Hackensack, New Jersey
For other places with this name, see Hackensack.
Hackensack is a
city in
Bergen County,
New Jersey,
United States and the county seat of
Bergen County. Although informally called Hackensack, it was officially named
New Barbadoes Township until 1921. As of the
United States 2000 Census, the city population was 42,677. The
United States Census 2004 population estimate indicates a total of 43,681. It is located approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of
Manhattan and 12 miles (19 km) south of
Rockland County,
New York. From a number of locations one can see the New York City skyline.
The Metropolitan campus of
Fairleigh Dickinson University straddles the Hackensack River in both Hackensack and
Teaneck. Hackensack is also the home of the
New Jersey Naval Museum and the
World War II submarine USS Ling.
Astronaut Walter Schirra is perhaps Hackensack's most famous native son.
Hackensack is located at (40.887797, -74.047978).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.2
km² (4.3
mi²). 10.7 km² (4.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (4.41%) is water.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 42,677 people, 18,113 households, and 9,545 families residing in the city. The
population density was 3,999.4/km² (10,358.3/mi²). There were 18,945 housing units at an average density of 1,775.4/km² (4,598.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 52.61%
White, 24.65%
African American, 0.45%
Native American, 7.45%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander, 9.71% from
other races, and 5.08% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 25.92% of the population.
There were 18,113 households out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% were
married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.3% were non-families. 39.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 38.4% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,316, and the median income for a family was $56,953. Males had a median income of $39,636 versus $32,911 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $26,856. About 6.8% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 9.1% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
Hackensack operates under the
New Jersey 1923 Municipal Manager Law. 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 City-wide 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. This form also creates stability which can be demonstrated by the fact that in several decades of the Municipal Manager Form of Government, Hackensack has had only nine City Managers.
The
Mayor of the City of Hackensack is Karen K. Sasso
[Welcome to the City of Hackensack, accessed July 25, 2006]. Other members of the Hackensack City Council are
Deputy Mayor Jorge E. Meneses, Charles P. McAuliffe, Michael R. Melfi and Marlin G. Townes
[Mayor and City Council, accessed June 26, 2006].
Federal, state and county representation
Hackensack is part of New Jersey's 37th Legislative District and is in the Ninth Congressional District.
Politics
Out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 43,681 in Hackensack, there were 17,933 registered voters (41.1% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 4,838 (27.0% vs. 20.7% countywide) were registered as
Democrats, 1,945 (10.8% vs. 19.2% countywide) were registered as
Republicans and 11,142 (62.1% vs. 60.1% countywide) were registered as
Undeclared. There were eight voters registered to other parties.
["County of Bergen: Voter Statistics by Municipality, Ward & District," dated April 1, 2006].
On the national level, Hackensack leans strongly toward the Democratic Party. In the
2004 presidential election, Democrat
John Kerry received 71% of the vote here, defeating Republican
George W. Bush, who received around 28%
[ 2004 Presidential Election results: Bergen County New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety: Division of Elections, dated December 13, 2004].
The
Hackensack Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district include four K-4 elementary schools:
Fairmount Elementary School (web site under construction),
Fanny Meyer Hillers School,
Jackson Avenue Elementary School and
Nellie K. Parker Elementary School. The
5ive 6ix School serves grades 5 and 6.
Hackensack Middle School serves grades 7 and 8.
Hackensack High School serves students from Hackensack,
Maywood,
Rochelle Park and
South Hackensack. Students from
Teterboro may attend either Hackensack High School or
Hasbrouck Heights High School.
The
Bergen County Academies, a public magnet high school located in Hackensack, serves the high-school population of Bergen County, as part of the
Bergen County Technical Schools district.
The Metropolitan campus of
Fairleigh Dickinson University straddles the Hackensack River in both Hackensack and
Teaneck.
The first inhabitants of the area were the
Lenni Lenape Native Americans (known to the European settlers as the Delaware) who lived along the valley of what they called the
Achinigeu-hach, or
"Ackingsah-sack", (today the
Hackensack River) and spoke a
Munsee dialect of the
Algonquian languages.
As the Dutch settlers of the
Dutch West India Company moved from
New Amsterdam (present-day
New York City) further west of the
Hudson River, in the 1660s, they eventually settled along the
Hackensack River calling the area
Bergen.
Oratam,
sagamore of the Lenni Lenape, deeded the land to the Dutch in 1665 (
see the seal of Bergen County). The area was soon
taken by the English in 1669, but kept its Dutch name.
Philip Cartaret, governor of what was then considered the
proprietary colony of
East Jersey granted land to Captain
John Berry in the area of Bergen and soon after took up residence and called it "New Barbadoes," after having resided on the island of
Barbadoes.
In 1675, the
East Jersey Legislature officially established the first four counties of present day New Jersey, (
Bergen,
Essex,
Middlesex, and
Monmouth).
The neighborhood that came to be known as the
village of Hackensack (today the area encompassing Bergen County's municipal buildings in Hackensack) was a part of Essex County until 1710, when Bergen County, by
royal decree of
Queen Anne of Great Britian, was enlarged and the
Township of New Barbadoes was created from territories that had been removed from Essex County and added to Bergen County.
In 1710, the village of Hackensack in the newly formed Township of New Barbadoes was designated as being more centrally located and more easily reached by the majority of the Bergen County's inhabitants, and hence was chosen as the
county seat of Bergen County (as it remains today). During the
American Revolutionary War,
George Washington headquartered in New Barbadoes Township in the village of Hackensack in November 1776 and camped on 'The Green' across from the First Dutch Reformed Church. This prepared the way for the first American victory of the Revolution the following month at the
Battle of Trenton.
The
New Jersey Legislature passed a school act in 1894. Each village, borough, town, or city in New Jersey was delegated responsibility for its own public schools through the office of the county superintendent. One result of the 1894 Act was the formation of
Hackensack High School in the village of Hackensack in the Township of New Barbadoes.
Over the centuries, after many departures, secessions, and de-annexations due to what is now referred to as
Boroughitis, all that was left of
New Barbadoes Township was the
village of Hackensack and its surrounding neighhorhoods (Fairmount, Red Hill, Cherry Hill). In 1921, by referendum, New Barbadoes Township received its charter to incorporate as a city and
officially took on its name "Hackensack," a name derived from its original inhabitants, the
Lenni-Lenape, who named it
"Ackingsah-sack."
First Dutch Reformed Church ("Church on The Green"); built 1696. In 1696 Major Berry donated land for the First Reformed Dutch Church,
[Photographic Inventory: Hackensack First Reformed Church, accessed August 7, 2006] 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 cemetary:
*
Enoch Poor, one of
George Washington's officers.
[Enoch Poor burial site, accessed August 7, 2006][Find-A-Grave information for Enoch Poor, accessed August 7, 2006]*
Richard Varick, former mayor of the city of New York and former
New York Attorney General[Col. Richard Varick burial site, accessed August 7, 2006][Find-A-Grave information for Richard Varick, accessed August 7, 2006]*
Interment records for First Dutch Reformed ChurchyardNorth Jersey Media Group. Bergen County's largest newspaper,
The Record, calls Hackensack its home. The North Jersey Media Group (NJMG) publishes two daily newspapers; 41 local newspapers; a magazine, The Best of Bergen; and operates several local web sites. Scheduled tours of their printing facility are available to groups.
New Jersey Naval Museum and the
World War II submarine USS Ling, a
Balao class submarine, and several smaller water vessels and artifacts. The museum is open select weekdays for group tours.
Other points of interest within the city include the
Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack River County Park, the Church on the Green, and the Bergen County Courthouse.
*
Jason Rullo, drummer of the prograssive metal band
Symphony X, was born on
July 17,
1972 in Hackensack.
*Hackensack was to have been
ground zero for the nuclear warhead that
Superman successfully redirected into space in "
Superman: The Movie" (the other warhead detonated on the
San Andreas Fault). Hackensack was the hometown of the mother of
Valerie Perrine's character, Eve Teschmacher.
*Charles Henry Voorhis is buried at the Hackensack Cemetary
[1]*The band
Fountains Of Wayne has a song called "Hackensack" from their 2003 album
Welcome Interstate Managers. The song is about somebody recognizing a girl he used to know from
Hackensack High School who had become famous.
"I used to know you when we were young,
:You were in all my dreams.
:We sat together in period one,
:Fridays at 8:15"
*Hackensack is also mentioned in
Billy Joel's song
Movin' Out:
"Who needs a house out in Hackensack,
:Is that all you get for your money?"
*Hackensack is also mentioned in
System of a down's song
Lost In Hollywood from the album
Mezmerize:
"The lines in the letter said
:'We have gone to Hackensack' "
*
F. Scott Fitzgerald went to the prep school, the Newman School, in Hackensack in 1911.
*Hackensack is also mentioned in
Death of a Salesman by
Arthur Miller.:Stanley, the waiter, to Willy Loman in Act 3, "But I know you, you ain't from Hackensack. You know what I mean? "
*The
1985 film
Brewster's Millions starred
Richard Pryor, who played a pitcher for the Hackensack Bulls, a fictional minor-league baseball team.
*In the
1998 film
Bride of Chucky, Chucky's human body is said to be buried in a Hackensack Cemetery.
[ FILM REVIEW; Carrying a Torch for a Malevolent Doll, The New York Times, October 17, 1998]*
Hackensack official website*
Hackensack Public Schools*
Hackensack elementary school portal*
Photos of Hackensack, Upper Main Street Alliance*
Personal photographs of Hackensack from a local resident*
Fairleigh Dickinson University*
Hackensack University Medical Center*
Hackensack Riverkeeper*
National Center for Education Statistics data for the Hackensack Public Schools*
Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights for Hackensack
