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Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, US

Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, in the U. S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,304, The borough is a suburb of New York City located near the western approach to the George Washington Bridge. Leonia was formed as the result of a referendum passed on December 5, 1894, from portions of Ridgefield Township. Portions of Leonia were taken on February 19, 1895, to form the Township of Teaneck. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Leonia as its 31st best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.

The original inhabitants of Leonia were the Hackensack tribe (Ashkineshacky) of Native Americans. The population was about 1,000 before the Europeans settled in the area. At the time of the American Revolutionary War, Leonia was known as part of the English Neighborhood, a name that survives in neighboring Englewood. It was settled in 1668 mainly by Dutch and English farmers, making it one of the oldest communities in the state and county. A third of the population was African slaves. It was located on the western slope of the Palisades, and started as a quiet farming community. Leonia's proximity to New York City and its major universities, theaters and performing venues contributed to Leonia's place in the world of art and academics, with many artists and leading thinkers finding a home there in the twentieth century. The local economy that had been focused on agriculture underwent economic and cultural growth during the late nineteenth century, marked by the introduction of train service and was originally called West Fort Lee. J. Vreeland Moore and other town leaders chose the name "Leonia" in 1865 in honor of American Revolutionary War General Charles Lee, for whom Fort Lee was named. After traveling through Leonia upon arriving in New Jersey by ferry at Edgewater in 1899, advertising executive Artemus Ward purchased a large piece of land and established the Leonia Heights Land Company to develop and market housing in the community. His advertising attracted many academics and artists who were drawn to Leonia's small size, culture, and location, earning the town's nickname of the "Athens of New Jersey". In 1915, the Leonia School of Illustration was established by Harvey Dunn, fostering the artists' colony that subsequently emerged over the next decade. By the 1930s, it had the highest number of residents, per capita, in Who's Who in America and 80% of its residents were college graduates. Transportation through the borough was enhanced with access to ferries and trolley systems and Leonia became a refuge for many of America's most creative thinkers which included five Nobel Prize winners. For 200 years, one of the two major avenues that run north to south through Leonia, Grand Avenue (the other one is Broad Avenue) was called the English Neighborhood Road. In colonial times, this road served as the main inland route between Paulus Hook, Bergen, and the English Neighborhood. Leonia was a crossroads of the American Revolution and a training ground for American Civil War soldiers. Historic places in the town include the Civil War Drill Hall and Armory and the Cole Allaire House, constructed around 1765, making it the oldest dwelling in the borough, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Vreeland House, constructed in 1786 by Dirck Vreeland and expanded in 1815, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Leonia celebrates "Leonia Day" annually on the third Sunday in May.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.63 square miles (4.22 km2), including 1.52 square miles (3.94 km2) of land and 0.11 square miles (0.27 km2) of water (6.50%). The borough borders the Bergen County municipalities of Englewood, Fort Lee, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park and Teaneck. Leonia is designated as a Tree City USA, receiving its 21st annual recognition in 2010 from the National Arbor Day Foundation.

The 2010 United States census counted 8,937 people, 3,284 households, and 2,519 families in the borough. The population density was There were 3,428 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup was 55.22% (4,935) White, 2.34% (209) Black or African American, 0.16% (14) Native American, 35.12% (3,139) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 3.71% (332) from other races, and 3.44% (307) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.66% (1,489) of the population. The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation adjusted dollars) median household income was $66,271 (with a margin of error of +/− $9,365) and the median family income was $91,129 (+/− $16,890). Males had a median income of $54,754 (+/− $8,175) versus $60,057 (+/− $8,680) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $40,030 (+/− $4,132). About 5.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Leonia is home to the Players Guild of Leonia, which operates as the oldest continuing theatre troupe in the state of New Jersey, and is one of the oldest community theatre groups in the state with continuous performances since 1919. Since 2000, Leonia has also been home to Summerstage at Leonia, which produces a Broadway style family musical each summer in the last two weeks of July. Originally, Summerstage performances were held in the Leonia High School Little Theater, but now take place at the Civil War Drill Hall Theater. Auditions are held in May and open to all in the NY metro area. Past shows have included The Wizard of Oz, Carousel, The Sound of Music, Annie, Oliver, Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. The Leonia Chamber Musicians Society, founded in 1973, is made up of professional musicians who reside in Leonia, has been performing classical music concerts four times a year at various venues in the borough. Sculpture for Leonia aims to build the art and cultural environment in Leonia through the display of outdoor sculpture throughout the community and in the Erika and David Boyd Sculpture Garden, which is located on the grounds of the Leonia Borough Annex. This group sponsors an annual Taste of Leonia fundraiser. Leonia Arts provides a calendar of all arts events in Leonia.

Leonia has five public recreational areas, of which only the Leonia Swim Club requires a membership fee. The recreation areas include Wood Park, located on the corner of Broad Avenue and Fort Lee Road; Sylvan Park and the Leonia Swim Club, both on Grand Avenue near Sylvan Avenue; and the Recreational Center on Broad Avenue which has an indoor basketball court. Field Station: Dinosaurs is a dinosaur themed park located in Overpeck County Park, just south of Interstate 95, with 32 animatronic dinosaurs.

Leonia is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is composed of a mayor and a borough council, with all positions elected at large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four year term of office. The borough council is composed of six members who are elected to serve three year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three year cycle. The borough form of government used by Leonia is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. as of 2024, the mayor of Leonia is Democrat William Ziegler, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the Leonia Borough Council are Council President Christoph Hesterbrink (D, 2025), Scott Fisher (D, 2025), Louis Grandelis (D, 2024), Diane M. Scarangella (D, 2026), Joanne Choi Terrell (D, 2024), and Jordan D. Zeigler (D, 2026).

Leonia is located in the 5th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 37th state legislative district. In redistricting following the 2010 census, the borough was in the 9th congressional district, which was in effect from 2013 to 2022.

As of March 2011, there were a total of 4,713 registered voters in Leonia, of which 2,493 (52.9% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 598 (12.7% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 1,619 (34.4% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 3 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 52.7% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 67.9% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide). In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 2,451 votes (66.8% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 1,135 votes (30.9% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 47 votes (1.3% vs. 0.9%), among the 3,668 ballots cast by the borough's 5,065 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.4% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 2,604 votes (65.9% vs. 53.9% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 1,273 votes (32.2% vs. 44.5%) and other candidates with 30 votes (0.8% vs. 0.8%), among the 3,953 ballots cast by the borough's 5,050 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.3% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 2,468 votes (64.4% vs. 51.7% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 1,327 votes (34.6% vs. 47.2%) and other candidates with 25 votes (0.7% vs. 0.7%), among the 3,835 ballots cast by the borough's 4,878 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.6% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 50.8% of the vote (1,078 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 47.9% (1,015 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (27 votes), among the 2,205 ballots cast by the borough's 4,826 registered voters (85 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 45.7%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 1,682 ballots cast (60.7% vs. 48.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 901 votes (32.5% vs. 45.8%), Independent Chris Daggett with 120 votes (4.3% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 7 votes (0.3% vs. 0.5%), among the 2,773 ballots cast by the borough's 4,880 registered voters, yielding a 56.8% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).

as of 2010, the borough had a total of 23.02 mile (37 km) of roadways, of which 19.53 mile (31 km) were maintained by the municipality, 1.12 mile (2 km) by Bergen County, 1.56 mile (3 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 0.81 mile (1 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. Route 93 (Grand Avenue) runs north south for 1.5 mile (2 km) through the center of the borough, connecting Palisades Park and Englewood. Interstate 95 (the New Jersey Turnpike) curves along the borough's northern border while U. S. Route 1/9 and U. S. Route 46 briefly enter along the western border with Fort Lee. Effective January 22, 2018, Leonia officials banned nonresidents from using residential streets (defined as all streets except Fort Lee Road, Grand Avenue, and Broad Avenue) during rush hours. However, due to complaints from business owners citing decreased revenues, Leonia officials are reconsidering.

NJ Transit bus route 166 provides local and express service from Broad Avenue to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and route 182 serves the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal, with local service offered on the 751, 755 and 756 routes. Rockland Coaches provides service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal on several routes. The Northern Branch Corridor Project is a proposal to extend the Hudson Bergen Light Rail to restore passenger train service on the CSX tracks, which offered passenger service decades before and is now used for occasional freight service. NJ Transit's plan would include a station in Leonia.

Leonia briefly served as the home of Scarlet Witch and Vision in several Marvel Comics storylines from the 1980s, mainly in The Vision and the Scarlet Witch series, the second of which was drawn by Leonia resident Richard Howell. This domestic storyline was later loosely adapted in the 2021 TV series WandaVision, although the location was changed to the fictional town of Westview, New Jersey.