Belmar, New Jersey

Belmar is a borough located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,907,

What is now Belmar was originally incorporated as Ocean Beach borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1885, from portions of Wall Township, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier. On April 16, 1889, it became the City of Elcho borough, which lasted for a few weeks until the name was changed to the City of Belmar Borough on May 14, 1889. The city acquired its current name, Borough of Belmar, on November 20, 1890. The borough's name means "beautiful sea" in Italian.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.62 square miles (4.18 km2), including 1.05 square miles (2.71 km2) of land and 0.57 square miles (1.48 km2) of water (35.19%).

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Belmar had a population of 5,907. The median age was 45.7 years. 13.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.7 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,867 households in Belmar, of which 15.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.6% were married-couple households, 27.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 42.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2000 census

thumb|left|200px|Belmar Fishing Club, a Belmar landmark, 2021

As of the 2000 United States census

As of the 2000 Census, 28.2% of Belmar's residents were of Irish ancestry, the 12th highest of any municipality in New Jersey, for all communities in which at least 1,000 people listed their ancestry.

There were 2,946 households, out of which 17.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.0% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.3% were non-families. 44.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.92.

thumb|left|alt=Belmar beach|A view of Belmar beach from 2nd Avenue looking south on July 23, 2023.

The Jersey Shore Basketball League, a competitive summer basketball league, takes place at St. Rose High School every summer.

The Belmar Arts Council (BAC) sponsors regular art shows, workshops, concerts, and performances year around. BAC's gallery and workshop, the Boatworks, is located at 608 River Road near the Shark River Inlet.

Government

thumb|Belmar Police Van

Local government

In July 1990, the voters of Belmar overwhelmingly passed a referendum changing Belmar's form of government from a three-person, non-partisan commission form of government under the Walsh Act to the Small Municipality plan 3 form of government under the Faulkner Act. This referendum followed nine months of research, analysis and hearings by a Charter Study Commission elected by the residents at a referendum that passed in November 1989 and implemented effective January 1, 1991. The borough is one of 18 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government, which is only available to municipalities with fewer than 12,000 residents at the time of adoption.

Under the version of the Small Municipality Plan form applicable to Belmar, the Borough Council is comprised of four members who are elected to staggered, three-year terms at partisan elections each year as part of the November general election, with either one or two seats up for vote in a three-year cycle. The Mayor is directly elected by the voters for a four-year term and serves as Belmar's chief executive officer, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Borough. The Mayor sits as a member of the council, chairs Council meetings and is able to vote as a member of the council, but has no veto over the council's actions.

, the Mayor of Belmar is Democrat Gerald Buccafusco, whose term of office ends December 31, 2026. Members of the Belmar Borough Council are Council President Mark Levis (D, 2025), Caitlin Donovan (D, 2026), Jodi Kinney (R, 2027), and Maria Rondinaro (D, 2025).

Federal, state and county representation

Belmar is located in the 4th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 30th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 3,823 registered voters in Belmar, of which 1,074 (28.1%) were registered as Democrats, 765 (20.0%) were registered as Republicans and 1,982 (51.8%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were two voters registered as either Libertarians or Greens.

In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 51.5% of the vote (1,310 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 47.0% (1,196 votes), and other candidates with 1.4% (36 votes), among the 2,584 ballots cast by the borough's 4,011 registered voters (42 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 64.4%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 49.5% of the vote (1,389 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 47.4% (1,332 votes) and other candidates with 1.6% (44 votes), among the 2,808 ballots cast by the borough's 3,938 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.3%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 50.4% of the vote (1,394 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 48.0% (1,327 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (32 votes), among the 2,764 ballots cast by the borough's 4,014 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 68.9.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 70.6% of the vote (1,440 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 27.2% (555 votes), and other candidates with 2.2% (45 votes), among the 2,096 ballots cast by the borough's 4,043 registered voters (56 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 51.8%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 57.4% of the vote (1,173 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 34.0% (694 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.8% (138 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (20 votes), among the 2,044 ballots cast by the borough's 3,698 registered voters, yielding a 55.3% turnout.

thumb|right|Belmar Fishing Club Pier 2015

Education

The Belmar School District serves students in public school for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Belmar Elementary School. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 448 students and 52.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.5:1. The district also serves students from Lake Como who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship. The school was constructed in 1909 and has had additions built in 1929, 1949, 1969 and 1993. There are 61 certified staff members, including the district's administrators, teachers, nurses and child study team personnel, with an additional 12 paraprofessionals. The single school facility is two schools in one, a primary school for Pre-K–5 and a middle school structure for 6–8.

Students attending public high school for ninth through twelfth grades are assigned to either Manasquan High School or Asbury Park High School based on sending/receiving relationships with the Manasquan Public Schools and Asbury Park Public Schools, respectively. Manasquan High School also serves students from Avon-by-the-Sea, Brielle, Lake Como, Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights who attend as part of sending/receiving relationships with their respective districts. As of the 2020–21 school year, Manasquan High School had an enrollment of 1,006 students and 76.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.1:1, while Asbury Park High School had an enrollment of 682 students and 54.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1.

Students may also attend Red Bank Regional High School, Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Academy of Allied Health & Science, Academy Charter School, High Technology High School, Communications High School or Biotechnology High School.

Students also have the option to attend Academy Charter High School in Lake Como, which accepts students on a lottery basis from the communities of Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Avon-by-the-Sea, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Deal, Interlaken and Lake Como.

Belmar is home of St. Rose High School, which was established in 1923 by the local parish and the Sisters of St. Joseph, and operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton.

Mesivta Keser Torah of Central Jersey, a yeshiva and high school for men that serves Haredi students mainly from Lakewood Township, Deal and Brooklyn, has been in the borough since the 1920s.

The Belmar Public Library is one of New Jersey's original 36 Carnegie libraries.

Transportation

thumb|right|[[New Jersey Route 35|Route 35 in Belmar]]

Roads and highways

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Monmouth County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 35 and Route 71 are the two main highways that pass through Belmar. The closest limited access roads are all in neighboring Wall Township: Route 18, the Garden State Parkway and Interstate 195.

Public transportation

thumb|right|Belmar station, which is served by NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line

NJ Transit provides rail transportation at the Belmar station to and from New York Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, Newark Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal on the North Jersey Coast Line. New Jersey Transit also provides bus transportation between Belmar and Philadelphia on the 317 route and service on the 830 route.

Airport

Monmouth Executive Airport is a public-use airport located west of Belmar.

Sports

The Jersey Shore Breaks of 94x50 League have played their home games at St. Rose High School since 2026.

Annual events

thumb|The intersection of E Street & 10th Avenue in Belmar, which inspired [[Bruce Springsteen's naming of the E Street Band. A large replica of Springsteen's Fender Esquire guitar has been placed there. The Belmar Public Library is behind the guitar.]]

Belmar 5 Mile Johnny Cobb Memorial Run
New Jersey Seafood Festival celebrated its 30th year in 2016. The festival, which attracted an estimated 200,000 visitors in 2015, had to be modified in scope to allow the borough to cope with the volumes of traffic.
New Jersey Sand Castle Contest, which featured 200 participants at the 27th annual event in 2013
St. Patrick's Day Parade, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023
Belmar Pro Surf Contest
Belmar Fall Festival
Belmar Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony
Belmar Spring Kite Festival
Howard Rowland Memorial Lifeguard Tournament – an bi-annual tournament of lifeguard teams from the Jersey Shore
Meters for Mike
Belmar Sprint Triathlon
The Jersey Shore Relay Run, which has a leg that goes through Belmar
Surfer's Healing

Sister city

In August 2008, the borough established a Sister City relationship with Balbriggan, a town of nearly 16,000 in County Dublin, Ireland.

Community

thumb|right|Beach in Belmar

thumb|Renovated Belmar Boardwalk after [[Hurricane Sandy in 2013]]

Belmar was home to the first and oldest first-aid squad in the United States. The Squad, organized in 1927 ceased operations in 2021.
Belmar's "E" Street is the original source of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Springsteen's original keyboardist, David Sancious, was a resident of E Street in Belmar at the time the band was formed. The Sancious' family home was often used as a practice venue where they honed their musical craft in the formative pre-fame years.
Monmouth Executive Airport in nearby Wall Township is designated with the call letters "BLM" based on its initial name of Belmar Airport.
In the HBO series The Sopranos, Belmar is shown as the home port of Tony Soprano's boat, the Stugots.
Guy Fieri featured Belmar and local restaurant 10th Avenue Burrito in an episode of Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives which originally aired on December 13, 2010.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Belmar has a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa).

Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Belmar would have an Appalachian Oak (104) vegetation type with an Eastern Hardwood Forest (25) vegetation form.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Belmar include:

Jay Alders (born 1973), artist and photographer
Tom Brower (born 1965), member of the Hawaii House of Representatives
Dave Calloway (born 1968), college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at Monmouth University
Harriett Ephrussi-Taylor (1918–1968), geneticist, microbiologist and educator, who initiated and made crucial contributions to the fields of transformation and bacterial recombination
Christian Fuscarino (born 1990), community organizer and LGBT activist who is the executive director of Garden State Equality
James Gallagher (1909–1992), soccer player who earned two caps with the United States national soccer team
Michael Gerson (born 1964), political writer and commentator who served as chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006
Stephen L. Hoffman (born 1948), physician-scientist, tropical medicine specialist and vaccinologist
Brian Lynch (born 1978), professional basketball player who played for the Belgian team Euphony Bree and is married to former World No. 1-ranked tennis star Kim Clijsters
Jay Lynch (1945–2017), cartoonist best known for his comic strip Nard n' Pat
Marina Mabrey (born 1996), basketball player with the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association
Balls Mahoney (1972–2016), professional wrestler
Joseph Mayer (1877–1942), Mayor of Belmar who later served on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders
Tom McGowan (born 1956), actor
Douglas Crawford McMurtrie (1888–1944), type designer
David Sancious (born 1953), early member of the E Street Band
Joe Shimko (born 2000), American football long snapper for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League
Sarah Spiegel, singer and actress
Neal Sterling (born 1992), tight end who played in the NFL for the New York Jets
E. Donald Sterner (1894–1983), politician

References

External links

Borough of Belmar official website
Belmar Elementary School
School Data for the Belmar Elementary School, National Center for Education Statistics