Roselle, New Jersey

Roselle ( ) is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 22,695, The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 22,342 in 2023, a decrease of 353 (−1.6%). The First Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of West 5th Avenue and Chestnut Street, was the first church in the United States to be lit by electricity, and the second in the world after the City Temple church in London.

Roselle was incorporated on December 20, 1894, at the height of the Boroughitis phenomenon sweeping through New Jersey at the time, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier, from portions of Linden. Roselle's name is derived from the Roselle Land Improvement Company, which was created in 1866 to lay out a community around the Mulford Station on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The name "Roselle" is said to have been based on the company's founder, John Conklin Rose or from John Pierre Roselle, a friend of the railroad's president.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.65 square miles (6.86 km2), including 2.64 square miles (6.82 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) of water (0.49%).

The borough is bordered by the Union County municipalities of Roselle Park to the north, Linden to the south and Cranford to the west and Elizabeth, along the edges of Warinanco Park, to the east. Morses Creek runs through the borough.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

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

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

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!% 2000

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|5,674

|3,389

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,474

|26.67%

|16.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.90%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|10,669

|11,148

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,800

|50.15%

|52.87%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |47.59%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|46

|25

|style='background: #ffffe6; |37

|0.22%

|0.12%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.16%

|Asian alone (NH)

|573

|464

|style='background: #ffffe6; |580

|2.69%

|2.20%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.56%

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|12

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7

|0.06%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

|Some Other Race alone (NH)

|95

|112

|style='background: #ffffe6; |222

|0.45%

|0.53%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.98%

|Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)

|564

|303

|style='background: #ffffe6; |675

|2.65%

|1.44%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.97%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|3,641

|5,644

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,900

|17.11%

|26.77%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |34.81%

|Total

|21,274

|21,085

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22,695

|100.00%

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

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Roselle had a population of 22,695. The median age was 38.9 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.8 males age 18 and over.

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

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census

8.0% of the population of Roselle (Creole: Wozel) was of Haitian ancestry. This was the third-highest such percentage in New Jersey and the 16th-highest of any municipality in the nation.

There were 7,520 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.41. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the % rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in July 2002, the borough's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in December 2023.

Arts and culture

The Roselle House Music Festival is held each July in Warinanco Park, sponsored by the borough council, the Union County Board of County Commissioners and commercial brand sponsors.

The annual Roselle House Music Festival celebrates the soulful, gospel-infused subgenre of house music native to the state of New Jersey first developed in the 1980s that is known as the "Jersey sound."

Parks and recreation

Warinanco Park is a Union County park created in 1920 that covers in Roselle and Elizabeth.

Government

Local government

Roselle 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 the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected 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. Roselle is divided into five election districts, referred to as wards. One councilperson is elected from each of the five wards, and one councilperson is elected from the borough at-large. Roselle is one of only two boroughs statewide that use wards (the other is Roselle Park). The borough form of government used by Roselle 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. A borough administrator, appointed by the borough council, oversees the day-to-day operations of the municipal government.

, the mayor of the Borough of Roselle is Democrat Donald Shaw, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2027. Members of the Roselle Borough Council are Council President Cindy Thomas (Ward 4; D, 2028), Brandon Bernier (Ward 2; D, 2027), vacant (Ward 3; D, 2026), Rosetta "Rosie" McCamery (Ward 5; D, 2027), Isabel Sousa (Ward 1; D, 2026), and Cynthia Johnson (Council-at-Large; D, 2028).

In January 2020, the borough council appointed Isabel Sousa to fill the First Ward seat expiring in December 2020 that had been held by Denise Wilkerson until she resigned from office to take a seat as the at-large councilmember.

Council President Kim Shaw was named to serve as acting mayor in March 2015, after Jamel Holley was named to fill a vacant seat in the New Jersey General Assembly. She served until Dansereau was sworn in on March 11, 2015, making her the first woman to serve as mayor in borough history.

Federal, state and county representation

Roselle is located in the 10th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 20th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 11,743 registered voters in Roselle, of which 7,127 (60.7% vs. 41.8% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 526 (4.5% vs. 15.3%) were registered as Republicans and 4,087 (34.8% vs. 42.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 3 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 55.7% (vs. 53.3% in Union County) were registered to vote, including 72.8% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.6% countywide).

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 8,034 votes (88.8% vs. 66.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 875 votes (9.7% vs. 32.3%) and other candidates with 53 votes (0.6% vs. 0.8%), among the 9,043 ballots cast by the borough's 12,694 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.2% (vs. 68.8% in Union County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 8,055 votes (85.4% vs. 63.1% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 1,262 votes (13.4% vs. 35.2%) and other candidates with 52 votes (0.6% vs. 0.9%), among the 9,428 ballots cast by the borough's 12,533 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.2% (vs. 74.7% in Union County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 6,325 votes (79.4% vs. 58.3% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 1,564 votes (19.6% vs. 40.3%) and other candidates with 40 votes (0.5% vs. 0.7%), among the 7,971 ballots cast by the borough's 11,609 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.7% (vs. 72.3% in the whole county).

In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Democrat Phil Murphy received 3,823 votes (87.6% vs. 65.2% countywide), ahead of Republican Kim Guadagno with 476 votes (10.9% vs. 32.6%), and other candidates with 65 votes (1.5% vs. 2.1%), among the 4,549 ballots cast by the borough's 13,091 registered voters, for a turnout of 34.7%. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 71.3% of the vote (2,882 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 27.6% (1,115 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (44 votes), among the 4,283 ballots cast by the borough's 12,460 registered voters (242 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 34.4%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 3,816 ballots cast (77.3% vs. 50.6% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 866 votes (17.5% vs. 41.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with 170 votes (3.4% vs. 5.9%) and other candidates with 35 votes (0.7% vs. 0.8%), among the 4,939 ballots cast by the borough's 12,148 registered voters, yielding a 40.7% turnout (vs. 46.5% in the county).

Education

Students are educated by the Roselle Public Schools, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,080 students and 247.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2023–24 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are

Kindergarten Success Academy with 219 students in Kindergarten,

Harrison Elementary School with 310 students in grades 1–4,

Dr. Charles C. Polk Elementary School with 277 students in grades 1–4,

Washington Elementary School with 358 students in grades 1–4,

Leonard V. Moore Middle School with 457 students in grades 5–6,

Grace Wilday Junior High School with 484 students in grades 7–8 and

Abraham Clark High School with 918 students in grades 9–12.

Roselle Catholic High School, a parochial high school run by the Marist Brothers, serves grades 9–12 under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.

St. Joseph the Carpenter School, which was founded in 1913, serves students in preschool through eighth grade, operating under the supervision of the Newark Archdiocese.

Transportation

Roads and highways

thumb|right|[[New Jersey Route 27|Route 27 northbound on the southeast edge of Roselle]]

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

Route 27 is the most significant highway in Roselle. It forms the borough's southeastern border with Linden.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 112 and 115 routes, to Newark on the 59, 62 and 94 routes, with local service available on the 56 and 57.

Conrail's freight-only Lehigh Line passes through the community along the tracks of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. The town once shared a passenger station with Roselle Park on the mainline of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. That line is abandoned.

The Staten Island Railway passed through the community before being dormant for years. It was reactivated by the Morristown & Erie Railway, with new grade crossing gates installed in the borough as part of the route between Cranford and Linden.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately from Roselle.

Notable people

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

Rabih Abdullah (born 1975), running back who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots
Reginald Atkins (born 1967), pastor and politician, who has represented the 20th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2022.
Charles Augustus Briggs (1841–1913), Presbyterian theologian
Abraham Clark (1725–1794), a founding father of the United States of America and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence
Neil M. Cohen (born 1951), represented the 20th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly until being forced to suddenly resign after child pornography was discovered on his computer
Greg Cook (1958–2005), basketball player
Leo Disend (1915–1985), tackle who played in the NFL for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Green Bay Packers
Harold Dobbs (1918–1994), Republican politician and civic leader in San Francisco who founded Mel's Drive-In and served as president of the city's Board of Supervisors
Jameel Dumas (born 1981), linebacker who played in NFL Europe
William Perry Fogg (1826–1909), author and adventurer
Jerry Green (born 1939), politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 1992, where he represents the 22nd Legislative District
Rosey Grier (born 1932), former football player in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, a member of the original Fearsome Foursome
Al Harrington (born 1980), professional basketball player who formerly played for the NBA's New York Knicks
Jamel Holley (born 1979), politician who was chosen in 2015 to serve as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 20th Legislative District, after having served as mayor of Roselle since 2012
Jesse Holley (born 1984), signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2007, he was winner of the Spike TV reality show 4th and Long
Gene-Ann Polk Horne (1926–2015), physician and hospital administrator, director of pediatric ambulatory care at Harlem Hospital and professor of pediatrics at Columbia University
Phil Ivey (born 1976), professional poker player
Kendall James (born 1991), football cornerback who has played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns
Emil Milan (1922–1985), mid-century designer craftsman who worked primarily in wood
Barron Miles (born 1972), defensive back for the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League
Rebecca Morse (born 1992), ice hockey defender, currently playing for the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League
Carole Dawn Reinhart (born 1941), trumpet player and professor in Vienna
Charles August Sulzer (1879–1919), delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Alaska Territory
William H. Tunner (1906–1983), general officer in the United States Air Force
Lucius Walker (1930–2010), Baptist minister best known for his opposition to the United States embargo against Cuba

References

External links

Roselle Borough website
Roselle Public Library