Livingston, New Jersey
|
Map of Livingston Township in Essex County |
Livingston is a
township in
Essex County,
New Jersey,
United States. As of the
United States 2000 Census, the township population was 27,391.
Livingston was founded in 1813, and was the joining of the following seven regions: Centerville (now Livingston Center), Cheapside (now
Livingston Mall), Morehousetown (now Livingston Circle), Northfield (now Northfield Center), Squiretown (Now the Cerebal Palsy Institute of New Jersey on Old Road), Teedtown, and Washington Place. The town was given its name in honor of
William Livingston, the first
Governor of New Jersey.
The Township of Livingston is located in Essex County, in the Gateway Region. Nearby are
County Route 508,
Interstate 280,
Route 10,
Interstate 78, and the
Morristown and Erie Railway. In the vicinity are the
Passaic River,
West Orange,
Essex Fells,
Millburn, and the Grover Cleveland State Historic Site. Livingston is part of the
New York metropolitan area.
Livingston is located at (40.788733, -74.321340).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.4
km² (14.1
mi²). 35.9 km² (13.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.35%) is water.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 27,391 people, 9,300 households, and 7,932 families residing in the town. The
population density was 761.9/km² (1,973.1/mi²). There were 9,457 housing units at an average density of 263.1/km² (681.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 82.64%
White, 1.20%
African American, 0.05%
Native American, 14.54%
Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 0.69% from
other races, and 0.87% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.54% of the population.
According to the 2002 results of the
National Jewish Population Survey[Jewish Population in the United States, 2002, National Jewish Population Survey, accessed May 11, 2006], there are 12,600
Jews in Livingston, approximately 46% of the population. This is one of the higher percentages of Jews in any American municipality.
There were 9,300 households out of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.0% were
married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.7% were non-families. 13.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the township the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
The
median income for a household in the township is $98,869, and the median income for a family was $108,049. Males had a median income of $77,256 versus $41,654 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $47,218. About 1.1% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
Livingston's Township Council consists of five members. A
Mayor and
Deputy Mayor are selected by the Council from among its members. The Mayor of Livingston is Renée Green. The other Council members are Deputy Mayor Lee Peyser, David Katz, Stephen Santola and Gary Schneiderman
[Livingston Township Officials 2006, accessed June 26, 2006].
The Township Manager is Michele Meade. She is the third Township Manager, preceded by Robert W. Harp (1954-1985) and Charles J. Tahaney (1985-2005).
In November 2006, Livingston will vote for three seats on the Township Council. The candidates are: Democrats Charles "Buddy" August, Arlene Johnson and Lee Peyser (incumbent), and Republicans William Jones, Phyllis Velardi and Rudy Fernandez.
Township committees
Committees and Boards run through the Township include:
*Livingston Municipal Alliance Committee (LMAC)
*Holiday Committees
*Neighborhood Grievance Committee
*Consumer Affairs Office
*Planning Board
*Zoning Board of Adjustment
*Committee for Diversity
Federal, state and county representation
Livingston is part of New Jersey's 27th Legislative District and is in the Eighth and Eleventh Congressional Districts.
Politics
On the national level, Livingston leans toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 54 percent of the vote, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 45 percent. Livingston has not elected a Republican on the local level since 1994.
Livingston was the home of one of New Jersey's most prominent political families, the Kean's:
Robert Kean served in the
U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1958, when he ran for U.S. Senator; his son,
Thomas Kean, who served in the
New Jersey General Assembly from 1968 to 1978 (and as Assembly Speaker in 1972-73, and Minority Leader 1974-77), as
Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, and as President of
Drew University from 1990 to 2004.
Thomas Kean Jr., elected to the State Assembly in 2001 and the State Senate in 2003, is the Republican nominee for United States Senator in 2006.
When Robert Kean ran for the Senate, losing to
Harrison A. Williams in 1958, Livingtson's Congressman became
George M. Wallhauser, a Republican. After the 1960 census, Livingston was moved into the district of Republican Congresswoman
Florence P. Dwyer. After the 1970 census, Livingston went into Congressman
Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.'s district. He was the father of Livingston's current Congressman,
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen. When Peter Frelinghuysen retired in 1974, he was succeeded by
Millicent Fenwick, who beat Tom Kean in a Republican primary by about 80 votes. After the 1980 census, Livingston was moved to Congressman
Joseph G. Minish's district. Minish was defeated by
Dean Gallo in 1984 and served until his death in 1994. Rodney Frelinghuysen took his seat. The 2000 Census split the town, and now Congressman
Bill Pascrell Jr. represents a portion of the community.
Some Essex County Freeholders from Livingston have included Reita Greenstone, James Cavanaugh, Patricia Sebold, and William Clark.
The
Livingston Public Schools consists of six
elementary schools, for grades K-5 (
Burnet Hill School,
Collins Elementary School,
Harrison Elementary School,
Hillside Elementary School,
Mount Pleasant Elementary School and
Riker Hill Elementary School), two
middle schools (
Mount Pleasant Middle School for grade 6 and
Heritage Middle School for grades 7 and 8) and
Livingston High School for grades 9-12. For the 1997-98 school year, Livingston High School received the
Blue Ribbon Award from the
United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.
[Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), accessed May 11, 2006]Livingston's schools participate in many county, interschool,state, and national competetions. Some of these include the popular "Cognetics" program, Math Counts, Various national, state, and county math contests , Debate contests, Academically Speaking (a county competition to test broad knowledge),
Knowledge Master Open (KMO, a national computer-based contest to test broad knowledge), and many more.
Aquinas Academy is a private
coeducational
Roman Catholic school that serves students from preschool through eighth grade.
Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy is a private
coeducational
Jewish
day school that serves preschool through eighth grade.
Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School is a four-year
yeshiva high school for grades 9-12.
Newark Academy is a private
coeducational
high school for grades 9-12.
Livingston is located about 20 miles from
New York City. There is a
Coach USA (Community Coach) bus to the
Port Authority Bus Terminal in
New York City and a
New Jersey Transit bus service to
Newark Penn Station running through the center of Livingston. New Jersey Transit train service and
PATH can be reached by car or taxi.
Although largely a
bedroom community, there are numerous stores and restaurants located in Livingston. They include
chain stores such as
Barnes & Noble,
Borders, and
Old Navy, as well department stores in the
Livingston Mall (e.g.
Macy's,
Lord and Taylor,
the Gap). Additionally, there are many local, independent stores. A new walkable
town center is under construction along with a housing complex next to it. Livingston has a cable television station (TV-34), which is maintained by Livingston High School Students as well as the LPBC (Livingston Public Broadcasting Committee).
* The Kean's: Robert Winthrop Kean (Congress 39-50), Thomas Howard Kean, Sr. (Assembly 1968-78, Speaker 1971-72, Governor, 1982-90), Thomas Howard Kean, Jr. (Assemblyman 2001-03; State Senate 2003-date; 2006 G.O.P. nominee for U.S. Senate.
*Jay Greenspan, better known as
Jason Alexander and even better known for his role as
George Costanza of the long-running television show,
Seinfeld, is a graduate of the Livingston school system.
*
Martin Brodeur, Goalie for the
New Jersey Devils lived in Livingston but moved after about a year and a half.
*
Christopher J. Christie, who serves as the
United States Attorney for the
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and before that as a
Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
*
Faith Evans also had a brief stay in the town as she rented a home there while a new house of hers was being
renovated.
*Former
governor James Florio.
*
Chelsea Handler, American
stand-up comedian and star of the Chelsea Handler Show on
E!.
*
Brevin Knight, professional
basketball player on the
Charlotte Bobcats who was born in Livingston and went to school at
Seton Hall Preparatory School and then
Stanford University.
*
Charles Kushner, a
real estate mogul and
Democratic fundraiser who pleaded guilty in 2004 to tax violations and charges related to witness tampering.
*
Julia Montgomery was an actress who appeared in
Revenge of the Nerds.
*
Tommy Page, American
singer known for his song,
I'll Be Your Everything, in collaboration with
New Kids on the Block. He is a graduate of Livingston High School.
*
Claudio Reyna, professional soccer player who played for European premier teams and is currently on the World Cup squad since 1994, was born in Livingston.
*
Glenn K. Rieth, who is the
Adjutant General of New Jersey in Governor
Jon Corzine's cabinet.
*
Byron Scott, the former coach of the
New Jersey Nets once lived in Livingston. However, he left after becoming the coach of the
New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.
*
Richie Zisk, who played for the
Pittsburgh Pirates and other major league baseball teams.
*Doris L. Beck, who became the first woman elected to the Livingston Township Council when she won in 1974. She was Mayor twice during her eight years in office.
*Dominick Crincoli, who served on the Council from 1975 to 1987 and spent three years as Mayor.
*John Graham, a Democratic fundraiser who served as Co-Chairman of
John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign in New Jersey.
*David M. Wildstein, who at age 23 became the youngest Councilman and Mayor in town history in 1984 and managed several statewide, congressional, countywide and legislative campaigns for the Republican Party.
*
Jason Zimbler, the actor who played the role of Ferguson Darling on the
Nickelodeon television show
Clarissa Explains It All, has lived in Livingston since his late childhood.
*Nicholas Donatiello, Jr., who was the Campaign Manager for
Bill Bradley's 1990 re-election campaign and served as Press Secretary to Senator Bradley.
*Patricia Sebold, a longtime Essex County Freeholder and Livingston Democratic Municipal Chairwoman.
*Robert Grady, the son of former Mayor John Grady, who served as Director of Communications to Tom Kean, as an aide to Rep.
Millicent Fenwick, and as Deputy Director of the
Office of Management and Budget under President
George H.W. Bush.
*
Harlan Coben, NY Times best-selling author of
Promise Me,
Tell No One and
No Second Chance, was born in Livingston and graduated from Livingston High School. His uncle, Martin Kronberg, was the Livingston Municipal Prosecutor.
*
David Tepper, founder of the successful hedge-fund Appaloosa Management, lives in Livingston. Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business is named after him. His daughter is a student at Livingston High School while his son is a recent graduate.
On
February 14,
2006, a group of three, possibly four armed robbers attempted to rob a Dunbar armored car. A shoot out ensued after the car picked up cash from a local
Bank of America branch. During the shootout one of the two security guards, the passenger, was hit; however, the bullet did not penetrate his chest as he was wearing a bulletproof vest. The same guard then ran into a local restaurant to call for help. The police quickly arrived and immediately apprehended two of the suspects. They then chased a third suspect through Livingston,
Millburn and
South Orange, the location where the third suspect would eventually be captured. A day after the shooting, investigators discovered that the driver of the armored car had left the truck unlocked a day earlier, which is the same mistake that allowed one of the robbers to enter the vehicle on the day of the robbery.
*
Official township website*
Livingston Public Schools*
National Center for Education Statistics data for the Livingston Public Schools*
A guide to Livingston*
A history of Livingston*
Map of Livingston
