Fanwood, New Jersey

Fanwood, New Jersey

Encyclopedia

Tutorials

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Directory

Email this to a friend Fanwood,_New_Jersey

Fanwood, New Jersey

Fanwood is a borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 7,174.

Fanwood was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on October 2, 1895, from portions of Fanwood Township (now known as Scotch Plains), based on the results of a referendum held the previous day.^[1]

Geography
Demographics
Government

Local government
Federal, state and county representation

Education
Transportation
Notable residents
References
External links

Geography

Fanwood is located at (40.641852, -74.385334).

The borough is bordered by Plainfield in the southwest and by Scotch Plains in all other directions.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.5 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,174 people, 2,574 households, and 2,054 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,363.4 people per square mile (2,067.1/km²). There were 2,615 housing units at an average density of 1,955.0/sq mi (753.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 88.30% White, 5.14% African American, 0.10% Native American, 4.39% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.74% of the population.

There were 2,574 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.2% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the borough the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $85,233, and the median income for a family was $99,232. Males had a median income of $65,519 versus $40,921 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $34,804. About 1.6% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Fanwood is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.^[2]

The Borough of Fanwood, incorporated in 1895, had its first Council Meeting on October 22, 1895. The Council is the legislative body of the municipality and may pass, adopt, amend and repeal any ordinance or where permitted, any resolution, for any purpose required for the government of the municipality, and also controls and regulates the finances of the municipality. The Council may investigate any activity of the municipality, remove any officer of the municipality for cause other than those excepted by law and shall have all the executive responsibilities of the municipality not placed by general law, in the office of the Mayor.

The Mayor of Fanwood is responsible for serving as the chief executive officer of borough government. The mayor presides over the Borough Council, appoints various boards and committees, oversees borough administration, and serves as the borough;'s ceremonial head.

The Mayor of Fanwood Borough is Colleen M. Mahr, elected in 2003. Current Fanwood Council Members are Donna Dolce, Katherine Mitchell, Anthony Parenti, David Valian, Bruce Walsh, and Joan Wheeler.^[3]

Federal, state and county representation

Fanwood Borough is in the Seventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 22nd Legislative District.^[4]

Education

Public school students in Fanwood attend the schools of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District, which has students in Grades PreK-12 from the Township of Scotch Plains and the Borough of Fanwood. The district has five elementary schools (PreK-Grade 4), two middle schools (Grades 5-8), and one comprehensive high school (Grades 9-12).

Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[5]) are:

Elementary Schools

Howard B. Brunner Elementary School (449 students)
J. Ackerman Coles School (548 students)
Evergreen School (349 students)
William J. McGinn School (474 students)
School One (371 students)

Middle Schools

Park Middle School (744 students)
Terrill Middle School (819 students)

High School

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (1,464 students)

Transportation

The Fanwood station (also known as Fanwood-Scotch Plains), is a New Jersey Transit railroad station on the Raritan Valley Line. The building on the north side of the tracks (westbound platform) is a Victorian building and, like the north building at Westfield, is used by a non-profit organization. The ticket office is in the station building on the south side of the tracks (eastbound platform). The station provides service to Penn Station in Newark, and from there to Hoboken Terminal or Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 25 minutes away.