Rockleigh, New Jersey

Rockleigh (; ) is a borough in northeastern Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 407, Bordering Alpine, a community ranked America's most expensive ZIP Code by Forbes, Rockleigh has a similar residential character, with large single-family homes on large plots of land.

Rockleigh was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 13, 1923 (based on the results of a referendum held on April 10, 1923) from portions of Northvale. The borough was named for a property in Virginia that had been owned by the borough's first mayor.

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Rockleigh as its 13th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.01 square miles (2.62 km2), including 1.00 square miles (2.60 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km2) of water (0.69%).

Demographics

2020 census

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

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

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|336

|487

|style='background: #ffffe6; |327

|85.93%

|91.71%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |80.34%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|13

|10

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10

|3.32%

|1.88%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.46%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.26%

|0.19%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Asian alone (NH)

|15

|style='background: #ffffe6; |27

|3.84%

|1.51%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.63%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9

|1.79%

|0.94%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.21%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|19

|20

|style='background: #ffffe6; |33

|4.86%

|3.77%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.11%

|Total

|391

|531

|style='background: #ffffe6; |407

|100.00%

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

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 531 people, 75 households, and 58 families in the borough. The population density was . There were 86 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 95.10% (505) White, 2.07% (11) Black or African American, 0.19% (1) Native American, 1.51% (8) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.19% (1) from other races, and 0.94% (5) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.77% (20) of the population.

Same-sex couples headed none of the borough's households in either 2000 or 2010.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census

There were 74 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.6% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 10.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.40.

Volvo Car USA, LLC., a Swedish company that manufactures safety-oriented luxury automobiles, maintains an American headquarters in Rockleigh.

Government

Local government

Rockleigh is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of a mayor and a borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A 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 Rockleigh 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 Rockleigh is Republican James G. Pontone, whose term of office ends December 31, 2026. Members of the Rockleigh Borough Council are Ilana H. Altman (R, 2025), Rosanne Antine (R, 2024), Marilyn A. Bresnak (R, 2024), Frank S. Cumiskey (R, 2023), David C. Hansen (R, 2025) and John Ivan Mender (R, 2024).

In elections held in November 2010, Robert R. Schaffer ran a successful write-in campaign and defeated incumbent mayor Nick Langella by a 2–1 margin. Councilmembers Shirl Ewald and James Pontone were re-elected.

Law enforcement services in Rockleigh are provided under contract by the Northvale Police Department. The borough paid Northvale $325,000 per year for police coverage in 2017.

Federal, state and county representation

Rockleigh is located in the 5th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 39th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 229 registered voters in Rockleigh, of which 59 (25.8% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 70 (30.6% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 99 (43.2% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 43.1% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 51.5% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).

In the 2016 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump received 89 votes (53.3% vs. 41.6% countywide), ahead of Democrat Hillary Clinton with 68 votes (40.7% vs. 54.8%) and other candidates with 5 votes (3.0% vs. 3.0%), among the 167 ballots cast by the borough's 256 registered voters, for a turnout of 65.2% (vs. 72.5% in Bergen County). In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 89 votes (53.6% vs. 43.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 76 votes (45.8% vs. 54.8%) and other candidates with one vote (0.6% vs. 0.9%), among the 166 ballots cast by the borough's 260 registered voters, for a turnout of 63.8% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County). In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 97 votes (49.2% vs. 44.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 95 votes (48.2% vs. 53.9%) and other candidates with votes (0.0% vs. 0.8%), among the 197 ballots cast by the borough's 281 registered voters, for a turnout of 70.1% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County).

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 62.0% of the vote (75 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 12.4% (15 votes), and other candidates with 25.6% (31 votes), among the 92 ballots cast by the borough's 238 registered voters for a turnout of 38.7%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 70 votes (55.6% vs. 45.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 51 votes (40.5% vs. 48.0%), Independent Chris Daggett with 5 votes (4.0% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with no votes (0.0% vs. 0.5%), among the 126 ballots cast by the borough's 258 registered voters, yielding a 48.8% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).

Education

Students from Rockleigh, a non-operating school district, attend the Northvale Public Schools in the Borough of Northvale as part of a sending/receiving relationship. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 545 students and 48.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1. The Rockleigh Borough Board of Education is a five-member board with the members appointed by the mayor since 2005. The district's last elected term expired in 2007 at which time the board consisted entirely of mayoral appointees. with students from Rockleigh attending the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship. The school is one of the two schools of the Northern Valley Regional High School District, which also serves students from the neighboring communities of Closter, Demarest, Haworth at the Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest. During the 1994–1996 school years, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education. As of the 2020–21 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,103 students and 94.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1.

Public school students from the borough, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.

Transportation

thumb|right|View south at the north end of [[County Route 501 (New Jersey)|County Route 501 in Rockleigh]]

Roads and highways

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

County Route 501 passes through Rockleigh. This road's northern terminus is in Rockleigh, where it continues into New York as New York State Route 340.

Notable people

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

Frank Cumiskey (1912–2004), gymnast who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics, in the 1936 Summer Olympics, and in the 1948 Summer Olympics
Brian Daley (1947–1996), science fiction novelist
Will Elder (1921–2008), illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a zany cartoon style that helped launch Harvey Kurtzman's Mad comic book in 1952
Daniel Leo (born 1941), acting boss of the Genovese crime family who was sentenced in 2008 to five years in prison for racketeering and loansharking
Ada Lunardoni (1911–2003), artistic gymnast who competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics and placed fifth with the team
Hy Weiss (1923–2007), early rock and roll record producer

References

Sources

Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties) prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958.
Clayton, W. Woodford; and Nelson, William. History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men., Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1882.
Harvey, Cornelius Burnham (ed.), Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey. New York: New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Co., 1900.
Van Valen, James M. History of Bergen County, New Jersey. New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Co., 1900.
Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858–1942, History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630–1923, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1923.

External links

Rockleigh official website
Northvale Public Schools
School Data for the Northvale Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
Northern Valley Regional High School District