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New Providence, New Jersey

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File:NPSign.jpg
The New Providence sign which marks the borders of the town.

New Providence is a Borough located in Union County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough had a total population of 11,907.

Geography

New Providence is located at 40°42'2" North, 74°24'11" West (40.700501, -74.403096)Template:GR. It is on the edge of Union County, and borders Morris County via the Passaic River. New Providence resides its waste treatment plant on this river.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 9.5 km² (3.7 mi²). 9.5 km² (3.7 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

History

Map of New Providence in Union County

The first settlement at New Providence was in 1720. The settlement was originally called "Turkeytown", due to the presence of wild turkeys in the area. In 1759, the balcony of the local Presbyterian Church collapsed. The lack of serious injuries was declared a Divine Providence, and the town was renamed. In 1793, a regional government was formed. It encompassed the area from present-day Springfield Township, Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights, and was called Springfield Township. Growth continued in the area, and by 1809, Springfield Township divided into Springfield Township and New Providence Township. New Providence Township included Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.

In 1869, Summit seceded from New Providence Township. The Borough of New Providence and the City of Summit both incorporated in 1899. Present day Berkeley Heights remained as New Providence Township, (a name it kept until 1952) but also chose to incorporate in 1899. Many of the townships and regional areas in New Jersey were separating into small, locally governed communities at that time due to acts of the New Jersey legislature that made it economically advantageous for the communities to due so.

According to local legend, George Washington spent the night in a local home, which still stands to this day. The local Salt Brook is supposedly named for an incident when the local salt supply was dumped into the brook to prevent passing British soldiers from taking it. The Salt Brook winds through town, starting near the eponymous Salt Brook Elementary School.

Schools

One of the main reasons residents move into New Providence is its high ranked school district. Students from Murray Hill, New Jersey share the New Providence school facilities.

New Providence has four public schools:

  • Allen W. Roberts Elementary School
  • Salt Brook Elementary School
  • New Providence Middle School / New Providence High School: Both schools share the same building and some of the same facilities (art rooms, auditorium, east wing, west wing, gyms, music rooms, tv production room, cafeteria). Recently a new gym was added to the building.

In December of 2005, the school district was sued by a former student. The student, one of the few black students at New Providence High School, alleges that the school district failed to respond to racial incidents targeting the student. The lawsuit also names a handful of current and former High School students as codefendants. No date for trial has currently been set.

Population and expansion crisis

New Providence used to have another elementary school, Hillview. Hillview was being leased to a local child care provider, since student populations in the 1980s and 1990s did not necessitate a third elementary school. In the early 1990s, it was determined that it was no longer necessary to keep this school. Moreover, it was felt that the cost to modernize the school, mostly in HVAC infrastructure, was too costly and would not be worth the fund allocation. In an effort spearheaded by then superintendent Geoffery Gordon, Hillview was sold to private and public interests: a YMCA currently operates there, as does the Morris County Board of Education. Right after the Hillview sale, 7th and 8th grade instruction was moved from the elementary schools to the high school, due to rising student populations in the lower grades. During the first few years of this facility merger, the high school population was low enough that they could effectively share facilities but did not have a need to share classrooms. However, school populations readily increased and both the middle and high schools saw the need for extra classrooms. Morover, during the years of 1997-1998, the school population started to explode at the Kindergarten and first-grade levels, indicating that there would be a future need for expanded facilties.

The district and town recognized the need for expanded facilities. In 1998 the town floated its first of several bonds to pay for several construction efforts. Four new classrooms were added in 1998. A new television studio and music room was added in 2001. In 2003, a new gym was built and the cafeteria was expanded. These construction projects would not have been necessary if the town had retained its Hillview facility. Today, most of the faculty and town population view the sell of Hillview as a highly foolish act that has consequently cost the town a vast amount of money over the years. Currently, the owners of Hillview have no desire to sell the facility back to the burough. Hillview can be seen here.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 11,907 people, 4,404 households, and 3,307 families residing in the borough. The population density is 1,249.3/km² (3,236.9/mi²). There are 4,485 housing units at an average density of 470.6/km² (1,219.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough is 89.77% White, 0.88% African American, 0.03% Native American, 7.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. 3.50% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 4,404 households out of which 37.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% are married couples living together, 6.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% are non-families. 21.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 3.13.

In the borough the population is spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough is $90,964, and the median income for a family is $105,013. Males have a median income of $72,926 versus $46,948 for females. The per capita income for the borough is $42,995. 1.8% of the population and 1.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.0% of those under the age of 18 and 2.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Currently, based on per-capita income, New Providence is ranked 48th among municipalities in the state.

Government

Local government

The Borough of New Providence is governed under the Borough system of municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprised of six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor of New Providence is Allen Morgan, whose term of office ends in 2006. Members of the New Providence Borough Council are Council President Terri Keller (term of office ends in 2005), J. Brooke Hern (2006), Julia MacDermott (2007), Dr. Bob Robinson (2005), John Thoms (2007) and Stephen Vengrow (2006).

Federal, state and county representation

New Providence Borough is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 21st Legislative District.

For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 7th congressional district is represented by Thomas Kean Jr. (R, Westfield).[1] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027) and Andy Kim (Moorestown, term ends 2031).[2][3]

For the 2024-2025 session, the 21st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Jon Bramnick (R, Westfield) and in the General Assembly by Michele Matsikoudis (R, New Providence) and Nancy Munoz (R, Summit).[4] Template:NJ Governor

Template:NJ Union County Freeholders

Landmarks

  • The Presbyterian Church is a large, white, historic church in the center of town. Every couple of weeks the church hosts an event called "The Fire Escape", which is an event aimed at increasing youth participation in the church by drawing middle-school aged students in with a coffee lounge and g-rated dance party atmosphere.
  • The Village Shopping Center is a mini-mall in the center of downtown. The shopping center takes up the majority of space that comprises "downtown" New Providence.
  • Right outside of New Providence is the Bell Laboratories, in Murray Hill. New Providence School District currently links its buildings' computer networks together by using a wireless LAN which includes Yagi antennas at the two towers by the large copper pyarmid roof.

Frequent municipal police locations

Police heavily patrol Livingston Ave., which is a residential street that runs between Central and Springfield Avenues, halfway between South Street and Maple Ave. Despite being unusually wide, Livingston Ave. has a speed limit of 25mph. Police sit here at all hours of the day, waiting for people to exceed the posted speed limit.

Famous New Providencians

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

  1. ^ "Congressman Malinowski Fights For The Corporate Transparency Act", Tom Malinowski, press release dated October 23, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2022. "My name, Tom Malinowski. My address, 86 Washington Street, Rocky Hill, NJ 08553."
  2. ^ U.S. Sen. Cory Booker cruises past Republican challenger Rik Mehta in New Jersey, PhillyVoice. Accessed April 30, 2021. "He now owns a home and lives in Newark's Central Ward community."
  3. ^ https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/andy-kim-new-jersey-senate/
  4. ^ Legislative Roster for District 21, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 18, 2024.
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