Bergenfield, New Jersey
Bergenfield is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 28,321,[10][11] an increase of 1,557 (+5.8%) from the 2010 census count of 26,764,[20][21] which in turn reflected an increase of 517 (+2.0%) from the 26,247 counted in the 2000 census.[22]
Bergenfield, New Jersey
June 25, 1894
Borough Council
Corey Gallo[5]
Marie Quiñones-Wilson[6]
2.91 sq mi (7.55 km2)
2.90 sq mi (7.52 km2)
0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2) 0.31%
338th of 565 in state
28th of 70 in county[1]
66 ft (20 m)
28,321
28,163
87th of 565 in state
7th of 70 in county[13]
9,752.4/sq mi (3,765.4/km2)
39th of 565 in state
11th of 70 in county[13]
Bergenfield was formed on the basis of a referendum held on June 25, 1894, from portions of Englewood Township and Palisades Township.[23][24][25] The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone.[26] The borough was named for its location in Bergen County.[27]
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Bergenfield as its 211th best place to live in its 2010 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.[28] The magazine ranked Bergenfield as its 231st best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live".[29]
NeighborhoodScout named Bergenfield as the safest municipality in the nation in 2012 with more than 25,000 residents[30] and in both 2013 and 2014 they named it as the 2nd safest town in the US only behind Franklin, Massachusetts.[31][32]
In 2019, Bergenfield has dropped in their ratings, falling to number 4.[33]
Geography[edit]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.91 square miles (7.55 km2), including 2.90 square miles (7.52 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km2) of water (0.31%).[1][2]
The borough borders the Bergen County municipalities of Cresskill, Dumont, Englewood, New Milford, Teaneck and Tenafly.[34][35][36]
Economy[edit]
Prestige Records, a major producer of jazz recordings that was established in 1949, had its offices in Bergenfield from the mid-1960s until its sale in 1972.[51]
Arts and culture[edit]
The infamous group suicide of the "Bergenfield Four" took place in March 1987 and received worldwide attention.[52][53] The victims were four local high schoolers, ages sixteen to nineteen, and their mutual deaths by carbon monoxide were followed by a rash of copycat attempts.[54][55] The suicides are examined in sociological perspective in Donna Gaines' Teenage Wasteland (1998).[56][57] References in the arts include the Tom Russell song "Bergenfield" (1989),[58] and the Alice Donut song "New Jersey Exit" (1988).
The Royal Teens were a 1950s rock and roll band from the borough that was best known as one-hit wonders for their song "Short Shorts".[59] The Knickerbockers were a 1960s band that took their name from Knickerbocker Road in nearby Tenafly.[60] Mucky Pup was a hardcore and heavy metal band from Bergenfield.[61]
Several scenes for the Harlem Globetrotter 1954 film Go, Man, Go! were filmed at Franklin School, and along nearby Prospect Avenue. Those scenes included actors Dane Clark (portraying Abe Saperstein) and Patricia Breslin (playing Sylvia Saperstein). Many of the school's 5th grade boys were used as extras.[62]
On May 4, 2006, the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition came to Bergenfield to build a home for the Llanes family on New Bridge Road. The episode aired as the pre-season two-hour special originally broadcast on September 17, 2006.[63] The Llanes sold their home in 2012 and went to live with relatives because their taxes increased beyond their ability to pay, having risen from under $6,500 in 2007 to more than $15,000 five years later due to the increased assessed value of the home following the renovation.[64][65]
Sports[edit]
On July 22, 2007, the Team Bergenfield Roller Hockey Club, won the NARCh National Roller Hockey Championship defeating the Nor-Cal Patriots 6–5 in Estero, Florida. Team Bergenfield went 6–0–1 in the tournament en route to winning the Men's Silver Championship. The team formed in Bergenfield in 1994 and is one of the longest running roller hockey clubs in the United States.[66]
Government[edit]
Local government[edit]
Bergenfield is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey.[67] The governing body is comprised of a mayor and a borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council is comprised of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle.[7] The borough form of government used by Bergenfield is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.[68][69]
As of 2024, the mayor of Bergenfield is Democrat Arvin Amatorio, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027; a former borough council member, Amatorio narrowly unseated Republican Norman Schmelz in the 2019 election.[70] Members of the Borough Council are Council President Hernando D. Rivera Mejia (D, 2024), Domingo Almonte (D, 2026), Salvador S. "Buddy" Deauna (D, 2025), Ora C. Kornbluth (D, 2025), Thomas A. Lodato (D, 2024) and Marc Pascual (D, 2026).[3][71][72][73][74][75]
In March 2023, the borough council appointed Domingo Almonte to fill the seat expiring in December 2023 that had been held been held by Rafael Marte.[76]
In January 2020, the borough council selected Marc Pascual to fill the seat expiring in December 2020 that had been held by Arvin Amatorio until he stepped down to take office as mayor.[77]
In January 2017, the borough council selected Rafael Marte to fill the seat expiring in December 2017 that had been held by Chris Tully until he resigned from office earlier that month.[78]
Federal, state and county representation[edit]
Bergenfield is located in the 5th Congressional District[79] and is part of New Jersey's 38th state legislative district.[80]
For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff).[81][82] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027)[83] and Bob Menendez (Englewood Cliffs, term ends 2025).[84][85]
For the 2024-2025 session, the 38th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Lagana (D, Paramus) and in the General Assembly by Lisa Swain (D, Fair Lawn) and Chris Tully (D, Bergenfield).[86]
Bergen County is governed by a directly elected County Executive, with legislative functions performed by a Board of County Commissioners composed of seven members who are elected at-large to three-year terms in partisan elections on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats coming up for election each November; a Chairman and Vice Chairman are selected from among its seven members at a reorganization meeting held every January. As of 2024, the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.[87]
Bergen County's Commissioners are:
Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),[88]
Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),[89] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),[90]
Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),[91]
Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),[92]
Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2024)[93] and
Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2024).[94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101]
Bergen County's constitutional officials are:
Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),[102][103]
Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2024)[104][105] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).[106][107][97][108]
Politics[edit]
As of 2022, there were 18,848 registered voters in Bergenfield.[109] As of 2011, there were a total of 14,083 registered voters in Bergenfield, of which 5,139 (36.5% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 2,151 (15.3% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 6,782 (48.2% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 11 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.[110] Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 52.6% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 69.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).[111]
In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received 7,395 votes (63.4% vs. 54.2% countywide), ahead of Republican Donald Trump with 3,745 votes (32.1% vs. 41.1% countywide) and other candidates with 305 votes (2.6% vs. 3.0% countywide), among the 11,653 ballots cast by the borough's 16,298 registered voters for a turnout of 71.5% (vs. 73% in Bergen County).[118] In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 6,665 votes (62.7% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 3,773 votes (35.5% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 91 votes (0.9% vs. 0.9%), among the 10,624 ballots cast by the borough's 15,285 registered voters, for a turnout of 69.5% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County).[119][120] In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 6,410 votes (57.6% vs. 53.9% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 4,561 votes (40.9% vs. 44.5%) and other candidates with 70 votes (0.6% vs. 0.8%), among the 11,138 ballots cast by the borough's 14,721 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.7% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County).[121][122]
In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Democrat Phil Murphy received 66.5% of the vote (3,822 cast), ahead of Republican Kim Guadagno with 32.3% (1,858 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (65 votes), among the 5,891 ballots cast by the borough's 15,631 registered voters (146 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 37.7%.[123][124] In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 59.2% of the vote (3,576 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 40.0% (2,416 votes), and other candidates with 0.8% (47 votes), among the 6,214 ballots cast by the borough's 14,629 registered voters (175 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.5%.[125][126] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 3,463 ballots cast (53.9% vs. 48.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 2,599 votes (40.5% vs. 45.8%), Independent Chris Daggett with 276 votes (4.3% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 29 votes (0.5% vs. 0.5%), among the 6,420 ballots cast by the borough's 14,488 registered voters, yielding a 44.3% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).[127]
Emergency services[edit]
Police[edit]
The Bergenfield Police Department provides police services to the Borough of Bergenfield. As of 2010, there are a total of 46 sworn officers in the department, 8 civilian telecommunicators, and three civilian Records Bureau employees.[128]
The force is responsible for all aspects of policing in the borough, including responding to fire and medical emergency calls. Each patrol car is equipped with a first aid kit, oxygen tank, and an Automated external defibrillator.
Ambulance[edit]
The Bergenfield Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Inc. (BVAC) was formed in 1941 as the "Bergenfield Volunteer Firemen's Ambulance Corps." Renamed the "Bergenfield Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Inc." and established as an organization independent of the Bergenfield Fire Department in 1981, BVAC is located at 1 Froelich Street in Bergenfield. The BVAC is a volunteer independent public emergency medical service. As such, they do not bill for services. BVAC is funded by donations from the public as well as limited funding from the borough.
The corps provides basic life support, and is staffed by certified emergency medical technicians. BVAC has four ambulances, one first response SUV, and one EMS Support Unit. Dispatching is provided by the Bergenfield Police Department's 9-1-1 center.
The primary jurisdiction of the BVAC is the Borough of Bergenfield, but the corps also responds to requests for mutual-aid from the neighboring First Aid Squads of Dumont, New Milford, and Teaneck.
The BVAC is a member of the New Jersey State First Aid Council.[130]
Education[edit]
Students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade are educated by the Bergenfield Public Schools.[131][132] As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,666 students and 283.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.0:1.[133] Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[134]) are
Franklin Elementary School[135] with 345 students in grades K-5,
Hoover Elementary School[136] with 261 students in grades K-5,
Jefferson Elementary School[137] with 278 students in grades K-5,
Lincoln Elementary School[138] with 410 students in grades PreK-5,
Washington Elementary School[139] with 300 students in grades K-5,
Roy W. Brown Middle School[140] with 855 students in grades 6-8 and
Bergenfield High School[141] with 1,203 students in grades 9-12.[142][143]
Public school students from the borough, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.[144][145]
Community[edit]
Bergenfield is one of a growing number of districts to form a SID (Special Improvement District). Bergenfield's Special Improvement District stretches a mile along Washington Avenue from Teaneck to Dumont has been promoting the local businesses for several years. Its mission is to inform people about Bergenfield's shopping district and its over 50 international restaurants and food stores within one mile.[150]