Everything about Livingston New Jersey totally explained
Livingston is a
township in
Essex County,
New Jersey,
United States. As of the
United States 2000 Census, the township population was 27,391.
Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the
New Jersey Legislature on
February 5,
1813, from portions of Caldwell Township (now
Fairfield Township) and
Springfield Township (now in
Union County, New Jersey). Portions of the township were taken to form
Fairmount (
March 11,
1862, now part of
West Orange) and
Roseland (
March 10,
1908).
Livingston was created by joining of seven distinct areas: Centerville (separated to become
Roseland, New Jersey, in 1908), Cheapside (now
Livingston Mall), Morehousetown (now Livingston Circle), Northfield (now Northfield Center), Squiretown (now the Cerebral Palsy Institute of New Jersey on Old Road), Teedtown (now Livingston Center), and Washington Place (now near the border with Millburn). The township was given its name in honor of
William Livingston, the first
Governor of New Jersey.
Geography
Livingston is located at (40.788733, -74.321340).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.1
square miles (36.4
km²), of which, 13.9 square miles (35.9 km²) of it's land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (1.35%) is water.
The Township of Livingston is located in Essex County, in the Gateway Region. In the vicinity are the
Passaic River,
West Orange,
Millburn, and the Grover Cleveland State Historic Site in
West Caldwell. Livingston is part of the
New York metropolitan area.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 27,391 people, 9,300 households, and 7,932 families residing in the town. The
population density was 1,973.1 people per square mile (761.9/km²). There were 9,457 housing units at an average density of 681.2/sq mi (263.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 82.64%
White, 14.54%
Asian, 1.20%
African American, 0.05%
Native American, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 0.69% from
other races, and 0.87% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.54% of the population.
According to the 2002 results of the
National Jewish Population Survey, there are 12,600
Jews in Livingston, approximately 46% of the population. This is one of the higher percentages of Jews in any American municipality.
There were 9,300 households out of which 41.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.0% were
married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.7% were non-families. 13.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the township the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
The
median income for a household in the township is $98,869, and the median income for a family was $108,049. Males had a median income of $77,256 versus $41,654 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $47,218. About 1.1% of families and 1.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Livingston operates under the
Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) form of municipal government. Livingston's Township Council consists of five members. A Mayor and Deputy Mayor are selected by the Council from among its members at a reorganization meeting held after each election. Members of the Township Council are
Mayor Gary Schneiderman,
Deputy Mayor Charles "Buddy" August, Arlene Johnson, Lee Peyser and Stephen A. Santola.
The Township Manager is Michele Meade. She is the third Township Manager, preceded by Robert H. Harp (1954-1985) and Charles J. Tahaney (1985-2005).
Township committees
Committees and Boards run through the Township include:
- Livingston Municipal Alliance Committee (LMAC)
- Holiday Committees
- Neighborhood Grievance Committee
- Consumer Affairs Office
- Planning Board
- Zoning Board of Adjustment
- Committee for Diversity
Federal, state and county representation
Livingston is split between the Eighth and Eleventh Congressional Districts and is part of New Jersey's 27th Legislative District.
Politics
On the national level, Livingston leans toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 54% of the vote, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 45%. Livingston hasn't elected a Republican on the local level since 1994.
Livingston was the home of one of New Jersey's most prominent political families, the Keans.
Robert Kean served in the
U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1958, when he ran for U.S. Senator; his son,
Thomas Kean, who served in the
New Jersey General Assembly from 1968 to 1978 (and as Assembly Speaker in 1972-73, and Minority Leader 1974-77), as
Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, and as President of
Drew University from 1990 to 2004.
Thomas Kean Jr., elected to the State Assembly in 2001 and the State Senate in 2003, is the Republican nominee for United States Senator in 2006.
When Robert Kean ran for the Senate, losing to
Harrison A. Williams in 1958, Livingtson's Congressman became
George M. Wallhauser, a Republican. After the 1960 census, Livingston was moved into the district of Republican Congresswoman
Florence P. Dwyer. After the 1970 census, Livingston went into Congressman
Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr.'s district. He was the father of Livingston's current Congressman,
Rodney P. Frelinghuysen. When Peter Frelinghuysen retired in 1974, he was succeeded by
Millicent Fenwick, who beat Tom Kean in a Republican primary by about 80 votes. After the 1980 census, Livingston was moved to Congressman
Joseph G. Minish's district. Minish was defeated by
Dean Gallo in 1984 and served until his death in 1994. Rodney Frelinghuysen took his seat. The 2000 Census split the town, and now Congressman
Bill Pascrell represents a portion of the community.
Some Essex County Freeholders from Livingston have included Reita Greenstone, James Cavanaugh, Patricia Sebold, and William Clark.
Education
The
Livingston Public Schools serves students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the
National Center for Education Statistics) are six K-5 elementary schools —
Burnet Hill School
(417 students),
Collins (419),
Harrison (486),
Hillside (442),
Mount Pleasant (385) and
Riker Hill (440) —
Mount Pleasant Middle School for grade 6 (364),
Heritage Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (826) and
Livingston High School for grades 9-12 (1,588).
For the 1997-98 school year, Livingston High School received the
Blue Ribbon Award from the
United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve. Livingston High School was the 14th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in
New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's
Top Public High Schools.
Livingston's schools participate in many county, interschool, state, and national competitions. Some of these include the popular "Cognetics" program, Math Counts, various national, state, and county math contests, debate contests, Academically Speaking (a county competition to test broad knowledge),
Knowledge Master Open (KMO, a national computer-based contest to test broad knowledge), and many more.
Aquinas Academy is a private
coeducational
Roman Catholic school that serves students from preschool through eighth grade.
Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy is a private
coeducational
Jewish day school that serves preschool through eighth grade.
Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School is a four-year
yeshiva high school for grades 9-12.
Newark Academy is a private
coeducational
day school for grades 6-12.
Transportation
Livingston is located about 21.9 miles from
New York City about 40 minutes away. There is a
Coach USA (Community Coach) bus to the
Port Authority Bus Terminal in
Midtown Manhattan and a
New Jersey Transit bus service to
Newark Penn Station running through the center of Livingston. New Jersey Transit train service and
PATH can be reached by car or taxi.
In and near Livingston are
Eisenhower Parkway,
County Route 508,
County Route 527,
Interstate 280,
Route 10 and the
Morristown and Erie Railway.
The town
Although largely a
bedroom community, there are numerous stores and restaurants located in Livingston. They include
chain stores such as
Barnes & Noble,
Borders,
Old Navy, and restaurants such as The Original SoupMan
(External Link), as well as department stores in the
Livingston Mall (for example,
Macy's,
Lord & Taylor,
the Gap). Additionally, there are many local, independent stores. Construction on the new walkable
town center and the housing complex next to it has been completed. Livingston has a cable television station (TV-34), which is maintained by Livingston High School Students as well as the LPBC (Livingston Public Broadcasting Committee).
Noted residents
Erin Abrahamson, Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2001, Miss New Jersey USA 2007.
Jason Alexander (1959-, originally Jay Greenspan), actor best known for his role as George Costanza of the long-running television show, Seinfeld.
Bruce Beck, sportscaster on WNBC.
Ilene Beckerman, author of Love, Loss, and What I Wore, What We Do For Love, Mother of the Bride, and Makeovers at the Beauty County of Happiness".
Martin Brodeur (1972-), goalie for the New Jersey Devils, lived in Livingston but moved after about a year and a half.
Mona Charen, political columnist who grew up in Livingston, where she was close friends with future Washington Post journalist Ruth Marcus.
Christopher J. Christie, who serves as the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and before that as a Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Harlan Coben, The New York Times best-selling author of Promise Me, Tell No One and No Second Chance.
Alan Cooper, founding member of Sha Na Na.
Larry Cutrone (entertainer/writer), inducted into NJ AM Radio History Museum, screenplay writer "The Pat Galo Story", star & head comedy writer Manhattan Alive TV show, endorsee of Ovation guitars.
Faith Evans also had a brief stay in the town as she rented a home there while a new house of hers was being renovated.
James Florio (1937-), former Governor of New Jersey.
Justin Gimelstob (1977-), professional tennis player who won 13 doubles titles and reached 1 final in singles.
Barry Halper, baseball memorabilia collector and businessman, who was once a limited partner in the Yankees' ownership with George Steinbrenner; lived in Livingston for a number of years, died at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
Chelsea Handler (1975-), American stand-up comedian and star of Chelsea Lately on E!.
Chris Jacobs, swimming medalist at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
The Keans: Robert Kean (Congress 1939-1950), Thomas Kean (Assembly 1968-78, Speaker 1971-72, Governor, 1982-90), Tom Kean Jr. (Assemblyman 2001-03; State Senate 2003-date; 2006 G.O.P. failed nominee for U.S. Senate.
Brevin Knight (1975-), professional basketball player on the Charlotte Bobcats who was born in Livingston and went to school at Seton Hall Preparatory School and then Stanford University.
Leslie Kritzer, Broadway actress in and The Great American Trailer Park Musical.
Charles Kushner, a real estate mogul and Democratic fundraiser who pleaded guilty in 2004 to tax violations and charges related to witness tampering.
Ruth Marcus, Washington Post op-ed columnist who grew up in Livingston, where she was close friends with future political columnist Mona Charen. Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business is named after him.
Roger Y. Tsien (1952-), chemist.
Nina Mitchell Wells, Secretary of State of New Jersey since 2006.
Ted Wells, criminal defense lawyer.
Notable events
On March 29, 2005, comedian Mitch Hedberg was found dead by his wife in a Livingston hotel room. A medical examiner's report found traces of cocaine and heroin in his system.
On June 16, 1996, the Olympic Torch made a stop in Livingston while en route to Atlanta, Georgia.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Livingston New Jersey'.
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