New Brunswick, New Jersey
Encyclopedia : N : NE : NEW : New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, 31 miles (50 km) southwest of New York City on the Raritan River about 15 miles (24 km) from its mouth. In 1900, 20,006 people lived in New Brunswick, New Jersey; 23,388 in 1910, 32,779 in 1920 and 33,180 in 1940. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 48,573. It is the county seat of Middlesex County[Geographic references#6GR6].
Geography
New Brunswick is located at (40.488304, -74.447751)[Geographic references#1GR1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.9 km² (5.8 mi²). 13.5 km² (5.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (9.04%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 48,573 people, 13,057 households, and 7,207 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,585.9/km² (9,293.5/mi²). There were 13,893 housing units at an average density of 1,025.6/km² (2,658.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 48.79% White, 23.03% African American, 0.46% Native American, 5.32% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 18.08% from other races, and 4.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.01% of the population.There were 13,057 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.6% were married couples living together, 18.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.8% were non-families. 24.3% 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 3.23 and the average family size was 3.69.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 34.0% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 11.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males. The high proportion of 18-24 year olds is due to Rutgers University being in the city's midst.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,080, and the median income for a family was $38,222. Males had a median income of $25,657 versus $23,604 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,308. About 16.9% of families and 27.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
The City of New Brunswick is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.As the legislative body of New Brunswick's municipal government, the City Council is responsible for approving the annual budget, ordinances and resolutions, contracts, and appointments to boards and commissions. The City Council has five members elected at large to staggered four-year terms. The Council President, elected to a 2-year term by the Council presides over all meetings.
Jim Cahill is the 62nd Mayor of New Brunswick. He was sworn in as Mayor in January 1991 and has served continuously since.
City Council Members are Robert Recine (Council President), Elizabeth Sheehan Garlatti (Council Vice President), Jimmie L. Cook Jr., Joseph V. Egan and Blanquita Valenti.
Federal, state and county representation
New Brunswick is in the Sixth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 17th Legislative District.
New Jersey's Sixth Congressional District, covering portions of Middlesex County and Monmouth County, is represented by Frank Pallone (D). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Union City).
The 17th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Bob Smith (D, Piscataway) and in the Assembly by Upendra J. Chivukula (D, Somerset) and Joseph V. Egan (D, New Brunswick). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Middlesex County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Middlesex County's Freeholders are: Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel, Freeholder Deputy Director Stephen J. "Pete" Dalina, Camille Fernicola, H. James Polos, John Pulomena, Christopher D. Rafano and Blanquita B. Valenti.
History
Originally inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans, the first settlement was made in 1681 by immigrants from Europe. The place was first called Prigmore's Swamp, (1681-97), then Inian's Ferry, (1691-1714), and finally New Brunswick in honor of the House of Brunswick. Centrally located between New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and situated along the Raritan River, New Brunswick became an important hub for Colonial travelers and traders. It was incorporated as a town in 1736 and chartered as a city in 1784. During the American Revolutionary War it was occupied by the British in the winter of 1776-1777.Revitalization and redevelopment
New Brunswick contains a number of important examples of urban renewal in the United States. In the mid to late 20th century, the downtown area became blighted as middle class residents moved to newer suburbs surrounding the city. Beginning in 1975, Rutgers University, Johnson & Johnson, and the local government collaborated through the [New Jersey Economic Development Authority] to form the New Brunswick Development Company (DevCo), spending 1.6 billion dollars with the goal of revitalizing the city center and redeveloping neighborhoods considered to be blighted and dangerous.[link] This process has been controversial, and continues to draw ire from both historic preservationists, those opposing gentrification[link], and those concerned with eminent domain abuses[link].
New Brunswick continues to undergo constant redevelopment, adding restaurants and cultural outlets that draw people from miles away. New Brunswick has also become a desirable location for upper income commuters to live, as new luxury housing is built throughout downtown. Major employment centers such as Newark, New Jersey (30 minutes) and New York City (50 minutes) are easily accessible from New Brunswick by train.
Transportation
New Brunswick lies on the Amtrak's Northeast Corridor rail line, which serves the Northeastern U.S. from Washington, D.C. to Boston. Both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains stop at its railway station. Numerous New Jersey Transit trains provide local service to/from New York City and Trenton from New Brunswick.
New Brunswick also lies at the crossroads of a number of major roads, including the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), U.S. Route 1, Route 18 and Route 27.
Local bus service is provided by New Jersey Transit, with free campus-wide busing provided by Rutgers University.
Also note-worthy is [New Brunswick's bicycle community], which includes a bicycle co-op and tool collective.
Culture
Today, New Brunswick is the cultural hub of central New Jersey, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the "Hub City".Theatre
Several thriving professional theaters are located there, including Crossroads, the George Street Playhouse, and the State Theater. Those three theaters are located on Livingston Avenue, not George Street, and they are practically next to each other. New Brunswick is also home to American Repertory Ballet and its Princeton Ballet School.Museums
New Brunswick is home to several fine museums including the Zimmerli Museum of Fine Art at Rutgers University, [Albus Cavus Art Gallery], the Rutgers University Geology Museum and the New Jersey Agricultural Museum at the Cook College campus of Rutgers University.Higher Education
- Home of Rutgers University, New Brunswick enjoys the fruits of a close proximity to a thriving college scene including sports, concerts, plays and other events. Rutgers splatters all over the city and neighboring Piscataway, with a campus along College Avenue by the old Pennsylvania Railroad (now Amtrak) tracks, another campus on the other side of downtown that houses Douglass and Cook colleges, and several isolated buildings in between the two, along with vast lands in Piscataway. Two schools, the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and the Mason Gross School of the Arts, belong to Rutgers as well, and they are next to the three theaters mentioned above.
- New Brunswick is the home to the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, a seminary of the Reformed Church in America, founded in 1784.
- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, is located in New Brunswick and Piscataway.
Restaurants
New Brunswick is filled with an abundance of diverse fine restaurants including Nouvelle American, Italian, Indian, Ethiopian, Thai and Chinese. Popular fine dining restaurants include Stage Left, The Frog and The Peach, Clydz, Makeda's, and Soho on George. (Another popular restaurant is Old Man Rafferty's [link], which is on Albany St.) While many of the downtown fast-food establishments close after about 6 to 8 pm, those on Easton Avenue are open well into the night. There are Indian restaurants, Chinese restaurants, and numerous bars that are also open relatively late,including a brew pub. Some of the most famous are Dolls Place, Tumulty's Pub, Olde Queens Tavern, Stuff Yer Face, Marita's Cantina, Harvest Moon Brew Pub and Thinisu [link]. A vigorous local music scene is also present with live bands appearing at the Court Tavern, Old Bay, Nova Terra, Tumulty's and other locations.Music
In addition to live bands at bars, New Brunswick has been a center of local punk rock and underground music, a scene that thrives on quasi-legal live shows in residential basements. Many bands who developed their fan base through such shows have gone on to national and even international acclaim. Early influential bands of the New Brunswick basement punk scene includ the Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Thursday, and Sticks & Stones. Many of these bands were either stridently socio-political in their messages or at least independently minded, bound together by the "do it yourself" nature of the scene. Though few of these bands are currently active, it is telling of the nature of the scene that many, if not most shared common members, and these members are by and large still active in local music. The Bouncing Souls' song "Party at 174" refers to the band's old house at 174 Commercial Avenue, and Lifetime's "Theme Song for a New Brunswick Basement Show" memorializes their humble beginnings. Along with Long Island, New Brunswick has one of the biggest emo scenes in the country.Trivia
- In the movie "Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle," the main characters attempt to go to the White Castle in New Brunswick, however find it shuttered. In actuality, the New Brunswick White Castle is operating 24 hours a day and is located at 680 Somerset Street. The movie shuttering of the active fast food restaurant leads the main characters on their journey through New Jersey with wacky hijinks on their quest to find the ubiquitous sliders in Cherry Hill, which ironically does not actually have a White Castle.
- New Brunswick also pops up in the sci fi romp The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension directed by W. D. Richter.
Points of interest
- Buccleuch Mansion in Buccleuch Park
- The Henry Guest House
- Delaware and Raritan Canal
- The historic Queen's Campus of Rutgers University
- Birthplace of poet Joyce Kilmer
- Site of Johnson & Johnson world headquarters
- Rutgers Gardens
- The Willow Grove Cemetery near downtown
- Grave of Mary Ellis (1750-1828). This grave is interesting, as it is in a parking lot of the Loew's movie theater on U.S. Route 1 across the Raritan River from downtown New Brunswick.
Famous residents
- Michael Douglas, actor born in New Brunswick
- Anthony Walton White Evans (1817–1886), engineer born in New Brunswick
- All involved in the Hall-Mills Murder case of the 1920's
- Mark Helias, (1950- ) jazz bassist
- Adam Hyler, (1735-1782), Privateer during the American Revolutionary War
- Robert Wood Johnson I, (1845-1910), businessman
- Robert Wood Johnson II, (1893-1968), businessman
- Joyce Kilmer, (1886-1918), poet born in New Brunswick
- Franke Previte, composer born in New Brunswick
- William Henry Vanderbilt (1821-1885), businessman born in New Brunswick
External links
- [New Brunswick Information]
- [New Brunswick Development Corporation]
- [City of New Brunswick webpage]
- [Old New Brunswick discussion group at Yahoo]
- [Historical maps of New Jersey including New Brunswick]
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