Ливингстон (Нью-Джерси): История и современность

Township in Essex County, New Jersey, US

Livingston is a township in Essex County, in the U. S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, In 2022, the Population Estimates Program by the United States Census Bureau calculated that the township had a population of 31,000. The township was named for William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey; his family's coat of arms served as the township's seal for many years. The community has been one of the state's highest income communities. Based on data from the American Community Survey for 2013–2017, township residents had a median household income of $153,381, ranked 14th in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, more than double the statewide median of $76,475.

Livingston's history dates back to 1699 when 101 settlers from Newark wanted to move westward. They set up a committee to negotiate with Lenni Lenape Native Americans for the purchase of the Horseneck Tract which today includes Livingston and eight other municipalities in northern Essex County. Between 1698 and 1702, the rules for property ownership were unclear. There were many disputes between settlers and the English proprietors. For some unknown reasons, the Newark settlers did not obtain a grant from the proprietors before negotiating with the native tribes. They finally obtained the deed directly from Lenni Lenape in 1702 for £130. The settlements began until around the 1740s as the dispute between the proprietors and the settlers continued. The dispute came to a breaking point in September 1745 when the East Jersey proprietors began to evict a settler only six months after a house fire in Newark completely destroyed the original deed, which was the only evidence of the purchase. During that period, William Livingston who was one of the few landed aristocrats joined the settlers against the proprietors. Livingston owned land around today's south western corner of the Township of Livingston. His land, like other settlers, was levied with quit rents in the amount 40 shillings per acre. He defended many settlers who were jailed for refusing to pay the quit rents. This series of events caused the settlers, led by Timothy Meeker, to form a group to riot against the British government. The Horseneck Riots lasted for 10 years from 1745 to 1755. The group was also one of the first colonial militia which had periodic battles for 32 years leading up to the Revolutionary War as the group joined the Continental Army in 1776. After the American Revolutionary War, more permanent settlements took place with the first school built in 1783. In 1811, a petition was filed to incorporate the township from about 100 people who lived in seven distinct areas: Centerville (separated to become Roseland, in 1908), Cheapside (now Livingston Mall), Morehousetown (now Livingston Circle), Northfield (now Northfield Center), Squiretown (now the Cerebral Palsy Institute of New Jersey on Old Road), Teedtown (now Livingston Center), and Washington Place (now near the border with Millburn). The population grew quickly after the 1920s when automobiles became more accessible. As a suburb of Newark, the town experienced many housing developments especially after World War II with its peak in 1970 of more than thirty thousand residents. Some major relocations took place during this period of growing population shift. Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (formerly Saint Barnabas Medical Center) and Newark Academy moved from Newark to Livingston in 1964. The last surviving Harrison Cider Apple tree, the most famous of the 18th century Newark cider apples was rescued from extinction in 1976 in Livingston. Today, around 30,000 people live in this suburban community, which lies around an hour from New York City. Its school system—which has been nationally recognized since 1998—and other programs have been drawing new residents to the town. Its population has maintained a level of diversity while the residents continue the tradition of community volunteerism. Localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Cedar Ridge, Cheapside, Moorehoustown, Northfield, Washington Place and West Livingston.

+Livingston Township, Essex County, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionNote: 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. Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non Hispanic)Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)21,53518,81263.33%60.04%Black or African American alone (NH)6329532.15%3.04%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)9120.03%0.04%Asian alone (NH)5,6099,01419.10%28.77%Pacific Islander alone (NH)540.02%0.01%Some Other Race alone (NH)431770.15%0.56%Mixed Race or Multi Racial (NH)3417751.16%2.47%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,1921,5834.06%5.05%Total29,36631,330100.00%100.00%

The 2010 United States census counted 29,366 people, 9,990 households, and 8,272 families in the township. The population density was There were 10,284 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup was 76.17% (22,367) White, 2.26% (663) Black or African American, 0.07% (20) Native American, 19.21% (5,642) Asian, 0.02% (5) Pacific Islander, 0.86% (254) from other races, and 1.41% (415) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.06% (1,192) of the population.

Many office parks are located along Eisenhower Parkway on the western side of the town. There are a few headquarters of major companies including former CIT Group corporate headquarters, Inteplast Group headquarters, The Briad Group headquarters, and customer service and support center of Verizon New Jersey. There are varieties of other services in the township. The Westminster Hotel is located on the western side of the town. Fitness facilities include West Essex YMCA. A Jewish Community Center with fitness center also exists just over the border in West Orange. Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, a 597 bed hospital established in 1865, is located in the southern side of the town near West Orange and Millburn. Livingston also has a local Public access television station (Livingston TV on Comcast TV 34 and Verizon FiOS 26), which is maintained by Livingston High School Students as well as the LPBC (Livingston Public Broadcasting Committee).

Livingston has many local artists in varied forms. Local artists have support from Livingston Arts Association, an organization formed in 1959 to promote art in the community including large scale exhibitions, demonstrations, and workshops. The organization is also a member of Arts Council of Livingston which has a gallery at Livingston Town Center. The Arts Association includes numerous organizations in addition to the Arts Council of Livingston, including the NJ State Opera Guild—West Essex Chapter and Livingston Camera Club. The Arts Council of Livingston regularly exhibits art at the Livingston Town Hall. There are many studios at Riker Hill Art Park with more than 40 working artists in various media including pottery, fine metalwork, glass, jewelry, paintings, fine arts, sculpture and photography. Many studios offer art classes for adults and children.

From 1984 to 1989, Livingston was the site of the Grand Prix tennis circuit tournament, the Livingston Open, held at Newark Academy. The Grand Prix was the only professional circuit since 1985 before it was succeeded by the ATP Tour in 1990. The tournament was won by Andre Agassi in 1988, earning him the seventh title in his career.

There are more than of wooded parks with passive hiking trails in Livingston. Additional are zoned to be preserved in its natural state without public access. This brings to about 25% of total land in the town that is in its natural conditions with habitats of eight threatened or endangered species. There are smaller parks and open space areas dedicated to recreation and sports, mostly centered around the town's public schools. These include two swimming pools, one of which, Northland Pool, is no longer open to the public, ten little league baseball diamonds, four full baseball diamonds, eight full soccer/lacrosse fields, one full football field, three basketball courts, sixteen tennis courts, eleven playgrounds, a jogging track, a dog park, and a fishing/ice skating pond.

Riker Hill Complex (also referred to as Riker Hill Art Park) is a parkland located along the border of Livingston and Roseland, which was acquired between 1969 and 1977 through county funds and the state's Green Acres program. The complex is managed by the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs. It comprises three parks, Riker Hill Art Park—a former Nike Missile control area site on , Walter Kidde Dinosaur Park—a National Natural Landmark on that is not publicly accessible, and the undeveloped Becker Park on Although a large portion of the complex is located within Roseland, the county designated Livingston as the host community as the Riker Hill Art Park is the only functional and publicly accessible park at the present time. The art park located atop of the hill is home of many studios in multiple disciplines of art and craft.

The recreation department under the Senior, Youth and Leisure Services program offers programs for residents ranging from pre school courses, children games, crafts, and dance to youth and adult sports programs to special programming for seniors. Programming also grew during Covid to include various virtual exercise, meditation, and other types of programs and virtual events. The recreation department's variety of services and programs for adults ages 62+ includes educational, sports, special events, concerts, and locally available transportation via several new vans. The recreation department has proven innovative in working to provide programs and services safely throughout the pandemic. Prior to 2020, residents enjoyed two pools, Haines Pool and Northland Pool. Since then, Northland Pool has been mainly closed to residents. There are many independent sports organizations such as Livingston Little League, Livingston Jr. Lancers (football and cheerleading), Livingston Lacrosse Club, and Livingston Soccer Club.

Livingston has operated since 1957 within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Council Manager form of municipal government. The township is one of 42 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government. Livingston's Township Council is composed of five members, elected to four year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats coming up for election in even numbered years. A Mayor and Deputy Mayor are selected by the Council from among its members at a reorganization meeting held after each election. as of 2024, members of the Township Council are Mayor Alfred M. Anthony (D, term on council ends 2024; term as mayor ends December 31, 2024), Deputy Mayor Edward Meinhardt (D, term on council ends 2026; term as deputy mayor ends 2024), Ketan Bhuptani (D, 2026; appointed to serve an unexpired term), Shawn R. Klein (D, 2026) and Michael M. Vieira (D, 2024). In February 2024, Ketan Bhuptani was sworn in to fill the seat expiring in December 2026 that became vacant after Rosy Bagolie stepped down from council and took office in the New Jersey General Assembly the previous month; Bhuptani, the township's first Asian American councilmember, will served on an interim basis until the November 2024 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office. In February 2019, after the Township Council failed to choose a candidate, the Democratic municipal committee selected Michael Vieira to fill the seat expiring in December 2020 that became vacant following the resignation of Michael M. Silverman. Vieira served on an interim basis until the November 2019 general election, when voters elected him to serve the balance of the term of office. The Township Manager is Barry R. Lewis Jr., whose tenure began on March 1, 2018. The previous Township Managers were Robert H. Harp (1954–1985), Charles J. Tahaney (1985–2005), and Michele E. Meade (2005–2016). Gregory J. Bonin served for a single week in 2017 before resigning, and Deputy Township Manager Russell A. Jones Jr. served as Acting Township Manager for the rest of the interval between Meade and Lewis. During the Covid 19 pandemic in March 2020, meetings for local governance were being held through Zoom and Facebook livestream; meetings continue to be broadcast over Facebook livestream, offering broader public access.

The Livingston Police Department (LPD) was established in 1813. It consists of the following divisions: Patrol, Traffic, Communications (911 dispatch), Police Records, Internal Affairs, and Community Policing. Bureaus include the Detective and Juvenile bureaus.

There are more than 40 volunteer committees and boards are operated by the Township, including Livingston Municipal Alliance Committee (LMAC), Holiday Committees, Consumer Affairs Office, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment, and Committee for Diversity & Inclusion. Volunteer based public safety organizations include the Livingston Auxiliary Police, Livingston Fire Department and Livingston First Aid Squad.

Livingston is located in the and is part of New Jersey's 27th state legislative district. Prior to the 2010 Census, Livingston had been split between the and the 11th 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.

As of October 2022, there were a total of 23,689 registered voters in Livingston, of which 9,221 (39%) were registered as Democrats, 4,140 (17%) were registered as Republicans and 10,217 (43%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 49 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received 60.8% of the vote (9,052 cast), ahead of Republican Donald Trump with 36.8% (5,475 votes), and other candidates with 2.5% (367 votes), among the 15,235 ballots cast by the township's 22,664 registered voters (341 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 67.2%. In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 51.1% of the vote (7,303 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 48.1% (6,863 votes), and other candidates with 0.8% (116 votes), among the 14,371 ballots cast by the township's 21,225 registered voters (89 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 67.7%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 53.4% of the vote here (8,244 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 44.8% (6,920 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (122 votes), among the 15,433 ballots cast by the township's 20,367 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.8%. In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Democrat Phil Murphy received 61.2% of the vote (4,671 cast), ahead of Republican Kim Guadagno with 37.6% (2,872 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (95 votes), among the 7,722 ballots cast by the township's 22,280 registered voters (84 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 34.7%. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 62.7% of the vote (4,860 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 36.1% (2,799 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (89 votes), among the 7,905 ballots cast by the township's 21,260 registered voters (157 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 37.2%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 48.8% of the vote here (4,863 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 44.0% (4,386 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 5.7% (563 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (61 votes), among the 9,961 ballots cast by the township's 20,405 registered voters, yielding a 48.8% turnout. Livingston was the home of one of New Jersey's most prominent political families, the Keans. Robert Kean served in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1958, when he ran for U. S. Senator; his son, Thomas Kean, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1968 to 1978 (and as Assembly Speaker in 1972–1973, and Minority Leader 1974–1977), as Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, and as President of Drew University from 1990 to 2004. Thomas Kean Jr., elected to the State Assembly in 2001 and the State Senate in 2003, was the Republican nominee for United States Senator in 2006. When Robert Kean ran for the Senate, losing to Harrison A. Williams in 1958, Livingston's Congressman became George M. Wallhauser, a Republican. In redistricting after the 1960 census, Livingston was moved into the district of Republican Congresswoman Florence P. Dwyer. After redistricting following the 1970 census, Livingston went into Congressman Peter Frelinghuysen Jr.'s district. He was the father of Livingston's Congressman until 2019 Rodney P. Frelinghuysen. When Peter Frelinghuysen retired in 1974, he was succeeded by Millicent Fenwick, who beat Tom Kean in a Republican primary by about 80 votes. After the 1980 census, Livingston was moved to Congressman Joseph G. Minish's district. Minish was defeated by Dean Gallo in 1984 and served until his death in 1994. Rodney Frelinghuysen took his seat. The 2000 Census split the town between the 8th and 11th districts; as of the 2010 Census, the entire township is in the 11th district.

Founded as Saint Philomena School in 1952 and given its current name in 1987, Aquinas Academy is a private coeducational Roman Catholic school that serves students from preschool through eighth grade and operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy is a private coeducational Jewish day school that serves preschool through eighth grade, while Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School is a four year yeshiva high school for grades 9–12. The Tzedek School is a non sectarian co educational school of Jewish Heritage and Hebrew Language serving the communities of Livingston and the surrounding area for students in grades K–12. Newark Academy is a private coeducational day school founded in 1774, that serves grades 6–8 in its middle schools and 9–12 in the upper school. Livingston Chinese School and Livingston Huaxia Chinese School are two weekend Chinese language schools in Livingston which use facilities of Heritage Middle School and Mount Pleasant school.

The Ward–Force House and Condit Family Cook House are two building structures located at 366 South Livingston Avenue. These structures were jointly registered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, commonly known as the Old Force Homestead. Originally, Ward Force House and Condit Family Cook House were built in separate properties. Ward Force House was built as early as 1745 by Theophilus Ward. It was later purchased by Samuel Force for his son, Thomas Force. During the Revolutionary War, Thomas served as a patriot and was captured by the British. Thomas came back to live with his wife and children after the war and expanded the house. It was sold to the township in 1962. The Condit Family Cook House was built as a stand alone summer kitchen of a farm home near the current location of Livingston Mall. When the mall was built during the 1970s, the Cook House was donated to the township and was moved to the current location at the rear of Ward Force House. Currently, the Old Force Homestead is the headquarters of Livingston Historical Society and the Force Homestead Museum. Dickinson House and Washington Place Schoolhouse are two other sites in the township that are registered in the New Jersey State Historic Site Program. Dickinson House is located at 84 Dickinson Lane. It was once visited by U. S. President Theodore Roosevelt for a hunting trip. Washington Place Schoolhouse is located at 122 Passaic Avenue. It was a school house that was built around 1800.

As of 2010, The township had a total of 136.05 mile (219 km) of roadways, of which 105.43 mile (170 km) are maintained by the municipality, 26.05 mile (42 km) by Essex County and 4.57 mile (7 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Livingston is located 21.9 mile (35 km) from New York City. Roads directly serving Livingston include Eisenhower Parkway, County Route 508, County Route 527, Interstate 280 and Route 10. Interstate 80, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike (I 95) are all accessible via I 280.

Bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal is available on the Community Coach #77 bus route. OurBus company also operates a commuter route to New York City serving Livingston and West Orange. NJ Transit offers bus service to Newark on the 70, 71 and 73 routes, with local service available on the 873 route. Rail service is accessible via the NJ Transit Morristown Line, which has several stops in adjacent communities such as Short Hills, Millburn, and South Orange. The stations are about from most of Livingston, accessible by car or taxi. The township provides a fee based direct shuttle service called Livingston Express Shuttle for a 15 minute ride between Livingston Mall and South Orange station for Morristown Line trains to Midtown Manhattan and Hoboken. Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, for inter city rail transit in the Northeastern United States, and the Port Authority's PATH service local rapid transit system are available 10 miles away at Newark Penn Station.

On May 22, 1992, Democratic Presidential candidate and eventual Presidential elect Bill Clinton visited Livingston High School on a campaign stop to announce his support for Governor James Florio's NJ welfare proposal. On June 18, 1996, the Olympic Torch made a stop in Livingston while en route to Atlanta, Georgia. On November 16, 1999, Livingston High School hosted sitting Governor Christine Todd Whitman and her cabinet for a town hall meeting with a conversation focusing on the state's diversity. On January 13, 2008, Livingston High School hosted a crowd of 900 at the first of New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine's all state county forum tour of Jersey to promote and explain his new toll hike proposal to finance state road maintenance. The town hall meeting featured a PowerPoint by Corzine and then a Q and A session where many attendees inquired about a new school financing proposal more so than the toll issue. On June 30, 2015, Chris Christie launched his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination at Livingston High School.