the Fort Lee approaches to the George Washington Bridge
