East Orange, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids East Orange, New Jersey
City
City of East Orange
East Orange Fire Headquarters
Location in Essex County and the state of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange, New Jersey Location in Essex County, New Jersey Show map of Essex County, New Jersey East Orange, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey East Orange, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Essex
Incorporated	March 4, 1863
Government
• Type	City
• Body	City Council
Area
• Total	3.93 sq mi (10.17 km2)
• Land	3.93 sq mi (10.17 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0.00%
Area rank	301st of 565 in state 10th of 22 in county
Elevation	177 ft (54 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	64,270
• Estimate  (2019)	64,367
• Rank	590th in country (as of 2019) 20th of 566 in state 2nd of 22 in county
• Density	16,377.1/sq mi (6,323.2/km2)
• Density rank	12th of 566 in state 2nd of 22 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	07017-07019
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3401319390
GNIS feature ID	0885200
Website

East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the city's population was 69,612. The city was the state's 20th most-populous municipality in 2010, after having been the state's 14th most-populous municipality in 2000. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 64,367 in 2019, ranking the city the 590th-most-populous in the country.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 3.924 square miles (10.164 km²), all of it land.

East Orange shares borders with Newark to the east and south, South Orange to the southwest, Orange to the west, and Glen Ridge and Bloomfield to the north.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Ampere and Brick Church.

Neighborhoods

A reminder of East Orange's former wealth. The Ambrose-Ward Mansion was built in 1898 for a book manufacturer, now the home of the African-American Fund of New Jersey

East Orange is officially divided into five wards, but is also unofficially divided into a number of neighborhoods.

• Ampere: Anchored by the now defunct train station of the same name, The Ampere section was developed on land owned by Orange Water Works, after the construction of the Crocker Wheeler Company plant spurred development in the area. The station was named in honor of André-Marie Ampère, a pioneer in electrodynamics and reconstructed as a new Renaissance Revival station in 1907 and 1908. Roughly bounded by Bloomfield to the North, Lawton Street & Newark to the east, 4th Avenue to the south, and North Grove Street to the West.
• Greenwood (Teen Streets): So named after Greenwood avenue and the "teen" streets that run through it. It is often grouped together with Ampere. This area was severely disturbed by the construction of Interstate 280 and the Garden State Parkway. The Grove Street Station of the former DL & W Railroad was located here at Grove and Main Streets. Roughly bounded by 4th Avenue to the North, North 15th Street/Newark to the East, Eaton Place/NJ Transit Morris & Essex Lines, and North Grove Street to the West.
• Presidential Estates: Recently designated due to the streets in this area being named after early presidents of the United States. There are many large houses situated on streets lined with very old, very large shade trees in this neighborhood that are characteristic of the northern section of the city. Roughly Bounded by Bloomfield to the North, Montclair-Boonton Line and North Grove Street to the East, Springdale Avenue to the South and the Garden State Parkway to the West.
• Elmwood Located in the southeastern part of the city. Elmwood Park serves this section of the city, with 7 tennis courts on Rhode Island Avenue, a basketball court on the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Oak Street, a swimming pool with a pool house, a walking track, a baseball field, a softball field and a renovated field house. The area holds one of the surviving Carnegie Libraries, the Elmwood Branch of the East Orange Public Library, opened in 1912.
• Doddtown (Franklin): Named after John Dodd who founded and surveyed the area of the "Watsessing Plain". The former campus of Upsala College is located here. It was converted into the new East Orange Campus High School on the east side of Prospect Street, and an adjacent new housing subdivision. Roughly bounded by Bloomfield to the North, the Garden State Parkway to the south, Park Avenue to the South and Orange to the west.

Demographics

2020 census

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 can be of any race.

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 64,270 people, 24,945 households, and 14,742 families residing in the city. The population density was 16,377.1 per square mile (6,323.2/km²). There were 28,803 housing units at an average density of 7,339.5 per square mile (2,833.8/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the city was 4.13% (2,657) White, 88.51% (56,887) Black or African American, 0.39% (248) Native American, 0.72% (465) Asian, 0.06% (38) Pacific Islander, 3.69% (2,370) from other races, and 2.50% (1,605) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.93% (5,095) of the population.

There were 24,945 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.3% were married couples living together, 29.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 35.8% 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 2.53 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city, the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females there were 81.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 75.4 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $40,358 (with a margin of error of +/− $1,873) and the median family income was $50,995 (+/− $2,877). Males had a median income of $38,642 (+/− $1,851) versus $39,843 (+/− $2,187) for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,298 (+/− $746). About 17.8% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.5% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Roads and highways

The Garden State Parkway in East Orange

As of May 2010^[update], the city had a total of 83.43 miles (134.27 km) of roadways, of which 73.27 miles (117.92 km) were maintained by the municipality, 6.30 miles (10.14 km) by Essex County, 1.52 miles (2.45 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 2.34 miles (3.77 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The Garden State Parkway passes through the city, connecting Newark in the south to Bloomfield in the north. The Parkway is accessible at Interchange 145 for Interstate 280 and at Interchange 147 for Springdale Avenue. Interstate 280 crosses the city from east to west, connecting Orange to the west and Newark to the east.

Public transportation

Local transportation around the city and into neighboring communities is provided by ONE Bus bus routes 24 & 44 and multiple NJ Transit public bus lines, which includes routes 5, 21, 34, 41, 71, 73, 79, 90, 92, 94, and 97.

New Jersey Transit operates two commuter rail train stations in East Orange, both located along the Morris & Essex Lines. The East Orange station is located beside the westbound lanes of Interstate 280, directly across its parking lot from East Orange City Hall. Just one mile west up Main Street is Brick Church station, the city's second rail stop and the more heavily used of the two. Both have seven-day service to New York Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan as well as weekday service to Hoboken Terminal.

The Montclair-Boonton Line runs through the Ampere neighborhood of the city on the east, after splitting off from the Morris & Essex Lines just east of the city line in Newark. Ampere station was a former stop on the line near Ampere Parkway & Springdale Avenue which opened in 1890, but closed in 1991 due to low ridership. Residents can use nearby Watsessing Avenue station in neighboring Bloomfield. Another former stop was Grove Street Station, a mile east of Brick Church, also closed in 1991.

The city is 7.8 miles (12.6 km) from Newark Liberty International Airport in the nearby cities of Newark and Elizabeth.

Sister city

East Orange is a sister city of:

Country	City	County/District/Province/Region/State	Date
Kenya	Nakuru	Nakuru County	unknown

Economy

Central Avenue Commercial Historic District

Portions of the city are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. East Orange was selected in 1996 as one of a group of seven zones added to participate in the program. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the UEZ, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the 6+5⁄8% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in June 1996, the city's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in June 2027.

The main commercial avenues of the city are Central Avenue and Main Street, both of which flow east to west, the latter of which was disturbed by the construction of Interstate 280. Recent efforts have been made to revitalize the commercial area, especially along Main Street and Evergreen Place. New apartments buildings & commercial space have been proposed and built over the last decade. Along South Harrison Street, new apartment buildings have gone up, while existing ones have been updated.

Education

The East Orange School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of 20 schools, had an enrollment of 10,072 students and 744.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Althea Gibson Early Childhood Academy (159 students; in grades PreK and K), Wahlstrom Early Childhood Center (156; PreK-K), Benjamin Banneker Academy (511; PreK-5), Edward T. Bowser, Sr. School of Excellence (609; PreK-5), George Washington Carver Institute of Science and Technology (325; PreK-5), Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Academy (193; K-5), Mildred Barry Garvin School (356; PreK-5), Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative & Performing Arts (369; PreK-8), Langston Hughes Elementary School (589; PreK-5), J. Garfield Jackson Sr. Academy (256; K-5), Ecole Touissant Louverture (297; PreK-5), Gordon Parks Academy School of Radio, Animation, Film and Television (285; PreK-5), Cicely L. Tyson Community Elementary School (504; PreK-5), Dionne Warwick Institute of Economics and Entrepreneurship (462; PreK-5), Future Ready Prep (NA; 6-7), Patrick F. Healy Middle School (392; 7), John L. Costley Middle School (367; 8), Sojourner Truth Middle School (406; 6), Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts (740; 6-12), East Orange Campus High School located on the former campus of Upsala College (1,651; 9-12), East Orange STEM Academy (358; 9-12) and Fresh Start Academy Middle / High - Glenwood Campus (NA; 6-12).

East Orange Community Charter School is a public charter school that operates independently of the school district under a charter granted by the New Jersey Department of Education.

The East Orange Public Library at one time included three branch buildings of the original 36 Carnegie-funded libraries in New Jersey. It has a collection of 344,000 volumes and circulates about 319,000 items annually from four locations.

Ahlus Sunnah School is a K-12 madrasah that has been in East Orange since 2005.

Notable people

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

• David Ackroyd (born 1940), actor, who first came to prominence in soap operas such as The Secret Storm and Another World.
• John Amos (born 1939), actor.
• Jamal Anderson (born 1972), former NFL running back.
• Billy Ard (born 1959), NFL guard who played for the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers.
• Robert H. B. Baldwin (1920–2016), chairman of Morgan Stanley when the bank was taken public in the 1970s.
• Norman Batten (1893–1928), race car driver.
• James Blish (1921–1975), science fiction writer.
• Alvin Bowen (born 1983), gridiron football linebacker who played in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Clyde Bradshaw (born 1959), basketball player who played for the DePaul Blue Demons.
• Betty Bronson (1906–1971), television and film actress who began her career during the silent film era.
• Herbert Brucker (1898–1977), journalist, teacher, and national advocate for the freedom of the press, who served as editor-in-chief of the Hartford Courant.
• Stephanie R. Bush (born 1953), attorney and politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 27th district from 1988 to 1992.
• Robert L. Carter (1917–2012), civil rights leader and United States District Judge.
• Kerri Chandler (born 1969), Deep House DJ and producer.
• Bill Chinnock (1947–2007), singer-songwriter and guitarist who was part of the Asbury Park music scene with Bruce Springsteen in late 1960s.
• Chino XL (born 1974), hip-hop lyricist.
• Margaret Clapp (1910–1974, class of 1926), scholar and educator, who served as eighth president of Wellesley College.
• Troy CLE, pseudonym of Troy Tompkins, author of The Marvelous Effect (set in East Orange).
• Bob Clifford (c. 1913–2006), football player and coach, who served as the head football coach at Colby College and at the University of Vermont.
• Vincent Czyz (born 1963), writer and critic of speculative fiction.
• Randall Davey (1887–1964), painter and art educator.
• Frances Day (1907–1984), actress and cabaret singer in the United Kingdom during the 1930s, and television celebrity in the United States during the 1950s.
• Rasul Douglas (born 1995), cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League.
• Philip Egner (1870–1956), longtime director of the West Point Band and composer of the West Point fight song "On, Brave Old Army Team."
• William Joseph Fallon (born 1944), United States Navy Admiral who is the current Commander of United States Central Command.
• Gale Fitzgerald (born 1951), athlete who competed in two Olympic pentathlons, winning silver medal in 1975 at the Pan American Games.
• Chris Fletcher (born 1948), safety who played for the San Diego Chargers during his seven-year NFL career.
• Franklin W. Fort (1880–1937), represented New Jersey's 9th congressional district from 1925 to 1931.
• Major Harold Geiger (1884–1927), pioneer in Army aviation and ballooning.
• Althea Gibson (1927–2003), tennis player.
• David Garrard (born 1978), quarterback who played for the NFL's New York Jets.
• Tate George (born 1968), former basketball player who played with the New Jersey Nets for three of his four NBA seasons.
• Eugenia Gilbert (1902–1978), actress of the silent film era who starred in many westerns.
• Red Grammer (born 1952), children's music writer.
• Bessie Mecklem Hackenberger (1876–1942), one of the earliest American-born saxophone soloists.
• Robert David Hall (born 1947), actor who is best known for his role as coroner Dr. Albert Robbins M.D. on the television show '.
• Mary Jeanne Hallstrom (1924–2006), nurse and member of the Illinois House of Representatives, was born in East Orange.
• Eric P. Hamp (1920-2019), Indo-European linguist and professor at the University of Chicago.
• Slide Hampton (born 1932), jazz trombonist.
• Vincent S. Haneman (1902–1978), Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1960 to 1971.
• Ann Harding (1902–1981), theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress.
• Balozi Harvey (1940–2016, class of 1957), diplomat and community organizer.
• J.C. Hayward (born c. 1945), news anchor formerly at WUSA, who was the first female news anchor in Washington, D.C. and the first African American female news presenter.
• Carolyn Gold Heilbrun (1926–2003), author who wrote mystery novels under the pen name of Amanda Cross.
• Frances Cox Henderson (1820–1897), wife of Governor James Pinckney Henderson of Texas, who established the Good Shepherd home for aged women after moving to East Orange following her husband's death.
• Caroline Herzenberg (born 1932), physicist.
• Brian Hill (born 1947), former coach of the Orlando Magic.
• Lauryn Hill (born 1975), singer-songwriter, rapper, producer and actress.
• Fred Hills, (1934–2020), literary editor, known for his association with writers including Vladimir Nabokov, Raymond Carver and Heinrich Böll.
• Whitney Houston (1963–2012), singer and actress.
• Karen Hunter (born 1966), journalist, publisher, talk show host and the co-author of several books.
• Janis Ian (born 1951), singer-songwriter.
• Monte Irvin (1919–2016), Major League Baseball player inducted as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame who was ranked #12 on the Sports Illustrated list of The 50 Greatest New Jersey Sports Figures.
• Malcolm Jenkins (born 1987), football player for the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Jarrod Johnson (born 1969), former professional football player who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers and the Sacramento Surge of the World League of American Football.
• David Jones (born 1968), former NFL tight end who played for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1992.
• Ernest Lester Jones (1876–1929), head of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1914 until his death.
• LeRoy J. Jones Jr. (born 1957), member of the New Jersey General Assembly.
• KayGee (born 1969 as Kier Lamont Gist), DJ and record producer best known as a member of hip hop trio Naughty by Nature.
• Brandin Knight (born 1981), former professional basketball player, brother of Brevin Knight.
• Brevin Knight (born 1975), former NBA point guard who played for nine teams during his 13-year career, brother of Brandin Knight.
• Marietta Patricia Leis (born 1938), multimedia artist and poet
• Elizabeth Losey (1912–2005), conservationist who is recognized as being the first female refuge biologist.
• William Lowell Sr. (1863–1954), dentist and an inventor of a wooden golf tee patented in 1921.
• Clara Maass (1876–1901), nurse who died as a result of volunteering for medical experiments to study yellow fever.
• Gordon MacRae (1921–1986), actor, singer, he was born in East Orange.
• Elliott Maddox (born 1947), Major League Baseball outfielder who played for both the New York Mets and New York Yankees.
• Naomi Long Madgett (1923-2020), poet.
• Marion Clyde McCarroll (1891-1977), writer and journalist who was the first woman issued a press pass by the New York Stock Exchange and also penned the "Advice for the Lovelorn, a nationally syndicated column, after she inherited it from Dorothy Dix.
• Stephen A. Mikulak (1948–2014, class of 1966), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1992 to 1996, where he represented the 19th Legislative District.
• Daniel F. Minahan (1877–1947), represented New Jersey's 6th congressional district from 1919 to 1921 and again from 1923 to 1925.
• Dorian Missick (born c. 1975), actor, known for his role as Damian in the television series Six Degrees and for voicing Victor Vance in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
• Worrall Frederick Mountain (1909–1992), Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1971 to 1979.
• Annie Oakley (1860–1926) and her husband Frank E. Butler (1852–1926) lived at 22 Eppirt Street between 1905 and 1908
• Naughty by Nature members Treach, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee.
• Naturi Naughton (born 1984), singer and actress who was a member of the early 2000s group, 3LW.
• C. Milford Orben (1895–1975), politician who served five terms in the New Jersey General Assembly.
• Robert Peace (c. 1981–2011), the subject of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace.
• Elizabeth Peer (1936–1984), journalist.
• Jabrill Peppers (born 1995), football player for the New York Giants of the NFL.
• Chickie Geraci Poisson (born 1931), former field hockey player and coach.
• Stewart G. Pollock (born 1933), Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey from 1979 to 1999.
• Queen Latifah (born 1970), rapper, singer, model and actress.
• Eddie Rabbitt (1941–1998), singer-songwriter.
• C. Thomas Schettino (1907-1983), Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1959 to 1972.
• Shareefa (born 1984), R&B singer.
• Ben Sirmans (born 1970), American football coach and former running back who is the running backs coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League.
• Newton Phelps Stallknecht 1906-1981), philosopher who was a president of the Metaphysical Society of America.
• Donald J. Strait (1918–2015), flying ace in the 356th Fighter Group during World War II and a career officer in the United States Air Force.
• Richard Thaler (born 1945), economist who was the recipient of the 2017 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
• Tom Verducci (born 1960), sports journalist.
• Albert L. Vreeland (1901–1975), United States Representative from New Jersey.
• James Wallwork (born 1930), politician who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature.
• Dionne Warwick (born 1940), singer.
• Valerie Wilson Wesley (born 1947), mystery writer.
• Barrence Whitfield (born 1955), soul and R&B vocalist, best known as the frontman for Barrence Whitfield & the Savages.
• George Whitman (1913–2011), proprietor of the Paris bookstore Shakespeare and Company.
• William H. Wiley (1842–1925), served on East Orange township committee from 1886 to 1888, president for one year; represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district from 1903 to 1907 and 1909 to 1911, co-founder of publishing company John Wiley & Sons.
• Bruce Williams (1932–2019), radio host.
• Jocelyn Willoughby (born 1998), basketball player for the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
• Marion Thompson Wright (1902–1962), scholar and activist who, in 1940, became the first African-American woman in the United States to earn her Ph.D. in history.

See also

In Spanish: East Orange para niños