Carteret, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Carteret is a borough
Borough (New Jersey)
A borough in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....

 in Middlesex County
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 22,844.

Carteret was created as the borough of Roosevelt on 11 April 1906, incorporating Woodbridge Township
Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
-Communities:Many distinct communities exist within Woodbridge Township. Several of these communities have their own ZIP codes, and many are listed by the United States Census Bureau as census-designated places, but they are all unincorporated areas and neighborhoods within the Township that,...

, and was a result of a referendum on 22 May 1906. Roosevelt was renamed Carteret on 7 November 1922, and was also called Carteret between 19 December 1921 and 16 January 1922. Carteret was named after Sir George Carteret
George Carteret
Vice Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet , son of Elias de Carteret, was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy...

, one of the first proprietors of New Jersey, and his son Philip Carteret
Philip Carteret (Governor)
Philip Carteret was the first and fourth British colonial governor of New Jersey, from 1665 to 1672 and from 1674 to 1682.The English annexed the Dutch province of New Netherland in 1664, and lands west of the Hudson River were awarded to two Lords Proprietors, John Berkeley and George Carteret...

, the first Royal Governor
Royal governor
Royal governor is an informal term used to refer to a colonial or provincial Governor, or by extension a Governor-General or similar gubernatorial official, appointed by a king or other monarch....

 of New Jersey.

Geography

Carteret is located at 40.582504°N 74.229976°W (40.582504, -74.229976).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the borough has a total area of 4.99 square miles (12.9 km²), of which, 4.36 square miles (11.3 km²) of it is land and 0.63 square miles (1.6 km²) of it (12.63%) is water.

The Rahway River
Rahway River
The Rahway River is a river, approximately 24 mi long, in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The river drains part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of New York City. Part of the extended area of New York Harbor, the river empties into the Arthur Kill. In its...

 forms the northern boundary of Carteret (Linden
Linden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...

 is on the other side of the river), and the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...

 is the eastern boundary (with Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 on the opposite side). Woodbridge Township
Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
-Communities:Many distinct communities exist within Woodbridge Township. Several of these communities have their own ZIP codes, and many are listed by the United States Census Bureau as census-designated places, but they are all unincorporated areas and neighborhoods within the Township that,...

 borders Carteret on all land-based boundaries.

The southeastern portion of the borough is known as Chrome, and the portion west of the New Jersey Turnpike is called West Carteret.

Local government

Carteret is governed under the Borough
Borough (New Jersey)
A borough in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....

 form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a six-member Borough Council, with all positions elected at large in partisan elections. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. Members of the Borough Council are elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

Federal, state and county representation

Carteret is in the 13th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 19th state legislative district. The legislative district was kept unchanged by the New Jersey Apportionment Commission
New Jersey Apportionment Commission
The New Jersey Apportionment Commission is a constitutionally-created ten-member commission responsible for apportioning the forty districts of the New Jersey Legislature. The commission is convened after each decennial U.S. Census, and the districts are to be in use for the legislative elections...

 based on the results of the 2010 Census.




Education

The Carteret School District
Carteret School District
The Carteret School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from Carteret, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States....

 serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...

) are three K-5 elementary schools —
Columbus School (646 students),
Nathan Hale School (535) and
Private Nicholas Minue School (664) —
Carteret Middle School for grades 6-8 (909) and
Carteret High School
Carteret High School
Carteret High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Carteret in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Carteret School District....

 for grades 9-12 (1,083).

A parochial school, Saint Joseph School, serves students from Pre-K to grade 8 as part of Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church and is overseen by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen
Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen is a Roman Catholic diocese in New Jersey, centered in the borough of Metuchen. It was erected on November 19, 1981, from the territory of the Diocese of Trenton....

.

A private rabbinical college, Yeshiva Gedola of Carteret, opened in 2006.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 20,709 people, 7,039 households, and 5,208 families residing in the borough. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 4,747.4 people per square mile (1,833.9/km2). There were 7,320 housing units at an average density of 1,678.1 per square mile (648.2/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 50.7% White, 14.9% African American, 0.4% Native American, 19.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 11.2% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 3.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.9% of the population. Carteret's Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

 community, variously estimated at 1000 to 2500, is the largest concentration of Sikhs in the state. The Gurudwara Singh Sabha Sahib, the borough's first gurudwara
Gurdwara
A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....

, had rented a location in Carteret in 1998 before moving to a permanent location in the nearby Port Reading
Port Reading, New Jersey
Port Reading is a census-designated place and unincorporated area within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 3,829.-History:...

 section of Woodbridge Township
Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
-Communities:Many distinct communities exist within Woodbridge Township. Several of these communities have their own ZIP codes, and many are listed by the United States Census Bureau as census-designated places, but they are all unincorporated areas and neighborhoods within the Township that,...

 in 2005.

There were 7,039 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% 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 3.38.

In the borough the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $47,148, and the median income for a family was $54,609. Males had a median income of $40,172 versus $28,132 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the borough was $18,967. About 8.6% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Commerce

Portions of Carteret are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone
Urban Enterprise Zone
In the United States, Urban Enterprise Zones , also known as Enterprise Zones, are intended to encourage development in blighted neighborhoods through tax and regulatory relief to entrepreneurs and investors who launch businesses in the area. UEZs are areas where companies can locate free of...

. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3½% sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....

 rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).

Transportation

New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

 local bus service is provided on the 116 route to the Port Authority Bus Terminal
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...

 in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...

 and on the 62 route to Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

.

The only major road that passes through the center is the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...

 (Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in New Jersey
Interstate 95 is a major Interstate Highway that traverses the full extent of the East Coast of the United States, from Florida to Maine...

). Exit 12 of the turnpike is also in the borough, and recently has been refurbished by adding more toll lanes and new ramps to CR 602.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Carteret include:
  • Jim Babjak
    Jim Babjak
    Jim Babjak , is the lead guitar player and founding member of The Smithereens. He has written and sung several songs for the band...

    , Dennis Diken
    Dennis Diken
    Dennis Diken co-founded the NJ band The Smithereens. Besides playing with The Smithereens, Dennis is a fill-in DJ on WFMU.As a musician and record producer, Diken has worked with The Smithereens, Ben E. King, Mary Weiss of 1960s girl group The Shangri-Las, Dave Amels, and R...

     and Mike Mesaros of the pop/rock group The Smithereens
    The Smithereens
    The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...

     are all former Carteret residents. All three met while in school in Carteret.
  • Lori Baratta
    Lori Baratta
    Lori Baratta born November 2, in New Jersey, is a popular fantasy and decorative realist American painter and illustrator. Her career began in the early 1990s and her artwork has been featured on books, magazines, t-shirts, ceramic tiles, stained glass housewares, candles, jewelry, notecards,...

    , popular fantasy and realist artist and illustrator. Several dozen of her portraits of both past and present mayors and other famous people from Carteret, hang on the walls in City Hall.
  • Joseph A. Cafasso
    Joseph A. Cafasso
    Joseph Anthony Cafasso, Jr. is a former Fox News consultant on military and counterterrorism issues who left the network after allegations surfaced that he misrepresented his military record.-Early life:...

     (born 1956), former Fox News consultant on military and counterterrorism issues who left the network after allegations surfaced that he misrepresented his military record.
  • Jim Conti of the ska band Streetlight Manifesto
    Streetlight Manifesto
    Streetlight Manifesto is an American punk band with many influences from different genres including ska, from New Brunswick, New Jersey fronted by Tomas Kalnoky....

    .
  • Thomas Deverin (1921–2010), former mayor of Carteret who served 22 years in the New Jersey General Assembly
    New Jersey General Assembly
    The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...

    .
  • William T. Dzurilla
    William T. Dzurilla
    William T. Dzurilla, formerly William T. D'Zurilla, is an attorney, a partner in the law firm's Fort Lauderdale, Florida office. He was a law clerk for Justice Byron White of the United States Supreme Court from 1982 to 1983...

    , international attorney and law clerk
    Law clerk
    A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...

     to Justice Byron White
    Byron White
    Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White won fame both as a football halfback and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed to the court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, he served until his retirement in 1993...

     of the United States Supreme Court (1982–1983), grew up in Carteret.
  • Keith Hughes
    Keith Hughes (basketball)
    Keith Hughes is an American basketball player who played for two years at Syracuse University and then transferred to Rutgers University, before being drafted by the Houston Rockets, and subsequently being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the 1991 NBA Draft. However, he did not play in the...

     (born 1968), basketball player at Syracuse University and Rutgers who was selected by the Houston Rockets
    Houston Rockets
    The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

     in the 1991 NBA Draft
    1991 NBA Draft
    The 1991 NBA Draft took place on June 26, 1991 in New York City, New York. Dikembe Mutombo is regarded as the best overall pick in this draft, becoming one of the greatest defensive centers in the history of the league. He was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner and an eight...

    , but never played in the NBA.
  • Chad Kinch
    Chad Kinch
    Chadwick Oliver Kinch was an American professional basketball player. He was a 6'4" 190 lb shooting guard and played collegiately at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte after starring at Perth Amboy High School in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, his place of birth.He was selected with...

     (1958–94), shooting guard who played in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers
    Cleveland Cavaliers
    The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...

     and Dallas Mavericks
    Dallas Mavericks
    The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...

    .
  • Jim McGreevey
    Jim McGreevey
    James Edward "Jim" McGreevey is an American Democratic politician. He served as the 52nd Governor of New Jersey from January 15, 2002, until he resigned from office at 11:59 pm on November 15, 2004. His term was set to expire on January 17, 2006...

     (born 1957), former Governor of New Jersey
    Governor of New Jersey
    The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...

    , grew up in Carteret.
  • Art McMahon, defensive back
    Defensive back
    In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

     for the New England Patriots
    New England Patriots
    The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

     football team from 1968-1972.
  • Joe "Ducky" Medwick
    Joe Medwick
    Joseph Michael Medwick , nicknamed "Ducky", was an American Major League Baseball player. A left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the "Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , New York Giants , and Boston Braves...

     (1911–75), left fielder
    Left fielder
    In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

     for the St. Louis Cardinals
    St. Louis Cardinals
    The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

     during the "Gashouse Gang
    Gashouse Gang
    The Gashouse Gang was a nickname applied to the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team of .The Cardinals, by most accounts, earned this nickname from the team's generally very shabby appearance and rough-and-tumble tactics...

    " era of the 1930s, elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968, by the Veterans Committee
    Veterans Committee
    The Veterans Committee is the popular name of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee to Consider Managers, Umpires, Executives and Long-Retired Players, a committee of the U.S...

    . Ranked #7 on the Sports Illustrated
    Sports Illustrated
    Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

    list of The 50 Greatest New Jersey Sports Figures.
  • Nicholas Minue
    Nicholas Minue
    Nicholas Minue received the Medal of Honor for military service on behalf of the United States of America in World War II. He received this recognition for charging a group of German soldiers that had a machine-gun position near Medjez El Bab, Tunisia...

     (birth unknown – died April 28, 1943) United States Army Private who received the Medal of Honor
    Medal of Honor
    The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

     for military service in World War II. An elementary school on Post Boulevard in Carteret is named in his honor.
  • Paul J. Pluta, Rear Admiral, United States Coast Guard
    United States Coast Guard
    The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

     (Ret.)
  • Jason Worilds
    Jason Worilds
    Jason Adjepong Worilds is an American football outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft...

     (born 1988), football player selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers
    Pittsburgh Steelers
    The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

     in the 2010 NFL Draft
    2010 NFL Draft
    The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...

    .

External links

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