Livingston

 

Map of Livingston Township in Essex County
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Map of Livingston Township in Essex County

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 founded in 1813, and was the joining of the following seven regions: Centerville (now Livingston Center), Cheapside (now Livingston Mall), Morehousetown (now Livingston Circle), Northfield (now Northfield Center), Squiretown (Now the Cerebal Palsy Institute of New Jersey on Old Road), Teedtown, and Washington Place. The town was given its name in honor of William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey.

The Township of Livingston is located in Essex County, in the Gateway Region. Nearby are County Route 508, Interstate 280, Route 10, Interstate 78, and the Morristown and Erie Railway. In the vicinity are the Passaic River, West Orange, Essex Fells, Millburn, and the Grover Cleveland State Historic Site. Livingston is part of the New York metropolitan area.

Contents

Geography

Livingston is located at 40°47'19?N, 74°19'17?W (40.788733, -74.321340)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.4 km² (14.1 mi²). 35.9 km² (13.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (1.35%) is water.

Government

Local government

Livingston's Township Council consists of five members. A Mayor and Deputy Mayor are selected by the Council from among its members. The Mayor of Livingston is Renée Green. The other Council members are Deputy Mayor Lee Peyser, David Katz, Stephen Santola and Gary Schneiderman[2].

The Township Manager is Michele Meade. She is the third Township Manager, preceded by Robert W. Harp (1954-1985) and Charles J. Tahaney (1985-2005).

In November 2006, Livingston will vote for three seats on the Township Council.

The candidates are:

DEMOCRATS:

  • Charles "Buddy" August
  • Arlene Johnson
  • Lee Peyser (incumbent)

REPUBLICANS:

  • William Jones
  • Phyllis Velardi
  • Rudy Fernandez

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 part of New Jersey's 27th Legislative District and is in the Eighth and Eleventh Congressional Districts.

New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Passaic County and northern sections of Essex County, is represented by Bill Pascrell Jr. (D, Paterson). New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District, covering western portions of Essex County, all of Morris County, and sections of Passaic County, Somerset County and Sussex County, is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, Harding Township). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Union City).

The 27th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Richard Codey (D, West Orange) and in the Assembly by Mims Hackett (D, Orange) and John F. McKeon (D, West Orange). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Essex County's County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Essex County's Freeholders are Freeholder President Johnny Jones, Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold, Freeholder-At-Large Blonnie R. Watson, Freeholder-At-Large Donald M. Payne, Jr., Freeholder District 1 Samuel Gonzalez, Freeholder District 2 D. Bilal Beasley, Freeholder District 3 Carol Y. Clark, Freeholder District 4 Linda Lordi Cavanaugh and Freeholder District 5 Ralph R. Caputo.

Politics

On the national level, Livingston leans toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 54 percent of the vote, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 45 percent. Livingston has not elected a Republican on the local level since 1994.

Livingston was the home of one of New Jersey's most prominent political families, the Kean's: 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 Jr. 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 consists of six elementary schools, for grades K-5 ( Burnet Hill School, Collins Elementary School, Harrison Elementary School, Hillside Elementary School, Mount Pleasant Elementary School and Riker Hill Elementary School), two middle schools (Mount Pleasant Middle School for grade 6 and Heritage Middle School for grades 7 and 8) and Livingston High School for grades 9-12. 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. [3]

Livingston's schools participate in many county, interschool,state, and national competetions. 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. Newark Academy is a private coeducational high school for grades 9-12.

Transportation

Livingston is located about 20 miles from New York City. There is a Coach USA (Community Coach) bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City 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.

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, and Old Navy, as well department stores in the Livingston Mall (e.g. Macy's, Lord and Taylor, the Gap). Additionally, there are many local, independent stores. A new walkable town center is under construction along with a housing complex next to it. 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

Notable events

On February 14, 2006, a group of three, possibly four armed robbers attempted to rob a Dunbar armored car. A shoot out ensued after the car picked up cash from a local Bank of America branch. During the shootout one of the two security guards, the passenger, was hit; however, the bullet did not penetrate his chest as he was wearing a bulletproof vest. The same guard then ran into a local restaurant to call for help. The police quickly arrived and immediately apprehended two of the suspects. They then chased a third suspect through Livingston, Millburn and South Orange, the location where the third suspect would eventually be captured. A day after the shooting, investigators discovered that the driver of the armored car had left the truck unlocked a day earlier, which is the same mistake that allowed one of the robbers to enter the vehicle on the day of the robbery.

References

  1. ^ Jewish Population in the United States, 2002, National Jewish Population Survey, accessed May 11, 2006
  2. ^ Livingston Township Officials 2006, accessed June 26, 2006
  3. ^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), accessed May 11, 2006

External links