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Tenafly, New Jersey

Encyclopedia : T : TE : TEN : Tenafly, New Jersey

Tenafly (pronounced /ˈtɛnəˌflaj/) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the borough population was 13,806.

Tenafly was incorporated as a borough on January 24, 1894 under an act of the New Jersey Legislature. It was created from portions of the now-defunct Palisades Township.

Contents

Geography

Tenafly is located at [40°55′20″N, 73°57′50″W] (40.922139, -73.963772)[Geographic references#1GR1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 13.5 km² (5.2 mi²). 11.9 km² (4.6 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (11.15%) is water.

The eastern half of the town is known as the "East Hill" for its higher elevation in relation to the rest of the borough. The terrain rises rapidly to the east of the downtown area, ending at the spectacular New Jersey Palisades, overlooking the Hudson River. From atop the cliffs, Tenafly residents have a wide-ranging view of New York City.

Demographics

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 13,806 people, 4,774 households, and 3,866 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,156.3/km² (2,993.4/mi²). There were 4,897 housing units at an average density of 410.1/km² (1,061.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 76.79% White, 0.96% African American, 0.09% Native American, 19.08% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.40% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.65% of the population.

There were 4,774 households out of which 43.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.6% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.0% were non-families. 16.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the borough the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $90,931, and the median income for a family was $111,029. Males had a median income of $79,641 versus $50,617 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $53,170. About 3.5% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Since it became a Borough, Tenafly has been governed by a Mayor and Council who are chosen through partisan elections held in November annually. The Mayor is the chief executive officer and the six Council members handle legislative functions. A full-time Administrator assists the Mayor and Council and coordinates the operations of government departments.

The Mayor is elected to a four-year term and is eligible for re-election. The Mayor presides over all meetings of the Council but may vote only in case of a tie. The Mayor has veto power, which may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the Council.

The Council consists of six members. Two are elected at large each year for three-year terms. As the legislative body, the Council adopts ordinances and resolutions, decides on appropriations, approves appointments made by the Mayor, determines policy, and establishes the functions of the various departments of the local government. Each Council member is chairperson of one of the six standing committees.

The Mayor of Tenafly is Peter Rustin. Members of the Tenafly Borough Council are:[Borough of Tenafly Mayor and Council], accessed June 19, 2006

In November 2005, Councilman Jeffery Romano was arrested in Newark following a drug bust that uncovered forty bags of heroin in his car. [Tenafly Councilman Arrested], The New York Times, December 1, 2005 Romano resigned from the council in June 2006 after pleading guilty to heroin possession and was replaced by Jon Warms. Warms will serve until the next municipal election in November 2006. [Bergen County Briefs], The Record (Bergen County), June 15, 2006

Federal, state and county representation

Tenafly is part of New Jersey's 37th Legislative District and is in the Fifth Congressional District.

New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District, covering the northern portions of Bergen County, Passaic County and Sussex County and all of Warren County, is represented by Scott Garrett (R, Wantage Township). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Union City).

The 37th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Loretta Weinberg (D, Teaneck) and in the Assembly by Valerie Huttle (D, Englewood) and Gordon M. Johnson (D, Englewood). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Bergen County's County Executive is Dennis McNerney. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Bergen County's Freeholders are Chairwoman Bernadette P. McPherson of Rutherford, Vice-Chairman David L. Ganz of Fair Lawn, Elizabeth Calabrese of Wallington, James M. Carroll of Demarest, Tomas J. Padilla of Park Ridge, Elizabeth Randall of Westwood and Valerie Vainieri Huttle of Englewood.

Politics

Out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 14,214 in Tenafly, there are 8,633 registered voters (60.7% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 1,769 (20.5% vs. 20.7% countywide) are registered as Democrats, 1,407 (16.3% vs. 19.2% countywide) are registered as Republicans and 5,454 (63.2% vs. 60.1% countywide) are registered as Undeclared. There are 3 voters registered to other parties."County of Bergen: Voter Statistics by Municipality, Ward & District," dated April 1, 2006

On the national level, Tenafly leans towards the Democratic Party. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 61% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 38%.[2004 Presidential Election results: Bergen County] New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety: Division of Elections, dated December 13, 2004

Education

The Tenafly Public Schools serve students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are four K-5 elementary schools ([Mackay School], [Maugham School], [Smith School] and [Stillman School]), [Tenafly Middle School] for grades 6-8 and [Tenafly High School] for grades 9-12.

Noted residents

Noted residents of Tenafly and those of note who were born in the borough include:

References

External links

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