Saddle River, New Jersey
Saddle River is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of New York City, located just over 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Manhattan. The town is known for its natural fields, farmland, horse farms, forests, and rivers, and has a bucolic atmosphere, due in part to a minimum zoning requirement of 2 acres (0.81 ha) for homes.[20] The borough contains both stately historic homes and estates, as well as newer mansions. It offers many spacious properties in a countryside-like setting, while also having proximity to New York City.
This article is about the borough. For the township formerly named Saddle River, see Saddle River Township, New Jersey. For the tributary of the Passaic River, see Saddle River (Passaic River).
Saddle River, New Jersey
United States
November 22, 1894
The Saddle River
Borough Council
Cindy Kirkpatrick[7]
4.97 sq mi (12.86 km2)
4.92 sq mi (12.73 km2)
0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2) 1.03%
276th of 565 in state
13th of 70 in county[1]
184 ft (56 m)
3,372
3,354
433rd of 565 in state
64th of 70 in county[13]
686.0/sq mi (264.9/km2)
422nd of 565 in state
67th of 70 in county[13]
Saddle River is one of the highest-income small municipalities in the United States and was ranked 9th in New Jersey in per capita income as of the 2010 Census.[21] Saddle River was ranked among the Top 100 in Forbes Most Expensive Zip Codes in America in 2010.[22] In 1989, Saddle River was ranked the richest suburb in the nation among those with 2,500 or more people (based on per capita income).[23] The town has been home to notable residents including former US Presidents, celebrities, athletes, and businessmen (See Notable people list).
The New York Times described Saddle River as "a place where one can still keep horses—one per acre—see a deer, listen to the birds, and catch a fish in the trout stream that gives the town its name."[24]
As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,372,[11] an increase of 220 (+7.0%) from the 2010 census count of 3,152,[25][26] which in turn reflected a decline of 49 (−1.5%) from the 3,201 counted in the 2000 census.[27]
Saddle River is a dry town, where alcohol cannot be sold.[28][29]
Geography[edit]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 4.97 square miles (12.86 km2), including 4.91 square miles (12.73 km2) of land and 0.05 square miles (0.13 km2) of water (1.03%).[1][2]
The borough is bounded by eight municipalities in Bergen County: the boroughs of Allendale, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Ramsey, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick, Washington Township and Woodcliff Lake.[38][39][40]
Mount Pleasant and Villa Marie Claire are unincorporated communities located within Saddle River.
Government[edit]
Local government[edit]
Saddle River 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.[51] The governing body is comprised of a mayor and a borough council comprising six council members, on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term. 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.[8] The borough form of government used by Saddle River 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.[52][53] The mayor serves as chief executive officer, and is an ex-officio member of all municipal committees and is the approving authority in the Borough of Saddle River. Mayoral appointments to the various boards and committees in the borough are subject to confirmation by the borough council. Borough council members serve on various operating committees and function in a liaison capacity to provide information and direction to the entire governing body.[54]
As of 2024, the mayor is Republican Albert J. "Al" Kurpis, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027.[3] Members of the Saddle River Borough Council are Council President David B. Hekemian (R, 2025), Duncan B. Carpenter (R, 2025), Christopher DiGirolamo (R, 2024), Jon Kurpis (R, 2026), Jeffrey S. Liva (R, 2024; elected to serve an unexpired term), and Ravi Sachdev (R, 2026).[54][55][56][57][58][59]
In August 2022, the borough council appointed Jeffrey Liva to fill the seat expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Rosario Ruffino until he resigned from office earlier that month in protest over the cost of a park project.[60] Liva served on an interim basis until the November 2022 general election, when he was elected to serve the remainder of the term of office.[58]
John Azzariti and Ravi Sachdev were sworn in to three-year terms by Mayor Albert Kurpis during a combined in-person/remote session in January 2021. Azzariti had been appointed to the council last July after Councilman John DeRosa resigned for professional reasons. However, Azzariti chose to run with Sachdev for two open three-year terms, seats previously held by Paul Schulstad—who resigned in March 2020—and Eric Jensen, who did not seek a new term. Christopher DiGirolamo was elected to serve the one year remaining on DeRosa's term of office.[61]
In March 2020, the borough council appointed Christopher T. DiGirolamo to fill the seat expiring in December 2020 that was vacated by Paul Schulstad when he resigned from office earlier that month.[62]
Federal, state and county representation[edit]
Saddle River is located in the 5th Congressional District[63] and is part of New Jersey's 39th state legislative district.[64][65][66]
For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff).[67][68] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027)[69] and Bob Menendez (Englewood Cliffs, term ends 2025).[70][71]
For the 2024–2025 session, the 39th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Holly Schepisi (R, River Vale) and in the General Assembly by Robert Auth (R, Old Tappan) and John V. Azzariti (R, Saddle River).[72]
Bergen County is governed by a directly elected County Executive, with legislative functions performed by a Board of County Commissioners comprised 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.[73]
Bergen County's Commissioners are:
Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),[74]
Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),[75] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),[76]
Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),[77]
Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),[78]
Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2024)[79] and
Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2024).[80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87]
Bergen County's constitutional officials are:
Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),[88][89]
Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2024)[90][91] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).[92][93][83][94]
Education[edit]
The Saddle River School District, serves students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade at Wandell School. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 165 students and 18.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.9:1.[118] During the 2016–17 school year, Saddle River was tied for the 28th-smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 150 students.[119]
Public school students from Saddle River attend the Ramsey Public School District's middle school and then have the option of attending either Ramsey High School or Northern Highlands Regional High School as part of sending/receiving relationships with each of the respective districts.[120][121][122][123][124][125] As of the 2018–19 school year, Northern Highlands High School had an enrollment of 1,377 students and 110.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1.[126] while Ramsey High School had an enrollment of 870 students and 80.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1.[127] One of under ten districts with a dual send-receive relationship, three quarters of Saddle River's high school students attend Northern Highlands and about a quarter attend Ramsey High School.[128]
All students in 8th grade 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.[129][130]
Saddle River Day School is a K–12 private school that was founded in 1957.[131]