Teaneck was created on February 19, 1895, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature from portions of Englewood Township and Ridgefield Township, both of which are now defunct (despite existing municipalities with similar names), along with portions of Bogota and Leonia.[24] Independence followed the result of a referendum held on January 14, 1895, in which voters favored incorporation by a 46–7 margin.[25] To address the concerns of Englewood Township's leaders, the new municipality was formed as a township, rather than succumbing to the borough craze sweeping across Bergen County at the time.[25] On May 3, 1921, and again on June 1, 1926, portions of what had been Teaneck were transferred to Overpeck Township.[26]
Teaneck lies at the junction of Interstate 95 and the eastern terminus of Interstate 80.[27] The township is bisected into north and south portions by Route 4 and east and west by the River Subdivision of CSX Transportation. Commercial development is concentrated in four main shopping areas, on Cedar Lane, Teaneck Road, DeGraw Avenue, and West Englewood Avenue and Queen Anne Road, more commonly known as "The Plaza".[28]
Teaneck's location at the crossroads of river, road, train and other geographical features has made it a site of many momentous events across the centuries. After the American defeat at the Battle of Fort Washington, George Washington and the troops of the Continental Army retreated across New Jersey from the British Army, traveling through Teaneck and crossing the Hackensack River at New Bridge Landing, which has since been turned into a state park and historic site commemorating the events of 1776 and of early colonial life. In 1965, Teaneck voluntarily desegregated its public schools, after the Board of Education approved a plan to do so by a 7–2 vote on May 13, 1964.[29][30] Teaneck has a diverse population, with large Jewish and African American communities, and growing numbers of Hispanic and Asian residents.[31]
History
Early history
The origin and meaning of the name "Teaneck" is not known, but speculation is that it could come from various Dutch or English words, or it could be Native American in origin, meaning "the woods".[32] An alternative is from the Dutch "Tiene Neck" meaning "neck where there are willows" (from the Dutch "tene" meaning willow).[26]
The earliest uses of the word "Teaneck" were in reference to a series of Lenni LenapeNative American camps near the ridge formed by what became Queen Anne Road. Chief Oratam was the leader of a settlement called "Achikinhesacky" that existed along Overpeck Creek in the area near what became Fycke Lane.[33]
A neighborhood variously called East Hackensack or New Hackensack was established along a ridge on the east bank of the Hackensack River, site of a Native American trail that followed the river's path along what is now River Road, with the earliest known buildings constructed dating back as far as 1704. Other early European settlements were established along what became Teaneck Road, which is the site of a number of Dutch stone houses that remain standing since their construction in the 1700s, several of which have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.[34]
Revolutionary War period
During November 1776, General George Washington passed through Teaneck in the aftermath of the Battle of Fort Lee, as part of the hasty retreat of ragtag Colonial forces from Fort Lee on the Hudson River in the wake of the successful British invasion and defeat of Continental Army forces in Manhattan on the opposite side of the river during the Battle of Fort Washington. Early on the morning of November 20, 1776, Washington rode by horseback from his headquarters in Hackensack through Teaneck and across Overpeck Creek to Fort Lee. There he watched as 6,000 British troops travel up the river by boat. He had his troops abandon their position on the Palisades in a poorly organized retreat in which most of their supplies were abandoned, with Washington's troops moving inland across Overpeck Creek and through Teaneck to New Bridge Landing (in what is now Brett Park) and crossing the bridge, one of the few available at the time. The soldiers, many poorly dressed, ill-equipped and without shoes, faced the cold rain, leading Thomas Paine to compose the pamphlet, The American Crisis, in which he captured the depth of the defeat by describing those days with the words "These are the times that try men's souls". Throughout the war, both British and American forces occupied local homesteads at various times, and Teaneck citizens played key roles on both sides of the conflict.[34]
After the war, Teaneck returned to being a quiet farm community. Fruits and vegetables grown locally were taken by wagon to markets in nearby Paterson and via boats on the Hackensack River to New York City. New growth and development were spurred in the mid-19th century by the establishment of railroads throughout the area. Wealthy New Yorkers and others purchased large properties on which they built spacious mansions and manor houses. They traveled daily to work in New York City, thus becoming Teaneck's first suburban commuters.[34]
The largest estate built in Teaneck belonged to William Walter Phelps, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate and New York City merchant. In 1865, Phelps arrived in Teaneck and enlarged an old farmhouse into a large Victorian mansion on the site of the present Municipal Government Complex. Phelps' "Englewood Farm" eventually encompassed nearly 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of landscaped property within the central part of Teaneck, on which some 600,000 trees were planted.[31] Subsequent development and house construction were focused along the perimeters of the township, with the central part of the community remaining a large property crisscrossed by 30 miles (48 km) of paved roads and trails that were constructed and improved by Phelps.[35]
Township formed
William Weaver Bennett, chairman of the committee which formed Teaneck, and its founding mayor
The Township of Teaneck was established on February 19, 1895, and was composed of portions of Englewood Township, Ridgefield Township and Bogota.[24] Teaneck's choice to incorporate as a township was unusual in an era of "Boroughitis", in which a flood of new municipalities were being formed using the decentralized and locally controlled borough form of government.[25] The other two municipalities formed in Bergen County in 1895 were both boroughs, in addition to the 26 boroughs that were formed in the county in 1894 alone.[36]
In a referendum held on January 14, 1895, 46 of 53 voters approved incorporation as a borough. Citizens of Englewood Township challenged the creation of a borough, but accepted the new municipality as a township, given its more rural character. A bill supporting the creation of the Township of Teaneck was put through the New Jersey General Assembly on February 18, 1895, and the New Jersey Senate on the next day. New Jersey GovernorGeorge Werts signed the bill into law, and Teaneck was an independent municipality.[25]
At its incorporation, Teaneck's population was 811. William W. Bennett, overseer of the Phelps Estate, was selected as chairman of the first three-man Township Committee, which focused in its early years on "construction of streets and street lamps (originally gaslights), trolley lines (along DeGraw Avenue), telephones and speeding traffic."[37]
Early 20th century
The opening of the Phelps Estate in 1927 led to substantial population growth.[38] The George Washington Bridge was completed in 1931, and its connection to Teaneck via Route 4 brought thousands of new home buyers. From 1920 and 1930, Teaneck's population nearly quadrupled, from 4,192 to 16,513.[39]
Rapid growth led to financial turmoil, and inefficiencies in the town government resulted in the adoption of a new nonpartisanCouncil-Manager form of government under the 1923 Municipal Manager Law in a referendum on September 16, 1930. A full-time Town Manager, Paul A. Volcker Sr. (the father of future Chairman of the Federal ReservePaul A. Volcker Jr.), was appointed to handle Teaneck's day-to-day business affairs. During his 20-year term, from 1930 to 1950, Volcker implemented financial management practices and a development plan that included comprehensive zoning regulations, along with a civil service system for municipal employees and a professional fire department.[34]
The New Jersey Supreme Court issued a ruling in 1942 upholding a Teaneck ordinance that had banned pinball machines on the grounds that they were gambling devices rather than a form of amusement.[40]
Post–World War II
Teaneck was selected in 1949 from more than 10,000 communities as America's model community, with the United States Army saying that the township was chosen because of its "fine municipal spirit and the high quality of its governmental service." Photographs were taken and a film produced about life in Teaneck, which were shown in Occupied Japan and Austria as a part of the Army's education program to show democracy in action.[41][42]
In 1953, Fairleigh Dickinson College, then with 2,800 students based in Rutherford, New Jersey, merged with the 400-student Bergen Junior College, acquiring its campus in Teaneck, with the Bergen Junior College president saying that "the Teaneck property lends itself to considerable expansion".[43]
After World War II, there was a second major spurt of building and population growth. The African American population in the northeast corner of Teaneck grew substantially starting in the 1960s, accompanied by white flight triggered by blockbusting efforts of township real estate agencies.[44] In 1965, after a struggle to address de facto segregation in housing and education, Teaneck became the first community in the nation where a white majority voluntarily voted for school integration, without a court order requiring the district to implement the change. The sequence of events was the subject of a book titled Triumph in a White Suburb written by township resident Reginald G. Damerell (New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1968).[45][46]
As de facto racial segregation increased, so did tensions between residents of the northeast and members of the predominantly white male Teaneck Police Department. On the evening of April 10, 1990, the Teaneck Police Department responded to a call from a resident complaining about a teenager with a gun. After an initial confrontation near Bryant School and a subsequent chase, Phillip Pannell, an African American teenager, was shot and killed by Gary Spath, a white Teaneck police officer. Spath said he thought Pannell had a gun and was turning to shoot him. Witnesses said Pannell was unarmed and had been shot in the back. Protest marches, some violent, ensued; most African Americans believed that Pannell had been killed in cold blood, while other residents insisted that Spath had been justified in his actions. Testimony at the trial claimed that Pannell was shot in the back, and that he was carrying a gun. A police officer testified to finding a modified starter's pistol with eight cartridges in Pannell's jacket pocket.[47] Spath was ultimately acquitted on charges of reckless manslaughter in the shooting. Some months after Spath had been cleared, he decided to retire from law enforcement. The incident was an international news event that brought Reverend Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to the community and inspired the 1995 book Color Lines: The Troubled Dreams of Racial Harmony in an American Town, by Mike Kelly.[48]
Teaneck, and the neighboring communities of Bergenfield and New Milford, has drawn a large number of Modern Orthodox Jews who have established at least fifteen synagogues and four yeshivas (three high schools and one for young men).[49][50] It is the functional center of the northern New Jersey Orthodox community, with nearly twenty kosher shops (restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets).[51] It is within ten minutes' driving time of Yeshiva University in New York City. This community tends to be involved with Religious Zionist causes and offers strong support of Israel.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 6.24 square miles (16.15 km2), including 6.04 square miles (15.65 km2) of land and 0.20 square miles (0.51 km2) of water, comprising 3.16%.[1][2]
English is the sole home language of 72.4% of residents. Over a quarter of residents speak other languages, including Spanish (14.5%), Tagalog (2.3%), Urdu (1.8%), Korean (1.0%), and Polish (1.0%).[76]
A 2001 study under the Berman Jewish DataBank estimated the number of Jewish households in the 07666 ZIP code of Teaneck to comprise 16.5% of the total.[77] In 2018, the number of Jewish residents in Teaneck was estimated to be about 15,000 out of a total population of 36,000-37,000.[78] A large segment of this population is comprised of Modern Orthodox Jews, with a 2014 survey noting clusters of Orthodox Jews in Teaneck and Bergenfield.[79]
2020 census
Teaneck township, Bergen County, New Jersey – Racial and Ethnic Composition (NH = Non-Hispanic) Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The 2010 United States census counted 39,776 people, 13,470 households, and 10,129 families in the township. The population density was 6,622.2 per square mile (2,556.8/km2). There were 14,024 housing units at an average density of 2,334.8 per square mile (901.5/km2). The racial makeup was 53.33% (21,214) White, 27.69% (11,013) Black or African American, 0.28% (113) Native American, 9.11% (3,622) Asian, 0.06% (25) Pacific Islander, 6.04% (2,403) from other races, and 3.48% (1,386) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.53% (6,575) of the population.[21]
Of the 13,470 households, 34.1% had children under the age of 18; 58.0% were married couples living together; 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 24.8% were non-families. Of all households, 20.8% were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.37.[21]
25.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 89.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 84.7 males.[21]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $92,107 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,556) and the median family income was $108,777 (+/− $5,024). Males had a median income of $74,055 (+/− $5,587) versus $54,959 (+/− $4,129) for females. The per capita income for the township was $42,335 (+/− $2,061). About 5.7% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.[82]
Same-sex couples headed 126 households in 2010, an increase from the 80 counted in 2000.[83]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census,[18] there were 39,260 people, 13,418 households, and 10,076 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,486.2 inhabitants per square mile (2,504.3/km2). There were 13,719 housing units at an average density of 2,266.5 per square mile (875.1/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 56.3% White, 28.8% African American, 0.2% Native American, 7.1% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.5% of the population.[74][75]
There were 13,418 households, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.34.[74][75]
The population distribution was 25.8% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.[74][75]
The median income for a household in the township was $74,903, and the median income for a family was $84,791. Males had a median income of $53,327 versus $40,085 for females. The per capita income for the township was $32,212. About 2.4% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.[74][75]
Ancestry information reported in the 2000 Census reflects the diversity of Teaneck residents, with no single country accounting for more than a small fraction of the population. Residents listed Italian (6.2%), German (6.0%), Russian (5.3%), Irish (5.1%) and Polish (4.2%) as the most common countries of ancestry, and an additional 4.3% listed United States. 6.3% of residents identified themselves as being of West Indian ancestry, of which 3.4% were from Jamaica.[84]
Historical population
After its founding as a township, Teaneck saw rapid growth in its population during the first half of the 20th century. As Teaneck changed from a sparsely populated rural area into a suburb, particularly after development of property that had been part of the Phelps Estate started in the late 1920s, Teaneck's population grew rapidly, far outpacing the growth of Bergen County.
After World War II, the 1950 Census showed growth in Teaneck (33.6%) pacing Bergen County overall (31.6%). Starting in 1960, a substantial decline in the rate of growth compared to Bergen County occurred as Teaneck reached the limits of developable land, and the township neared its peak population. Population growth in the 1970 Census was small, but positive, with Teaneck reaching its historical maximum of 42,355. Absolute declines in population followed in both the 1980 (−7.9%) and 1990 (−3.0%) data. The 2000 Census showed recovery in Teaneck's population to 39,260, though growth (3.8%) was smaller than in Bergen County overall (7.1%).[74]
With almost no land left to develop for housing, Teaneck's population is likely to remain stable for the foreseeable future. A reluctance to permit high-rise development as a means to increase population density also places a limit on growth. Changes in family size and the possibility of zoning changes to allow denser construction are some of the few influences that may affect population over time.[85]
Crime
According to the FBI's 2016 Uniform Crime Report, there were 497 crimes in the township in 2016 (vs. 490 in 2015), of which 72 were violent crimes (vs. 50 in 2015) and 425 non-violent crimes (440 in 2015). The 2016 total crime rate per thousand residents was 12.1 (vs. 12.0 in 2015). The violent crime rate per thousand residents for the State New Jersey was 2.2 and the non-violent crime rate 10.4.[86]
Gang violence hit Teaneck in July 2006 with the death of Ricky Lee Smith Jr., a teenager shot outside a house party by a member of the Bloods gang who had attended the party. In June 2007, the Township Council approved the hiring of five additional officers after the Chief of Police had requested the addition of 14 new officers to Teaneck's existing 98-member police force to establish a gang unit.[87][88][89]
Teaneck has received attention in the media due to sexual crimes committed against minors by New Jersey educators. Joseph White, former principal of Teaneck High School, pleaded guilty to official child endangerment in June 2006 and was sentenced to one year in prison. White had been charged in 2002 with fondling a 17-year-old student and was subsequently acquitted.[90] James Darden, an award-winning former eighth grade teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, was charged with sexual assault and misconduct in June 2007. He pleaded guilty in December 2007 to a charge of aggravated sexual assault and faces up to 81⁄2 years in prison when sentenced on January 18, 2008.[91] In 2018 another incident took place: A substitute teacher was charged with sexual assault. He was ordered to surrender his teacher's license and was sentenced to probation.[92]
The December 1975 murder of Jean Diggs and her four children has never been solved.[93] Police reported in 1977 that they had been unable to identify a perpetrator after two years and thousands of hours spent investigating the crime.[94]
A pair of killings hit Teaneck in 2010, with council watcher Joan Davis and software engineer Robert Cantor both killed in their homes, in cases that had not been solved in more than a year after the incidents.[95] A conviction for the murder of Robert Cantor was made in 2015.[96]
Based on a data analysis of 18 years, it is estimated that crime will continue to decline. In 2016, the city's crime rate was 55.76% lower than the national average of violent crime and 28.3% lower than New Jersey's crime rate. The crime rate in Teaneck Township was 57.79% lower than the national property crime average and 33.03% lower than the property crime rate in New Jersey.[97]
Teaneck has four main commercial districts: Cedar Lane, north Teaneck Road, West Englewood Avenue/The Plaza and Queen Anne Road/DeGraw Avenue.[104] Cedar Lane underwent a $3.9 million Streetscape project, completed in 2006, designed to attract additional business to the area through new sidewalk paving with brick edging, bump-outs to allow easier pedestrian crossing, old-fashioned lamp posts and street plantings.[105]
The Givaudan Fragrances Corporation Creative Fragrances Centre, a division of Givaudan, was constructed in 1972 from a design by Der Scutt, architect of the Trump Tower.[106] Givaudan Roure vacated the building in 2009 and the facility was acquired by World of Wings, which renovated the building for use as a butterfly exhibition aimed at families.[107] World of Wings closed in November 2016 and, in June 2019, reopened as an apartment complex called Avalon Teaneck.[108][109]
Arts and culture
The Puffin Foundation and its Puffin Cultural Forum have been leading supporters and producers of art in Teaneck, sponsoring plays and art exhibitions at its location on Puffin Way.[110]
Teaneck is home to the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, founded in 1953. The Bergen Society is a member organization of the American Ethical Union.[111]
The Teaneck Community Band presents a series of outdoor band concerts at the Votee Park Bandshell each summer. The 69th annual series, in 2013, was sponsored by the Puffin Foundation.[112][113]
2013–2014 marked the 78th season of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, which performed in the auditorium of Benjamin Franklin Middle School, having been founded in 1938 as the Teaneck Symphony Orchestra.[114][115]
The now defunct Teaneck Cultural Arts Coalition had organized many community-wide cultural events, including an annual First Night community celebration of the arts held for several years through New Year's 2005.[116]
The Garage Theatre Group, Bergen County's first non-profit professional theatre company, stages fully professional productions, with members of Actors Equity, as well as youth conservatory productions at the Becton Theatre on the campus of Farleigh Dickinson University.[117]
Teaneck New Theatre, founded in 1986, performs productions at St. Mark's Church in Teaneck and at the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center.[118]
Black Box Studios is a theater group based in Congregation Beth Shalom, that has a relationship with the Bergen PAC in Englewood. The actors are mostly children and teens ages 10–16, with a 7–9 year old workshop, and an adult workshop. There are two to three performances presented in the first two or three weeks of January, and the first two weeks of June. Drama and musical theatre summer camps are offered.[119]
Teaneck Cinemas had been the township's lone movie theater, and had also hosted live performances on its stage by local performance groups, until it closed its doors in November 2012, with theater operator Majestic Entertainment citing costs that could run to as much as $500,000 to modernize the projection systems on all four screens to use digital technology rather than 35mm reels of film.[120] New owner Matthew Latten signed a lease in April 2013 and undertook extensive renovations that included new seating, modern digital projection systems and digital signage.[121] After hosting the Teaneck International Film Festival in November, the reopening of the renamed Teaneck Cinemas was delayed until December 2013, with added time needed to complete the work needed to add modern features and conveniences while retaining the Art Deco character of a theater first constructed in 1937.[122] For a number of years, the theater was main venue for screenings for Hoboken International Film Festival.[123] The Northeast Film Festival, also takes place at Teaneck Cinemas.
In 2007, two non-fiction volumes appeared dealing, inter alia, with Teaneck's Orthodox Jewish community. In Foreskin's Lament, writer Shalom Auslander describes living in Teaneck and finding the Jewish community stifling and claustrophobic.[128] In contrast, Rifka Rosenwein, in Life in the Present Tense, describes the close-knit community as a gift she could not imagine when living in Manhattan.[129]
The Brooklyn Nets professional basketball team was founded as the New Jersey Americans in Teaneck for the 1967–1968 season, as charter members of the American Basketball Association. The team played their home games at the Teaneck Armory for that one season, and was scheduled to play a one-game playoff at the armory. However, the circus had been booked for the week, and the game was relocated to a court in Commack, New York that was unplayable, and the game had to be forfeited. After the one season in Teaneck, the team relocated to Long Island and was renamed the New York Nets.[134] Following the Long Island run, the Nets moved back to New Jersey in 1977 to be named as the New Jersey Nets until 2012, when they moved back to New York and became the Brooklyn Nets.[135]
In 1977, Teaneck hosted the "Junior Biddy National Basketball Tournament" with American teams from as far as Dallas, Texas attending and an international one from Puerto Rico. The tournament championship was won by a team from New Orleans, Louisiana.[136]
Portions of Fairleigh Dickinson University's Metropolitan Campus are located in Teaneck, with most of the school's athletic facilities located across the river in Hackensack. The school's University Stadium, home for its men's and women's soccer teams, lies on the Hackensack River, just north of Route 4. The 1,100-seat stadium has hosted NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament games in recent years.[137] The natural grass field was resurfaced with FieldTurf in 2004.[138]
The Naimoli Family Baseball Complex is situated between Route 4 and University Stadium. Fairleigh Dickinson received a $1 million bequest from FDU alumnus Vince Naimoli, founding owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, to establish a 500-seat stadium with artificial turf and lighting on the site of the current facility.[139]
Parks and recreation
Teaneck has 24 municipal parks, of which 14 are developed.[140] Votee Park, the township's largest, covers 40.51 acres (16.39 ha), surrounded by Queen Anne Road, Palisade Avenue, Court Street and Colonial Court. Including baseball fields, soccer fields, playgrounds and the township's inground swimming facility, the park was renamed in honor of former mayor Milton Votee in 1958.[141] A Sportsplex was opened at the southern end of Votee Park in 2014, which includes two synthetic turf full-size soccer fields, one of which is also lined for use for football.[142]
The Friends of the Hackensack River Greenway Through Teaneck work to preserve and develop the 3.5 miles (5.6 km) greenway along the Hackensack River from Terhune Park at the Bogota border in the south north to Brett Park on the New Milford border, encouraging the growth of native plants and providing a verdant area along the river for residents and visitors.[143] A series of 16 laminated signs were created by Teaneck artist Richard Mills along the Greenway, depicting details of history and the flora and fauna of the river in a series called "Hackensack River Stories" that was installed in 2000.[144] The Greenway in Teaneck became the fourth National Recreation Trail in the state when it received the designation by the United States Department of the Interior at ceremonies held in Brett Park in June 2009.[145]
Established in 2001 in conjunction with the Puffin Foundation, the Teaneck Creek Conservancy has restored a plot of degraded land east of Teaneck Road near the intersection of Interstates 80 and 95, removing decades of debris and creating a network of 1.3 miles (2.1 km) of trails.[146]
Overpeck features a pedestrian bridge.
Overpeck County Park, along the shores of Overpeck Creek, a tributary of the Hackensack River, is more than 800 acres (3.2 km2) in size, of which about 500 were donated by Teaneck, and which is also in portions of Englewood, Leonia, Ridgefield Park and Palisades Park.[147][148]
Teaneck is governed within the Faulkner Act (formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law) under the Council-Manager form of government. The council-manager system was adopted by referendum in 1988.[149][150] The council's seven members are elected at-large in nonpartisan elections to serve staggered, four-year terms of office. Following a municipal election, the Township Council holds a Reorganization Meeting where the winners are sworn in, and the council elects a mayor and two deputy mayors from among its own members. Under the council-manager system, the mayor's chief role is to preside over the council. The mayor (and deputy mayors) vote on all matters as regular members of the council, and the position is not an executive one. The mayor does, however, execute bonds, notes, contracts and written obligations of the Township and is empowered to perform marriages.[151][152] The chief executive of the Township of Teaneck is the Township Manager, who is hired by the council and is present at meetings of the council but does not have voting power. The Manager implements Council policies, enforces ordinances and is responsible for appointing and directing department heads. The Township Manager is also responsible for preparing and submitting the budget to the council.[5]
The Township Council serves as Teaneck's governing body, setting policies and passing ordinances. It adopts an annual budget and approves contracts and agreements for services. The Council appoints the town officials, including the Manager, Clerk, Auditor, Attorney, Magistrate and Assessor. The Council appoints seven members of the Planning Board, the members of the Board of Adjustment, and all other statutory and advisory boards.[153][152]
As of January 2023 the Township Council was comprised as follows:[154][155]
Elected in 2020, the Council elected Pagan mayor at the Council reorganization in January 2023.[156]
Deputy Mayor 1
Danielle Gee
January 1, 2023
December 31, 2026
Deputy Mayor 2
Eli Y. Katz
January 1, 2023
December 31, 2026
Councilmember (at-large)
Karen Organ
July 1, 2020
December 31, 2024
Councilmember (at-large)
Mark J. Schwartz
July 1, 2020
December 31, 2024
Councilmember (at-large)
Denise Belcher
January 1, 2023
December 31, 2026
Councilmember (at-large)
Hillary Goldberg
January 1, 2023
December 31, 2026
As of February 2023, the Township Manager was Dean Kazinci, who has been serving since 2018. His deputy was Tom Rowe.[157][158]
Following its founding in 1895, Teaneck used the traditional township form of government, led by a three-member Township Committee (later expanded to five seats) elected on a partisan basis. On September 16, 1930, Teaneck residents voted to establish a non-partisan Council-Manager form of government under the terms of the 1923 Municipal Manager Law, with five members elected concurrently on an at-large basis. In 1962, the Council expanded to its current size of seven members and the position of Deputy Mayor was created. In 1987, a referendum to alter the form to a Faulkner Act Council-Manager form of government was approved, providing for staggered terms for the council. The township is one of 42 municipalities (of the 565) statewide that use this form of government.[159] Until 2021, council elections took place in even years on the second Tuesday in May. Following a referendum that passed in 2021, the date of Township Council elections was moved to November to be held with the state-wide elections.[9][160][161]
In May 2000, three women ran for Township Council, and all three, incumbent Jackie Kates and newcomers Marie Warnke and Deborah Veach, were elected.[162] Kates, Warnke and Veach completed their four-year terms and then ran for re-election in May 2004.[163] Jackie Kates and Deborah Veach were re-elected and became Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively. Ms. Veach resigned her position in October 2005 and was appointed to be the Township's Municipal Prosecutor.[164]
On May 13, 2008, the township voted to re-elect Monica Honis to the council (with 2,981 votes). Elnatan Rudolph (2,852) lost his bid for re-election, falling 38 votes behind his running mate. Barbara Toffler (leading the voting with 3,356 votes) and Mohammed Hameeduddin (2,890) were elected and took office on July 1, 2008, filling the seats left by Rudolph and former mayor Jackie Kates, who did not run for re-election.[165]
In the 2010 municipal elections, Adam Gussen, Elie Katz and Lizette Parker were re-elected to office, with former councilmember Yitz Stern taking the seat vacated by former mayor Kevie Feit, who did not run for a second term. At its July 1, 2010, reorganization meeting the council selected Mohammed Hameeduddin to serve as mayor, making him one of the state's first Muslim mayors, while Adam Gussen was chosen as deputy mayor.[166][167]
In the May 2012 municipal election, Mohammed Hameeduddin won a second term in office (with 4,374 votes) and was the only incumbent to win re-election, with challengers Mark Schwartz (3,150) and Henry Pruitt (2,872) taking the seats of Barbara Toffler (2,526) and Monica Honis (2,238), who lost their bids for re-election and came in fourth and fifth respectively, while Alexander Rashin came in sixth (1,049).[168]
In the May 2018 municipal election, Elie Katz won a sixth term in office (with 3,822 votes) and Gervonn Romney Rice, who was selected to replace Mayor Lizette Parker (after her death in 2016), won reelection (with 4,480 votes). Challengers Keith Kaplan (with 3,191 votes) and James Dunleavy (with 3,360 votes) defeated incumbent Alan Sohn (with 2,483 votes) and challengers Clara Williams (with 2,303 votes) and Charles "Chuck" Powers (with 2,282 votes).[169]
Federal, state, and county representation
Teaneck Main Post Office
Teaneck is in the 5th Congressional District[170] and is part of New Jersey's 37th state legislative district.[171][172][173]
Prior to the 2010 Census, all of Teaneck had been part of the 9th Congressional District, a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections, making Teaneck one of 14 municipalities (and the only one in Bergen County) to be split across districts, down from the 29 that had been split after the 2000 Census.[174][175] As part of the redistricting that took effect in 2013, 32,023 (about 80%) of Teaneck residents were placed in the new 5th District, with the remaining 7,753 residents (about 20%) mostly in areas of the township east of Teaneck Road and south of Bedford Avenue placed in the 9th District.[176]
Bergen County is governed by a directly elected County Executive, with legislative functions performed by a Board of County Commissioners comprised of seven members who are elected at-large to three-year terms in partisan elections on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats coming up for election each November; a Chairman and Vice Chairman are selected from among its seven members at a reorganization meeting held every January. As of 2024[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.[183]
Teaneck is a Democrat stronghold, with Democrat registration higher than that of Republicans. As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 24,862 registered voters in Teaneck Township, of which 12,646 (50.9% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 2,332 (9.4% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 9,872 (39.7% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 12 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.[205] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 62.5% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 83.4% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).[205][206]
In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received 15,053 votes (75.2% vs. 54.2% countywide), ahead of Republican Donald Trump with 4,229 votes (21.1% vs. 41.1%) and other candidates with 729 votes (3.6% vs. 4.6%), among the 20,152 ballots cast by the township's 28,631 registered voters, for a turnout of 70.4% (vs. 72.5% in Bergen County).[207] In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 13,875 votes (71.5% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 5,256 votes (27.1% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 136 votes (0.7% vs. 0.9%), among the 19,394 ballots cast by the township's 27,145 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.4% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County).[208][209] In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 14,785 votes (71.6% vs. 53.9% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 5,621 votes (27.2% vs. 44.5%) and other candidates with 95 votes (0.5% vs. 0.8%), among the 20,642 ballots cast by the township's 26,294 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.5% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County).[210][211] In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 13,254 votes (69.4% vs. 51.7% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 5,672 votes (29.7% vs. 47.2%) and other candidates with 78 votes (0.4% vs. 0.7%), among the 19,088 ballots cast by the township's 24,466 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.0% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county).[212]
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 57.8% of the vote (6,197 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 41.4% (4,439 votes), and other candidates with 0.8% (90 votes), among the 10,991 ballots cast by the township's 25,615 registered voters (265 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.9%.[213][214] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 9,347 ballots cast (71.8% vs. 48.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 3,242 votes (24.9% vs. 45.8%), Independent Chris Daggett with 343 votes (2.6% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 41 votes (0.3% vs. 0.5%), among the 13,027 ballots cast by the township's 25,513 registered voters, yielding a 51.1% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).[215]
In the 2018 Municipal Election, Gervonn Romney Rice received 4,480 votes, Elie Y. Katz received 3,822 votes, James Dunleavy received 3,360 votes, Keith Kaplan received 3,191 votes, Alan Sohn received 2,483 votes and Clara Williams received 2,303 votes.[216]
In 2018 there were a total of 26,860 registered voters in Teaneck Township.[217]
Taxation
The Tax Foundation determined that Bergen County had the third-highest median property tax burden in the nation ($8,708 vs. a New Jersey median of $6,579 and a national median of $1,917) and the fourth-highest level of property taxes as a percentage of median income (8.59% vs. 7.45% statewide and 3.03% nationally), based on an analysis of data from the 2009 American Community Survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau for all 792 counties in the United States with more than 20,000 residents.[218] As of 2010, Teaneck's effective tax rate of $2.492 per $100 of equalized value was the 12th-highest of the 70 municipalities in Bergen County, which had a countywide median effective rate of $2.115 per $100, ranging from a low of $.596 in Alpine to a high of $3.005 in Ridgefield Park.[219]
As of 2013[update], just under 55% of a Teaneck property owner's real estate taxes goes to support the local school system, 36.7% goes to municipal taxes (including an open space tax) and the remaining 8.4% to cover county services (which also assesses an open space tax). In the decade from 2003 to 2013, municipal taxes had risen at an annual rate of just over 4.5% and school taxes by almost 2.8%, while the consumer price index for the New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island area had gone up 2.6% during that time span.[220]
The 2013 tax rate was set at $2.486 per $100 of assessed value (an overall increase of 3.7% from 2012), which is composed of school taxes of $1.365 (up almost 3.3%), municipal taxes of $0.871 (an increase of 5.8%), a library tax of $.031 (down 3.1%) and county taxes of $0.206 (down 0.5%), plus a municipal open space tax of $0.010 and a county open space tax of $0.003 (both unchanged).[220][221][222] The owner of a median-valued home in Teaneck, assessed at $465,300, paid 2011 property taxes of $11,190, which would include $6,244 in school taxes, $3,992 in municipal taxes and $949 to the county (including open space levies).[222][223]
During 2006, Teaneck underwent a revaluation of all privately owned real estate, as required periodically by the state. This revaluation adjusted property values to market prices, ensuring that taxes are equitably allocated. The average property in Teaneck was assessed at approximately $417,900, an increase of 132.1% from the prior year's average. The new valuations took effect for the 2007 tax year.[224] In the wake of the revaluation implemented in 2007, a wave of tax appeals hit the township, resulting in a loss of about $110 million in ratables and costs to the township of $2.2 million for the 2012 tax year.[225] The township agreed to complete a revaluation by October 2014 that would go into effect in 2015, awarding a $710,000 contract to perform the necessary home visits and determine property values.[226]
The Teaneck Public Schools had a Budgetary Per Pupil Cost of $18,417 in its 2012–2013 budget, 26.8% higher than the average of $14,519 budgeted that year by districts in the same grouping of grades and enrollment, ranked as the 101st highest among the 106 K–12 districts in the state with more than 3,500 students.[227]
At the April 2006 school elections, voters rejected the proposed $84.8 million budget for the Teaneck Public Schools for the 2006–2007 school year by a 1,644 to 1,336 margin. Based on recommendations specified by the Township Council, the Board of Education approved $544,391 in cuts.[228] The school budget was rejected again in 2009, with the Council cutting $1 million from the $94.8 million originally proposed.[229] After the 2010 school budget failed, the Township Council removed $6.1 million from the $95 million budget proposed by the school district, zeroing out what would have been an 8.2% increase in the school tax levy.[230] The school board eliminated 77 positions to meet the cuts approved by the council.[231]
Longfellow Elementary school was closed in 1998.[246] Other elementary schools that closed prior to 1998 included Emerson and Eugene Field School, which had been used by the Board of Education for its central administrative offices. District offices were removed from the former Eugene Field School which reopened as Theodora Smiley Lacey School with room for 180 kindergarten students.[247]
2011–2012 total spending for the district was $91,382,911, a Total Spending per Pupil of $22,894 based on 3,991.6 students, ranking 96th highest of the 106 K–12 districts statewide with more than 3,500 students, with the average district spending $18,047 per pupil. Based on the 2012–2013 budget, the district planned to spend a Budgetary Per Pupil Cost of $18,417 (a measure that excludes out-of-district tuition payments for special education, transportation costs, legal judgments and certain other expenditures), ranking 101st highest among its grouping of districts, compared to a statewide average of $14,519. Of the 2012–2013 Budgetary Per Pupil Cost, $11,394 per student was allocated to classroom instruction (104th highest of K–12 districts in the state with more than 3,500 students, with a statewide average of $8,588), $3,012 per student to Total Support Services (ranked 96th, average of $2,338), $1,662 to Total Administrative Costs (ranked 93rd, average of $1,448) and $2,031 to Total Operations and Maintenance of Plant (ranked 89th, average of $1,787). The district's 2012–2013 Median Classroom Teacher Salary of $77,614 is ranked 98th in the state in its grouping, the Median Support Service Salary was $92,539 (97th), while the Median Administrator Salary was $140,497 (95th).[227][248][249]
As of the 2010 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Report, Teaneck High School had satisfied the Adequate Yearly Progress measure and had a graduation rate of 97.0% for the class of 2009–2010, compared to a statewide average of 94.7%. On the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA), 9.4% were partial proficient, 79.5% proficient and 11.1% advanced proficient in Language Arts Literacy (vs. statewide averages of 10.3% partial, 75.7% proficient and 14% advanced). In Mathematics, 24.8% were partial proficient, 61.8% proficient and 13.4% advanced proficient (vs. statewide averages of 18.4% partial, 57.9% proficient and 23.7% advanced).[250]
The Teaneck Community Charter School (TCCS) had a 2017–2018 enrollment of 322 students and 25.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1.[251] TCCS is a charter school that operates independently of the Teaneck Public Schools under a charter granted by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, which was renewed for five years in 2012.[252] Admission is open to the public for available slots (after returning students and siblings of existing students are entered) and offers an after school program and summer camp. As the school is a public school, no tuition is charged. Funding comes from the Teaneck Public Schools (and the home districts of non-resident students), which provides 90% of its cost per pupil in the district; the balance of funding comes directly from the state of New Jersey.[253] The school moved to a new building at 563 Chestnut Avenue in the 2009–2010 school year, from a space it had rented on Palisade Avenue.[254]
2009–2010 total spending for the TCCS was $5,050,613, a Total Spending per Pupil of $16,614 based on 304 students, ranking 51st highest of the 77 charter schools statewide, with the average district spending $17,836 per pupil. Based on the 2010–2011 budget, the TCCS planned to spend a Budgetary Per Pupil Cost of $14,210, ranking 54th highest among the 77 districts, compared to a statewide average of $13,609. Of the 2010–2011 Budgetary Per Pupil Cost, $8,112 per student went to classroom instruction (57th highest of charter schools in the state, with a statewide average of $8,004), $1,124 per student to Total Support Services (ranked 14th, average of $2,116), $1,690 to Total Administrative Costs (ranked 4th, average of $1,453) and $3,282 to Total Operations and Maintenance of Plant (ranked 70th, average of $1,698). The district's 2010–2011 Median Classroom Teacher Salary of $55,860 is ranked 57th in the state in its grouping, the Median Support Service Salary is $82,433 (54th), while the Median Administrator Salary is $103,750 (56th).[248][249][255]
Public school students from the township, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.[256][257]
The 2017–2018 total spending for the district was $101,642,004, a Total Spending per Pupil of $27,670.[258]
Teaneck is also home to four private OrthodoxJewish day schools and/or high schools. Those schools include Torah Academy of Bergen County (for boys in grades 9–12)[260] which completed an $8 million expansion project at the start of the 2013–2014 school year that doubled the size of the school, adding new classrooms and an additional gym to accommodate the record enrollment of 293 students, with room for expansion for the several years ahead.[261][262] The SINAI Special Needs Institute, a school specializing in the education of students with learning disabilities and other special needs, is hosted in the same building.[263]Ma'ayanot Yeshiva High School, located on the same section of Palisades avenue, serves girls in grades 9–12.[264] In 2016, Yeshivat He'atid, a private K–8 Jewish day school, moved from Bergenfield to Teaneck, taking over an empty data center building near TABC and Ma'ayanot.[265] The school employs a blended learning model.[266] With enrollment growing from 116 to 600 students in under a decade, the school began an expansion project in 2021.[267] Yeshivas Heichal HaTorah, another high school, opened in September 2013 at the Teaneck Jewish Center with an initial enrollment of 17 students.[268] A post high school program, called Yeshivas Bais Mordechai (and formerly called Yeshiva Gedolah of Teaneck), opened on the same stretch of Palisades Avenue in 2005.[269]
The Community School is a private school, founded in 1968 to serve the bright child with learning and attentional disabilities. Both the lower school and high school are in Teaneck.[270]
Al-Ghazaly High School, a co-ed religious day school for seventh through twelfth grades founded in 1984, was located on 441 North Street, serving the Muslim community from the greater Teaneck area. The school relocated to a larger facility in Wayne and opened its doors to students in September 2013, with the Teaneck facility repurposed to serve students in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade with the name of Academy of Greatness and Excellence, which is also an Islamic school.[272][273]
The Teaneck Police Department had 96 sworn officers in 2012, in addition to 13 civilian employees, three parking enforcement officers and 25 school crossing guards[276] out of a total of 106 authorized uniformed positions. Robert Wilson was named Chief as of July 2008, filling the acting chief role previously held by Deputy Chief Fred Ahearn, who had been serving in that position after the departure of Paul Tiernan in 2007.[277] The department hired its first two officers in 1914; Freddie Greene, its first African-American officer, joined the department on September 15, 1962, and its first female officer began serving on January 4, 1981.[278][279] In 1990, a Teaneck officer fatally shot Phillip Pannell, an armed African American man with his hands raised above his head while facing away from the officer.[280] In 2012, the Teaneck Police Department received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), following a two-year-long process that documented the department's compliance with 112 standards established by the organization as best practices. The department became the ninth in the state to receive CALEA accreditation.[281]
The Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps (TVAC) was created in 1939 to serve the residents of Teaneck.[282] TVAC has always been Teaneck's only emergency ambulance service and includes over 100 volunteers and five ambulances, serving Teaneck and its residents around the clock, without pay. In 2011, TVAC responded to over 4,300 emergency calls, routinely saving lives and reducing suffering with their rapid response and application of Basic Life Support skills. Throughout the last 70 years, TVAC has never charged a patient nor the patient's family for service. The services of the Corps are entirely free of charge, whether the patients are residents of Teaneck, visitors, or individuals who need medical service while passing through the town. The Corps also renders service in nearby towns as part of a mutual aid system, again without charge.[283]
The Richard Rodda Community Center, located near Route 4 at the south end of Votee Park, is a 50,900-square-foot (4,730 m2) community and recreation center completed in 1998. The facility includes two full sized gyms, a dance studio, a kitchen and several multipurpose rooms of different sizes.[284] The Teaneck Recreation Department offers educational, sports and arts programs throughout the year.[112] The Rodda Center is home to the Senior Citizens Service Center, which offers educational and fitness activities for adults ages 55 and up, and serves hot lunch daily, provided by the Bergen County Division of Senior Services.[285] The Community Center also provides a WiFi access point, which resulted in a police investigation in January 2012 after its identifying name was changed to a racist slur.[286]
Holy Name Medical Center is a fully accredited, not-for-profit community hospital. Founded and sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in 1925, the hospital has grown to become a comprehensive 361-bed medical center. Affiliation with NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System further brings the advantages of large urban hospitals to the community, with access to clinical trials and expanded education for its physicians. Holy Name Medical Center has undertaken an ambitious effort to provide comprehensive health care services to underinsured and uninsured Korean patients from a wide area with its growing "Korean Medical Program", including attracting 1,500 people to its annual seventh annual Korean health fair in 2014.[287][288] To accommodate the township's Orthodox Jewish community, the hospital offers a Shabbat elevator, a room prepared for families of patients staying at the hospital during Shabbat and Jewish holidays, as well as a lounge offering kosher food.[289]
Transportation
View south along I-95 at the junction with I-80 in Teaneck
Roads and highways
As of May 2010[update], the township had a total of 119.41 miles (192.17 km) of roadways, of which 103.95 miles (167.29 km) were maintained by the municipality, 10.70 miles (17.22 km) by Bergen County, 3.47 miles (5.58 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and 1.29 miles (2.08 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.[290]
Teaneck is situated along a number of major transportation routes, including the New Jersey Turnpike (a portion of Interstate 95). It is known for being the Eastern endpoint of Interstate 80, which stretches west to San Francisco since the dedication of a segment in Salt Lake City on August 22, 1986, marking the completion of the first transcontinental portion of the Interstate Highway System.[291] As the second-longest Interstate route, the highway stretches nearly coast-to-coast for 2,899.54 miles (4,666.36 km), shorter than only Interstate 90.[292] The easternmost 0.9 miles (1.4 km) of Interstate 80 runs from Bogota to the junction with Interstate 95.[293]
NJ Route 4 traverses east–west through Teaneck, running 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from Hackensack to Englewood.[294] Unlike all other municipalities situated along the highway, there is no commercial development or billboards, with the open space along the highway maintained by the Township Council's Preserve the Greenbelt Committee.[295] Route 4 narrows from three lanes in each direction on a section between Belle Avenue and Englewood, causing rush-hour traffic backups that may extend for miles. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has discussed a series of proposed replacement projects for bridges over the highway, pending completion of feasibility studies and design work. While the township has indicated its willingness to cede space along the Greenbelt for a third lane, the lack of space for a shoulder may preclude the creation of a full three-lane route through Teaneck.[296] In November 2013, NJDOT informed Teaneck officials that it had no plans to widen the highway, as the need to focus the limited funds available on replacing and repairing deteriorating bridges and infrastructure precluded the implementation of a widening project.[297]
County roads in Teaneck include Teaneck Road, Queen Anne Road, River Road and Fort Lee Road. Cedar Lane, another county road, crosses the Hackensack River and connects to Hackensack over the Anderson Street Bridge.[299]
Teaneck is split east and west by railroad tracks, which currently provide freight service by CSX Transportation. Until 1959, passenger train service was provided on these same tracks by the West Shore Railroad, with Teaneck stations at Cedar Lane and West Englewood Avenue. Commuter service was available from these stations, with 44 passenger trains operating daily to and from Weehawken, where Hudson River ferry service was available to New York City at 42nd Street and at the Financial District in Lower Manhattan.[308] Train service from Teaneck was also available north to Albany, along the west shore of the river. Efforts are ongoing to restore some passenger train service on this line for commuters heading toward New York City, including extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service via the Northern Branch to Englewood or Tenafly.[309]
^"William Broughton, New Township Manager", Township of Teaneck, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 25, 2010. Accessed December 17, 2013. "William Broughton, a Teaneck native and former Teaneck Police captain, assumed his role as Township Manager on May 13."
^Ax, Joseph. "Teaneck hires former police captain as municipal manager", The Record, April 14, 2009.
^Clerk, Township of Teaneck. Accessed May 1, 2019.
^Staff. "These numbers have been in the news"Archived November 6, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Endeavor News, August 11, 2007. Accessed January 16, 2012. "Interstate 80 is 2,909 miles long. It starts in Teaneck, N. J., at its junction with Interstate 95. Its western terminus is in San Francisco, Calif., at the Rt. 101 junction."
^"Decades of Pride Shattered", The New York Times, April 12, 1990. Accessed September 30, 2009. "And in 1965, the town became the first predominantly white community in the United States to desegregate its schools voluntarily through busing."
^A Piece Of Land Becomes A TownArchived October 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, text of article from The Teaneck Shopper, October 21, 1970. "According to a Lenape-English dictionary compiled by Moravian missionaries to further their work among the Indians, "'Tekene'" meant woods, or uninhabited place. 'Nek"' was the plural of 'Ne', thus the word could have been 'Tekenek' or simply 'The Woods'. The Dutch, who Hollandized so many Indian place names, would quite naturally have spelled it "'Tiene Neck' or tiny neck."
^Taylor, Mildred. "Commuter Had Dream In 1865: Teaneck", The New York Times, October 1, 1972. Accessed November 21, 2023. "When Mr. Phelps came to Teaneck, New Jersey roads were noted for their red mud and deep sand. So the new resident set out to build up public sentiment for road improvement in general, building 30 miles of roads on his own property, much of it macadamized."
^Harvey, Cornelius Burnham. Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey, p. 11, New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900. Accessed September 15, 2013. "For a period of sixteen years following the passage of this act few boroughs were organized in the State, only three of them being in Bergen County.... As it was twenty-six boroughs were created in the county from January 23, 1894, to December 18, of the same year."
^"Fairleigh and Bergen Junior Colleges to Merge", The News, November 23, 1953. Accessed January 13, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Fairleigh Dickinson College of Rutherford and Bergen Junior College of Teaneck, will merge under the name of Fairleigh Dickinson College....Merger of the two institutions will provide educational facilities fur potentially 4,000 students. Fairleigh Dickinson, presently the third largest college in the state, has a total enrollment of 2,851, approximately 1,200 of whom are day students. Bergen Junior College presently has an enrollment of 197 day students and 207 in its Evening Division."
^Garbarine, Rachel. "If You're Thinking of Living in: Teaneck", copy of article from The New York Times, October 11, 1987. Accessed April 29, 2008. "For Teaneck, it was a far-from-quiet period, underscored by blockbusting and white flight in the early 60's. The influx of black families set off panic selling among white homeowners encouraged by some unscrupulous real-estate agents to get rid of their properties."
^Onishi, Norimitsu. "Statewide; Imbalance Persists, Defying Courts", The New York Times, June 11, 1995. Accessed October 8, 2019. "Perhaps the most famous case was Teaneck, the first community in the United States to endorse a voluntary integration program. In 1964, Teaneck was mostly white, except for one elementary school in a mainly black part of town. After demonstrations, fights and petitions -- later chronicled in a book, Triumph in a White Suburb, by Reginald G. Damerell -- the school board adopted a desegregation plan. Teaneck's schools remain integrated; so do Montclair's, desegregated after a Federal court order in 1968."
^Hanley, Robert. "Witness Contradicts Major Detail in Teaneck Officer's Testimony", The New York Times, February 7, 1992. Accessed September 30, 2009. "Officer Blanco and Officer Spath have both said that Mr. Pannell's left hand was in his left pocket, where Officer Blanco said he found a modified starter's pistol containing eight cartridges after Mr. Pannell was killed."
^Gale, Pat. "Diverse By Design", Cooperator News New Jersey, October 2010. Accessed November 21, 2023. "Encompassing just over six square miles and having little land left to develop, the township is limited in its ability to grow; its population has remained fairly steady over the past half-century, after dipping during a period of racial turmoil in the 1960s."
^Fallon, Scott. "Vigil recalls a life ended far too soon"Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, The Record, July 10, 2007. Accessed March 5, 2009. "Smith, 15, was shot dead by then 17-year-old Zechariah Eaton after a late night house party had broken up. Eaton and three alleged members of the Bloods street gang who also attended the party got involved in one of several scuffles that broke out in front of the house at the end of the night, police said at the time."
^Salazar, Carolyn and Tsai, Jason. "Report: Police hype gangs to score funding"Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine, The Record, July 19, 2007. Accessed March 5, 2009. "Teaneck recently approved hiring five more officers to form an anti-gang unit. Police are seeking $500,000 in funding for the initiative, making them one of several departments that are looking to tap state and federal grants. 'We're definitely seeing an increase in gang activity over the years,' Teaneck Police Chief Paul Tiernan said Wednesday. 'But we realize that we're not going to arrest our way out of the problem. We're also doing a lot of outreach efforts and prevention efforts.' Retired Teaneck Officer Fred Greene said he, for one, isn't convinced. 'They are hyping the gang problem,' said Greene, who attended a recent gang presentation in town. 'It really has to do with getting more equipment and manpower than having an actual problem.'"
^Sullivan, Ronald. "5 Murders Make Violence a Teaneck Reality", The New York Times, December 8, 1975. Accessed October 8, 2019. "The murder of a mother and her four children plunged this suburban Bergen County township and the communities that surround it into deep and incredulous shock today. The bodies of Jean Diggs and her four children were discovered late yesterday shot to death in their comfortable stucco and brick home here."
^Hanley, Robert. "Police Still Have No Clues in Killing Of 5 in Bergen Family 2 Years Ago", The New York Times, December 3, 1977. Accessed July 12, 2011. "Two years after Jean Diggs and her four children were murdered with a 22-caliber rifle late at night in their three-story home in this Bergen County suburb, the authorities acknowledged today that thousands of investigatory man-hours had produced virtually nothing."
^Rimbach, Jean. "Unsolved killings haunt Teaneck", The Record, May 28, 2011. Accessed December 9, 2011. "Windows of the charred Elm Avenue home where Robert Cantor lived and died are boarded up. An orange sign declaring the house unsafe for occupancy is stuck on the padlocked front door and fading rhododendron blossoms hover over an untended lawn.... Nearly three months after Cantor was shot and his two-story house set ablaze, there has been no arrest in the case. Meanwhile, the August slaying of longtime political watchdog Joan Davis, who was found stabbed, hands bound in her burning home, also remains unsolved."
^Pries, Allison. "Jailhouse interview: Killer in love-triangle murder of Teaneck man breaks silence", The Record, February 25, 2016. Accessed October 8, 2019. "It's in that bedroom, with the small window and the red and white down comforter, that Tung shot Robert Cantor in the back of the head in March 2011, doused him with grain alcohol and set the Teaneck house ablaze, murdering the 59-year-old software engineer, a jury determined late last year after a two-month trial in state Superior Court in Hackensack."
^Waite, Thomas L. "Postings: At Languishing Teaneck Retail Center; And Now, Offices", The New York Times, July 24, 1988. Accessed September 30, 2009. "At Glenpointe in Teaneck, N.J., Alfred Sanzari built 160 town houses and has sold all but five. He built 567,000 square feet (52,700 m2) of office space in two seven-story towers and has leased 95 percent of it."
^Glenpointe Centre: About The Property, Alfred Sanzari Enterprises. Accessed December 16, 2014. "A spectacular mixed-use complex featuring 650,000 square feet"
^Aberback, Brian. "Charting Teaneck's business growth"Archived 2012-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Record, January 8, 2007. Accessed March 5, 2009. "The report includes various suggestions for each of the township's four business districts – Cedar Lane, north Teaneck Road, West Englewood/The Plaza, and DeGraw Avenue/Queen Anne Road – including that each district have an executive director."
^Cohen, Noah. "Insect-themed Entertainment Center Planned for Windsor Road: Butterfly conservatory to be built at former Givaudan building.", TeaneckPatch, September 20, 2011. Accessed December 25, 2013. "An entertainment center featuring insect exhibits and a live butterfly conservatory is planned at the former Givaudan building on Windsor Road, near the Teaneck border with Bergenfield. The former fragrance company complex was sold to a "children's education organization called World of Wings," according to Givaudan corporate spokesman Jeff Peppet."
^Teaneck Community Band's 69th Summer Concert SeriesArchived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine, Township of Teaneck. Accessed December 18, 2013. "The Teaneck Recreation Department and the Puffin Foundation, Ltd. are pleased to announce another outstanding season of the Teaneck Community Band Summer Concert Series. This summer's series marks the 69th continuous year of the Summer Concert Series and, once again, the Teaneck Recreation Department welcomes the generous support of the Puffin Foundation as we invite residents to sit back, relax, and join us for this delightful concert series."
^Our HistoryArchived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Accessed December 18, 2013. "In 1936, a dream became a reality when the Teaneck Symphony Orchestra was formed."
^Beckerman, Jim. "A First Night leap for Teaneck"Archived 2012-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Record, December 19, 2004. Accessed March 5, 2009. "In fact, Teaneck's seventh annual First Night celebration will be chock-full of traditional after-dark events beginning at 6:30 p.m., and most of them, like the circus, illustrate this year's First Night theme, 'East Meets West.'"
^About, Black Box Studios. Accessed December 25, 2013.
^Baker, Rebecca. "Cedar Lane Cinemas in Teaneck goes dark; owner says cost of going digital too high", The Record, November 30, 2012. Accessed December 18, 2013. "Teaneck's iconic movie theater has shut down indefinitely, showing its last film a week ago, the latest in a string of small theaters across the country to close because they are unable or unwilling to upgrade technology."
^Cohen, Noah. "Teaneck Movie Theater Aims To Open by October; New owner working to modernize Teaneck's lone cinema", TeaneckPatch, August 4, 2013. Accessed August 13, 2013. "The owner of the new Teaneck Cinemas, Matthew Latten, is aiming to open in mid-September, with a target opening set by Oct. 1, the post said. Latten told Patch in May that he initially hoped to open in July or August, but faced some paperwork delays."
^Beckerman, Jim. "Teaneck theater reopens Friday with new look and name", The Record, December 17, 2013. Accessed December 18, 2013. "Teaneck Cinemas – formerly Cedar Lane Cinemas – is slated to reopen Friday with a new name, a new management, new state-of-the-art digital projectors, new high-back seats, new marquee and a new retro art-deco look."
^Graham, Bob. "Cage's Wonderful Lives", San Francisco Chronicle, December 22, 2000. Accessed December 25, 2013. "Jack slowly discovers that he has traded Manhattan for Teaneck, N.J., his penthouse for a four-bedroom house and mortgage, his Ferrari for a minivan."
^Ivry, Bob. "Filmmakers Descending on New Jersey", The Record, June 17, 1998. Accessed June 6, 2007. "When Randy Sokol Sweeney was asked to find a New York–area spot in which to shoot the indoor scenes of "You've Got Mail," a romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, she tried the usual studios in Queens, but they were booked. Then she checked out Teaneck."
^Nash, Margo. "ART; With His Art, One Can Find A River's History on a Sign", The New York Times, September 10, 2000. Accessed December 18, 2013. "WHEN Richard Mills, a Teaneck artist and environmentalist, takes children on tours of the Hackensack River, he likes to ask them to draw pictures of what paradise looks like.... He did research, talked to old-timers and local historians, and created a series of 16 signs he calls Hackensack River Stories.The vinyl laminated signs will be posted this week near the river in Teaneck along the Greenway, which runs from Bogota to New Milford."
^Overpeck County Park, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed February 4, 2014. "More than 50 years ago, five Bergen County municipalities- Englewood, Leonia, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park and Teaneck- donated hundreds of acres of land surrounding Overpeck Creek to the county for the creation of a park. Land that once contained brownfields and landfills has been transformed into a multi-use recreational venue."
^Teaneck Municipal Services 2003, Township of Teaneck. Accessed December 18, 2013. "In 1987, a referendum to alter the form was approved, creating staggered terms for the Council. As part of the change, Council elections now take place every two years on the second Tuesday in May. Seven members serve four-year terms which expire in even numbered years as follows: three will expire in 2004, four will expire in 2006, etc."
^Johnson, Paul H. "5 candidates vying for 3 seats on Teaneck Council"Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, The Record, May 8, 2004. Accessed December 3, 2014. "Five candidates are facing off for three seats. They are Mayor Jacqueline Kates, who is seeking her third term, Deborah Veach and Marie Warnke, who are both running for their second term, and challengers Monica Honis and Eric Cinotti."
^Ax, Joseph. "Rivals split the vote", The Record, May 14, 2008. "Challenger Barbara Toffler surged to victory in Tuesday's bitterly contested council election, finishing first in a field of eight, and Councilwoman Monica Honis and newcomer Barbara Toffler also captured four-year terms."
^Superville, Denisa R. "Two challengers join Teaneck council", The Record, May 8, 2012. Accessed July 10, 2012. "Hameeduddin received the highest number of votes — 4,374, according to preliminary results from the township clerk's office. He will be joined on the council by Mark Schwartz, a member of the Planning Board and the volunteer ambulance corps who received 3,150 votes, and Henry J. Pruitt, a school board member and retired educator who received 2,872 votes. Voters rejected the re-election bids of two councilwomen, Barbara Toffler and Monica Honis. Toffler, a retired professor, received 2,526 votes, while Honis, who teaches English as a second language in Clifton, received 2,238 votes. A sixth candidate, Alexander Rashin, a scientist in computational molecular biophysics, got 1,049 votes."
^Sullivan, S.P. "Teaneck mayor: New congressional map, which splits town in two, 'a complete surprise'", The Star-Ledger, January 5, 2012. Accessed January 16, 2012. "The town of Teaneck finds itself, quite literally, in the middle of the confusion. The re-drawn congressional map splits the town between Garrett's 5th congressional district and the 9th, which is a combination of districts previously held by Rothman and Pascrell."
^Biography, Congressman Josh Gottheimer. Accessed January 3, 2019. "Josh now lives in Wyckoff, New Jersey with Marla, his wife who was a federal prosecutor, and their two young children, Ellie and Ben."
^Biography of Bob Menendez, United States Senate, January 26, 2015. "Menendez, who started his political career in Union City, moved in September from Paramus to one of Harrison's new apartment buildings near the town's PATH station.."
^Cattafi, Kristie. "Democrats pick Bergenfield councilman to fill vacancy on Bergen County commissioners board", The Record, March 13, 2023. Accessed March 16, 2023. "A Democratic councilman from Bergenfield will be sworn in as a Bergen County commissioner Wednesday night, filling a vacancy on the governing body for almost 1 million residents. Rafael Marte will serve until Dec. 31, taking on the unexpired term left by former Commissioner Ramon Hache, a Democrat who resigned last week to lead the Ridgewood YMCA as its chief executive officer."
^Prosnitz, Howard. "Teaneck Council approves $65M budget", Teaneck Suburbanite, May 18, 2011. Accessed November 18, 2011. "The owner of the average house in Teaneck assessed at $465,300 will pay $3,946 in municipal taxes in 2011, an increase of $111 over 2010."
^Superville, Denisa. R. "Teaneck looks to ease tax-appeal pain", The Record, March 13, 2013. Accessed August 13, 2013. "The township is counting on state permission to spread the payment of about $2.2 million in tax appeal judgments over three years and avoid hitting homeowners with a much greater tax increase this year. ... Tax appeals are proving to be extremely nettlesome to the township: Between 2012 and 2013, the borough's ratables declined to $5.91 billion from $6.02 billion, largely as a result of reduced assessments from successful tax appeals."
^Burrow, Megan. "Teaneck approves revaluation contract", Teaneck Suburbanite, August 29, 2013. Accessed February 4, 2014. "After paying nearly $2.2 million in tax appeal refunds this year, the Teaneck Council awarded a $712,470 contract last week to Appraisal Systems Inc., which will perform a revaluation of properties in town next year.... But because of the number of properties in town and inspection requirements, the township has informed the county Board of Taxation it will not be able to complete the revaluation by the Oct. 1 deadline and requested an extension to Oct. 1, 2014 for the tax year of 2015."
^Prosnitz, Howard. "Teaneck cuts $6M from school budget", Teaneck Suburbanite, May 20, 2010. Accessed December 9, 2011. "The council cut the defeated $95 million school budget by more than $6.1 million, eliminating five assistant principals, several curriculum supervisors and staff development coordinators. In all, approximately 40 positions were cut, on top of 20 that had previously been eliminating by the Board of Education."
^Prosnitz, Howard. "Teaneck's BOE cuts $6.1 million from budget", Teaneck Suburbanite, June 20, 2010. Accessed December 9, 2011. "More than a hundred persons, including parents, current and former Teaneck High School students and teachers wearing union T-shirts, were present at the special board of education meeting on June 2, at which the board voted 8–0 to cut $6.1 million from the 2010–11 school budget.... A total of 77 positions were eliminated, including the director of School/Community Relations, two librarian/media specialists, two curriculum supervisors, the manager of information systems, three secretaries, three maintenance workers and 21 paraprofessionals."
^Teaneck Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Teaneck Public Schools. Accessed March 15, 2020. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through twelve in the Teaneck School District. Composition: The Teaneck School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Teaneck."
^About TCCS, Teaneck Community Charter School. Accessed December 22, 2011.
^Ax, Joseph. "Charter school plan killed", The Record, April 16, 2010. Accessed December 22, 2011. "The town's only charter school, the Teaneck Community Charter School, serves students from Kindergarten through eighth grade. The school's organizers had planned to house it in a rented space on Palisade Avenue formerly occupied by the Teaneck Community Charter School, which moved into a new building on Chestnut Avenue last fall."
^Schwartz, Bracha. "Tabc Doubling In Size", The Jewish Link of Bergen County, May 2, 2013. Accessed December 18, 2013. "When the students of Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC) start the 2013–14 school year, they will enter a building that doubled in size over the summer.... The cost is estimated at $8 million and $2.6 million has been raised."
^Rosenberg, Michal. "Yeshivat He’Atid Looks to the Future", Jewish Link, July 1, 2021. Accessed June 2, 2022. "The school brought its novel approach to the Bergen County community in 2012, starting out with 116 students—just six classes—in a rented space in Bergenfield. When He’Atid moved into its new building five years ago, and Rav Tomer Ronen came in as head of school, that number had risen to 300 students. Now the school has doubled its numbers again, in just five years, to over 600 students and has graduated its second eighth-grade class this year."
^Chasan, Aliza. "Heichal HaTorah Joins Ranks of Local High Schools", The Jewish Link of Bergen County, August 9, 2013. Accessed December 18, 2013. "Heichal HaTorah opens in Teaneck at the start of this upcoming academic year with 17 students who are making the most of it.... The school will be located in the Teaneck Jewish Center which is already outfitted with classrooms, laboratories, a gym and a pool."
^Spence, Rebecca. "Families Mourn as School Abruptly Closes", The Jewish Daily Forward, August 29, 2007. Accessed August 29, 2007. "Less than two weeks before the Metropolitan Schechter High School in Teaneck, N.J., was set to begin the academic year, the board announced to a shocked audience of parents, teachers and students that the school had not met its fundraising goals and would therefore be forced close its doors for good."
^Burrow, Megan. "Al-Ghazaly Elementary School in Teaneck readies for opening", Teaneck Suburbanite, August 29, 2013. Accessed December 19, 2013. "Iman El-Dessouky, a board member at Al-Ghazaly School, said the change was precipitated when the school secured a bigger building for its high school students in Wayne.... Originally, El-Dessouky said, the school planned to use the Teaneck campus for pre-kindergarten through first grade students, but after the school held an open house for parents and prospective students earlier this month, the board decided to expand its offerings up to third grade."
^Al-Ghazaly High School, The Islamic Education Foundation of New Jersey. Accessed December 19, 2013.
^Ax, Joseph. "Teaneck gives top police job to acting chief", The Record, July 3, 2008. Accessed December 19, 2013. "The 'interim' tag has been removed from the title of Police Chief Robert Wilson, one of a series of administrative moves at the police department that took effect this week."
^Prosnitz, Howard. "Council approves five new officers", Teaneck Suburbanite, June 27, 2007, p. 1.
^Senior Programs, Township of Teaneck. Accessed December 18, 2013.
^Feeney, Michael J. WiFi signal with racist, anti-Semitic slur in Teaneck, NJ sparks police probe; signal came from rec center router, New York Daily News, January 18, 2012. Accessed December 18, 2013. "A bigot named their WiFi signal 'F--- All Jews and N----' — and now cops are investigating. The hateful signal I.D. popped up on the iPhone of a 28-year-old mom inside a Teaneck, N.J. recreation center, where her 3-year-old daughter was attending dance class. The offending signal was coming from a router connected in the Richard Rodda Community Center in the township, located 10 miles outside New York City."
^Morrison, Aaron. "Korean Medical Program draws 1,500 to Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck", The Record, September 27, 2014. Accessed December 16, 2014. "Saturday marked the seventh year that the Korean Medical Program at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck hosted its health festival. It drew more than 1,500 Korean-Americans, who were seen by nearly 80 Korean-speaking physicians from the tri-state area."
^Williams, Barbara. "Annual Korean health fair draws crowds at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck", The Record, October 20, 2012. Accessed December 18, 2013. "Hundreds of Koreans, hailing from all parts of New Jersey, Manhattan and New York State, flooded Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck on Saturday for the hospital's annual Korean Medical Program's health fair.... More than 1,000 Korean patients underwent blood tests two weeks ago — part of the hospital's massive undertaking to provide health care to uninsured or underinsured Korean residents. By 10 a.m., more than 500 people had already entered the hospital and fair organizers were expecting between 1,500 and 2,000 by the end of the day."
^"Previous Interstate Facts of the Day", Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. Accessed December 18, 2013. "I-80 (Teaneck, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California) was the first transcontinental Interstate highway to be completed. The final segment — between Redwood Road and 5600 West in Salt Lake City, Utah — was dedicated in a ceremony on August 22, 1986."
^Kleimann, James. "State refuses to widen Route 4 to clear bottleneck in Teaneck", NJ.com, November 13, 2013. Accessed December 18, 2013. "According to Teaneck Patch, in a letter to township officials who requested the change, the transit agency claims it doesn't have the funds available to relieve commuters of the congestion. Route 4 is only two lanes in both directions between Belle Avenue and Englewood before expanding to three lanes on each side. Between that stretch, the highway often resembles a parking lot."
^Kates, Jacqueline. The Sad Story of Trains in Teaneck, New Jersey Municipalities, January 2007. Accessed December 22, 2011. "In the 1950s Teaneck residents and local businesses were well-served by 44 passenger and 40 freight trains on the West Shore line daily, but by 1959, ferry service to New York was discontinued, train ridership dropped, and passenger service was eliminated."
^Northern Branch Corridor Project, New Jersey Transit. Accessed December 22, 2011. "The Northern Branch is a freight rail line owned by CSX Transportation that runs through the Hudson and Bergen County communities of Tenafly, Englewood, Leonia, Palisades Park, Ridgefield, Fairview and North Bergen."
Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties) prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958.
United States
New Jersey
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