Belleville

Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 38,222, reflecting an increase of 6.4% from the 2010 Census population of 35,926. Belleville was originally incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1839, from portions of Bloomfield. The independent municipality of Belleville city was created within the township on March 27, 1874, and was dissolved on February 22, 1876. In 1870, Belleville became the first city on the East Coast of the United States with a Chinatown. In 1981, the town was one of seven Essex County municipalities to pass a referendum to become a township, joining four municipalities that had already made the change. In 1994, Congress passed a resolution recognizing Belleville as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The township has given itself the nickname the Cherry Blossom Capital of America, with an annual display that is larger than the famed Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., site of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Silver Lake (2010 total population of 4,243) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) defined by the U States Census Bureau as of the2010 Census that is split between Belleville (with 3,769 of the CDP's residents) and Bloomfield (474 of the total).

History

Belleville was originally incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1839, from portions of Bloomfield. On November 16, 1910, Belleville was reincorporated as a town, based on the results of a referendum held eight days earlier. The independent municipality of Belleville city was created within the township on March 27, 1874, and was dissolved on February 22, 1876. Belleville became the first city on the East Coast of the U.S. with a Chinatown in 1870. In 1994, Congress passed a resolution recognizing Belleville as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.Frankie Valli and the band The Four Seasons formed in Belleville, as did The Delicates, the late 50s / early 60s girl group made up of Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti and Peggy Santiglia. In 1981, the town was one of seven Essex County municipalities to pass a referendum to become a township, joining four municipalities that had already made the change, of what would ultimately be more than a dozen Essex County municipality to reclassify as townships in order to take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis. The town is located on the banks of the Second River, which was originally known as "Second River" or "Washington", the inhabitants renamed the settlement "Bel Belleville" in 1797. It is located in New Jersey's Hudson County.

Geography

Silver Lake (2010 total population of 4,243) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) defined by the United States Census Bureau as of the 2010 Census. The township of Belleville has given itself the nickname the Cherry Blossom Capital of America, with an annual display that is larger than the famed Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., site of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Second River forms much of the border between Belleville and Newark as it runs through Branch Brook Park. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 3.37 square miles (8.71 km²) of land and 0.07 square miles of water (2.05% of the total) The township borders the municipalities of Bloomfield, Newark and Nutley in Essex County; Lyndhurst and North Arlington in Bergen County; and Kearny in Hudson County. It is located on the New Jersey Turnpike, which runs from New Jersey to New York City. It has a population of 3,769, according to the 2010 census, with Bloomfield making up the majority of the CDP's residents. The CDP is split into two parts: Belleville (with 3,700 residents) and Bloomfield (474 of thetotal) Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Belwood, Big Tree and Soho. It also borders the towns of Lyndhurst, North Arlington, and Newark.

Demographics

The 2010 U.S. census counted 35,926 people, 13,395 households, and 9,001 families in the township. The racial makeup of the township was 69.44% White, 5.36% African American, 0.17% Native American, 11.31% Asian,0.07% Pacific Islander, 9.83% from other races, and 3.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.68% of the population. The most common ancestries listed were Italian (30.9%), Irish (9.4%), German (6.9), Polish (4.5%), United States (2.6%) and English (2.2%). The median household income was $60,127 (with a margin of error of +/ $2,658) and the median familyincome was $69,181 (+/ $4,525) in 2010. The per capita income for the township is $27,668. About 3.7% of families and 6.0% of those under age 18 were below the poverty line, including 7.0%, 6.6%, and 7.6%. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.29. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 93.1 males. ForEvery 100 females ages 18 and older there were 89.0 males. The average age of the Township was 36.2.

Government

Belleville is governed under the Council-Manager form of New Jersey municipal government. As of July 2022, the mayor of Belleville is Michael A. Melham, whose term of office ends June 30, 2026. Essex County is governed by a directly-elected County Executive, with legislative functions performed by the Board of County Commissioners. The township is located in the 11th Congressional District and is part of the 29th state legislative district. For the 117th United States Congress, New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District is represented by Mikie Sherrill (D, Montclair). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027) and Bob Menendez (Harrison, term end 2025) As of March 2011, there were a total of 19,684 registered voters in Belleville, of which 7,241 (7.8%) were registered as Democrats, 2,708 (13%) were Republicans and 9,729 (4%) were Unaffiliated. There were 6 registered voters as Libertarians or Greens or 6 registered as Greens or Libertarians (8% of the vote) in the 2012 presidential election, Barack Obama received 65 of the 65% of votes in the Belleville area. The Belleville Township Manager is Anthony D. Iacono, who has been in his position since 2007. The Township Manager's office is located at the Bellevilles Township Hall, which is also the location of the Township Council's offices.

Education

The Belleville School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 202021 school year, the district, comprised of 11 schools, had an enrollment of 4,548 students and 361.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentteacher ratio of 12.6:1. Schools in the district (with 202021 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are: Hornblower Early Childhood Center, School 3, School 4, School 5, School 6, School 7, School 8, School 9, School 10. The Belleville Public Library and Information Center had a collection of 105,452 volumes by the end of the 2011-2012 school year. The district's high school is Belleville High School, which has 1,358 students in 9-12 grade and736 students in 6-8 grade. The school district's elementary schools are: Belleville Elementary School, Belleville Middle School, and Belleville Intermediate School. The high school's elementary and middle schools have a combined enrollment of 2,788 students. The elementary school's high School has a total enrollment of 1,838 students. It has a collection of 105,000 volumes. The middle school's library and information center had a collection of 105,000 volumes by the start of the 2010-11 school year; the high school had a total collection of 1,358 volumes. It is located in the town of Belleville.

Transportation

As of May 2010, the township had a total of 67.17 miles (108.10 km) of roadways, of which 57.22 miles (92.09 km) were maintained by the municipality. The Belleville Turnpike Bridge (also known as the Rutgers Street Bridge) crosses the Passaic River, connecting Belleville to North Arlington. The bridge was formally renamed on July 4, 2013, as the "Lance Corporal Osbrany Montes de Oca Memorial Bridge" in memory of a U.S. Marine Corps soldier killed in February 2012 while serving in Afghanistan. The Silver Lake station provides service to Newark Penn Station on the Newark Light Rail. Until 1966, the Newark Branch of the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad provided train service at stations at Belleville and Cleveland Street. The New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, later the Boonton Line, also served the township. The Newark Branch tracks are now used for freight only, operated by Norfolk Southern.NJ Transit bus service is available to and from Newark on the 13, 27, 72, 74, 90, 92, 93 and 94 bus lines. The township is home to the New Jersey State College of Art and Design, which was founded in 1875. The college is located in Belleville, New Jersey and is located on the shore of the Paterson River. The town is also home to a number of colleges, including Rutgers University, Montclair State University, and the University of New Jersey.

Places of interest

Clara Maass Medical Center is a 469-bed teaching hospital that is part of the Barnabas Health system. Livia Soprano's funeral is held at the Irvine-Cozzarelli Memorial Home, across the street from Belleville Middle School on Washington Avenue. The Olympic Torch Relay came through Belleville on June 18, 1996. Even though Furio Giunta's house was stated to be in Nutley, its actual location was Bellevilles on Essex Street. The town is home to the Belleville High School crew team, which uses a pier in the Passaic River for their training. The first Episcopal Church in the area was established in 1746 by a land grant signed by King George II. More than 60 Continental Army soldiers are buried in the cemetery that adjoins the church. The original burial ground still exists today, accompanied by a newer mausoleum. In season 4 of The Sopranos, Junior gets lost and tells the policemen who find him that he lives in Belleville. Rosalie Aprile briefly dates a much younger French motorcyclist named Michel. Ro expresses a particular sense of kinship with Michel given his connection to a town with the same name as the New Jersey town where members of her inner circle live (e.g., Corrado Soprano) and do business. The 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay entered Belleville from Rutgers, made a left onto Washington Avenue, and stayed on Belleville into the township of Bloomfield.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Belleville, Essex County, New Jersey = 18.9. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 1. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Belleville = 3.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 38,222 individuals with a median age of 39.5 age the population dropped by -6.55% in Belleville, Essex County, New Jersey population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 11,597.1 residents per square mile of area (4,477.7/km²). There are average 2.63 people per household in the 12,727 households with an average household income of $58,876 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 11.20% of the available work force and has dropped -3.41% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.38%. The number of physicians in Belleville per 100,000 population = 319.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Belleville = 43.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 26.8 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 121. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 205. 86 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 24.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 47, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Belleville, Essex County, New Jersey which are owned by the occupant = 48.48%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 58 years with median home cost = $257,100 and home appreciation of -16.72%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $28.54 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $8,947 per student. There are 13.7 students for each teacher in the school, 707 students for each Librarian and 468 students for each Counselor. 3.87% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 15.81% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 5.90% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).