Montvale, New Jersey

Map highlighting Montvale's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey.

Montvale is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 7,034.

Montvale was incorporated as a borough on August 31, 1894, at the height of the Boroughitis craze then sweeping through Bergen County that led to the creation of over two dozen new municipalities in the county in that one year alone. The new borough consisted of portions of both Orvil Township and Washington Township. On February 15, 1896, Montvale acquired part of Orvil Township. In 1906, Montvale added further land from both Orvil and Washington Townships, and in 1912, Montvale added territory from Upper Saddle River. On May 20, 1959, portions of Montvale were passed to River Vale, and on December 9 and December 14, 1965, territories were exchanged between Montvale and Upper Saddle RiverDutch Door Genealogy: Bergen County New Jersey Municipalities, accessed March 28, 2006.

Geography

Montvale is located at (41.048997, -74.040523).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 10.3 km² (4.0 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,034 people, 2,509 households, and 1,999 families residing in the borough. The population density was 684.1/km² (1,769.8/mi²). There were 2,590 housing units at an average density of 251.9/km² (651.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 92.79% White, 0.44% African American, 0.09% Native American, 5.36% Asian, 0.63% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.09% of the population.

There were 2,509 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.4% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the borough the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $93,031, and the median income for a family was $104,047. Males had a median income of $80,355 versus $37,440 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $45,448. About 0.9% of families and 0.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.4% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The Borough of Montvale was chartered in 1894 under a Borough form of municipal government in which the Mayor is elected to a four-year term and six council members are elected at large to serve staggered three-year terms.

The Mayor and Council meet every second Tuesday of the month for formal public meetings and on the last Tuesday of the month for informal work sessions. Meetings are open to the public and residents are given the opportunity to speak on proposed ordinances and other matters of concern at the formal meetings. The first meeting of each month is usually televised on the local cable television access channel.

The Mayor is the Chief Executive Officer of the Borough, and as such presides over all public meetings, provides leadership in the development of community projects and makes appointments to various boards. The Borough Council exercises all legislative powers including adoption of the municipal budget, bond ordinances and the general business of the community.

The Council's powers include, for example, adopting all ordinances; reviewing, revising and adopting the budget; making appropriations; levying taxes; authorizing bond issues; providing for the internal structure of local government; providing by ordinance for the creation and abolition of jobs; fixing salaries and establishing general municipal policy.

The Mayor of the community is elected for a four-year term and serves part-time for a yearly salary. While the Mayor does not have a vote on Council, he or she may vote in the case of a tie.

Council members consist of six members elected for staggered three-year terms, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor of Montvale Borough is George B. Zeller (R). Members of the Montvale Borough Council are Roger Fyfe (R), Martin Kent (D), James Kimball (D), Arthur E. Lavis (R), Thomas J. Sullivan, Jr. (D) and Richard R. Voorhees (R)Mayor & Council and Information About Your Government, accessed May 30, 2006.

Federal, state and county representation

Montvale is in the Fifth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 39th Legislative District.

Politics

Out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 7,321 in Montvale, there were 4,798 registered voters (65.5% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 597 (12.4% vs. 20.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,425 (29.7% vs. 19.2% countywide) were registered as Republicans and 2,775 (57.8% 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, Montvale leans toward the Republican Party. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 56% of the vote here, defeating Democrat John Kerry, who received around 43% 2004 Presidential Election results: Bergen County New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety: Division of Elections, dated December 13, 2004.

Education

The Montvale Public Schools serve students in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. Schools in the district (with 2003-04 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Memorial Elementary School with 551 students in grades pre-K through 4, and Fieldstone Middle School with 446 students in grades 5 to 8.

High school students from Montvale attend Pascack Hills High School along with students from neighboring Woodcliff Lake and a portion of Hillsdale, as part of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District.

Transportation

Montvale is served by New Jersey Transit on the Pascack Valley Line at the Montvale train station. The station is located at the intersection of Kinderkamack Road and Grand Avenue.

This line runs north-south to Hoboken Terminal with connections via the Secaucus Junction transfer station to New Jersey Transit one-stop service to New York Penn Station and to other NJ Transit rail service. Connections are available at the Hoboken Terminal to other New Jersey Transit rail lines, the PATH train at the Hoboken PATH station, New York Waterways ferry service to the World Financial Center and other destinations and Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service.

The Pascack Valley Line is a single-track line providing service towards Hoboken during the morning rush hour and service from Hoboken in the evening rush hour.

Corporate residents

Montvale is the corporate headquarters of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (parent of the A&P supermarkets), Ingersoll Rand and the accounting firm KPMG has a large presence here. The international marketing and commercial services headquarters of Western Union are located in Montvale. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Pentax, Benjamin Moore, and Sony also have offices located in Montvale.

Montvale, New Jersey: Encyclopedia BETA

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