Glen Ridge, New Jersey

Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,802, The borough is one of a few in New Jersey preserving the use of gas lamps for street lighting.

History

In 1666, 64 Connecticut families led by Robert Treat bought land from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans and named it New Ark to reflect a covenant to worship freely without persecution. The territory included the future municipalities of Bloomfield, Montclair, Belleville and Nutley. When Bloomfield was established in 1812, Glen Ridge was a section "on the hill" composed mostly of farms and woodlands with the exception of a thriving industrial area along Toney's Brook in the glen. For most of the nineteenth century, three water-powered mills produced lumber, calico, pasteboard boxes and brass fittings. A copper mine and a sandstone quarry were located on the north side of the brook.

In 1856, the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad arrived. The train stopped at Moffett's Mill in Glen Ridge on a daily basis. In 1860, N&B Railroad constructed a platform at Prospect Street known as Ridgewood Station, and its trains made regular stops there. In 1872, the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway began operating with one track and a station at Ridgewood Avenue. A new Ridgewood Station was built in 1887.

In 1891, Mountainside Hospital, a local hospital with more than 300 beds now known as HackensackUMC Mountainside, was founded. The Glen Ridge Country Club was founded in 1894, making it one of the state's oldest clubs.

Residents "on the hill" became unhappy with their representation on the Bloomfield township council. In spite of repeated requests to Bloomfield officials, roads remained unpaved, water and sewer systems were nonexistent and schools were miles away. Area residents marked out the boundaries of a area to secede from Bloomfield. At the election held on February 12, 1895, the decision to secede passed by 23 votes. Robert Rudd was elected the first mayor of Glen Ridge.

On February 13, 1895, Glen Ridge was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature from portions of Bloomfield Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day.

After Glen Ridge became a borough, architects suggested installing gas lamps as streetlights. Gas lamps became a characteristic of the borough. Circa World War II, gas lamps were discarded (many by the City of New York), salvaged, repaired, and brought to Glen Ridge. The Gaslamp is the Glen Ridge Historical Society's quarterly newsletter. Along streets with gas lamps, utility poles for electric lines are not permitted, and are instead routed behind homes. The borough also features extensive use of slate sidewalks.

In 1924, Glen Ridge became the first municipality in New Jersey to establish a zoning ordinance.

In 1982, the borough's official name was changed to "Township of Glen Ridge Borough". Glen Ridge was one of more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify themselves as townships to take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid on a per capita basis. Effective May 1993, the borough's original name of "Glen Ridge Borough" was restored.

In the 1980s, it was discovered that a section of the borough near Carteret Park was built on top of hazardous waste. Waste contaminated with radium from the old U.S. Radium watch dial plant had been used to fill in low-lying areas of Glen Ridge covering , as well as portions of Montclair and West Orange.

In 1989, athletes from Glen Ridge High School were involved in the sexual assault of a mentally handicapped student. Three teenagers were found guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault; a fourth was convicted of third-degree conspiracy. Author Bernard Lefkowitz wrote about the incident in the 1997 book Our Guys: The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb. Lefkowitz's book was adapted into the 1999 TV movie Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge.

Glen Ridge is a frequent location for film, television, and commercial shoots. Notable works filmed in Glen Ridge include Mona Lisa Smile (2003) and Winter Solstice (2004).

In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.28 square miles (3.31 km2), including 1.28 square miles (3.30 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.01 km2) of water (0.39%). The borough's US mail ZIP code is 07028.

Glen Ridge is located on a ridge on the east side of the First Mountain of the Watchung Mountains. The borough stretches from north to south and a maximum of six blocks wide from east to west, and it is only three or two blocks wide in "the Panhandle" north of Bay Avenue.

Climate

Glen Ridge has a temperate climate, with warm / hot humid summers and cool / cold winters, according to the Köppen climate classification humid subtropical climate. The borough gets an average of of rain per year and of snowfall, compared to the US averages of and inches. Glen Ridge has 124 days of measurable precipitation a year. During the winter, it is highly recommended to wear warm clothing because it can get very cold, while the summers can get extremely hot and humid. The majority of February and a bit of March is when there are the most snowfall. Due to the borough's elevation and the topography of its river banks, it is not prone to significant flooding.

There are typically about 205 sunny days per year in Glen Ridge. The temperature ranges from a high around 86 degrees in July and a low around 21 degrees in January. The comfort index for the borough is 47 out of 100, compared to a national average of 44 (with higher numbers being more comfortable).

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Glen Ridge had a population of 7,802. The median age was 40.2 years. 30.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.4 males age 18 and over.

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

There were 2,529 households in Glen Ridge, of which 52.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 72.6% were married-couple households, 7.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 17.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 13.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census

There were 2,458 households, out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.9% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.33. The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. The borough form of government used by Glen Ridge is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.

, the mayor of Glen Ridge is Independent Deborah Mans, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the borough council are Peter A. Hughes (I, 2025), Richard P. Law (I, 2025), David Lefkovits (I, 2026), Rebecca Meyer (I, 2027), LoriJean Moody (I, 2026) and Steve Zimet (I, 2027).

In January 2016, the borough council chose former mayor Peter Hughes to fill the council seat expiring in December 2016 that was vacated by Stuart K. Patrick, who resigned from the council to take his seat as mayor.

Murphy was selected by the borough council in November 2013 to serve the unexpired term of Elizabeth K. Baker. Ann Marie Morrow was elected in November 2014 to fill a one-year unexpired term.

The Glen Ridge Civic Conference Committee, established in 1913, is made up of delegates from the community and from local civic organizations, provides a non-partisan method of candidate selection for Borough elections. The CCC endorsement is very significant; in most elections, the CCC's candidates are unopposed. The eight organizations currently sending delegates to the CCC are: The Democratic Club, Freeman Gardens Association, Friends of the Glen Ridge Library, The Glen Ridge Historical Society, The Northside Association, The Republican Club, The Golden Circle, The South End Association and the Women's Club of Glen Ridge.

thumb|Glen Ridge Borough Hall in autumn

In recent years, the CCC has been weakened both by changing attitudes in the borough, the actions of a number of community residents, and internal conflicts within the CCC itself. Mayor Carl Bergmanson was the first mayor since the establishment of the CCC to be elected without seeking (or receiving) the Committee's endorsement. A member of the council for three terms, he ran for mayor in 1999, losing to the CCC candidate Steven Plate. When Plate was selected as the CCC candidate again in 2003 (contradicting the committee's precedent of one term per mayor), Bergmanson ran again, and won, gaining the majority in all but one of the borough's districts. However, the CCC is still firmly in control of the borough's political structure—all 16 of the elected officials currently serving Glen Ridge were nominated by the CCC. Generally, when non-CCC candidates run, they run as independents. The Democratic and Republican parties are not forces in local elections.

Federal, state, and county representation

Glen Ridge is located in the 11th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 34th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 5,169 registered voters in Glen Ridge, of which 2,135 (41.3%) were registered as Democrats, 993 (19.2%) were registered as Republicans and 2,037 (39.4%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 4 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 62.6% of the vote (2,415 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 36.2% (1,396 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (44 votes), among the 3,871 ballots cast by the borough's 5,380 registered voters (16 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 72.0%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 62.9% of the vote (2,583 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 35.2% (1,444 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (33 votes), among the 4,104 ballots cast by the borough's 5,185 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.2%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 59.1% of the vote (2,381 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 39.9% (1,608 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (35 votes), among the 4,031 ballots cast by the borough's 4,967 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 81.2.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 53.2% of the vote (1,450 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 45.5% (1,240 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (34 votes), among the 2,772 ballots cast by the borough's 5,429 registered voters (48 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 51.1%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 51.0% of the vote (1,388 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 39.3% (1,071 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 8.5% (231 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (19 votes), among the 2,722 ballots cast by the borough's 5,144 registered voters, yielding a 52.9% turnout.