CLIFFSIDE PARK

Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 23,007.
Cliffside Park was formed based on the results of a referendum held on January 15, 1895, from portions of Ridgefield Township at the start of the second year of the Boroughitis phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County.
U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg currently resides in the borough. Cliffside Park was also home to the former Palisades Amusement Park.

Geography

Cliffside Park is located at 40°49′19.47″N 73°59′16.28″W / 40.822075°N 73.9878556°W (40.822075, -73.987856).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.5 km2), all of it land.
The East Palisade section offers views of the New York City skyline across the Hudson River.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,007 people, 10,027 households, and 6,036 families residing in the borough. The population density was 23,847.7 people per square mile (9,253.2/km2). There were 10,375 housing units at an average density of 10,754.1/sq mi (4,172.7/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 77.85% White, 1.83% African American, 0.25% Native American, 12.05% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 4.97% from other races, and 3.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.16% of the population.
As of the 2000 census, 3.6% of Cliffside Park's residents identified themselves as being of Armenian-American ancestry. This was the highest percentage in New Jersey, and the seventh highest percentage of Armenian American people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.
There were 10,027 households out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the borough the population was spread out with 16.9% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $46,288, and the median income for a family was $54,915. Males had a median income of $40,114 versus $36,100 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,516. About 8.5% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Cliffside Park 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.
As of 2008, the Mayor of Cliffside Park is Gerald A. Calabrese (D, term ends December 31, 2011). Calabrese has been mayor of Cliffside Park since 1965. Members of the Borough Council are Larry Bongard (D, 2008), Thomas Calabrese (D, 2010), Kenneth Corcoran (D, 2010), Bernard J. Fontana (D, 2009), Dana Martinotti (D, 2008) and Donna M. Spoto (D, 2009).
In the 2008 General Election, Democrats ran unopposed with incumbents Dana M. Martinotti (5,209 votes) and Lawrence J. Bongard (5,032) re-elected to new three-year terms of office.
In elections held on November 6, 2007, voters filled an open mayoral seat and two seats on the borough council. Incumbent Democrats ran unopposed for all three seats, with Mayor Gerald A. Calabrese (2,350 votes) and Councilmembers Thomas Calabrese (2,275) and Kenneth Corcoran (2,251) all winning re-election.
On Election Day, November 7, 2006, Democratic Party incumbents Bernard J. Fontana (3,904 votes) and Donna M. Spoto (3,909) won reelection unopposed to three-year terms on the Borough Council. Kenneth Corcoran (3,829), who had been appointed to the unexpired term of the late Richard Spadaccini, also ran unopposed, winning his bid to serve the one year remaining on the seat.

Federal, state, and county representation

Cliffside Park is in the Ninth Congressional District is part of New Jersey's 38th Legislative District.
New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Bergen County and sections of Hudson County and Passaic County, is represented by Steve Rothman (D, Fair Lawn). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
For the 2008-2009 Legislative Session, the 38th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Robert M. Gordon (D, Fair Lawn) and in the Assembly by Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee) and Connie Wagner (D, Paramus). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).
Bergen County's County Executive is Dennis McNerney (D). The executive, along with the seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. As of 2008, Bergen County's Freeholders are Chairman James M. Carroll (D, Demarest), Vice-Chairwoman Julie O'Brien (D, Ramsey), Elizabeth Calabrese (D, Wallington), David L. Ganz (D, Fair Lawn), Bernadette P. McPherson (D, Rutherford), Tomas J. Padilla (D, Park Ridge) and Vernon Walton (D, Englewood).
Other countywide elected officials are Sheriff Leo McGuire (D), Surrogate Court Judge Mike Dressler (D, Cresskill) County Clerk Kathleen Donovan (R, Rutherford).

Politics

As of Election Day, November 4, 2008, there were 10,004 registered voters. Of registered voters, 4,575 (45.7% of all registered voters) were registered as Democrats, 1,088 (10.9%) were registered as Republicans and 4,338 (43.4%) were registered as Undeclared. There were three voters registered to other parties.
On the national level, Cliffside Park leans strongly toward the Democratic Party. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 62.5% of the vote here, defeating Republican John McCain, who received 36.1% of the vote, with 81.3% of registered voters participating. In the 2004 election, Democrat John Kerry received 60% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 39%.Over 46.5 percent of students are above their average age in their grade.

Education

Cliffside Park High School
The Cliffside Park School District serves public school students in Kindergarten through Twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are the Early Learning Center with 149 students in prekindergarten, Number 3 School with 252 students in grades K-6, Number 4 School with 354 students in grades K-6, Number 5 School with 151 students in grades K-6, Number 6 School with 670 students in grades K-8 and Cliffside Park High School with 1,076 students in grades 9-12. Students from Fairview, Bergen County, New Jersey attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Fairview Public Schools.

Houses of Worship

Church of the Epiphany (R.C.)

Transportation

New Jersey Transit bus lines 156, 159 and 181 offer service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan; the 22 route serves Jersey City; and the 751, and 755 offer local service.
Palisade Avenue and Anderson Avenue are the main roads of Cliffside Park.

Popular culture

Scenes from COPLAND were filmed in Cliffside Park. Directed by James Mangold. With Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta
Scenes from the 1988 film Big, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Penny Marshall, were filmed in Cliffside Park.