New Providence, New Jersey

New Providence is a borough on the northwestern edge of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Passaic River, which forms the county boundary with Morris County bordering Chatham Township. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 13,650,

The borough is home to much of the Murray Hill neighborhood with the remainder lying in neighboring Berkeley Heights. Service on the NJ Transit is available at the New Providence The settlement was originally called "Turkey" or "Turkey Town", due to the presence of wild turkeys in the area.

The Presbyterian Church established in 1737 was a focal point for the community, and the lack of serious injuries when the church's balcony collapsed in 1759 was deemed to be an example of divine intervention, leading residents to change the area's name to New Providence.

According to local tradition, George Washington spent the night in a local home, which still stands to this day. Supposedly, the local stream, Salt Brook, is named for an incident when the salt supply of the colonial village was dumped into the brook to prevent passing British soldiers from taking it. Ironically, the British Army never crossed the Watchung Mountains into this region. Salt Brook winds through town, starting near the eponymous Salt Brook Elementary School.

On April 14, 1794, Springfield Township was formed, which included the present-day township, along with the towns of Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights. Growth continued in the area, and on November 8, 1809, New Providence Township was formed from within Springfield Township. It included what is now Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.

New Providence had long been a semi-dry town, under which there were no bars and no restaurants permitted to sell alcoholic beverages. Retail liquor sales were legal and restaurant-goers may bring their own alcoholic beverages. In 2011, the borough announced that it was considering issuing on-premises liquor licenses, which could bring in as much as $500,000 for each bar granted a license, with plans to use the money raised to pay for improvements to recreation areas. Liquor licenses were granted in 2015 to a pair of restaurants, ending a 100-year period in which the borough had no on-premises liquor licenses.

The 2011 film Win Win is set at New Providence High School, having been written by Tom McCarthy and Joe Tiboni, two former students at the school.

Landmarks

thumb|Bell Laboratories, New Providence

Nokia Bell Labs, formerly known as Bell Telephone Laboratories, is located in the New Providence neighborhood of Murray Hill. Researchers at this facility were credited with the development of radio astronomy, the transistor, the laser, the photovoltaic cell and other advances in technology. Nine Nobel Prizes have been awarded for work completed at this facility.
The Presbyterian Church is a large, white, historic church in the center of town.
The Village Shopping Center is a shopping center that takes up the majority of downtown New Providence.
New Providence School District currently links together the computer networks of its buildings by using a wireless LAN which includes Yagi antennas at two towers by the large copper pyramid-shaped roof.
Our Lady of Peace is a Roman Catholic church and school located on South Street. The parking lot at OLP becomes the home of the town's OLP fair, held for three days each spring, complete with rides, games, food, and an indoor auction/junk fest.
The Salt Box Museum, located at 1350 Springfield Avenue, is an 18th-century farmhouse owned by the New Providence Historical Society.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, New Providence borough had a total area of 3.71 square miles (9.61 km2), including 3.69 square miles (9.55 km2) of land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km2) of water (0.57%).

Much of the Murray Hill neighborhood lies in New Providence, with the remainder in Berkeley Heights; Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names within the borough include Tall Oaks, Johnsons Bridge, and West Summit.

The borough lies on the western slope of Second Watchung Mountain. There are several creek beds carved into the landscape, most of which are forks and branches of Salt Brook. These creeks join near the center of town then flow into the Passaic River, along the banks of which Passaic River Parkway is found. Over nine percent of New Providence's land area is permanently protected, publicly owned parkland. Most of this land is wooded floodplain adjacent to the Passaic. Union County owns much of the riverfront parkland and New Providence owns the remainder. There are several borough-owned parks that bracket Salt Brook, including Veterans Memorial Park on South Street, Lions Park on Livingston Avenue, and Clearwater Park near the end of Central Avenue.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+New Providence borough, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|10,359

|9,870

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,429

|87.00%

|81.09%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |69.08%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|104

|153

|style='background: #ffffe6; |241

|1.00%

|1.26%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.77%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7

|0.03%

|0.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%

|Asian alone (NH)

|903

|1,187

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,171

|8.72%

|9.75%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |15.90%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2

|0.03%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

|Other race alone (NH)

|10

|19

|style='background: #ffffe6; |60

|0.10%

|0.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.44%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|108

|150

|style='background: #ffffe6; |489

|1.04%

|1.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.58%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|417

|783

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,251

|4.03%

|6.43%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.16%

|Total

|11,907

|12,171

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,650

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, New Providence had a population of 13,650. The median age was 42.8 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

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

There were 5,071 households in New Providence, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 62.2% were married-couple households, 12.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2000 census

thumb|A residential street

As of the 2000 United States census

There were 4,404 households, out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.13. 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 New Providence 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 New Providence is Republican Allen B. Morgan, whose term of office ends December 31, 2026. Members of the New Providence Borough Council are Council President Nadine Geoffroy (R, 2026), Matthew E. Cumiskey (R, 2027), Kathleen Dolan (D, 2027), Brian Gardner (D, 2028), Alan Lerner (D, 2028), and Lisa McKnight (R, 2026).

List of mayors

{| | class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:center"

! Mayor

! Term begins

! Term ends

! Notes

|John W. Oakwood

|1933

|1946

|Republican, served seven terms. Oakwood Drive and Oakwood Park in New Providence are named after Mayor Oakwood.

|Ellsworth R. Hansell

|1947

|1952

|Republican, served three terms.

|Robert Badgley

|1953

|1954

|Republican, served one term. Badgley Drive in New Providence is named after the Badgley family.

|Charles Johnson

|1955

|1956

|Republican, served one term.

|Francis R. Farley

|1963

|1966

|Democrat. In the 1962 election, Farley and Republican John C. Clay tie at 1,707 votes each. The recount goes to the New Jersey Superior Court. Farley is declared winner in February 1963. Farley is the most recent Democrat Mayor in New Providence.

|Edward Bien

|1967

|1978

|Republican, served four terms totaling 12 years. The first two terms (1967-1970) were under the old form of the Borough system of local government where mayors were elected to two-year terms. All regular elections after 1970 for mayor were for four-year terms.

|Harold Weideli, Jr.

|1978

|1998

|Republican, served as mayor for five terms.

| Allen B. Morgan

| 1999

| 2006

| Republican, Morgan served as mayor for two terms between 1999 and 2006, when he initially announced his bid for re-election, and then withdrew from the campaign.

| John Thoms

| 2007

| 2010

| Republican, Served as mayor for one term. Was denied the town's GOP endorsement for re-election in 2010, which instead went to Morgan, who went on to lose the primary to J. Brooke Hern. Thoms launched an unsuccessful bid for re-election as an independent, losing to Hern in the general election by a 2-1 margin.

| J. Brooke Hern

| 2011

| 2014

| Republican, upset Morgan in the primary, served one term and chose not to seek re-election after serving 10 years in elected office.

| Allen B. Morgan

| 2015

| Incumbent

| Republican, re-elected following Hern's decision to not seek a second term. In 2022 he won re-election to a third consecutive. Morgan won 3,000 votes to the Democrat's 2,643.

Federal, state, and county representation

New Providence is located in the 7th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 21st state legislative district.

Politics

As of September 16, 2022, there were a total of 9,997 registered voters in New Providence, of which 3,190 (31.9% vs. 48% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 2,852 (28.5% vs. 15.98%) were registered as Republicans and 3,889 (38.9% vs. 34.78%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 66 voters registered to other parties, such as Libertarians or Greens. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 82.3% (vs. 53.3% in Union County) were registered to vote, including 89.5% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.6% countywide).

In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received 3,084 votes, ahead of Republican Donald Trump who had 2,517 votes, with others getting 261 votes; this is the first time in recent years that a Democrat carried New Providence in the past four elections. In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 3,267 votes (53.7% vs. 32.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 2,726 votes (44.8% vs. 66.0%) and other candidates with 68 votes (1.1% vs. 0.8%), among the 6,080 ballots cast by the borough's 8,493 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.6% (vs. 68.8% in Union County). In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 3,367 votes (52.8% vs. 35.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 2,914 votes (45.7% vs. 63.1%) and other candidates with 64 votes (1.0% vs. 0.9%), among the 6,372 ballots cast by the borough's 8,086 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.8% (vs. 74.7% in Union County). In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 3,443 votes (55.5% vs. 40.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 2,674 votes (43.1% vs. 58.3%) and other candidates with 52 votes (0.8% vs. 0.7%), among the 6,202 ballots cast by the borough's 7,801 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.5% (vs. 72.3% in the whole county).

In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Republican Kim Guadagno received 1,968 votes (49.0% vs. 32.6% countywide), ahead of Democrat Phil Murphy with 1,937 votes (48.2% vs. 65.2%), and other candidates with 111 votes (2.8% vs. 2.1%), among the 4,131 ballots cast by the borough's 8,823 registered voters, for a turnout of 46.8%. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 71.3% of the vote (2,468 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 27.0% (935 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (60 votes), among the 3,516 ballots cast by the borough's 8,298 registered voters (53 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.4%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 2,559 votes (58.8% vs. 41.7% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 1,361 votes (31.3% vs. 50.6%), Independent Chris Daggett with 393 votes (9.0% vs. 5.9%) and other candidates with 21 votes (0.5% vs. 0.8%), among the 4,351 ballots cast by the borough's 7,961 registered voters, yielding a 54.7% turnout (vs. 46.5% in the county).

Education

thumb|Salt Brook Elementary School

The New Providence School District serves students in public school for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 2,382 students and 189.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.6:1. Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are

Allen W. Roberts Elementary School with 676 students in grades PreK–6,

Salt Brook Elementary School with 607 students in grades K–6,

New Providence Middle School with 398 students in grades 7–8 and

New Providence High School with 666 students in grades 9–12. The middle school and high school share a common building and some of the same facilities (art rooms, auditorium, east wing, west wing, gyms, music rooms, TV production room, cafeteria).

During the 2007–08 school year, New Providence Middle School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive. The district's high school was the top-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 5th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.

Serving students in Pre-K–3 through Grade 8, The Academy of Our Lady of Peace is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. The school was one of eight private schools recognized in 2017 by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program as an Exemplary High Performing School by the United States Department of Education.

Transportation

Roads and highways

thumb|right|CR 512 in New Providence

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality and by Union County.

No state, U.S. or Interstate highways directly serve New Providence. The most prominent road through the borough is County Route 512 known as Springfield Avenue.

Public transportation

thumb|right|Commuter train station

Service on the NJ Transit Gladstone Branch of the Morris & Essex Lines is available at the New Providence station and Murray Hill station, offering service to Hoboken Terminal and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. Two Gladstone Branch trains each weekday morning offer one-seat rides to Manhattan, and two evening trains leave New York and stop at both of New Providence's stations on the way to Gladstone. All other rail service is to or from Hoboken. These trains connect at Summit or Newark Broad Street with Manhattan-bound trains.

New Jersey Transit offer local bus service on the 986 route.

Lakeland Bus Lines offers weekday rush hour service from stops along Springfield Avenue to New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately east of New Providence.

Economy

Companies based in New Providence include the publishers Martindale-Hubbell and R. R. Bowker.

Community activities

People and local businesses in New Providence are active in organizing community activities.

In 2017, a first annual Carved Pumpkin Contest was organized.

In 2016 and 2017, Scarecrow Contest was organized.

Notable people

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

Andrew Fastow (born 1961), convicted CFO of Enron, went to NPHS and grew up in New Providence on the same street as the Allen W. Roberts Elementary School
Mike Ferguson (born 1970), politician who served as member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey's 7th congressional district from 2001 to 2009
Jeff Grob, drummer of the 1970s rock band Looking Glass, was born and raised in New Providence and is a current resident
Michael Hawley (1961–2020), academic and artist working in the field of digital media
Carroll N. Jones III (1944–2017), artist in the style of American realism
Syd Kitson (born 1958), former professional American football guard who played in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys
Andrew Lewis (born 1974), professional soccer player for the MetroStars and the Chicago Fire
Tom McCarthy (born 1966), actor in Meet the Parents, Good Night, and Good Luck who was director of the indie film The Station Agent He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay co-writing Up (2009) and then again writing Spotlight (2015) which also won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Elias Riggs (1810–1901), Presbyterian missionary known for his work in the Ottoman Empire
Scott Rivkees (born 1956), Surgeon General of Florida from June 2019 to September 2021
Rat Skates (born 1961 as Lee Kundrat), filmmaker, writer and musician most notable for being a founding member and the original drummer of the thrash metal band, Overkill
D. D. Verni (born 1961), bass player and founding member of the thrash metal band, Overkill
Gideon A. Weed (1833–1905), physician who served two terms as mayor of Seattle, Washington

Gallery

File:New Providence NJ Emergency Management Services building.jpg|New Providence Volunteer EMS building

File:New Providence NJ Morris Union Jointure Commission buildings.jpg|The Morris Union Jointure Commission

File:New Providence NJ public park with 9-11 Memorial.jpg|9/11 memorial

File:Commuter train in New Providence NJ.jpg|A commuter train

File:New Providence NJ train trestle and blue sky.jpg|Train trestle

File:New Providence NJ athletic fields with fence to keep deer out.jpg|The football field

File:New Providence NJ school entrance.jpg|The middle and high schools

File:New Providence NJ public library.jpg|Library

File:New Providence NJ public library interior view desks and shelves.jpg|Inside the library

File:New Providence NJ playfield and grassy areas.jpg|Athletic fields

File:New Providence NJ shopping center with supermarket and cars.jpg|Shopping center

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