Berkeley Township, New Jersey


Berkeley Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population had increased to 41,255, reflecting an increase of 1,264 from the 39,991 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 2,672 from the 37,319 counted in the 1990 Census. the highest recorded in any decennial census.
Berkeley Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 31, 1875, from portions of Dover Township. Sections of the township were taken to form Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, Beachwood, Ocean Gate Pine Beach, South Toms River and Island Beach. The township was named for John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, one of the founders of the Province of New Jersey.

Resort community of Pinewald

Army officer Lt. Edward Farrow began buying up woodland in the 1880s with the idea of building a retirement community for former Army and Navy officers. Farrow built a railroad station, shops and even a resort hotel called The Pines with the idea of attracting people. But only 11 people ever built houses in what Farrow called "Barnegat Park," and eventually he went bankrupt.
In the 1920s, Benjamin W. Sangor purchased the area, intending to create a resort town catering to wealthy urban vacationers. Between 1928 and 1929, about 8,000 lots were sold in Pinewald, a "new-type, residential, recreational city-of-the sea-and-pines." It was to contain a golf course, recreation facilities, and estate homes.
The developers immediately began construction of the Pinewald pavilion and pier at the end of Butler Avenue. The Royal Pines Hotel, a $1.175 million investment facing Crystal Lake, was built on the site of an earlier hotel dating back to the days of Barnegat Park. It was the focal point of the new community. The hotel was also used as an asylum, then later a nursing home now known as the Crystal Lake Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
The hotel was constructed by Russian architect W. Oltar-Jevsky in the early 1920s. Al Capone may have frequented its halls, perhaps even venturing beneath the lake in tunnels especially designed for smuggling alcohol during Prohibition. One newspaper article interviewed an unidentified man who claimed that "in the early 1930s the then Royal Pines Hotel was frequented by society's elite who, for $1.90 a drink, consumed prohibition liquor under the watchful eye of men who had guns strapped under their coats." In 1929, during the Great Depression, the resort community went bankrupt.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 55.999 square miles, including 42.864 square miles of land and 13.135 square miles of water.
The township is located in the central part of Ocean County along the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay, which is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Approximately 72% of the township's land area is within the federally designated New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve and 38% is within the State's Pineland Area, which is within the Pinelands National Reserve. Toms River Township forms the northern border of the township, Cedar Creek and Lacey Township form the southern border. The barrier island, on which South Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park are situated, is the township's eastern boundary.
Holiday City-Berkeley, Holiday City South, Holiday Heights and Silver Ridge are unincorporated communities and census-designated places located within Berkeley Township. The four CDPs are parts of Holiday City – Silver Ridge Park, an age-restricted adult planned community composed of separate communities, each with its own homeowners association and amenities.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located wholly or partially within the township include Barnegat Park, Barnegat Pier, Bayville, Benders Corners, Berkeley Heights, Crossley, Double Trouble, Dover Forge, Glen Cove, Glenside Park, Good Luck Point, Holly Park, Manitou Park, Pelican Island, Pinewald, River Bank, Silver Ridge Park, Silver Ridge Park West, South Seaside Park, Stony Hill, Union Village and Zebs Bridge.
The township borders the Ocean County communities of Barnegat Light, Beachwood, Island Heights, Lacey Township, Manchester Township, Ocean Township, Pine Beach, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, South Toms River and Toms River Township; The township completely surrounds the borough of Ocean Gate.

Demographics

Census 2010

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $43,049 and the median family income was $58,230. Males had a median income of $54,959 versus $40,935 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,168. About 5.2% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 39,991 people, 19,828 households, and 12,174 families residing in the township. The population density was 932.3 people per square mile. There were 22,288 housing units at an average density of 519.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 97.10% White, 1.30% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population.
There were 19,828 households out of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 29.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.52.
In the township the population was spread out with 11.4% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 14.7% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 52.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 66 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $32,134, and the median income for a family was $40,208. Males had a median income of $41,643 versus $28,640 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,198. About 3.4% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Since July 1, 1983, Berkeley Township has been governed within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Mayor-Council system of municipal government plan D, as adopted based on direct petition. The township is one of 71 municipalities statewide that use this form of government. The governing body consists of the Mayor and the seven-member Township Council, which has three members elected at-large and four members elected from each of the four wards. The mayor is elected for a four-year term and the members of the Township Council are elected on a partisan basis in elections held as part of the November election in odd-numbered years on a staggered basis for terms of four years, with the respective terms commencing on January 1; the mayor and the three at-large seats come up for election every four years, with the four ward seats up for election two years later.
, the Mayor of Berkeley Township is Republican Carmen F. Amato Jr., whose term of office ends December 31, 2023. Members of the Berkeley Township Council are Council President John A. Bacchione, Council Vice President Sophia Gingrich, Keith A. Buscio, James J. Byrnes, L. Thomas Grosse Jr., Angelo Guadagno and Judith L. Noonan.
In January 2015, the Township Council selected Anthony DePaola from among three candidates recommended by the municipal Republican committee to fill the at-large seat that expiring in 2015 that had been held by Robert G. Ray, who had resigned earlier that month.
In November 2012, James J. Byrnes and Kevin M. Askew won the remaining 14 months on unexpired terms of office. Byrnes had been appointed to the Ward 1 seat to fill the vacancy of Karen Davis following her resignation from office, while Askew had been appointed to fill the vacancy of Carmen F. Amato Jr. in Ward 2 after he had taken office as the township's mayor.

Federal, state and county representation

Berkeley Township is located in the 3rd Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 9th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 30,403 registered voters in Berkeley Township, of which 8,348 were registered as Democrats, 7,946 were registered as Republicans and 14,095 were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 14 voters registered to other parties. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 73.7% were registered to vote, including 83.6% of those ages 18 and over.
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 56.5% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 42.5%, and other candidates with 1.0%, among the 21,208 ballots cast by the township's 31,431 registered voters, for a turnout of 67.5%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 57.3% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 40.3% and other candidates with 1.2%, among the 23,761 ballots cast by the township's 32,340 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.5%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 54.5% of the vote, outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 44.3% and other candidates with 0.6%, among the 23,593 ballots cast by the township's 31,675 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 74.5.
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 77.5% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 21.3%, and other candidates with 1.2%, among the 14,992 ballots cast by the township's 31,059 registered voters, for a turnout of 48.3%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 62.3% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 30.6%, Independent Chris Daggett with 4.5% and other candidates with 1.0%, among the 17,838 ballots cast by the township's 31,397 registered voters, yielding a 56.8% turnout.

Education

The Berkeley Township School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. As of the 2017–18 school year, the district and its four schools had an enrollment of 2,158 students and 174.5 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. Schools in the district are
Bayville Elementary School,
H. & M. Potter Elementary School,
Clara B. Worth Elementary School and
Berkeley Township Elementary School.
Students in public school for seventh through twelfth grades attend the schools of the Central Regional School District, which serves students from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park. Schools in the district are
Central Regional Middle School for grades 7 and 8 and
Central Regional High School for grades 9 - 12. The district's Board of Education consists of nine members, who are directly elected by the residents of the constituent municipalities to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year. Berkeley Township is allocated five of the board's nine seats.

Media

The Asbury Park Press provides daily news coverage of the township, as does WOBM-FM radio. The township provides material and commentary to The Berkeley Times, which also covers news from Beachwood, Ocean Gate, Pine Beach and South Toms River as one of seven weekly papers from Micromedia Publications.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by The Ocean County Road Dept., by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
The Garden State Parkway is the primary access route, with two exits, exit 77 and exit 80 serving the township. U.S. Route 9 runs through the eastern-middle part of the municipality while Route 35 passes through briefly and ends at the park road for Island Beach State Park.

Public transportation

offers local bus service between the township and Atlantic City on the 559 route.
Ocean Ride service is provided on routes OC1, OC2, OC7 and OC8.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Berkeley Township include: