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Secaucus, New Jersey Information

Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 15,931. Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most "suburban" of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and transportation uses, as well as protected areas.

Contents

Name

Secaucus is a derivation of the Algonquian words for "black" (seke or sukit) and "snake" (achgook), or "place of snakes.[7] The town's name is pronounced "SEE-kaw-kus" (/ˈsiːkɔːkəs/), with the accent on the first syllable, not the second as often used by non-natives.[8][9][10]

Geography

Secaucus is located at 40°47′15″N 74°03′42″W / 40.787600°N 74.061784°W (40.787600, -74.061784).[11]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.5 square miles (16.9 km2), of which, 5.9 square miles (15.3 km2) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) of it (9.66%) is water.

At the southern end of Secaucus is Snake Hill (officially known as Laurel Hill), an igneous rock intrusion jutting up some 150 feet (46 m) from the Meadowlands below, near the New Jersey Turnpike.

Being partly surrounded by the Hackensack Meadowlands, Secaucus provides opportunities to observe the recovery of natural marshes in the town's post industrial, post agricultural age. Some marsh areas in the northeast part of town have been filled to provide a new commercial area, and some to build footpaths for nature walks with signs illustrating birds and other wildlife to be seen there.[8]

Secaucus has different districts:[8]

History

Sikakes, once an island, was part of the territory purchased by Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant in 1658.[8] The territory was part of what is considered to the oldest municipality in the state of New Jersey which was first chartered in 1660 [12] as Bergen [13] in the province of New Netherland and, in 1683, became Bergen Township.

Settlement had begun by at least 1733 by the Smith family, whose namesake Abel I. Smith Burial Ground is part of the lore of Secaucus.

Secaucus was originally formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1900, from portions of North Bergen. On June 7, 1917, Secaucus was incorporated as a town, replacing Secaucus borough, based on the results of a referendum held on June 5, 1917.[14]

Before the 1950s, Secaucus was home to a number of pig farms,[15] rendering plants, and junk yards, which gave the town a reputation for being one of the most odorous in the New York metropolitan area. [16]In 1963, debris from the demolition of Pennsylvania Station was dumped in the Secaucus Meadowlands. In later decades Secaucus became more a commuter town. In a non-binding referendum in 1969, voters in Secaucus choose to leave Hudson County and join Bergen County, being similar in character.[17] Today it is the still the most suburban town in Hudson County.[15]

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Secaucus as its 11th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.[18]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1930 8,950 —
1940 9,754 9.0%
1950 9,750 0%
1960 12,154 24.7%
1970 13,228 8.8%
1980 13,719 3.7%
1990 14,061 2.5%
2000 15,931 13.3%
Est. 2008 15,372 [3] −3.5%
Population 1930 - 1990.[19]

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 15,931 people, 6,214 households, and 3,945 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,706.7 people per square mile (1,044.3/km2). There were 6,385 housing units at an average density of 1,084.8/sq mi (418.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 68.54% White, 14.45% African American, 0.11% Native American, 11.80% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.79% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.26% of the population.

There were 6,214 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the town the population was spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $59,800, and the median income for a family was $72,568. Males had a median income of $49,937 versus $39,370 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,684. About 3.9% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over. About 20% of the town's employed residents commute to New York City to work.

Government

Local government

Firehouse on County Avenue

Secaucus is governed under the Town form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Town Council made up of six council members elected from three wards. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters. The Town Council consists of six members elected to serve four-year terms on a staggered basis.[1]

The Mayor of the Town of Secaucus is Michael Gonnelli. He succeeded Richard Steffens who stepped in to finish the term of Dennis Elwell, who resigned amid corruption charges on July 28, 2009.[20] The current members of the Secaucus Town Council are Deputy Mayor John Bueckner, James Clancy, Gary Jeffas, Robert Constantino, William McKeever and John Shinnick.[21]

Federal, state and county representation

Secaucus is in the Ninth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 32nd Legislative District.[22] Parts of the town are encompassed by either of Hudson County's 8th or 9th freeholder districts.

New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District is represented by Steve Rothman (D, Fair Lawn). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 32nd District is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Nicholas Sacco (D, North Bergen) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Vincent Prieto (D, Secaucus) and Joan M. Quigley (D, Jersey City).[23]

Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders District 9, comprising the West Hudson towns of Kearny, Harrison, and East Newark and most of Secaucus,[24] is represented by Albert Cifelli.[25][26]Freeholder District 8, compromised of North Bergen, the North End of Secaucus and northernmost tip of Jersey City near Transfer Station.[27] is represented by Thomas Liggio.[25][26]The Hudson County Executive, elected at-large, is Thomas A. DeGise.[28]

Education

Students in pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade are educated by the Secaucus Board of Education. The schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[29]) consist of two pre-K - 6 elementary schools — Clarendon Elementary School with 566 students and Huber Street Elementary School with 498 students — Secaucus Middle School with 324 students in grades 7 and 8, and Secaucus High School with 536 students in grades 9 - 12.

The athletic teams of Secaucus High School are nicknamed the "Patriots."

Immaculate Conception School, the town's only Catholic private day school, serving grades pre-K through 8th grade, closed in 2009.

The Nicholas G. Hayek Watchmaking School is also located in Secaucus.

Sports

Secaucus is currently home to men's soccer team Secaucus FC. Founded in 2001 by some of the first generation of soccer players from the town, Secaucus FC now represents the town in the Garden State Soccer League, and several other tournaments and indoor leagues around the state. The team is the first ever men's soccer team to come out of Secaucus.

For the first four seasons of the league, Secaucus was the headquarters of Major League Lacrosse. The headquarters have since moved to Boston, Massachusetts.

Secaucus is located 10 minutes away from Giants Stadium, Meadowlands Racetrack, the Izod Center (formerly the Continental Airlines Arena), 15 minutes away from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, 20 minutes away from Madison Square Garden (across the Hudson River in Manhattan and 40 minutes away from both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field during ideal traffic conditions.

Transportation

Former trolley station, now a park.

Secaucus has exceptionally good road and rail transportation. The town is divided into four by the intersecting roads of NJ 3, which runs east and west, and the eastern spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (part of Interstate 95), which runs north-south, with an interchange (16E/17) at NJ Route 3 and a new interchange 15X, near the Secaucus Junction Station , which opened in late 2005.[30]

Because of this, many shipping warehouses and truck freight transfer stations are located in Secaucus, both for shipping companies such as UPS and for numerous retailers. For example, Barnes & Noble's "same day delivery" service to Manhattan operates from a warehouse in Secaucus. The town also has a large rail yard and multimode terminal run by CSX and Norfolk Southern where loads are switched between trains or transferred to or from trucks.

Secaucus is also the site of New Jersey Transit's Secaucus Junction (also known as the Frank R. Lautenberg Station, though currently there is no track junction. Access to the station from the rest of Secaucus is limited (it is in the south end of Secaucus), via County Avenue or Meadowlands Parkway or NJ Turnpike Interchange 15X.

Numerous New Jersey Transit bus operations serve Secaucus, including the 124, 129, 190 and 320 buses to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, the 78 to Newark, the 2 and 85 to Jersey City and local service provided on the 772 route.[31] There is a bus park-and-ride at the northeast corner of Secaucus.

In the first half of the 20th Century the Jersey City, Hoboken and Rutherford Electric Railway operated a trolley line through the then main business district of Secaucus, on Paterson Plank Road from Jersey City and across the Hackensack River to East Rutherford. The extent to which the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will resurrect this service is undecided.

The closest airport with scheduled passenger service is Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark/Elizabeth.

Business and industry

Harmon Meadow Plaza.

There are several large retail areas in Secaucus. Secaucus Plaza is the "downtown" area of Secaucus, just off of NJ-3. The Outlets are a collection of outlet shops selling discounted name-brand merchandise in southwest Secaucus. Many factory retail outlets are scattered throughout the Harmon Cove industrial section, often located in warehouses or converted factories. Harmon Cove Outlet Center is the largest outlet mall, on Enterprise Avenue. The Mill Creek Mall is a mall on NJ-3 on the west side of the Turnpike. Harmon Meadow Plaza is a large hotel, restaurant and shopping complex that features gyms, a pool hall, the Meadowlands Convention Center, a 14-screen Showplace Theatres and a Wal-Mart and Sam's Club located east of the New Jersey Turnpike, near NJ 3 and Interchange 16E. Best Buy, Raymour & Flanigan, Ashley Furniture, Home Depot and Daffy's are located on Paterson Plank Rd off Interchange 16E.[32] National Retail Systems is another large employer.[33]

Secaucus is home to several corporate headquarters, including My Network TV's flagship station WWOR-TV,[34] Red Bull New York,[35] MLB Network,[36] NBA Entertainment,[37][38][39] Goya Foods,[40] The Children's Place[41] and Hartz Mountain.[42]

The warehouse at 10 Enterprise Avenue was used as the primary filming location for the short-lived hospital drama Mercy, which aired on NBC from 2009-2010.[43]

Notable residents

(B) denotes that the person was born in Secaucus.

In media

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (January 2011)

Secaucus has been the subject of numerous artistic works. Poetry by Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes and Charles Bukowski has focused on the natural beauty of Secaucus. The three-stanza, free verse poem "Secaucus", published by Bukowski in 1981, is inscribed on a plaque in the main lobby of city hall.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 142.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Town of Secaucus, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed June 13, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Census data for Secaucus borough, United States Census Bureau, Accessed August 27, 2009.
  4. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
  6. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  7. ^ "Van Winkle, Daniel (1921). History of Hudson County and of the Old Village of Bergen. Bartlett Orr Press.
  8. ^ a b c d Cheslow, Jerry (April 20, 2003). "If You're Thinking of Living In/Secaucus; From a Swamp, an Ever-Changing Town". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/20/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-secaucus-from-a-swamp-an-ever-changing-town.html. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  9. ^ Page, Jeffrey. "Our towns challenge our tongues", The Record (Bergen County), June 17, 2005. Accessed June 19, 2007. "You can always tell newcomers to Secaucus. Because most words are pronounced with emphasis on the next-to-last syllable, they say they live in see-KAW-cus - although the ones who fear their friends might recall that Secaucus used to be pig-farming country might say they live in South Carlstadt, which doesn't exist. If I said 'see-KAW-cus' to someone local, they'd think I didn't know what I was talking about, said Dan McDonough, the municipal historian. Of course it's SEE-kaw-cus. Everybody knows that."
  10. ^ Wright, E. Assata. "Secaucus: How do you pronounce it? ", The Hudson Reporter, February 22, 2009
  11. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  12. ^ [query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50A11F73B5F1B738DDDA90A94DA415B8685F... NY Times
  13. ^ NJCU: Jersey City A to Z: Bergen with map
  14. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 147-148.
  15. ^ a b Mullins, Michael D.; "'Redevelopment' was the word in 07"; The Hudson Reporter: Year in Review; December 30, 2007; Page 34
  16. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,857290,00.html
  17. ^ http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2409324/article-The-lost-cause-Secaucus-residents-remember-attempt-to-secede-from-Hudson-County?
  18. ^ "Best Places To Live - The Complete Top Towns List 1-100", New Jersey Monthly, February 21, 2008. Accessed February 24, 2008.
  19. ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
  20. ^ "New Secaucus mayor sworn in". The Record (Bergen County). 2009-08-25. http://www.northjersey.com/news/New_Secaucus_mayor_sworn_in.html. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
  21. ^ Elected Officials, Town of Secaucus. Accessed July 4, 2010.
  22. ^ 2008 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 64. Accessed September 30, 2009.
  23. ^ "Legislative Roster: 2010-2011 Session". New Jersey Legislature. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/roster.asp. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  24. ^ Freeholder District 9, Hudson County, New Jersey. Accessed January 15, 2011.
  25. ^ a b Bichao, Sergio (June 03, 2008). "Hudson County results". nj.com. http://www.nj.com/elections/index.ssf/2008/06/hudson_county_results.html. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  26. ^ a b Freeholder Biographies, Hudson County, New Jersey. Accessed January 15, 2011.
  27. ^ Freeholder District 8, Hudson County, New Jersey. Accessed January 15, 2011.
  28. ^ Thomas A. Degise, Hudson County Executive, Hudson County, New Jersey. Accessed January 5, 2011.
  29. ^ Secaucus Board of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 9, 2008.
  30. ^ Harrington, Shannon D. "Enter Exit 15", The Record (Bergen County), November 30, 2005. Accessed June 19, 2007. "Exit 15X, the new $250 million Secaucus interchange on the New Jersey Turnpike, will open to motorists Thursday night."
  31. ^ Hudson County Bus/Rail Connection, New Jersey Transit. Accessed June 23, 2007.
  32. ^ The Plaza at the Meadows, Hartz Retail, accessed February 20, 2011.
  33. ^ Major Employer's List, Hudson County Economic Development Corporation, accessed March 18, 2011.
  34. ^ About Us, WWOR-TV. Accessed November 6, 2007.
  35. ^ http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Red.Bull.New.York.Inc.201-583-1129 Red Bull New York Inc], Merchant Circle, accessed February 20, 2011.
  36. ^ About page, MLB Network, accessed February 20, 2011
  37. ^ NBA Entertainment, Goliath, accessed February 20, 2011.
  38. ^ Durand, John. "MLB Network’s Harlem plans an unnecessary distraction", Sports Business Journal Daily, August 4, 2008
  39. ^ Maurer, MArk. "MLB Network in Secaucus works to expand digital archives", NJ.com, October 13, 2010
  40. ^ Contact Us, Goya Foods. Accessed November 6, 2007.
  41. ^ Vernon, Joan. "Secaucus, N.J.-Based Children's Place Seeks to Convert Browsers into Buyers.", The Record, February 27, 2004. Accessed July 16, 2008.
  42. ^ Contact Us, Hartz Mountain, accessed February 19, 2011
  43. ^ Wright, E. Assata. "Getting the film crews back to NJ", The Union City Reporter, February 13, 2011, Pages 5 and 7
  44. ^ "Community" Year in Photos: The Hudson Reporter, January 2, 2011, page 32.
  45. ^ Wright, E. Assata. "A MLB playre in winter" The Union City Reporter; October 10, 2010; Pages 5 & 19
  46. ^ Hanc, John. "Lifting for Life: Dave Draper, a 1960s bodybuilding star is back—and touting the rewards of strength building.", AARP Bulletin, October 2006. Accessed June 23, 2007. "Except the muscles: they were real. Draper had been developing those since he was 12, not on a West Coast beach but in the basement of his parents' home in Secaucus, N.J."
  47. ^ "Charges against Secaucus mayor shock even hardened foes". The Record (Bergen County). 2009-07-23. http://www.northjersey.com/hudson_essex/Charges_against_Secaucus_mayor_shock_even_hardened_foes.html. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  48. ^ Wright, E. Assata. "The biggest loser" The Union City Reporter; June 20, 2010; Page 6
  49. ^ Livio, Susan K.; and Graber, Trish G. "Former N.J. Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto dies at 61", The Star-Ledger, August 6, 2009. Accessed August 7, 2009.
  50. ^ Poor Man's Candidate, Time (magazine) March 17, 1952. "Massive (6 ft., 240 lbs.) Henry B. Krajewski of Secaucus, N.J. has a five-acre farm with 4,000 pigs, a flourishing saloon ("Tammany Hall Tavern") and political ambitions."
  51. ^ Rounds, Kate (February 20, 2011). "Secaucus native lands part on controversial teen drama". http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/11503843/article-%E2%80%98Skins%E2%80%99-flick-Secaucus-native-lands-part-on-controversial-teen-drama-?. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  52. ^ Maurer, Mark. "Dan Resin, at 79; 'Caddyshack' actor did TV commercials"] The Jersey Journal; August 3, 2010; Page 24 (An online version of the same article appears at NJ.com)
  53. ^ Annotated Lyrics to Licensed To Ill by The Beastie Boys
  54. ^ "The Neutral Zone" at startrek.com
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Categories: Secaucus, New Jersey | Populated places in Hudson County, New Jersey | Native American place names of New Jersey | New Jersey Meadowlands District | Towns in New Jersey

 

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