Demarest, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Demarest is a Borough
Borough (New Jersey)
A borough in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....

 in Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,881.

Demarest was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...

 on April 8, 1903, from portions of Harrington Township and Palisades Township
Palisades Township, Bergen County, New Jersey (Historical)
Palisades Township was a township that existed in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The township was in existence from 1871 to 1922.On March 22, 1871, Hackensack Township was divided into three parts that were incorporated as townships by the New Jersey Legislature, each stretching from the...

. The borough was named for Ralph S. Demarest, who had represented the area in both the New Jersey General Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...

 and the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...

 in the mid-19th century.

Geography

Demarest is located at 40.955603°N 73.960446°W (40.955603, -73.960446).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the borough has a total area of 2.07 square miles (5.4 km²), all of it classified as land.

At the heart of Demarest is a river, known by many residents as the Duck Pond although it is a river and it is mostly inhabited by Canadian Geese, not ducks. During rainy days the Duck Pond is often flooded, but this is rarely a problem with traffic. Although for Hurricane Irene there was enough flooding that the main roads were blocked.

Demographics

As of the 2010 Census, Demarest had a population of 4,881. The median age was 43.9. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 70.2% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.0% Native American, 26.4% Asian, 0.7% some other race and 2.0% reporting two or more races. 4.4% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 4,845 people, 1,601 households, and 1,386 families residing in the borough. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 2,343.7 people per square mile (903.7/km2). There were 1,634 housing units at an average density of 790.4 per square mile (304.8/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 77.28% White, 0.50% African American, 0.02% Native American, 20.25% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.45% of the population.

As of the 2000 census, 3.72% of Demarest's residents identified themselves as being of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese ancestry, which was the second highest of any municipality in New Jersey — behind Fort Lee
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...

 (6.09%) — for all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. In this same census, 2.3% of Demarest's residents identified themselves as being of Armenian-American
Armenian-American
Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...

 ancestry. This was the 19th highest percentage of Armenian American people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.

There were 1,601 households out of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.4% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the borough the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $103,286, and the median income for a family was $113,144. Males had a median income of $82,597 versus $43,750 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the borough was $51,939. About 0.9% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.7% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.

Local government

Demarest is governed under the Borough
Borough (New Jersey)
A borough in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....

 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.

, the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of Demarest Borough is Raymond J. Cywinski, whose term of office ends December 31, 2014. Members of the Borough Council are Marianne Bolduc (2011), Tom Connolly (2013), Steve Conti (2011), Joseph Gray (2014), Mary Montagne (2013) and Steve Verp (2014).

Federal, state and county representation

Demarest is in the 5th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 39th state legislative district. The legislative district was kept unchanged by the New Jersey Apportionment Commission
New Jersey Apportionment Commission
The New Jersey Apportionment Commission is a constitutionally-created ten-member commission responsible for apportioning the forty districts of the New Jersey Legislature. The commission is convened after each decennial U.S. Census, and the districts are to be in use for the legislative elections...

 based on the results of the 2010 Census.




Politics

As of Election Day, November 4, 2008, there were 3,002 registered voters. Of registered voters, 995 (33.1% of all registered voters) were registered as Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, 598 (19.9%) were registered as Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and 1,404 (46.8%) were registered as Undeclared
Undeclared (New Jersey)
Unaffiliated is a status for registered voters in New Jersey. Those voters who do not specify a political party affiliation when they register to vote are listed as unaffiliated....

. There were five voters registered to other parties.

In the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...

, Democrat Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 received 54.1% of the vote here, defeating Republican John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

, who received 45.0% of the vote, with 77.7% of registered voters participating. In the 2004 election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...

, Democrat John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 received 51% of the vote here, edging Republican George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

, who received around 48%.

Education

The Demarest Public Schools
Demarest Public Schools
The Demarest Public Schools is a community public school district that serves students in Kindergarten through eighth grade from Demarest in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States....

 serve students in Kindergarten through eighth grade. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...

) are
County Road School with 132 Kindergarten and first grade students,
Luther Lee Emerson School with an enrollment of 215 students in grades 2 - 4 and
Demarest Middle School which serves 315 students in grades 5 through 8.

Students in public school grades 9-12 attend Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest
Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest
Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest is a comprehensive four-year regional public high school serving students from several municipalities in Bergen County, New Jersey. The high school serves students from the suburban communities of Closter, Demarest and Haworth...

 in Demarest, together with students from Closter
Closter, New Jersey
Closter is a Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,373. After the turn of the century, Closter changed from being sprawling estates and farms into a middle and upper middle class suburban town...

 and Haworth
Haworth, New Jersey
Haworth is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 3,382.Haworth was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 24, 1904, from portions of both Dumont and Harrington Townships.-Geography:Haworth is...

. The high school is part of the Northern Valley Regional High School District
Northern Valley Regional High School District
The Northern Valley Regional High School District is a regional school district composed of two public high schools in Bergen County, New Jersey. The regionalized district serves a student population of approximately 2,500 in grades 9-12....

, which also serves students from Harrington Park
Harrington Park, New Jersey
Harrington Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,664....

, Northvale
Northvale, New Jersey
Northvale is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 4,640.Northvale was formed on March 15, 1916, from the remaining portions of Harrington Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 4, 1916. With the...

, Norwood
Norwood, New Jersey
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 5,711 people. The population density was 2,083.3 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 69.3% Caucasian, 27.2% Asian, 1.4% African American, 0.0% Native American, 1.0% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanics...

 and Old Tappan
Old Tappan, New Jersey
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 5,750 people. The population density was 1,725.7 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 74.8% Caucasian, 22.2% Asian, 0.7% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanics...

 at Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan
Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan
Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan is a comprehensive four-year regional public high school serving students from several municipalities in Bergen County, New Jersey. The high school serves students from the suburban communities of Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan...

. Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest was the 14th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly is a monthly glossy publication featuring issues of possible interest to residents of the United States state of New Jersey...

magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 9th in 2008 out of 316 schools.

The Academy of the Holy Angels
Academy of the Holy Angels
The Academy of the Holy Angels is an all-female Roman Catholic college preparatory high school located in Demarest, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. The school operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark...

 is a private high school for girls located in Demarest. The school has an enrollment of 540 students and operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
The Archdiocese of Newark is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Union, Hudson and Essex .-History:Originally established as the Diocese of...

.

Transportation

County Route 501
County Route 501 (New Jersey)
County Route 501 is a county highway in New Jersey in two sections spanning Middlesex, Hudson and Bergen Counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440...

 and County Route 505 travels through Demarest. While Demarest is a small town there are often traffic jams at around 3:00 pm when all three grammar schools let out for the day. These small traffic jams usually occur at the intersection of County Road and Hardenburgh Avenue, and sometimes require the local police to direct traffic.

Although there are no passenger rail service, the CSX freight service runs through Demarest. Demarest is also served by Rockland Coaches routes 14, 20/20T and 84, with a stop by the Duck Pond on County Route 505 which provides service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...

 in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...

 and the Palisades Center
Palisades Center
The Palisades Center Mall, often referred to as the Palisades Mall, in West Nyack, New York is the eighth largest shopping mall in the United States by total area, and sixth largest by gross leasable space...

 in West Nyack, New York
West Nyack, New York
West Nyack is a hamlet in the Town of Clarkstown Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Central Nyack; east of Nanuet; south of Valley Cottage and west of Upper Nyack. It is approximately 18 miles north of New York City...

, a common shopping destination for many residents.

Demarest was served by the Demarest Railroad Depot until passenger traffic stopped in 1966. After the borough purchased the site in 1978, the station has been restored and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 since 2004.

Noted residents

Notable current and former residents of Demarest include:
  • Aline Brosh McKenna
    Aline Brosh McKenna
    Aline Brosh McKenna is an American screenwriter.McKenna was born in France and moved with her family to New Jersey, where she lived variously in Fort Lee, Demarest and Montvale, and attended Saddle River Day School in Saddle River, New Jersey.She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University,...

     (born 1967), screenwriter.
  • David Einhorn (born 1969), hedge fund manager, Greenlight Capital.
  • Halim El-Dabh
    Halim El-Dabh
    Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh is an Egyptian-born American composer, performer, ethnomusicologist, and educator, who has had a career spanning six decades...

     (born 1921), Egyptian-born composer who made Demarest his home in 1957 and 1958.
  • Augustus A. Hardenbergh (1830–89), represented New Jersey's 7th congressional district
    New Jersey's 7th congressional district
    New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District is currently represented by Republican Leonard Lance.In the 2008 election, Mike Ferguson did not seek another term. Linda Stender won the Democratic nomination unopposed, while Republican primary voters chose State Senator Leonard Lance in a field of...

     from 1875 to 1879, and again from 1881 to 1883.
  • Gregory T. Linteris
    Gregory T. Linteris
    Gregory Thomas Linteris, Ph.D. is an American scientist who flew as a payload specialist on two NASA Space Shuttle missions in 1997.-Education:...

     (born 1957), scientist who flew as a payload specialist on two NASA
    NASA
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

     Space Shuttle
    Space Shuttle
    The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

     missions in 1997.
  • Bob Menne
    Bob Menne
    Robert Menne is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour....

     (born 1942), PGA Tour and Champions Tour golfer.
  • Dennis Shulman
    Dennis Shulman
    Dennis G. Shulman is an American clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, teacher, and ordained rabbi who was the Democratic nominee for the United States Congress in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District...

     (born 1950), rabbi, psychologist and politician.
  • Richard H. Tedford
    Richard H. Tedford
    Richard Hall Tedford was Curator Emeritus in the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, having been named as curator in 1969....

     (c. 1928-2011), paleontologist.
  • Julia Weldon
    Julia Weldon
    Julia Weldon is an American film and television actress.Weldon spent most of her childhood living in Demarest, New Jersey. She attended Demarest Schools. She enjoyed sports, especially softball, and of course acting...

    , actress.
  • Lucius Walker
    Lucius Walker
    The Reverend Lucius Walker was an American Baptist minister who served as executive director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization in the 1960s and was a persistent advocate for ending the United States embargo against Cuba...

     (1930–2010), Baptist minister best known for his opposition to the United States embargo against Cuba
    United States embargo against Cuba
    The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960...

    .

Sources

  • "History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630-1923;" by "Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858-1942."
  • "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.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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