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Edison, New Jersey

Edison is a township located in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub (home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India) and is a bedroom community of New York City within the New York metropolitan area.

As of the 2020 United States census, the township was the state's sixth-most-populous municipality, with a population of 107,588, an increase of 7,621 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 99,967,  which in turn reflected an increase of 2,280 (+2.3%) from the 97,687 counted in the 2000 census.

What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway and Woodbridge Township. The township got its original name from the Raritan indigenous people. Portions of the township were taken to form Metuchen on March 20, 1900, and Highland Park on March 15, 1905. The name was officially changed to Edison Township on November 10, 1954, in honor of inventor Thomas Edison, who had his main laboratory in the Menlo Park section of the township.

Early history
The earliest residents of the area were the Raritan people of the Lenape Native Americans, who lived in the area and travelled through it to the shore. In 1646, Chief Matouchin led a group of 1,200 warriors.

Edison Township, which was formed from sections of Piscataway and Woodbridge townships, was settled (by Europeans) in the 17th century. The earliest village was Piscatawaytown, which is centered around St. James Church and the Piscatawaytown Common, near the intersection of Plainfield and Woodbridge Avenues in South Edison. The Laing House of Plainfield Plantation (listed on the National Register in 1988), the Benjamin Shotwell House (listed 1987) and the Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge (liste 1995), are buildings from the colonial era included in National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County.

The community was previously known as "Raritan Township", not to be confused with the current-day Raritan Township in Hunterdon County.

The Edison era
In 1876, Thomas Edison set up his home and research laboratory in New Jersey on the site of an unsuccessful real estate development in Raritan Township called "Menlo Park", (currently located in Edison State Park). While there he earned the nickname "the Wizard of Menlo Park". Before his death at age 83 in 1931, the prolific inventor amassed a record 1,093 patents for creations including the phonograph, a stock ticker, the motion-picture camera, the incandescent light bulb, a mechanical vote counter, the alkaline storage battery including one for an electric car, and the first commercial electric light.

The Menlo Park lab was significant in that was one of the first laboratories to pursue practical, commercial applications of research. It was in his Menlo Park laboratory that Thomas Edison came up with the phonograph and a commercially viable incandescent light bulb filament. Christie Street was the first street in the world to use electric lights for illumination. Edison subsequently left Menlo Park and moved his home and laboratory to West Orange in 1886.

20th century
Near Piscatawaytown village, a portion of the township was informally known as "Nixon", after Lewis Nixon, a manufacturer and community leader. Soon after the outbreak of World War I, Nixon established a massive volatile chemicals processing facility there, known as the Nixon Nitration Works. It was the site of the 1924 Nixon Nitration Works disaster, a massive explosion and resulting fire that killed 20 people and destroyed several square miles of the township.

In 1954, the township's name was changed to honor inventor Thomas A. Edison. Also on the ballot in 1954 was a failed proposal to change the community's name to Nixon.

In 1959, the Menlo Park Mall, a two-level super regional shopping mall, opened on U.S. Route 1.

21st century
Edison has been one of the fastest-growing municipalities in New Jersey. As of the 2000 United States Census, it was the fifth most-populated municipality in the state, after the cities of Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Elizabeth.

Edison is primarily a middle-class community with more than 75 ethnic communities represented. Edison has a large Jewish community next to Highland Park, with multiple synagogues located in Edison. Edison also has a growing Indian community and a number of temples serving the religious needs of the community. Reflecting the number of Edison's residents from India and China, the township has sister city arrangements with Shijiazhuang, China, and Baroda, India.

Edison was ranked the 28th most-livable small city in the United States by CNN Money magazine, and second in New Jersey in 2006 in Money magazine's "Best Places To Live". In 2008, two years later, Money ranked the township 35th out of the top 100 places to live in the United States. In the 2006 survey of America's Safest Cities, the township was ranked 23rd, out of 371 cities included nationwide, in the 13th annual Morgan Quitno survey. In 2009, Edison was ranked as one of "America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up" by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings focused on low crime, strong schools, green spaces, and abundance of recreational activities. In 2014, parenting.com ranked Edison as the top safest city in America.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 30.69 square miles (79.49 km2), including 30.06 square miles (77.86 km2) of land and 0.63 square miles (1.63 km2) of water (2.05%).

Edison is on the east side of Raritan Valley (a line of communities in central New Jersey), along with Plainfield, and completely surrounds the borough of Metuchen, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another. The township borders the municipalities of East Brunswick, Highland Park, New Brunswick, Piscataway, Sayreville, South Plainfield and Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County; Clark, Plainfield and Scotch Plains in Union County.

Edison has numerous sections and neighborhoods. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bonhamtown, Briarwood East, Camp Kilmer, Centerville, Clara Barton, Eggert Mills, Greensand, Haven Homes, Lahiere, Lincoln Park, Lindenau, Martins Landing, Menlo Park, Millville, New Dover, New Durham, Nixon, North Edison, Oak Tree, Phoenix, Potters, Pumptown, Raritan Arsenal, Raritan Manor, Sand Hills, Silver Lake, Stelton, Stephenville, Valentine, and Washington Park.

Edison is about halfway between Midtown Manhattan, and New Jersey's capitol, Trenton, being about 27 miles from both.

While the Township's topography is mostly flat, there are some hillier areas, especially along the Perth Amboy Moraine, which forms an arc across the township, left by the southern limit of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The highest point is on Grandview Avenue, which reaches a maximum elevation of about 220 feet. The lowest elevation in the township is on sea level on the Raritan River.

The Robinsons Branch of the Rahway River flows through Edison en route to the Robinson's Branch Reservoir.

Climate
Extreme temperatures in Edison have ranged from -17 F, recorded in February 1934, to 106 F, recorded in July 1936 and August 1949. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Edison has a Humid Subtropical climate (Cfa) with abundant rainfall throughout the year although the late summer months tend to have more rain. Summers tend to be hot and humid with a lot of rain and Winters tend to be cool to cold with snow being an annual occurrence with snow falling multiple times every winter.

Asian community
Edison hosts one of the region's main centers of Asian American cultural diversity. The township was 50.0% ethnically Asian by population as of the 2020 Census.

Indian community
Oak Tree Road is a South Asian-focused commercial strip in Middlesex County, the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Asian Indians. The Oak Tree Road strip runs for about one-and-a-half miles through Edison and neighboring Iselin in Woodbridge Township, near the area's sprawling Chinatown and Koreatown, running along New Jersey Route 27. It is the largest and most diverse South Asian cultural hub in the United States. In Middlesex County, election ballots are printed in English, Spanish, Gujarati, Hindi, and Punjabi. As part of the 2010 Census, 28.3% of Edison residents identified themselves as being Indian American. In the 2000 Census, 17.75% of Edison residents identified themselves as being Indian American, the highest percentage of Indian-American people of any municipality in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.

Chinese community
Edison also has a significant Chinese population. The town contains several Chinese-language schools and cultural associations. The area near the borders with Highland Park and the Livingston Campus at Rutgers University in Piscataway, has a number of Chinese food establishments, including Kam Man Food, 99 Ranch Market, and various dim sum, dumpling, dessert, and tea shops as well as the pan-Asian Korean-founded supermarket, H Mart. Other Chinese operations in Edison include Sino Monthly magazine and Chinese News Weekly.

The township's Lunar New Year parade typically travels northbound from Division Street to festivities in Papaianni Park by the lake and township municipal building.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 99,967 people, 34,972 households, and 26,509 families in the township. The population density was 3339.0 /sqmi. There were 36,302 housing units at an average density of 1212.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup was 44.10% (44,084) White, 7.05% (7,046) Black or African American, 0.23% (229) Native American, 43.19% (43,177) Asian, 0.04% (36) Pacific Islander, 2.72% (2,718) from other races, and 2.68% (2,677) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 8.11% (8,112) of the population.

Of the 34,972 households, 36.4% had children under the age of 18; 62.3% were married couples living together; 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 24.2% were non-families. Of all households, 20.4% were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.26.

22.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 95.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 93.8 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $86,725 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,000) and the median family income was $100,008 (+/− $2,624). Males had a median income of $66,898 (+/− $4,094) versus $50,953 (+/− $1,462) for females. The per capita income for the township was $36,464 (+/− $1,184). About 3.5% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 97,687 people, 35,136 households, and 25,881 families residing in the township. The population density was 3,243.0 PD/sqmi. There were 36,018 housing units at an average density of 1,195.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the township was 59.49% White, 29.27% Asian, 6.89% African American, 0.14% Native American, .04% Pacific Islander, 2.02% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. 6.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 35,136 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 21.1% 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 2.72 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the township 22.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.8% was from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.

The median household income in the township is $69,746, and the median income for a family was $77,976. Males had a median income of $53,303 versus $36,829 for females. The per capita income for the township was $30,148. About 3.3% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Manufacturing
A number of production facilities in and around the area, included Edison Assembly, Ford Motor Company's production plant for Rangers, Mustangs, Pintos, Mercurys, and Lincolns. Other notable companies included Frigidaire's air-conditioner plant in Edison, Siemens in Edison.

Starting in the 2000s, manufacturing began to leave Central Jersey, and many facilities closed and moved overseas. The Ford plant was demolished by 2008 and was replaced by Sam's Club, Topgolf and Starbucks.

Corporate presence
Majesco Entertainment, a video game company, has its corporate headquarters in Edison. Other companies have warehouse operations within Edison. These companies include the Italian food producer and importer Colavita, an Amazon fulfillment center, as well as the regional hubs for FedEx, UPS, and Newegg. In addition Edison is home to the state's largest private convention center, the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center, located within the Raritan Center Business Park. Raritan Center itself is the largest industrial park on the east side of the Mississippi River. The United States headquarters of the international company Zylog Systems is located in Edison, as is the headquarters of the e-commerce companies Boxed and Bare Necessities.

Sports
Plainfield Country Club is a private country club that has hosted the 1987 U.S. Women's Open and The Barclays golf tournament, the first PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff event, in both 2011 and 2015.

Parks and recreation
Oak Tree Pond is the site of the Battle of Short Hills, a minor battle of the American Revolutionary War and whose conversion into a park ended a real estate development controversy.

Roosevelt Park, located between Parsonage Road and Route 1, west of the Mall, covers 196 acres, including the 8 acre Roosevelt Park Lake. The park was established in 1917, making it the oldest county park in Middlesex County.

Edison State Park and Dismal Swamp are also located in the township.

Local government
Edison Township operates within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Mayor-Council form of government, which was implemented as of January 1, 1958, based on the recommendations of a Charter Study Commission. The township is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide governed under this form. Edison's governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the seven-member Township Council. Members of the council are elected at-large in partisan elections held as part of the November general election to four-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three or four seats coming up for election in odd-numbered years, with the mayoral seat up for vote at the same time that three seats are expiring.

, the Mayor of Edison is Democrat Samip "Sam" Joshi, whose term of office ends December 31, 2025. Members of the Township Council are Council President Nishith Patel (D, 2025), Council Vice President Margot Harris (D, 2025), Richard Brescher (D, 2027), Joseph Coyle (D, 2027), Ajay Patil (D, 2027) and John Poyner (D, 2025) and Asaf Shmuel (D, 2027).

The first (and to-date, only) female Mayor of Edison was Antonia "Toni" Ricigliano, whose term of office ended on December 31, 2013.

Election 2017
Former Edison Democratic Chair and Detective Keith Hahn ran for mayor as a Republican against incumbent Mayor Thomas Lankey. Lankey was re-elected with 12,032 votes to Hahn's 8,574 votes.

Election 2016
In June 2016, the Township Council selected Joseph Coyle from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2019 that had been held by Robert Karabinchak, until he stepped down from office to take a vacant seat in the New Jersey General Assembly. Coyle served on an interim basis until the November 2016 general election, when voters elected him to fill the balance of the term of office.

Election 2005
Running on a good government platform and a call to reform the Democratic Party, Jun Choi won the June 2005 primary by a 56–44% margin, defeating longtime incumbent Mayor George A. Spadoro, the first time in Edison history that a challenger won the Democratic primary. An article in The American Prospect details aspects that Choi brought together in his 2005 mayoral campaign, including 1. attracting new voters into the process, 2. a good government message, 3. anti-Wal-Mart or economic justice theme and 4. an effective Internet-based progressive mobilization. In the general election, Jun Choi declared victory, leading in unofficial results with a vote of 12,126 to 11,935; a recount effort was unsuccessful. On January 1, 2006, at age 34, Choi was sworn in by Governor Jon Corzine as the youngest Mayor in Edison history.

Recent politics in Edison have concerned plans for zoning the township to facilitate the creation of "walkable" communities that will attract businesses, while still maintaining open spaces and parks and easy access to commuter transit. This strategy is meant to encourage "Smart Growth".

Politics in Edison since the 2005 mayoral election have been polarized by an attempt by retail giant Walmart to open a store in central Edison near the junction of Interstate 287 and New Jersey Route 27. Even though Jun Choi stated in his mayoral campaign that he would stop Walmart from being built, Walmart filed suit and won, and Choi was there to cut the yellow ribbon when the store was opened.

Law enforcement
The town is served by the full-time Edison Division of Police, led by Chief Thomas Bryan and employing 168 officers as of 2012, assisted by the Edison Auxiliary Police. The department is striving to overcome a history of widespread officer misconduct.

Federal, state, and county representation
Edison is located in the 6th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 18th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 53,352 registered voters in Edison Township, of which 25,163 (47.2%) were registered as Democrats, 6,242 (11.7%) were registered as Republicans and 21,929 (41.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 18 voters registered to other parties.

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 62.8% of the vote (22,104 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 36.3% (12,769 votes), and other candidates with 1.0% (339 votes), among the 35,546 ballots cast by the township's 54,857 registered voters (334 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 64.8%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 58.8% of the vote (22,409 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 39.3% (14,986 votes) and other candidates with 1.1% (418 votes), among the 38,129 ballots cast by the township's 55,305 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.9%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 55.2% of the vote (20,000 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 43.1% (15,615 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (311 votes), among the 36,205 ballots cast by the township's 52,308 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 69.2.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 58.6% of the vote (12,502 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 39.3% (8,373 votes), and other candidates with 2.1% (443 votes), among the 21,877 ballots cast by the township's 55,392 registered voters (559 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 39.5%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 46.6% of the vote (11,230 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 44.5% (10,727 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.4% (1,549 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (243 votes), among the 24,097 ballots cast by the township's 53,358 registered voters, yielding a 45.2% turnout.

Public schools
The Edison Township Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district's two high schools separate the south and north ends of Edison. In the Edison High School zone to the south, there are six K–5 elementary schools and two 6-8 middle schools, while in the J.P. Stevens High School zone to the north there are five K–5 elementary schools and two 6-8 middle schools. As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of 19 schools, had an enrollment of 16,268 students and 1,215.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4:1. Schools in the district (with 2021-22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Edison Early Learning Center (53 students; grades PreK-K), Franklin D. Roosevelt Preschool (124; PreK-K), Benjamin Franklin Elementary School (602; K-5), Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School (618; K-5), Lincoln Elementary School (900; K-5), Lindeneau Elementary School (444; K-5), James Madison Primary School (455; K-2, who then move on to James Madison Intermediate) James Madison Intermediate School (521; 3–5), John Marshall Elementary School (736; K-5), Menlo Park Elementary School (796; K-5), James Monroe Elementary School (521; K-5), Washington Elementary School (589; K-5), Woodbrook Elementary School (902; K-5), John Adams Middle School (980; 6–8, from James Madison Intermediate and MLK Jr.), Herbert Hoover Middle School (911; 6–8, from Franklin, Lincoln, Monroe, and some Lindeneau), Thomas Jefferson Middle School (868; 6–8, from Lindeneau, Marshall and Washington), Woodrow Wilson Middle School (1,163; from Menlo Park and Woodbrook), Edison High School (2,243; 9–12, from Hoover and Jefferson) and J.P. Stevens High School (2,643; 9–12, from Adams and Wilson).

J.P. Stevens was the 80th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 65th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed, while Edison High School was ranked 174 in 2012 and 169 in 2010. According to U.S. News & World Report in 2016, J.P. Stevens ranked 41st within New Jersey and 905th nationally, while Edison H.S. ranked 59th and 2,015th.

The community is also served by the Greater Brunswick Charter School, a K–8 charter school serving students from Edison, Highland Park, Milltown and New Brunswick. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 399 students and 32.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1.

Eighth grade students from all of Middlesex County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Middlesex County Magnet Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at Edison Academy Magnet School in Edison and at magnet schools in Woodbridge Township, East Brunswick, Perth Amboy and Piscataway. There is no tuition charged to students for attendance. Middlesex College is home to the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Technologies, an engineering-based high school, which is part of the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools. The high school is covered by tax dollars and so there is no additional cost for all Middlesex County residents, but admission is based on a test, past grades, and other academic and extracurricular activities. About 160 students, 40 per grade from around the county attend the academy.

Private schools
St. Thomas Aquinas High School (9–12), St. Helena School (Pre-K–8) and St. Matthew School (Pre-K–8) operate under the supervision of Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. Jewish schools in the township, which all operate independently, include Rabbi Jacob Joseph School, Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva (Pre-K–8, founded in 1945) and Yeshiva Shaarei Tzion (Pre-K–8, opened in 1992).

Other private schools in Edison include Lakeview School (for children ages 3–21 with disabilities), Our Lady of Peace School and Wardlaw-Hartridge School (Pre-K–12, founded in 1882).

In 1998, the Huaxia Edison Chinese School, which teaches in Simplified Chinese on Sunday afternoons, was established in Thomas Jefferson Middle School, subsequently relocating to Herbert Hoover Middle School. Huaxia currently resides in Edison High School. However, many families from Taiwan send their children to Edison Chinese School, located at John Adams Middle School, or Tzu Chi, located at Woodrow Wilson Middle School. These schools both teach Traditional Chinese. J.P. Stevens High School offers Mandarin Chinese and Standard Hindi as an elective language for students who are interested in learning it.

Colleges
Lincoln Tech is a for-profit vocational school located in Edison. Lincoln Tech offers various programs in Nursing and in medical and computer applications.

Middlesex College is a public, two-year community college located in Edison at the intersection of Woodbridge Avenue and Mill Road.

Rutgers University's Livingston campus is located on the former Camp Kilmer, partially located in Edison.

Libraries
Edison has three public library branches: The Main Branch, North Edison Branch and the Clara Barton Branch.

Roads and highways
Edison is a transport hub, with an extensive network of highways passing through the township and connecting to major Northeast cities, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Trenton and Washington, D.C.. Edison is located about 25 mi from Newark Liberty International Airport, a 30 to 45 minute drive.

, the township had a total of 307.05 mi of roadways, of which 257.31 mi were maintained by the municipality, 29.78 mi by Middlesex County and 14.75 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 5.21 mi by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

State roads include Route 27 and 440, both of which are state-maintained. U.S. Route 1 also passes through the township. Interstate 287 passes through Edison, where it houses its southern end at I-95. The municipality also houses about a 5 mi section of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95). Exit 10 is located in Edison, featuring a 13-lane toll gate and a unique interchange design. When the "dual-dual" setup of the turnpike was created, it first started in Edison and continued north to Exit 14 in Newark. It wasn't until 1973 that the "dual-dual" was extended south of 10 to Exit 9 in East Brunswick Township (and then extended further south in 1990 to Exit 8A in Monroe Township).

Since Interstate 287 connects to Interstate 87 (the New York State Thruway), Exit 10 (of the turnpike) is one of the busiest interchanges to be used by tractor-trailers as it connects the New Jersey Turnpike to the New York Thruway. For truck drivers, it is the only direct limited-access road connection they have from the Turnpike to the Thruway as the Garden State Parkway, which has its northern terminus at the Thruway, prohibits trucks from using the roadway north of Exit 105.

In 2009, the New Jersey Department of Transportation selected Edison as one of the first communities to have a red light camera enforcement system. The program was ended by the state in December 2014, despite a more than 30% drop in accidents at the three camera-controlled intersections in the township.

Public transportation
Edison station, located in South Edison, is served by NJ Transit northbound trains to Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station, and southbound to the Trenton Transit Center via the Northeast Corridor Line, with connecting service to Amtrak, and SEPTA. Some passengers in North Edison are closer to, and may prefer to use, the Metropark station (near neighboring Iselin in Woodbridge Township) or Metuchen station.

NJ Transit bus service is provided on the 48 route to Elizabeth, with local service available on the 801, 804, 805, 810, 813, 814, and 819 routes.

The Taiwanese airline China Airlines provides private bus service to John F. Kennedy International Airport from the Kam Man Food location in Edison to feed its flight to Taipei, Taiwan.

Healthcare
JFK Medical Center, located on James Street off Parsonage Road is a 498-bed hospital founded in 1967.

Roosevelt Care Center is a long term/sub-acute care facility located just east of Roosevelt Park. The facility was original constructed in 1936 under the auspices of the Work Projects Administration.

Edison is served by the Raritan Valley Regional EMS. The squad consists of three sub-squads, Edison First Aid Squad #1 (established in 1935), Edison First Aid Squad #2 (since 1936) and Clara Barton First Aid Squad (since 1951). The three squads merged in 2009 to better provide residents of Edison with more comprehensive care. RVREMS receives support from paramedics out of JFK Medical Center. The squad consists of approximately 50 volunteer EMTs.

Telecommunications
Edison is served by area codes 732 and 848 and 908. Area Code 848 is an overlay area code that was created so that a split was not needed.

Edison has five Verizon Central offices serving the Township:

 * Central Office Rahway (Switch ID: RHWYNJRADS5) (Area Code 732): Serving from Wood Avenue North to Roxy Avenue on the west side of the Street inward to New Dover Road.
 * Central Office Plainfield (Switch ID: PLFDNJPFDS5) (Area Code 908): Serving Roxy Avenue heading north into South Plainfield on both sides of Inman Avenue.
 * Central Office Metuchen (Switch ID: MTCHNJMTDS5) (Area Code 732): Serving Edison, Metuchen and Iselin (Technically Iselin Numbers that have 732–283 and 732–404 are routed out of the Woodbridge Office Switch ID: WDBRNJWDDS5).
 * Central Office Edison (Switch ID: EDSNNJEDDS5): Serving South Edison with phone numbers that come up as "New Brunswick" – 732–339, 732–393, 732–572, 732–777, 732–819, 732–985, and Exchanges for "Metuchen" that are 732–248, 732–287, 732–650.
 * Central Office Fords (Switch ID: FRDSNJFRDS5): Serving Eastern Edison area and Raritan Center areas with 732–225, 732–346, 732–417, 732–512 and Perth Amboy Exchanges 732–661, 732–738.

In 1982, the BPU and New Jersey Bell, after receiving thousands of complaints from both North and South Edison residents, made an exception that any calls originating and terminating in the Township would be considered a local call. This was due to the new home construction in Edison where existing cables that belonged to the Rahway central office were assigned to give new phone service to over 400 homes.

In 1997, mandatory ten-digit dialing came to Edison with the introduction of Area code 732. Edison residents living on Roxy Avenue once again were in the spotlight in the news, with one side of the street served by the Rahway central office (Area code 732) and the other side of the street is served by the Plainfield central office (Area Code 908). Residents complained to the BPU and Bell Atlantic that it would be easier to yell across the street than dial a ten-digit number to call their neighbor across the street.

Edison has Cablevision's Optimum cable television service. Before Cablevision, there was TKR, which was so poorly run that many FCC and BPU complaints about programming and many town hall meetings eventually forced change. TKR was bought out by Cablevision.

Sister cities

 * Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
 * 🇮🇳 Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Edison include:
 * Peter J. Barnes Jr. (1928–2018), Chairman of the New Jersey State Parole Board who had served in the New Jersey General Assembly
 * Peter J. Barnes III (born 1956), politician who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly and previously on the Edison Township Council
 * Tyus Battle (born 1997), college basketball player for the Syracuse Orange
 * Brandon Bielak (born 1996), pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball
 * Gayleatha B. Brown (1947–2013), United States Ambassador to Benin and to Burkina Faso
 * David Bryan (born 1962), keyboardist, founding member of Bon Jovi
 * Michael Campbell (born 1989), wide receiver who played in the NFL for the New York Jets
 * Leonte Carroo (born 1994), wide receiver who has played in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins
 * Alan Chez (born 1961), trumpet player for the Late Show with David Letterman
 * Jun Choi (born 1971), politician who served as Mayor of Edison
 * Rich Clementi (born 1976), mixed martial arts fighter
 * Ken Cuccinelli (born 1968), former Attorney General of Virginia
 * Jerry Dior (1932–2015), graphic designer, best known for creating the Major League Baseball logo
 * Tom Dwan (born 1986), professional poker player
 * Bernard J. Dwyer (1921–1998), politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1993
 * Thomas Edison (1847–1931), inventor who is the township's namesake
 * Katherine Polk Failla (born 1969), United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
 * Darren Fenster (born 1978), former professional baseball player who has been a manager in the Boston Red Sox Minor League Baseball system
 * Gail Fisher (1935–2000), actress best known for her role on Mannix
 * Rich Gaspari (born 1963), retired professional bodybuilder and founder of supplement company Gaspari Nutrition who was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2004
 * Greg Gigantino (born c. 1955), college football coach. He was the head football coach for Iona College in 1984.
 * Frank Guinta (born 1970), served in the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 1st congressional district
 * Halsey (born 1994 as Ashley Nicolette Frangipane) singer-songwriter
 * Alexander Julien (born 1988), musician, member of Vision Eternel, lived in the Briarwood East community
 * Pamela Long, singer with former Bad Boy group Total
 * Paul Matey (born 1971), attorney who is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
 * Patrick McDonnell (born 1956), cartoonist, creator Mutts comics
 * Earl Schenck Miers (1910–1972), historian who wrote extensively about the American Civil War
 * Victor Mitchell (born 1965), former member of the Colorado House of Representatives
 * Akash Modi (born 1995), artistic gymnast who represented the United States at the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
 * Brittany Murphy (1977–2009), actress
 * Jim Norton (born 1968), stand-up comedian
 * Margie Palatini, author of books for children
 * Robert Pastorelli (1954–2004), theater, film and television actor
 * Zach Perez (born 1996), professional soccer player who plays as a defender for USL League One club Richmond Kickers
 * Marc Pisciotta (born 1970), former Major League Baseball pitcher
 * Mark L. Polansky (born 1956), NASA astronaut
 * Bernard Purdie (born 1939), prolific session drummer
 * Jim Rose (born 1953), sports anchor for WLS-TV in Chicago, Illinois
 * Matt Salzberg, businessperson and entrepreneur who co-founded Blue Apron (where he was CEO), Embark Veterinary and Suma Brands
 * Susan Sarandon (born 1946), actress, lived in the Stephenville community
 * Jasmin Singer (born 1979), animal rights activist, writer, speaker and actress
 * Chris Snee (born 1982), guard who has played for the New York Giants
 * George A. Spadoro (born 1955), former Mayor of Edison, Council President and Assemblyman
 * Joel Stein (born 1971), Los Angeles Times columnist
 * Robert T. Stevens (1899–1983), businessman and former chairman of J.P. Stevens and Company
 * Anthony Stolarz (born 1994), professional ice hockey goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League and 2024 Stanley Cup Champion
 * Jim Stoops (born 1972), former professional baseball pitcher who played for one season in MLB for the Colorado Rockies
 * Jennifer Sung (born 1972), lawyer who is a nominee to be a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
 * Marques Townes (born 1995), basketball player for the Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team, who transferred out of Cardinal McCarrick after his sophomore year
 * Karl-Anthony Towns (born 1995), professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves
 * Mike Vallely (born 1970), professional skateboarder and lead singer of Black Flag
 * Gary Vaynerchuk (born 1975), entrepreneur and Internet personality who spent much of his childhood in Edison
 * Jeffrey A. Warsh (born 1960), politician who served two terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, from 1992 to 1996, where he represented the 18th Legislative District
 * Darrin Winston (1966–2008), played two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies
 * Jeremy Zuttah (born 1986), offensive lineman for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Notable places

 * Advian, which in 2012 featured what was then the nation's largest solar rooftop installation at 17 acres.
 * Bonhamtown, site of a battle during the American Revolutionary War
 * Camp Kilmer, a World War II era army post, was partially located in what is now Edison.
 * Dismal Swamp, preserved wetlands area that also includes portions of Metuchen and South Plainfield.
 * Durham Woods, a complex of several apartment buildings and scene of the Edison, New Jersey natural gas explosion in 1994, in which a 36-inch natural gas pipeline burst and exploded, destroying buildings in the area.
 * Edison Landfill, landfill site undergoing environmental cleanup since it was ordered closed in 1977.
 * Edison station in South Edison, offering service on NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor Line.
 * ILR Landfill, closed landfill site owned by Industrial Land Reclaiming (ILR) providing power to Middlesex County's wastewater treatment operations from methane gas recovery.
 * Kin-Buc Landfill, former landfill and Superfund site where 70 e6USgal of hazardous waste was dumped.
 * Laing House of Plainfield Plantation, historic home built in the early 1700s when the region was being settled by Scottish Quakers in the late 17th and early 18th century.
 * Roosevelt Park, a 196-acre park next to Menlo Park Mall.
 * Menlo Park Mall, located at the intersection of Route 1 and Parsonage Road, has a gross leasable area of 1260703 sqft.
 * Oak Tree Road in Edison and the Iselin section of Woodbridge Township is known for its large concentration of Indian stores and restaurants.
 * The Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Tower and Museum, in Menlo Park, dedicated in 1938. Located in Edison State Park, at the site where its namesake inventor invented the incandescent light bulb and the phonograph.
 * Tastee Sub Shop is a popular sandwich establishment off of Route 27 Lincoln Highway in South Edison that President Barack Obama visited in 2010 as part of a small business campaign.

title: Edison, New Jersey


text:
Fords, New Jersey

Fords is a census-designated place (CDP) located within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP's population was 15,187.

History and geography
The area as originally known as Fords Corner abuts neighboring Edison, part of which was once within Woodbridge Township, until an act of legislature in April 1870 apportioned land to then called Raritan Township. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 2.637 mi2, including 2.633 mi2 of land and 0.004 mi2 of water (0.15%).

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 15,187 people, 5,386 households, and 4,013 families in the CDP. The population density was 5767.5 /mi2. There were 5,675 housing units at an average density of 2155.2 /mi2. The racial makeup was 60.99% (9,263) White, 9.21% (1,399) Black or African American, 0.28% (43) Native American, 20.70% (3,143) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 5.99% (909) from other races, and 2.82% (429) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.40% (2,643) of the population.

Of the 5,386 households, 31.9% had children under the age of 18; 56.7% were married couples living together; 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.5% were non-families. Of all households, 21.1% were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.31.

21.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 93.9 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.9 males.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 15,032 people, 5,591 households, and 4,014 families living in the CDP. The population density was 2,240.9 /km2. There were 5,688 housing units at an average density of 847.9 /km2. The racial makeup of the CDP was 72.86% White, 5.93% African American, 0.11% Native American, 16.11% Asian, 2.71% from other races, and 2.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.23% of the population.

There were 5,591 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $61,015, and the median income for a family was $68,652. Males had a median income of $49,141 versus $36,591 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,917. About 2.4% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Fords has two elementary schools — Menlo Park Terrace School #19 and Lafayette Estates School #25 — and one middle school, Fords Middle School (Formerly Fords Junior High), all of which are a part of the Woodbridge Township School District. MPT School #19 has a mailing address in Metuchen, however, children who live in parts of Fords attend the school.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Fords include:
 * Nels N. Alling (1861–1955), sculptor who specialized in terra cotta architectural work
 * Tim Mulqueen (born 1966), soccer goalkeeping coach and former goalkeeper who coached the US National Team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
 * Craig Coughlin (born 1958), politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2010, where he represents the 19th Legislative District.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Fords, New Jersey


text:
Heathcote, New Jersey

Heathcote is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within South Brunswick, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP's population was 5,821.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 2.592 mi2, including 2.585 mi2 of land and 0.007 mi2 of water (0.27%).

U.S. Route 1, New Jersey Route 27, and County Route 522 all pass through Heathcote.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 5,821 people, 2,326 households, and 1,558 families in the CDP. The population density was 2252.2 /mi2. There were 2,427 housing units at an average density of 939.0 /mi2. The racial makeup was 48.82% (2,842) White, 9.65% (562) Black or African American, 0.12% (7) Native American, 37.21% (2,166) Asian, 0.09% (5) Pacific Islander, 1.22% (71) from other races, and 2.89% (168) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.79% (337) of the population.

Of the 2,326 households, 35.6% had children under the age of 18; 55.4% were married couples living together; 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 33.0% were non-families. Of all households, 27.7% were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.12.

Of the population, 24.7% were under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 88.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 83.1 males.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 4,755 people, 2,035 households, and 1,271 families living in the CDP. The population density was 698.1 /km2. There were 2,059 housing units at an average density of 302.3 /km2. The racial makeup of the CDP was 69.36% White, 10.96% African American, 0.06% Native American, 16.42% Asian, 1.07% from other races, and 2.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.35% of the population.

There were 2,035 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 40.1% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $80,303, and the median income for a family was $92,020. Males had a median income of $71,014 versus $43,649 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $40,641. About 1.4% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.

title: Heathcote, New Jersey


text:
Helmetta, New Jersey

Helmetta is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is located in the heart of the Raritan Valley region, with Manalapan Brook (a Raritan River tributary) flowing through the center of the community. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,455, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 277 (+12.7%) from the 2010 census count of 2,178, which in turn reflected an increase of 353 (+19.3%) from the 1,825 counted in the 2000 census. The community was established around a snuff mill opened in the 1820s that was acquired by George Washington Helme in the 1880s.

Helmetta was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1888, when it was created from portions of East Brunswick, based on the results of a referendum held on March 10, 1888. Helmetta's boundary with East Brunswick Township was changed as of March 24, 1897. The borough was named for Helme's daughter, Olivia Antoinette "Etta" Helme.

G. W. Helme Snuff Mill District
Helmetta's main landmark is the large, abandoned Helme Products Inc. plant that sits adjacent to the Camden and Amboy Railroad line running through the borough. The mill began producing snuff in the 1880s. On February 23, 1900, the mill was bought by the American-Sniff Company in a merger with Helme Products Inc., but the merger was dissolved in 1911. In 1925, the mill became the largest of its kind in the world, and by 1934 it employed 400 people. In 1986, the mill was bought out by American Maize-Products. Finally, in 1993, it was purchased by Swisher International, and operations were moved to Wheeling, West Virginia. It has remained inactive since.

The G. W. Helme Snuff Mill District is a classic example of a late 1800s mill town. The district consists of the George Washington Helme snuff mill, housing for employees, accessory buildings, St. George's Episcopal Church, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, and Helmetta Pond, which at one time served as a source of power for the mill. About 109 buildings were originally in the district, which was named to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1980, and to the National Register of Historic Places, on August 15, 1980.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 0.88 square miles (2.27 km2), including 0.83 square miles (2.15 km2) of land and 0.05 square miles (0.13 km2) of water (5.57%).

The borough borders the Middlesex County municipalities of East Brunswick, Monroe Township and Spotswood.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 2,178 people, 891 households, and 596 families in the borough. The population density was 2,562.9 per square mile (989.5/km2). There were 920 housing units at an average density of 1,082.6 per square mile (418.0/km2). The racial makeup was 88.61% (1,930) White, 3.95% (86) Black or African American, 0.09% (2) Native American, 4.87% (106) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 1.15% (25) from other races, and 1.33% (29) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.53% (164) of the population.

Of the 891 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18; 52.5% were married couples living together; 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 33.1% were non-families. Of all households, 26.0% were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97.

20.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 93.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.2 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $80,690 (with a margin of error of +/− $4,944) and the median family income was $96,875 (+/− $8,073). Males had a median income of $63,625 (+/− $7,838) versus $48,333 (+/− $6,040) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $36,941 (+/− $2,537). About 3.4% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 1,825 people, 746 households, and 495 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,153.6 PD/sqmi. There were 769 housing units at an average density of 907.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the borough was 93.15% White, 2.41% African American, 0.22% Native American, 2.41% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.32% of the population.

There were 746 households, out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 44.1% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $60,125, and the median income for a family was $64,659. Males had a median income of $47,604 versus $33,929 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,668. About 3.2% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
Helmetta is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. The borough form of government used by Helmetta is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.

, the mayor of Helmetta Borough is Independent Christopher Slavicek, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the Helmetta Borough Council are Council President Peter J. Karczewski (R, 2024), Sandra Bohinski (I, 2026), Michael R. Duffy (R, 2024), Ronald Dzingleski (I, 2025), Joseph Reid (I, 2025) and Nicholas Stasi (I, 2026).

Samuel Mena was appointed in September 2021 to fill the seat expiring in December 2023 that had been held by Noreen Carolan-Genthe and Nicholas Stasi was appointed in October 2021 to fill the seat formerly held by Joseph Perez and also expiring in December 2021. Both Mena and Stasi will serve on an interim basis until the November 2021 general election when voters will select candidates to serve the balance of the terms of office.

In January 2016, Ronald Dzingleski and Joseph Reid were appointed to fill two of the three vacant council seats.

In April 2016, the borough council selected Noreen Carolan to fill the term expiring in December 2016 that had been held temporarily by Brian Hackett who had in turn been appointed to fill the seat held by Yvette Bruno.

In 2014, a recording of a police officer telling a cameraperson stating that he has the constitutional right to take video that he doesn't "give a damn" about constitutional rights was made public. In response, the city government proposed an ordinance banning video and photography inside public buildings without a permit.

In April 2018, Helmetta disbanded its three-officer police force and entered into a six-year shared services agreement with Spotswood to provide police, dispatch and EMS services to Helmetta residents. The Spotswood Police Department is a 24/7 law enforcement agency that serves both Spotswood and Helmetta. The department has 22 officers, 3 full-time dispatchers, and 4 part-time dispatchers, led by Chief Michael Zarro.

In 2018, the borough had an average property tax bill of $6,270, the lowest in the county, compared to an average bill of $8,092 in Middlesex County and $8,767 statewide.

Federal, state and county representation
Helmetta is located in the 12th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 12th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,399 registered voters in Helmetta, of which 403 (28.8%) were registered as Democrats, 264 (18.9%) were registered as Republicans and 731 (52.3%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party.

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 50.4% of the vote (463 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 48.1% (442 votes), and other candidates with 1.4% (13 votes), among the 925 ballots cast by the borough's 1,372 registered voters (7 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 67.4%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 52.1% of the vote (557 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 44.9% (480 votes) and other candidates with 2.0% (21 votes), among the 1,069 ballots cast by the borough's 1,438 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.3%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 56.2% of the vote (587 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 42.3% (442 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (8 votes), among the 1,044 ballots cast by the borough's 1,382 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 75.5.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 71.7% of the vote (503 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 26.1% (183 votes), and other candidates with 2.3% (16 votes), among the 718 ballots cast by the borough's 1,374 registered voters (16 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 52.3%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 67.5% of the vote (476 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 25.4% (179 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 4.4% (31 votes) and other candidates with 2.0% (14 votes), among the 705 ballots cast by the borough's 1,402 registered voters, yielding a 50.3% turnout.

Education
All public school students from Helmetta attend the Spotswood Public Schools, with the districts having been consolidated after a July 2009 decision by the New Jersey Department of Education that merged Helmetta into the Spotswood district. Students from Milltown attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Milltown Public Schools.

The Spotswood Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,610 students and 136.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are G. Austin Schoenly Elementary School with 207 students in grades PreK–1, E. Raymond Appleby Elementary School with 334 students in grades 2–5, Spotswood Memorial Middle School with 349 students in grades 6–8 and Spotswood High School with 692 students in grades 9–12.

Eighth grade students from all of Middlesex County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at Middlesex County Academy in Edison, the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences in Woodbridge Township and at its East Brunswick, Perth Amboy and Piscataway technical high schools, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.

Roads and highways
, the borough had a total of 8.79 mi of roadways, of which 7.28 mi were maintained by the municipality and 1.51 mi by Middlesex County.

The major thoroughfare in the borough is Main Street (County Route 615) which connects with Monroe to the southwest and Spotswood to the northeast. Main Street is largely known as Bordentown-Amboy Turnpike between Jamesburg and South Amboy.

The New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) is accessible at Exit 8A in neighboring Monroe Township.

An analysis of speeding tickets issued over an 18-month period between 2011 and 2013 showed that 222 tickets were issued in that timeframe with only two given to borough residents, which was cited as supporting claims that the borough's police department is unfairly targeting non-residents.

Public transportation
Middlesex County Area Transit (MCAT) shuttles provide service to and from Helmetta on routes operating across the county. The M2 Route connects Jamesburg, Helmetta and Spotswood with East Brunswick including the Brunswick Square Mall.

title: Helmetta, New Jersey


text:
Highland Park, New Jersey

Highland Park is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the New York City metropolitan area. The borough is located on the northern banks of the Raritan River, in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,072, an increase of 1,090 (+7.8%) from the 2010 census count of 13,982,  which in turn reflected a decline of 17 (−0.1%) from the 13,999 counted in the 2000 census.

Highland Park was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1905, when it broke away from what was then known as Raritan Township (present-day Edison). The borough was named for its location above the Raritan River.

History
The earliest settlers of the land that would become Highland Park were the Lenape Native Americans, who hunted in the hills along the Raritan River and had trails that crisscrossed the area, providing a link between the Delaware River and Hudson River areas. In 1685, John Inian bought land on both shores of the Raritan River and built two new landings downstream from the Assunpink Trail's fording place, which was later developed as Raritan Landing. He established a ferry service and the main road then was redirected to lead straight to the ferry landing. This river crossing was run by generations of different owners and a ferry house tavern operated for many years in the 18th century. A toll bridge replaced the ferry in 1795. The wood plank Albany Street Bridge was dismantled in 1848 and reconstructed in 1853. The present day seven-span stone arch road bridge was built in 1892 and stretches 595 ft across the Raritan River to New Brunswick. It became the Lincoln Highway Bridge in 1914 and was widened in 1925.

In the late 17th century, Henry Greenland became one of the area's first European settlers; he owned nearly 400 acre of land on the Mill Brook section of the Assunpink Trail, where he operated an inn for travelers. Others early settlers included Captain Francis Drake and other members of the Drake family, relatives of the famous explorer. In the early 18th century, a few wealthy Europeans including the Van Horns and Merrills settled on large tracts of land establishing an isolated farmstead pattern of development that would continue for the next 150 years.

The Reverend John Henry Livingston of the famous Livingston family, newly chosen head of Queen's College (now Rutgers University), purchased a 150 acre plot of land in 1809, which would hereafter be known as the Livingston Manor. A gracious Greek Revival house built around 1843 by Robert and Louisa Livingston stands on this property, which remains Highland Park's most prominent historic house. The Livingston Homestead, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was owned by the Waldron family throughout most of the 20th century.

In the early 19th century, both the Delaware & Raritan Canal and a railroad were constructed largely to serve the commercial center of New Brunswick across the river. In 1836, the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company built a rail line that terminated on the Highland Park side of the Raritan River and established a station named "East New Brunswick." The Camden and Amboy Railroad built a wood, double-deck bridge which eliminated the station stop in 1838. It was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1878. A replacement iron truss bridge was constructed on the existing enlarged stone piers, which in turn was replaced in 1902 by the current twelve-span stone arch bridge encased in concrete in the 1940s.

Despite the canal and the railroad, Highland Park's land continued to be used for agriculture. Residential development slowly began 30 years later, with several stately houses constructed on Adelaide Avenue and more modest houses constructed on Cedar, First, and Second Avenues and Magnolia, Benner, and Johnson Streets. In the 1870s, the small hamlet became better known as "Highland Park", a name derived from the suburban housing development although the area adjacent to the railroad tracks continued to be called "East New Brunswick." 1870 was also the year in which Highland Park was annexed to the newly formed township now called Edison, but at the time called Raritan Township. Highland Park had its own school district and on March 15, 1905, the Borough of Highland Park was formed. Highland Park's drive for independence from Raritan Township arose over the issue of public schooling. Residents wanted an independent school system and there was a related dispute over school taxes. The fire department, which had formed in 1899, also wanted more local control over their affairs. The 1905 New Jersey census counted 147 dwellings in the new borough. In 1918, Robert Wood Johnson II was appointed to the Highland Park Council and became mayor in 1920. His summer house and estate was located on River Road, just north of the railroad tracks.

Since its establishment as a borough, Highland Park's lands have been parceled into ever-smaller suburban residential plots. Planned developments included Watson Whittlesey's Livingston Manor development begun in 1906; the Viehmann Tract, also on the north side; Riverview Terrace on the south side; Raritan Park Terrace in the triangle between Raritan and Woodbridge Avenues; and East New Brunswick Heights in the Orchard Heights neighborhood. It has taken years of continuously constructing houses and apartment buildings to create the largely residential borough.

Highland Park's industrial development in the 19th and 20th centuries included such businesses as a brewery, Johnson & Johnson, The John Waldron Machine Company, Turner Tubes, and the Janeway & Carpender Wallpaper factory. The borough is the birthplace of the Band-Aid. and Flako Products packaged mixes for baked goods. However, the industrial nature of the borough completely declined by the 1960s. The commercial zones along both Raritan and Woodbridge Avenues continue to thrive with "mom & pop" shops, many that have lasted for generations.

Throughout the 20th century, Highland Park's religious institutions, educational facilities, and municipal governance have kept pace with the growth of the borough. The trends of local autonomy and control that shaped Highland Park in the past continue to this day.

In 2012, Highland Park became the first municipality in the state to contract a home performance company to help residents consume less energy. The program is a one-of-a-kind program that can offer up to a 30% energy savings for homeowners.

In 2016, Highland Park became the state's first registered HeartSafe community.

Livingston Manor Historic District
Livingston Manor was a subdivision built upon the lands surrounding the Livingston Homestead. This subdivision was the brainchild of Watson Whittlesey (1863–1914), a real estate developer born in Rochester, New York. Whittlesey was more than a typical land speculator; he was a community builder, which was noted by his residency in various Livingston Manor houses from 1906 to 1914, and by his active involvement in the municipal affairs of Highland Park. Instead of auctioning lots like his 19th century predecessors, Whittlesey sold subdivided lots with either a house completely built by his company or with the promise of providing a company-constructed house similar to those previously constructed.

The suburban development grew between 1906 and 1925, when Whittlesey's company, the Livingston Manor Corporation and its successor, the Highland Park Building Company, constructed single-family houses from plans produced by a select group of architects. While a variety of building types and styles are present on each block, the buildings in the district are distinguished by the use of specific building plans found nowhere else in Highland Park and by the embellishments that are typical of the Craftsman philosophy, which emphasized the value of the labor of skilled artisans who showed pride in their abilities.

In the first years of this development, the houses were constructed one entire block at a time beginning with the southeast side of Grant Avenue between Lawrence Avenue and North Second Avenue. The next block to be developed was the northwest side of Lincoln Avenue between Lawrence Avenue and North Second Avenue. Six stucco bungalows were then constructed on the southern side of Lawrence east of Lincoln Avenue. As the housing development grew in popularity, houses were constructed less systematically by block, and more often on lots that individual homeowners selected from the remaining available properties. Whittlesey used plans from architects George Edward Krug and Francis George Hasselman, as well as plans generated by several local architects including John Arthur Blish and William Boylan. Several of Livingston Manor's Tudor Revival houses were designed by Highland Park's eminent architect Alexander Merchant. Merchant created numerous buildings in New Brunswick and Highland Park (see list below). Like other early-20th century architects, he was active during the period of early American modernism, but, having trained at the firm of Carrère and Hastings, Merchant developed and maintained a classical design vocabulary.

Many workers in the building trades, such as Harvey E. Dodge, the carpenter Frederick Nietscke and the contractor Harold Richard Segoine, have also been identified as Livingston Manor Corporation employees as well as Livingston Manor residents. Whittlesey, with his wife Anna, also lived in several Livingston Manor houses, including the Spanish Colonial style house at 35 Harrison Avenue designed specifically for them.

On December 1, 1906, the first deeds were transferred to two individual homeowners. Many prominent New Brunswick and Highland Park residents bought houses in this new neighborhood. They included Rutgers College professors, school teachers, bank employees, factory owners, and store owners. Census data show that most of the women were housewives and mothers. There were many extended families. Some families took in boarders and several households included live-in servants. Sixty-two houses had been constructed in Livingston Manor by 1910.

In 1912, Watson Whittlesey hired a sales agent, John F. Green, and began selling bungalow lots. These properties were smaller and less expensive, and a set of plans for a bungalow was given to any purchaser. By 1913, 120 houses had been constructed in Livingston Manor.

Dubbed "Lord of the Manor", Whittlesey created a neighborhood spirit by giving receptions for the residents, by providing playgrounds for the children, and by encouraging the men to take a more active part in public affairs. After his death on April 8, 1914, Manor residents turned out in the hundreds to attend a memorial service at his house.

The Highland Park Building Company was incorporated in 1914 by long-standing members of his company including builder Robert Lufburrow and engineer Harold Richard Segoine. In 1916, Mrs. Whittlesey, who was president of the Livingston Manor Corporation, turned over the privately owned streets, sidewalks, and curbs to the borough. Remarkably, there were no provisions for the borough to accept public ownership of the sewers. That required an act of legislation at the statehouse in Trenton, which was accomplished by Senator Florance and Assemblyman Edgar and signed by Governor Walter Evans Edge the following year. Anna Wilcox Whittlesey, "Lady of the Manor", died on August 16, 1918. She was remembered as "a woman of rare refinement and culture, and the soul of hospitality."

Highland Park's identity as a streetcar suburb was transformed to that of an automobile suburb during the 1920s. By 1922, there had been 210 dwellings constructed in Livingston Manor. The Livingston Manor Corporation continued to have transactions into the 1960s, but the area's significant development had taken place by 1925.

The Livingston Manor is an important neighborhood in Highland Park. The Livingston Manor Historic District was listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on April 1, 2004, and in the National Register of Historic Places on July 7, 2004.

Buildings designed by Alexander Merchant
Alexander Merchant (1872–1952) designed the following buildings:
 * 55 South Adelaide Avenue (1909)
 * Lafayette School on South Second Avenue and Benner Street (original school-1907 and Second Avenue wing-1915). The third wing on Second Avenue was designed by Merchant's son Alexander Merchant Jr. in 1952. The Lafayette School is now condominiums and no longer a school.
 * Reformed Church of Highland Park on South Second Avenue (original church-1897 and auditorium wing c. 1920)
 * Irving School on Central Avenue (original building-1914)
 * The Center School on North Third Avenue (formerly the Hamilton School–opened 1915)
 * The Pomeranz Building on Raritan Avenue and South Third Avenue (1920)
 * 82 Harrison Avenue (1913)
 * Two houses on Cliff Court (1914)
 * Several houses on South Adelaide Avenue near Cliff Court (1910–1914)
 * The Highland Park High School (original building-1926)
 * The Masonic Temple on Raritan Avenue at North Fourth Avenue (1923) It remains as a one-story commercial building after a fire on March 10, 1965, destroyed the upper levels of the auditorium and offices.
 * The Brody House at corner of Raritan and North Adelaide Avenues (built 1911–demolished 1997)
 * The former Police Station at 137 Raritan Avenue (demolished).
 * Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple on Livingston Avenue in neighboring New Brunswick (1929)

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.83 square miles (4.74 km2), including 1.82 square miles (4.72 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km2) of water (0.44%).

The borough received its name for its "park-like" setting, on the "high land" of the banks of the Raritan River, overlooking New Brunswick. Highland Park borders the Middlesex County municipalities of Edison, New Brunswick, and Piscataway.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 13,982 people, 5,875 households, and 3,267 families in the borough. The population density was 7,728.1 per square mile (2,983.8/km2). There were 6,203 housing units at an average density of 3,428.5 per square mile (1,323.8/km2). The racial makeup was 68.26% (9,544) White, 7.83% (1,095) Black or African American, 0.14% (20) Native American, 17.84% (2,495) Asian, 0.03% (4) Pacific Islander, 3.28% (458) from other races, and 2.62% (366) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.95% (1,252) of the population.

Of the 5,875 households, 26.0% had children under the age of 18; 43.2% were married couples living together; 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 44.4% were non-families. Of all households, 31.4% were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.10.

21.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.0 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $78,821 (with a margin of error of +/− $8,312) and the median family income was $103,316 (+/− $6,807). Males had a median income of $72,533 (+/− $8,231) versus $55,591 (+/− $3,873) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $41,300 (+/− $3,714). About 5.4% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 13,999 people, 5,899 households, and 3,409 families residing in the borough. The population density was 7,614.1 PD/sqmi. There were 6,071 housing units at an average density of 3,302.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the borough was 72.06% White, 7.94% African American, 0.11% Native American, 13.63% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 3.59% from other races, and 2.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.18% of the population.

Of residents reporting their ancestry, 9.8% were of Italian, 9.1% Irish, 8.1% German, 7.8% Russian, 7.5% Polish. 66.2% spoke English, 7.2% Spanish, 6.4% Chinese, 2.2% Hebrew, 1.8% Russian, 1.2% Hungarian, 1.1% French and 1.1% Hindi as their language spoken at home.

There were 5,899 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males age 18 and over.

The median income for a household in the borough was $53,250, and the median income for a family was $71,267. Males had a median income of $47,248 versus $36,829 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,767. About 5.3% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Community
Highland Park has at times been a bedroom community for nearby Rutgers University and Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, with a resulting academic flair to the community. Nobel laureate Selman Waksman (Medicine, 1952) lived in the borough until he moved to Piscataway in 1954, and laureate Arno Penzias (Physics, 1978) lived in the borough until the 1990s.

There is a new state-of-the-art environmental center on River Road, just a few hundred feet upstream from the Albany Street Bridge. The borough's Environmental Commission envisions this center as a stop along a riverbank walking trail that would link Johnson Park with Donaldson Park and beyond, to the Meadows environmental area on the Edison border.

In 1978, Highland Park became the first municipality in New Jersey to have an eruv, a symbolic enclosure that allows Orthodox Jews to perform certain activities outdoors on the Sabbath that would be otherwise prohibited. Through an arrangement with New Jersey Bell (now Verizon), a continuous wire was strung from pole to pole around portions of the borough. Eventually this expanded and includes portions of Edison and connects with New Brunswick. The wires are inspected every Friday to ensure that the connections are complete. When intact, this eruv satisfies most Orthodox Jewish religious requirements allowing residents to carry objects during the Sabbath.

Local government
Highland Park is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 (of the 564) municipalities statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of a mayor and a borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. The borough form of government used by Highland Park is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.

The borough operates through Committees of the Council: Administration, Finance, Public Works, Public Safety, Community Affairs, Public Utilities, and Health, Welfare and Recreation. The various departments, boards and commissions report to the council through these committees. All elected positions are part-time; the mayor and council members typically hold outside jobs, and receive small salaries from their elected offices.

, the mayor of Highland Park is Democrat Elsie Foster, whose term of office ending on December 31, 2027. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Matthew Hersh (D, 2026), Tara Canavera (D, 2024), Philip George (D, 2025), Matthew Hale (D, 2025), Stephany Kim-Choban (D, 2024) and Jason Postelnik (D, 2026).

In January 2023, the borough council appointed Elsie Foster to fill the vacant seat expiring in December 2023 that had been held by Gayle Brill Mittler until she resigned from office the previous month citing a desire for more time with her family. The next month, Jason Postelnik was appointed to the council seat expiring in December 2023 that was vacated by Elsie Foster when she took office as mayor.

In January 2017, the borough council selected Matthew Hersh to fill the seat expiring in December 2019 that became vacant following the death of Jon Erickson the previous October before Election Day; Erickson's name remained on the ballot and he was elected to serve the three-year term. Hersh had earlier been chosen to serve the balance of Erickson's previous term that expired in December 2016. In July 2018, Hersh resigned to accept a position with a state agency and was replaced by Matthew Hale.

Mayors
The mayors are:
 * James B. Archer (D), 1905–1907.
 * Lorenz Volkert (R), 1908–1913.
 * George White (D), 1914–1915.
 * Russell E. Watson (R), 1916–1919.
 * Robert Wood Johnson II (R), 1920–1921.
 * Cornelius B. McCrelis Jr. (R), 1922–1923.
 * George F. Leonard (D), 1924–1925.
 * Benjamin Erickson (R), 1926–1928.
 * Edwin W. Eden (R), 1928–1929.
 * Richard T. Parker (R), 1930–1931.
 * Irving D. Buttler (R), 1932–1935.
 * Russell C. Smalley (R), 1936–1937.
 * Russell B. Howell, 1938–1939.
 * Walter K. Wood, 1940–1941.
 * Harold W. Drake (R), 1942–1946.
 * George W. Miller (R), 1946–1948.
 * Alvah H. Cole (R), 1948–1951.
 * Joseph C. DeCoster (D), 1952–1953.
 * William C. Campbell (D), 1954–1955.
 * Luther H. Martin (D), 1956–1959.
 * Samuel J. Kronman (D), 1960–1965.
 * Herbert M. Tanzman (D), 1966–1969.
 * Samuel J. Kronman (D), 1970–1971.
 * Gasper Paul Beck (D), 1972–1975.
 * Harold "Hesh" Berman (D), 1976–1979.
 * Charles W. Muhollen (D), 1980–1983.
 * Harold "Hesh" Berman (D), 1984–1987.
 * Jeffrey M.Orbach (R), 1988–1991.
 * H. James Polos (D), 1992–1999.
 * Meryl Frank (D), 2000–2010 (resigned office).
 * Steve Nolan (D), 2010–2012.
 * Gary Minkoff (D), 2013–2014 (resigned office).
 * Padraic Millet (D), 2014 (acting)
 * Gayle Brill Mittler (D), 2014–2022. Re-elected on November 5, 2019, to serve another 4-year term, which would expire on December 31, 2023; she resigned in December 2022.
 * Elsie Foster (D), 2023–present after being appointed to fill Gayle Britt Mittler's vacant seat

Federal, state and county representation
Highland Park is located in the 6th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 18th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 8,506 registered voters in Highland Park, of which 5,082 (59.7%) were registered as Democrats, 634 (7.5%) were registered as Republicans and 2,776 (32.6%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 14 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 72.7% of the vote (4,470 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 24.9% (1,528 votes), and other candidates with 2.4% (148 votes), among the 6,191 ballots cast by the borough's 9,052 registered voters (45 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 68.4%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 72.1% of the vote (4,699 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 25.6% (1,667 votes) and other candidates with 1.5% (96 votes), among the 6,518 ballots cast by the borough's 9,072 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.8%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 72.0% of the vote here (4,550 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 26.4% (1,669 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (70 votes), among the 6,319 ballots cast by the borough's 8,507 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 74.3.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 64.1% of the vote (2,449 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 33.9% (1,294 votes), and other candidates with 2.1% (79 votes), among the 3,867 ballots cast by the borough's 9,065 registered voters (45 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.7%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon S. Corzine received 65.7% of the vote here (2,842 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 26.0% (1,125 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.5% (280 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (39 votes), among the 4,329 ballots cast by the borough's 8,342 registered voters, yielding a 51.9% turnout.

Education
The Highland Park Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,558 students and 145.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Irving Primary School with 248 students in grades Pre-K–1, Bartle Elementary School with 437 students in grades 2–5, Highland Park Middle School with 364 students in grades 6–8 and Highland Park High School with 477 students in grades 9–12.

The community is also served by the Greater Brunswick Charter School, a K–8 charter school serving students from Highland Park, Edison, Milltown and New Brunswick. As of the 2020–2021 school year, the school had an enrollment of 394 students and 31.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1.

Eighth grade students from all of Middlesex County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at Middlesex County Academy in Edison, the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences in Woodbridge Township and at its East Brunswick, Perth Amboy and Piscataway technical high schools, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.

The Center School serves students with learning and emotional challenges in grades K–12. Founded in 1971 in Bound Brook, the school moved in 1989 to a former public school building in Highland Park. A fire in the school's building in February 2012 forced the school to relocate to Branchburg Township on an interim basis.

Roads and highways
, the borough had a total of 31.46 mi of roadways, of which 27.85 mi were maintained by the municipality, 2.22 mi by Middlesex County, and 1.39 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

There are five main roads in Highland Park:
 * New Jersey Route 27 – Known as Raritan Avenue, it traverses for about 1.5 mi through downtown and the outskirts of Highland Park. The section between Adelaide and Fifth Avenues runs virtually east to west and divides the town into the north and south sides.
 * County Route 514 – Enters Highland Park concurrent with Route 27, then heads eastward on Woodbridge Avenue at South Sixth Avenue. It runs through the southeast region of the borough.
 * Middlesex County Route 622 – River Road in Highland Park, stretches for over 1 mi in the western region of the borough following the curving bank of the Raritan River.
 * Middlesex County Route 676 – This is Duclos Lane and it forms a portion of Highland Park's eastern border with Edison. Road spends 0.49 mi in Highland Park.
 * Middlesex County Route 692 – Cedar Lane in the northern section of the borough intersects with River Road.

U.S. Route 1 and New Jersey Route 18 are accessible close to Highland Park, just beyond its southeastern and southwestern borders.

Public transportation
NJ Transit local bus service is provided on the 810 and 814 routes.

Atlantic City weekend service is available on Suburban Transit's 700 route.

NJ Transit northbound trains to Penn Station New York, and southbound to the Trenton Transit Center via the Northeast Corridor Line can be found in neighboring New Brunswick station and Edison station.

Wildlife
White-tailed deer are common enough in and around Highland Park to be seen as a problem. A deer population survey which includes Highland Park was conducted by Raritan Valley Community College in December 2019; the borough's government was using this survey in 2020 as it made plans for deer management.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Highland Park include:

 * Adele Astaire (1896–1981), acclaimed vaudeville and musical theater dancer, actress
 * Fred Astaire (1899–1987), dancer, singer, actor, recipient of three Emmy and three Golden Globe Awards and an honorary Academy Award
 * Jim Axelrod (born 1963), CBS news correspondent
 * Harvey Jerome Brudner (1931–2009), engineer and inventor
 * David Clewell (1955–2020), poet and creative writing instructor at Webster University who served as the Poet Laureate of Missouri
 * Earle Dickson (1892–1961), inventor of the Band-Aid
 * Nancy Dorian (1936–2024), linguist who carried out research into the decline of the East Sutherland dialect of Scottish Gaelic
 * Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; 1916–2020), actor, producer, director, philanthropist and writer
 * Michael Douglas (born 1944), actor, director and producer
 * Samuel G. Freedman, author and columnist for The New York Times
 * Willie Garson (1964–2021), actor best known for his role as Stanford Blatch in Sex and the City
 * Israel Gelfand (1913–2009), renowned mathematician
 * Rebecca Goldstein (born 1950), author, philosopher, and 1996 MacArthur "Genius Award" winner
 * Alan Guth (born 1947), physicist and cosmologist
 * Dwayne Haskins (1997–2022), American football quarterback
 * Amy Herzog, playwright
 * John Hulme (born 1987), author of the book series The Seems and director of the documentary Blood, Sweat & Tears: A Basketball Exorcism
 * John Seward Johnson II (1930–2020), sculptor and founder of the Johnson Atelier in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
 * Robert Wood Johnson II (1893–1968), Johnson & Johnson President, general and philanthropist, who served as mayor of Highland Park from 1920 to 1922
 * Soterios Johnson, WNYC radio host
 * Seth Kaper-Dale, Protestant pastor who was a Green Party candidate in the New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2017
 * Sacha Killeya-Jones (born 1998), American-British basketball player for Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Sheldon Lavin (1932–2023), CEO and chairman of meat processor OSI Group
 * Jerry Levine (born 1957), actor and director of television and theater, best known for appearing on Will & Grace and in the films Teen Wolf and Casual Sex?
 * Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), pop artist who moved to a home at 66 South Adelaide Avenue in 1960
 * Seth Mandel (born 1982), conservative author who is editor of The Washington Examiner
 * Tomás Eloy Martínez (1934–2010), journalist and writer, professor and director of the department of Latin American Studies at Rutgers, author of Santa Evita and The Peron Novel
 * Suzy Parker (1932–2003), fashion model and actress
 * Arno Allan Penzias (1933–2024), physicist and a co-winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics
 * Stav Prodromou (born 1944), businessman who was the founder and former chief executive officer of Poqet Computer Corporation.
 * George T. Reynolds (1917–2005), physicist best known for his work in particle physics, biophysics and environmental science
 * Susana Rotker (1954–2000), Venezuelan journalist, columnist, essayist and writer
 * Rudy Rucker (born 1946), mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction author, best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy
 * Neil Sloane (born 1939), mathematician, creator and maintainer of the On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences
 * L. J. Smith (born 1980), former NFL tight end
 * Joan Snyder (born 1940), pioneering neo-expressionist feminist artist and 2007 MacArthur "Genius Award" winner
 * Ulrich P. Strauss (1920–2015), Rutgers University chemist and 1971 Guggenheim Fellow
 * Darrell K. Sweet (1934–2011), illustrator best known for cover art for science fiction and fantasy novels
 * Endre Szemerédi (born 1940), mathematician who was the 2012 winner of the Abel Prize
 * Norman Tanzman (1918–2004), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1962 to 1968 and in the New Jersey Senate from 1968 to 1974
 * Olga Von Till (1897–1996), classical pianist and piano teacher
 * Alan Voorhees (1922–2005), engineer and urban planner
 * Selman Waksman (1888–1973), biochemist and microbiologist who won the Nobel Prize for his work on antibiotics including Streptomycin for treating tuberculosis

title: Highland Park, New Jersey