Cresskill, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cresskill, New Jersey
Borough
Borough of Cresskill
Downtown Cresskill
Map highlighting Cresskill's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Cresskill, New Jersey
Cresskill, New Jersey Location in Bergen County, New Jersey Show map of Bergen County, New Jersey Cresskill, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Cresskill, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Bergen
Incorporated	May 8, 1894
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	2.07 sq mi (5.36 km2)
• Land	2.07 sq mi (5.35 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)  0.24%
Area rank	407th of 565 in state 47th of 70 in county
Elevation	46 ft (14 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	8,573
• Estimate  (2019)	8,668
• Rank	267th of 566 in state 44th of 70 in county
• Density	4,154.5/sq mi (1,604.1/km2)
• Density rank	146th of 566 in state 36th of 70 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07626
Area code(s)	201
FIPS code	3400315820
GNIS feature ID	0875723

Cresskill is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 8,573, reflecting an increase of 827 (+10.7%) from the 7,746 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 188 (+2.5%) from the 7,558 counted in the 1990 Census. This town got its name from "Cress", referring to the watercress which grew in its streams, and "Kill", referring to the stream passing through.

History

Cresskill was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 8, 1894, from portions of Palisades Township. The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone. A portion of the borough was annexed by Alpine in 1904.

Railroads provided access from Cresskill to customers in New York City, including a chicken hatchery that was the world's largest by 1897. Railroad access helped make Cresskill the home of Camp Merritt, the major debarkation point for more than a million American troops being sent abroad to fight in World War I. To commemorate the fact, a large obelisk memorial (referred to by locals as "The Monument"), or "The Circle Monument" was dedicated in 1924, set in the middle of the Camp Merritt Memorial Circle at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Knickerbocker Road (CR 505).

Historic sites

Sites in the borough listed on the National Register of Historic Places include:

• Blackledge-Gair House (at 111 Madison Avenue; added January 9, 1983)
• Demarest-Atwood House (at 84 Jefferson Avenue; added July 24, 1984)
• Peter Huyler House (50 County Road; added January 9, 1983)
• Benjamin P. Westervelt House (at 235 County Road; added January 9, 1983)

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.074 square miles (5.371 km²), including 2.064 square miles (5.345 km²) of land and 0.010 square miles (0.027 km²) of water (0.50%).

The borough borders Alpine, Bergenfield, Demarest, Dumont and Tenafly.

Demographics

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,573 people, 3,002 households, and 2,318 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,154.5 per square mile (1,604.1/km²). There were 3,114 housing units at an average density of 1,509.0 per square mile (582.6/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the borough was 68.95% (5,911) White, 0.73% (63) Black or African American, 0.03% (3) Native American, 27.64% (2,370) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 1.07% (92) from other races, and 1.55% (133) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.26% (537) of the population. Korean Americans accounted for 17.8% of the population.

There were 3,002 households out of which 40.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.2% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.32. Same-sex couples headed 7 households in 2010, an increase from the 5 counted in 2000.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 20.6% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.7 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 85.7 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $105,625 (with a margin of error of +/- $14,945) and the median family income was $128,382 (+/- $16,732). Males had a median income of $95,795 (+/- $24,665) versus $72,188 (+/- $16,155) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $56,485 (+/- $6,202). About 2.4% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

County Route 501 northbound in Cresskill

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 37.02 miles (59.58 km) of roadways, of which 33.65 miles (54.15 km) were maintained by the municipality and 3.37 miles (5.42 km) by Bergen County.

County Route 505 and County Route 501 travel through Cresskill.

Public transportation

The NJ Transit 166 bus route provides service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and local service is available on the 753 route.

Bus service to Rockland County and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC is also provided by Rockland Coaches routes 14 and 20/20T.

Saddle River Tours / Ameribus provides rush hour service to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station on the 20/84 route.

Education

The Cresskill Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,790 students and 144.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.4:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Edward H. Bryan School with 477 students grades PreK-5, Merritt Memorial School with 336 students in grades PreK-5, Cresskill Middle School with 426 in grades 6-8 and Cresskill High School with 541 students in grades 9-12.

Public school students from the borough, 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.

The Academy of Saint Therese of Lisieux, which opened in 1957, has 225 students in preschool through eighth grade and operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.

Notable people

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

• Roger Ailes (1940-2017), television executive who was the chairman and CEO of Fox News and Fox Television Stations.
• Joe Azelby (born 1962), professional football player who played for the Buffalo Bills, businessman and author.
• Mary J. Blige (born 1971), R&B singer.
• David Broza (born 1955), Israeli singer-songwriter.
• Rick Cerone (born 1954), former catcher for the New York Yankees.
• Lynn Chen (born 1976), actress, who has appeared on All My Children.
• Halim El-Dabh (1921-2017), Egyptian-born composer who made Cresskill his home in the early 1960s.
• Stephen Dadaian (born 1987), electric and classical guitarist.
• Johnny Damon (born 1973), former left fielder for the New York Yankees.
• Marvin Kaplan, lawyer and government official who serves as the Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.
• Michael Kempner (born 1958), founder, President, and CEO of the public relations firm MWW.
• Andrew M. Luger, attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota from 2014 to 2017.
• Betsy Markey (born 1956), member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado.
• Harold Martin (1918-2010), member of the New Jersey General Assembly.
• Reuben (1912-1994) and Rose (1916-2006) Mattus, entrepreneurs and philanthropists who founded the Häagen-Dazs ice cream business.
• Pierre McGuire (born 1961), ice hockey analyst and former NHL coach and scout.
• May McNeer (1902-1994), journalist and author.
• Robert Bruce Merrifield (1921–2006), biochemist and winner of 1984 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• Sherrill Milnes (born 1935), operatic baritone.
• Tracy Morgan (born 1968), actor and comedian best known for his eight seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his role as Tracy Jordan on the TV series 30 Rock.
• Nicholas Oresko (1917-2013), United States Army veteran who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on January 23, 1945, during World War II.
• Mike Piazza (born 1968), former catcher for the New York Mets.
• John Ricco (born c. 1968), assistant general manager of the New York Mets.
• Tom Rinaldi, reporter for ESPN and ABC
• Ani Sarkisian (born 1995), footballer who plays as a forward for the Armenia women's national team.
• Tommy Savas (born 1984), actor and producer.
• Richard H. Tedford (c. 1928–2011), paleontologist.
• Lynd Ward (1905-1985), artist and storyteller, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving.
• Gary Wright (born 1943), singer best known for his song "Dream Weaver".
• Robert Zoellner (1932-2014), investor and stamp collector who was the second person to have assembled a complete collection of United States postage stamps.

See also

In Spanish: Cresskill para niños