Edgewater, New Jersey: Difference between revisions

Borough of Edgewater, New Jersey
Borough (New Jersey)
Map highlighting Edgewater's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Edgewater, New Jersey
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Bergen
Incorporated	December 7, 1894 as Undercliff
Renamed	November 8, 1899 as Edgewater
Government [1]
• Type	Borough (New Jersey)
• Mayor	Nancy Merse (D; 2011 - deceased)
• Administrator	Gregory S. Franz
Area
• Total	2.4 sq mi (6.3 km2)
• Land	0.9 sq mi (2.2 km2)
• Water	1.6 sq mi (4.1 km2)
Elevation [2]	33 ft (10 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	11,513
• Density	4,800/sq mi (1,800/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	07020
Area code	201
FIPS code	34-20020Template:GR[3]
GNIS feature ID	0876101Template:GR
Website	http://www.edgewaternj.org

Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey. Its history has featured the founding of the first colony in Bergen County, contribution to the Revolutionary War, a period as a "sleepy, pastoral little town"^[4] with resort hotels in the 19th century;^[5] industrialization in the early 19th century and transition to a residential community in the late 19th century.

As of the 2010 census, the borough had a population of 11,513. Edgewater was originally formed on December 7, 1894, from portions of Ridgefield Township as the Borough of Undercliff, at the height of the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County. The name was changed to Edgewater on November 8, 1899.^[6][7]

Coordinates are 40°49′48″N 73°58′26″W / 40.829893°N 73.973911°W / 40.829893; -73.973911 (40.829893, -73.973911).Template:GR

Edgewater is a narrow strip of land in Bergen County lying along the Hudson River, as shown in the Census map, with 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of waterfront.^[8] The Palisades Cliff rises dramatically and forms a natural border on its western side, running roughly parallel to the Hudson. The towns atop the cliff are Fort Lee and Cliffside Park, north and south, respectively. Edgewater abuts Fort Lee Historic Park in the borough of Fort Lee on the north. On the south it shares a border with the township of North Bergen, which lies in Hudson County.

River Road runs into and out of the town from the north and south, lying just above the level of the Hudson. Only three roads lead up the Palisades Cliff. Route 5, with one switchback, ascends to Palisades Avenue, which leads north into Fort Lee and south into Cliffside Park. Gorge Road and Edgewater Road, the latter still referred to by many local residents by its Colonial-era name as Oxen Hill Road, lead up the Palisades to Cliffside Park.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²), of which 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), or 64.88%, is water.

As of the 2000 censusTemplate:GR, there were 7,677 people, 3,836 households, and 1,971 families residing in the borough. The population density was 9,060.6 people per square mile (3,487.2/km²). There were 4,277 housing units at an average density of 5,047.8 per square mile (1,942.8/km²).

As of the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the borough was 67.12% White, 10.45% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 3.52% African American, 0.21% Native American, 23.12% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.94% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. 11.83% of Edgewater's residents identified themselves as being of Korean ancestry, which was the ninth highest in the United States and seventh highest of any municipality in New Jersey, for all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.^[11] 3.22% of residents identified themselves as being of Japanese ancestry, which was the third highest of any municipality in New Jersey, behind Fort Lee (6.09%) and Demarest (3.72%).^[12]

There were 3,836 households out of which 20.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.70.

In the borough the population was spread out with 15.4% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 46.7% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $63,455, and the median income for a family was $72,692. Males had a median income of $50,795 versus $49,238 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $42,650. About 6.2% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.

Edgewater is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.^[1][13]

The Mayor of Edgewater was Agnes "Nancy" Merse (D), whose term was to expire on December 31, 2011. On March 10, 2011, Mayor Merse died due to complications from cancer.^[14] As of 2011^[update], members of the Borough Council are Council President Luis Vidal (2011), James Delaney (2012), Maureen Holtje (2011), Dr. David Jordan (2013), Vincent Monte (2013) and Neda Rose (2012).^[15]

Edgewater is in the 9th Congressional district and is part of the 38th state legislative district.^[16]

For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 9th congressional district was represented by Bill Pascrell (D, Paterson) until his death in August 2024.^[17][18] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027)^[19] and George Helmy (Mountain Lakes, term ends 2024).^[20][21]

For the 2024-2025 session, the 38th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Lagana (D, Paramus) and in the General Assembly by Lisa Swain (D, Fair Lawn) and Chris Tully (D, Bergenfield).^[22] Template:NJ Governor

Bergen County is governed by a directly elected County Executive, with legislative functions performed by a Board of County Commissioners composed of seven members who are elected at-large to three-year terms in partisan elections on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats coming up for election each November; a Chairman and Vice Chairman are selected from among its seven members at a reorganization meeting held every January. As of 2024^[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.^[23]

Bergen County's Commissioners are: Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),^[24] Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),^[25] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),^[26] Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),^[27] Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),^[28] Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2024)^[29] and Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2024).^{[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]}

Bergen County's constitutional officials are: Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),^[38][39] Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2024)^[40][41] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).^{[42][43][33][44]}

As of Election Day, November 4, 2008, there were 4,471 registered voters. Of registered voters, 2,222 (49.7% of all registered voters) were registered as Democrats, 454 (10.2%) were registered as Republicans and 1,794 (40.1%) were registered as Undeclared. There was one voters registered to other parties.^[45]

On the national level, Edgewater leans very strongly towards the Democratic Party. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 67.9% of the vote here, defeating Republican John McCain, who received 31.1% of the vote, with 81.7% of registered voters participating.^[45] In the 2004 election, Democrat John Kerry received 65% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 34%.^[46]

On the local level, Edgewater has its own two-party system, split between the Democratic Party and the Independent Coalition for a Better Edgewater. The Republican Party has minimal presence and doesn't always run a slate in local elections. The perennial local political issue is managing growth.

The Edgewater Public Schools serves public school students in Kindergarten through sixth grade. Eleanor Van Gelder School, the lone school in the district, had an enrollment of 492 students in the 2008-09 school year.^[47]

For grades 7 - 12, public school students are sent to the Leonia Public Schools as part of a sending/receiving relationship.^[48] Students attend Leonia Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (which had 451 students in grades 6 - 8), and Leonia High School which had 624 students in grades 9 - 12, all as of 2008-09.^[49]

22-acre (89,000 m²) Veterans' Field^[50] offers residents recreational opportunities and provides space for a Community Center and American Legion Post 116. Veterans' Field is located on River Road (County Route 505) in the north section of Edgewater, lying along the Hudson River. It has indoor and outdoor basketball courts, three softball fields, a 1/3 mile-long track which accommodates runners, walkers and skaters; tennis courts, a Little League field and a playground. It is also the site of a large American flag which can be seen easily from across the river in Manhattan. A plaque commemorating the New Netherland plantation of David Pietersen de Vries, Vriessendael, is located at the entrance to the field on the west. Although the field extends well to the east, it did not exist in de Vries's day. In 1922 landfill was imported from the construction site of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx,^[50] which gives Veteran's Field its current dimensions.

Borough Hall, the Binghamton Ferry and the Edgewater Free Public Library are listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.^[51]

Constructed in 1904, Borough Hall was voted $406,000 by Senate and General Assembly of New Jersey in August 2009 for restoration of the building.^[52] Among other renovations, the missing gargoyles were returned to the 1902 edifice.^[53][54]

The Binghamton Ferry, permanently anchored at the Binghamton Shopping Plaza, was built in 1904-1905 in Newport, RI.^[55] The only double-ended ferry boat still on the Hudson River, the Binghamton ferried passengers from New Jersey to Barclay Street in Manhattan for many years ^[56] and was retired in 1956.^[57]

The last remaining of 15 Carnegie libraries in New Jersey^[58] built with funds from the Carnegie Foundation,^[59] the Edgewater Free Library was constructed in 1915 at a cost of $17,500.^[60] Edgewater had opened its library in 1910, prior to the donation from the Carnegie Foundation, with 817 books on its shelves.^[60]

In addition to these sites, the Eleanor Van Gelder School is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.^[51]

The promenade along the Hudson is part of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. In 1988, construction of a waterfront walkway was mandated by state law that would allow walkers a path along the Hudson River from Bayonne up to the George Washington Bridge.^[61] Although property owners were required to build and maintain it,^[62] many gaps remain. Of the 18.5 miles (29.8 km) called for, only 11 are complete, and many of the gaps occur in Edgewater.^[61] Nevertheless, the completed stretches offer paths for walking along the Hudson River with views of Manhattan.

Edgewater has 5 main shopping areas. From north to south they are Town Centre, the Binghamton Shopping Plaza, Mitsuwa Marketplace, Edgewater Commons and City Place. All are located on the river side of River Road and bordered by the River Walk. As recently as 1984 the town had no supermarket.^[8] Now groceries may be purchased at Whole Foods Market in Town Centre, Trader Joe's at the Binghamton Plaza, Japanese labeled groceries at Mitsuwa, and at Pathmark in Edgewater Commons. Shuttle buses run daily from Manhattan, bringing Japanese shoppers to Mitsuwa, as well as those simply interested in Japanese products.

Edgewater is the home of a free-flying colony of Monk Parakeets, also known as Quaker Parrots. These small, green parrots have lived in Edgewater since at least 1980 and were numbered at 200 to 230 in a 2008 New York Times article.^[63] They are easily seen in Memorial Park and its vicinity at River Road and Route 5. The parrots build large nests of twigs and down which become permanent residences.^[64] Nests four feet long can be seen near the intersection. How the birds came to Edgewater is unknown, though a widely accepted story traces their origin to an escape from a damaged crate at John F. Kennedy Airport in the 1960s.^[63]

The birds have built nests not only in trees, but also against transformers on utility poles. Citing the risk of fire, the utility PSE&G has destroyed such nests. This has brought the utility into conflict with parrot advocates. As of 2008 PSE&G has agreed not to take down nests in breeding season.^[63]

Edgewater was used as the location of the fictional town of Garrison in the 1997 movie, Cop Land, starring Sylvester Stallone, Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel and Ray Liotta.^[65]

New Jersey Transit buses include the 156, 158 and 159 routes serving the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan; the 188 to the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal; and local service on the 751 and 755 routes.^[66]

There is also ferry service to West Midtown Ferry Terminal in Manhattan, offered by NY Waterway. Edgewater Landing is located where Route 5 comes into River Road. Parking at the terminal is not allowed; however a shuttle bus operated by the borough is available to transport passengers to the landing.^[67] In Manhattan passengers can transfer free to various buses operated by New York Waterways.

Several ferries operated in Edgewater in the past,^[68] with the old Edgewater Ferry Terminal historically located about 100 yards from the current ferry terminal. The last ferry in the 20th century crossed the river in 1950.^[50] The Borough was also site of the Trolley terminal for numerous electric lines in New Jersey.^[69] Situated across River Road from the old Ferry Terminal, it met passengers arriving from Manhattan. Its service included transportation to the top of Palisades Cliff.^[70] The trolley stopped running in 1938.^[71]

Native American people are known to have lived in the vicinity before the arrival of colonists in the 17th century. The Lenni Lenape were a local tribe associated with the neighboring borough of Fort Lee,^[72] and the first European settler bought 500 acres (202 ha) of land from the Tappan Indians. This colonist was David Pietersz Devries (also transliterated as David Pietersen de Vries), who established the settlement of Vriessendael in what is now Edgewater.^[73] A historical plaque placed in Veteran's Field by the Bergen County Historical Society names Vriessendael as the first known colony in Bergen County with a founding date of 1640. Vriessendael was destroyed in 1643 in Kieft's War by Indians reacting to foolish actions by the Director General of the Dutch West India Company, who lived across the river in New Amsterdam, as Manhattan was then known.^[74] In pioneer days, River Road was known as the Hackensack Turnpike,^[75] and Ox [sic] Hill Road was an important route to the top of the Palisades Cliff.^[69] While Oxen Hill Road still exists as a thoroughfare, another Colonial hallmark and major local industry^[69] has only recently disappeared: shad fishing. The Undercliff section in the northern section of Edgewater was originally a colony of fishermen.^[76] In the 1980s there were still about 100 commercial fishermen in New Jersey harvesting shad from their annual spring run from the Atlantic Ocean up the Hudson River to spawn. Now there are none.^[55]

Etienne Burdett began ferry service between north Edgewater and the island of Manhattan in 1758. His gambrel-roofed house in what is now the Edgewater Colony stood until 1899.^[77] The ferry service at Burdett's Landing, which was located at the southern base of the bluff of Fort Lee, proved valuable to the American cause during the Revolutionary War. The ferry functioned as the link for supplies, information and transportation between Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River and Fort Washington on the New York side.^[78] In the century following the Revolutionary war, north Edgewater developed into a resort area with large hotels built in the mid- and late 19th century.^[5] It was in the 19th century that Burdett's Landing became known as "Old Stone Dock," as cobblestones quarried from the Palisades Cliffs by Russell & Read were shipped across the Hudson to fill the demand for paving Manhattan streets.^[79] Concern over the destruction caused in quarrying led to the formation of the Palisades Interstate Park in 1900, which was effective in preserving the cliffs.^[80] Although the first Chemical Plant was founded in 1843 in the south section of the borough,^[81] throughout the 19th century the town retained a bucolic character.^[79] Early in the 20th century the addition of landfill to the Hudson River changed the borough's appearance. Until that time, the Hudson River lay closer to River Road from just above Veteran's field southward to what is now the Binghamton Ferry Plaza.^[82]

The 20th century brought great change to Edgewater with industrialization, which overwhelmed the borough^[83] and filled three miles (5 km) of the shoreline with its operations. Transportation of factory goods was facilitated when the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad cut a tunnel through the Palisades in 1894 to connect the borough to its Jersey City line.^[57] Edgewater was also well situated for shipping, with deep water piers on the Hudson River and access to abundant labor from Manhattan.^[81] Generally, industrial development occurred in the southern end of the borough, while the northern end remained residential.^[69] As industrialization increased in the borough, picnic grounds lost their appeal and resort hotels faded.^[84] Among the industries that would prosper in the first half of the 20th century were Alcoa Aluminum, the Ford Motor Company, Lever Brothers, Valvoline Oil Co. and Archer-Daniels-Midland.^[81][85] Railroad trains served various factories, traversing tracks laid in River Road.^[83] During the first 30 years of the century Edgewater's population quadrupled, and the transient workforce increased tenfold.^[84] Eventually the factories closed. The reasons were varied, but they included the globalization of industry, obsolete facilities^[81] and the replacement of railroad shipping by trucking,^[55] which could not run its large tractor trailer trucks on Edgewater's narrow streets.^[57]

There is a wonderfully evocative portrait of Edgwater in early 20C in Joseph Mitchell's New Yorker essay The Rivermen which is included in his book The Bottom of the Harbor.

The late 20th century history of Edgewater was one of change from an industrialized town to a residential one. With the closing of the factories, development came to Edgewater^[86] beginning in the 1960s.^[87] As condominiums were built along the Hudson where industry had formerly operated,^[88] the population of Edgewater grew rapidly. As seen in the population box on this page, it had remained mostly in the 4,000 to 5,000 range from 1930 to 1990. According to estimates from 2007, the population has roughly doubled. City council members and residents acknowledge the problem of increased traffic.^[50][57] Crime statistics are down^[57] and real estate values are up. Because of the expense of buying property, some currently refer to Edgewater as the Gold Coast.^[81] A photographic history of Edgewater describes the population and demographics change and its possible consequence this way:

Now a good number of residents live on the river in condominiums and rental apartments and town houses on land that was once the province of heavy industry. Some see this as the creation of a town divided, with the newcomers living on the east side of River Road by the Hudson River and the old-timers living on the west side of River Road.^[88]

Although the borough is unrecognizable as the industrial town it once was, growing pains have left marks. When the old Alcoa plant site from 1916 began to be converted to condominiums, construction was forced to halt for cleanup of industrial contaminants, including excessively high concentrations of PCB’s.^[57] In another case, construction of a condominium/shopping center in south Edgewater was interrupted for six months by safety measures to protect workers from chemical exposure in the lead- and arsenic-riddled soil.^[50] Next to this structure, behind a chain link fence lies a Superfund site.^[81] Operational Hess Oil tanks beside the derelict Alcoa rolling mill, once the second largest in the world,^[89] stand as a reminder of the borough's industrial phase.

Notable current and former residents of Edgewater include:

• Ryan Allen, opera singer
• Amerie (born 1978), R&B singer^[90]
• Tyson Beckford (born 1970), model^[90]
• Maksim Chmerkovskiy (born 1980), professional dancer on hit TV show Dancing with the Stars^[91]
• Liz Claman, Fox Business News anchor^[92]
• Barbara Corcoran (born 1949), real estate agent and investor^[93]
• JoJo (born 1990), singer^[94]
• Q-Tip (born 1970), rapper^[90]
• Geraldo Rivera (born 1943), newsman^[95]
• John Sterling (born 1948), broadcaster for the New York Yankees since 1989^[96]
• Osi Umenyiora (born 1981), defensive end for the New York Giants^[97]
• Chien-Ming Wang (born 1980), pitcher for the New York Yankees^[98]

(click images to enlarge)

• 
  Vriessendael, the first settlement
• 
  Old ferry terminal before automobiles
• 
  Edgewater Ferry on downriver side
• 
  Boro Hall celebration at end of WW I
• 
  Vacant lot is Superfund site
• 
  Looking north from Route 5 hill, circa 1931
• 
  Burdett's Landing plaque
• 
  Trolley Terminal on Dempsey, early 20C
• 
  Monk parakeets eyeing birdfeeder
• 
  Resort hotel, burned in 1898
• 
  Giant flag in Veteran's field
• 
  Hess Oil tanks
• 
  The old ferry running to 125th Street, NYC
• 
  Painting of Burdett's Landing, On the Hudson by John George Brown
• 
  1914 Cartoon from San Antonio Light^[81]
• 
  Demolition rubble of Octagon Press
• 
  Hudson River closer to Borough Hall and vicinity before landfill
• 
  Skeleton of Alcoa rolling mill seen from Underliff Avenue
• 
  Binghamton Ferry moored beside Neo Binghamton

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edgewater, New Jersey.

• Adams, Arthur G. (1996). The Hudson River Guidebook. Fordham University Press. ISBN 0823216799, 9780823216796. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• "History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630-1923;" by "Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858-1942."
• "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.
• Hall, Donald E. (2005). Images of America: Edgewater. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. p. 128. ISBN 073853725x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Edgewater Borough official web site
• Eleanor Van Gelder School
• School Performance Report for Eleanor Van Gelder School, New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Edgewater Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Leonia Public Schools
• Community Forums for Edgewater
• Independent Coalition for a Better Edgewater Political Organization
• Edgewater Democratic Organization
• History of chemical manufacturing in Edgewater
• Fishing for shad in Edgewater
• Collection of Edgewater photos