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Hackensack, New Jersey

Hackensack is the most populous municipality and the county seat of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[12][21] The area was officially named New Barbadoes Township until 1921, but has informally been known as Hackensack since at least the 18th century.[22] As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 46,030,[11][12] its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 3,020 (+7.0%) from the 2010 census count of 43,010,[23][24] which in turn reflected an increase of 333 (+0.8%) from the 42,677 counted in the 2000 census.[25]

Hackensack, New Jersey

1665 (as New Barbadoes)

October 31, 1693 (as New Barbadoes Township)

November 21, 1921 (as a city under current name)

City Council

John P. Labrosse Jr. (term ends June 30, 2025)[4][5]

Vincent Caruso[6]

Deborah Karlsson[7]

4.35 sq mi (11.27 km2)

4.19 sq mi (10.86 km2)

0.16 sq mi (0.41 km2)  3.63%

287th of 565 in state
16th of 70 in county[2]

20 ft (6 m)

46,030

45,633

45th of 565 in state
1st of 70 in county[14]

10,983.1/sq mi (4,240.6/km2)

33rd of 565 in state
10th of 70 in county[14]

885236[2][20]

An inner suburb of New York City, Hackensack is located approximately 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Midtown Manhattan and about 7 miles (11 km) from the George Washington Bridge.[26] From a number of locations, including portions of Prospect Avenue, the New York City skyline can be seen.[26]


The Metropolitan Campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University straddles the Hackensack River in both Hackensack and Teaneck. Hackensack is also the home of the former New Jersey Naval Museum and the World War II submarine USS Ling. Astronaut Wally Schirra is perhaps Hackensack's most famous native son.[27]


The city has diverse neighborhoods and land uses located close to one another. Within its borders are the Hackensack University Medical Center, a residential high-rise district about a mile long (along Prospect Avenue between Beech Street and Passaic Street), suburban neighborhoods of single-family houses, stately older homes on acre-plus lots, older two-family neighborhoods, large garden apartment complexes, industrial areas, the Bergen County Jail, a tidal river, Hackensack River County Park, Borg's Woods Nature Preserve, various city parks, large office buildings, a major college campus, the Bergen County Court House, a vibrant small-city downtown district, and various small neighborhood business districts.[28]

Government[edit]

Local government[edit]

Hackensack operates under the 1923 Municipal Manager Law form of New Jersey municipal government. The city is one of seven municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government.[77] The City Council is composed of five members who are elected to four-year terms on a concurrent basis in a non-partisan election held every four years in May.[8][78] This form of government separates policy making (the work of the mayor and city council) from the execution of policy (the work of the city manager). This maintains professional management and a Citywide perspective through: nonpartisan election, at-large representation, concentration of executive responsibility in the hands of a professional manager accountable to the Mayor and Council, concentration of policy making power in one body: a five-person Mayor and Council.[79] In the several decades in which the City has used the Municipal Manager form of government, Hackensack has had only nine City Managers.


As of 2023, the mayor of the City of Hackensack is John P. Labrosse Jr., whose term of office as mayor ends June 30, 2025, along with those of all other councilmembers. The other members of the Hackensack City Council are Deputy Mayor Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino, Leonardo "Leo" Battaglia, Gerard Carroll and Stephanie Von Rudenborg.[4][80][81]


Led by Mayor Labrosse, a team of candidates including four incumbents (and one newcomer) won the May 2021 municipal election. The winning slate defeated two other groups of five candidates, one of which was led by former deputy mayor David Sims.[82]


The May 2017 election was won by the Labrosse Team, which include the mayor and three other incumbents, joined by one newcomer.[83]


In April 2015, the city council selected Jason Some on an interim basis to fill the vacant seat of Rose Greenman, who had resigned the previous month citing claims that her council colleagues had discriminated against her.[84] In the November 2015 general election, Deborah Keeling-Geddis was elected to serve the balance of the term of office, edging interim councilmember Jason Some by 24 votes in the final count, with four candidates running for the seat.[85][86]


City Council candidate Joseph DeFalco, principal of Hackensack High School, died of a heart attack the day of the municipal election in 2005, but was elected despite his death.[87] His running mates agreed to create a rotation under which each of the four surviving members of the New Visions for Hackensack slate would serve for a year as Mayor, creating a series of firsts for the City. Townes took office in 2005 as the city's first black mayor, and Sasso became the first female mayor in 2006. Meneses became Hackensack's first Hispanic mayor when he was sworn in on July 1, 2007, and Melfi took the reins as mayor in 2008.[88] Four of the same five officials were re-elected in 2009 (Townes, Melfi, Sasso, Meneses), along with one opposition candidate, LaBrosse. The city council continued to rotate the mayor's seat, with the exception of Labrosse, and Melfi became mayor again in 2012.


Walter E. Nowakowski served as mayor from 1965-1969, Frank Zisa served as mayor from 1977 to 1981,[89] Fred Cerbo from 1981 to 1989,[90] and John F. "Jack" Zisa (son of Frank Zisa) from 1989 to 2005.[91]


Former Assemblyman Charles "Ken" Zisa served as chief of the Hackensack Police Department from his 1995 appointment to replace John Aletta until May 2010 when he was suspended without pay on charges of official misconduct and insurance fraud. Tomas Padilla was appointed the acting police chief while the police department was being monitored by the Bergen County Prosecutors office. In May 2012, a judge ordered Zisa out of his position as police chief, a decision that cost him his police retirement benefits.[92][93][94] In January 2013, Mike Mordaga was appointed the new civilian police director, which replaced the previous position of police chief.[95]

Federal, state and county representation[edit]

Hackensack is located in the 5th Congressional District[96] and is part of New Jersey's 37th state legislative district.[97][98][99]


For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff).[100][101] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027)[102] and Bob Menendez (Englewood Cliffs, term ends 2025).[103][104]


For the 2024-2025 session, the 37th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Gordon M. Johnson (D, Englewood) and in the General Assembly by Shama Haider (D, Tenafly) and Ellen Park (D, Englewood Cliffs).[105]


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.[106]


Bergen County's Commissioners are: Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),[107] Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),[108] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),[109] Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),[110] Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),[111] Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2024)[112] and Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2024).[113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120]


Bergen County's constitutional officials are: Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),[121][122] Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2024)[123][124] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).[125][126][116][127]

Politics[edit]

As of March 2011, there were a total of 19,123 registered voters in Hackensack, of which 8,630 (45.1% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,993 (10.4% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 8,492 (44.4% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 8 voters registered as either Libertarians or Greens.[128] Among the city's 2010 Census population, 44.5% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 54.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).[128][129]


In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 59.7% of the vote (4,268 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 39.0% (2,790 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (89 votes), among the 7,327 ballots cast by the city's 19,506 registered voters (180 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 37.6%.[130][131] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 6,247 ballots cast (70.9% vs. 48.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 2,194 votes (24.9% vs. 45.8%), Independent Chris Daggett with 288 votes (3.3% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 31 votes (0.4% vs. 0.5%), among the 8,812 ballots cast by the city's 19,819 registered voters, yielding a 44.5% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).[132]


In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received 12,015 votes (76.0% vs. 54.2% countywide), ahead of Republican Donald Trump with 3,345 votes (21.2% vs. 41.1%) and other candidates with 380 votes (2.4% vs. 4.6%), among the 15,913 ballots cast by the city's 22,926 registered voters, for a turnout of 69.4% (vs. 72.5% in Bergen County).[133] In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 11,335 votes (78.6% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 2,835 votes (19.6% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 113 votes (0.8% vs. 0.9%), among the 14,428 ballots cast by the city's 20,971 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.8% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County).[134][135] In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 11,711 votes (75.7% vs. 53.9% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 3,498 votes (22.6% vs. 44.5%) and other candidates with 102 votes (0.7% vs. 0.8%), among the 15,461 ballots cast by the city's 20,616 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.0% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County).[136][137] In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 9,815 votes (71.0% vs. 51.7% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 3,870 votes (28.0% vs. 47.2%) and other candidates with 88 votes (0.6% vs. 0.7%), among the 13,818 ballots cast by the city's 19,013 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.7% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county).[138]

Healthcare[edit]

Hackensack University Medical Center, part of Hackensack Meridian Health, is the primary health care provider and hospital for the city. Its main hospital campus, which includes a children's hospital, an all women's hospital, and Heart and Vascular Hospital, is located on 30 Prospect Avenue. The hospital's John Theurer Cancer Center is located on 2nd Street.[163] Hackensack University Medical Center has two medical offices located on Russell Place and Essex Center.

one of George Washington's officers.[187][188]

Enoch Poor

former mayor of the city of New York and former New York Attorney General.[189][190]

Richard Varick

The city historian is Albert Dib. Walking tours are conducted of historic markers in downtown Hackensack, in and around The Green and lower Main Street, and a virtual historic walking tour is available as far north as the Pascack Valley Line crossing at Main Street.[184][185]


The First Dutch Reformed Church ("Church on The Green") was built in 1696. In 1696 Major Berry donated land for the First Dutch Reformed Church,[186] erected in that same year, which still stands in Hackensack today as the oldest church in Bergen County and the second oldest church in New Jersey. The following is list of notable people buried in the Church's adjoining cemetery:


Bergen County's largest newspaper, The Record, a publication of the North Jersey Media Group, had been headquartered in Hackensack until moving to Woodland Park. Its 19.7-acre (8.0 ha) campus is largely abandoned and has been sold to be redeveloped for a mixed-use commercial project that would include 500 residential apartments and a hotel, in association with the river walkway project.[191]


The New Jersey Naval Museum is home to the World War II submarine USS Ling, a Balao-class submarine, and several smaller water vessels and artifacts. The museum was open select weekdays for group tours.[192] In July and August 2018, several individuals broke in to the submarine attempting to steal artifacts and caused extensive flooding that severely damaged the vessel.[193]


The Hackensack Cultural Arts Center, located at 39 Broadway, is the city's leading theater arts institution and houses many local arts groups such as the Teaneck Theater Company and the Hackensack Theater Company. The facility also serves as the summer indoor location for the Hudson Shakespeare Company in case of rain. Otherwise, the group performs outdoors at Staib Park, with two "Shakespeare Wednesdays" per month for each month of the summer.[194]


The Shops at Riverside (formerly known as Riverside Square Mall), is an upscale shopping center located at the intersection of Route 4 and Hackensack Avenue at the northern edge of the city along the Hackensack River near its border with River Edge to the north and with Teaneck across the river. The mall, which has undergone a significant expansion, is anchored by a number of high-end department stores and restaurants, including Bloomingdale's, Tiffany & Co., Pottery Barn and Barnes & Noble, offering a gross leasable area of 674,416 square feet (62,655.3 m2).[195] The mall also added an AMC Theatres dine-in movie theater on September 13, 2017, which replaced the former Saks Fifth Avenue store[196] that opened in 1977 and closed down in 2014.[197] The mall is known for its marble floors and attracts a great many upper-income shoppers from Manhattan and Northern Bergen County.


Hackensack's Main Street is devoted to shopping and includes some of the city's iconic landmarks, including the United Jersey Bank headquarters building and the former Woolworth site that is now a housewares store. The only remaining major store on Hackensack's Main Street had been Sears Roebuck and Co., which was located on the corner of Main and Anderson Streets. In July 2020, Sears announced that it would close its store in Hackensack.[56] The site is close to the Anderson Street train station, and has been open since the 1930s.[198]


Bergen County Jail is a detention center for both sentenced and unsentenced prisoners. It is located on South River Street. The County is in the process of moving the County Police from the northern end of the city to a new site across from the Jail. The former site will be redeveloped as a "transit village" complex associated with the New Bridge Landing station in adjoining River Edge.[199]


The city's Johnson Public Library at 274 Main Street is a member of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System. The library opened in 1901 with a gift from State Senator William M. Johnson.[200]


Ice House is a complex with four full-sized skating rinks that opened in 1996. It is home to the New Jersey Avalanche mainstreamed and special needs hockey teams and several high school hockey teams, in addition to being the home rink of gold medalists Sarah Hughes, Elena Bereznaia and Anton Sikharulidze.[201] At the 2018 Winter Olympics, there were 11 Olympic figure skaters—from Israel, Switzerland, Slovakia, Canada, and Australia—who trained at the Ice House for the ladies' singles, men's singles, pairs and ice dance competitions.[202][203]


Other points of interest within the city include the Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack River County Park, Bowler City Bowling Lanes, Borg's Woods Nature Preserve, the Bergen County Court House and the Bergen Museum of Art & Science.

Local media[edit]

Radio station WNYM at 970 AM, is licensed to Hackensack and has its transmitter in the city. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications with a conservative talk format.[204] During the 1970s, it played a Top 40 music radio format for several years, competing with Top 40 powerhouse 77 WABC.

The 1929 Billy Murray/Walter Scanlan recording of "Shut the Door" has the lines, "I live out in Hackensack in a place down by the sea. (Oh, you live out in Hackensack. Well, don't blame that on me!)" despite the fact that Hackensack is a dozen miles from the sea, and on the other side of the Hudson.

"" by Cole Porter, written in 1930 for the musical The New Yorkers.

I Happen to Like New York

"Back In Hackensack, New Jersey" which was written in 1924.

[206]

"Roller Derby Queen" by , describes the tough titular character in the song as "She's my big blonde bomber, my heavy handed Hackensack mama."

Jim Croce

"Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More" by from their 1975 album Katy Lied includes the rhyme "Driving like a fool out to Hackensack/Drinking his dinner from a paper sack".

Steely Dan

"Hackensack" (Welcome Interstate Managers, 2003) which was also covered by Katy Perry, 2009.[207]

Fountains of Wayne

(under the pseudonym P. D. Q. Bach), "O Little Town of Hackensack", a parody of the traditional carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem".[208]

Peter Schickele

"" by Billy Joel includes the lines "Who needs a house out in Hackensack? Is that all you get for your money?"[209]

Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

"Lost In Hollywood" by includes the lyrics, "The lines in the letter said, 'We have gone to Hackensack'".[210]

System of a Down

's 2018 song "If I Never Get Back to Hackensack" pokes gentle fun at the town and mentions various other places in New Jersey.[211]

Tom Rush

Hackensack has been mentioned in the lyrics of songs by several musical artists, many of whom have lived in New Jersey or New York City. The town was home to the original Van Gelder recording studio at 25 Prospect Avenue[205] where the jazz musicians Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk recorded some of their landmark work. Monk recorded a tribute to Rudy Van Gelder entitled "Hackensack". Other notable examples of Hackensack in songs include:


Hackensack also appears in movies, video games, books and television.

Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties) prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958.

Clayton, W. Woodford; and Nelson, Nelson. Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1882.

History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men.

Harvey, Cornelius Burnham (ed.), New York: New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Co., 1900.

Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey.

Lark, Terry (editor), , The Hackensack Bicentennial Committee, The City of Hackensack, 1976

Hackensack – Heritage to Horizons

Van Valen, James M. New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Co., 1900.

History of Bergen County, New Jersey.

Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858–1942, , Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1923.

History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630–1923

Hackensack official website

Borg's Woods Nature Preserve

at City-Data

Hackensack, New Jersey

NJ HomeTownLocator

Hackensack Community Profile and Resource Links

U.S. Census Bureau – State & County QuickFacts for Hackensack