East Brunswick

East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city of New Brunswick and located roughly 29 miles (47 km) away from New York City. According to the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 47,512, reflecting an increase of 756 (+1.6%) from the 46,756 counted in the 2000 Census. East Brunswick was also the site of the gunfight at Turnpike exit 9 shortly after midnight on May 2, 1973, in which a car being driven by Zayd Malik Shakur (born James F. Costan) and Sundiata Acoli (born Clark Squire) was stopped. In July 2021, the film Geri Balri starring Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta was filmed in East Brunswick. The township's Municipal Building, named for Mayor Jean Walling, is located 31 miles (50 km) southwest of New York's Times Square and 49 miles (79 km) northeast of Philadelphia. It takes approximately 45 minutes to reach Midtown Center, New York, or Midtown Manhattan, from East Brunswick, or 45 minutes for Midtown to Manhattan. The town was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1860, from portions of both Monroe Township and North Brunswick Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Washington town within the township (February 23, 1870), Helmetta (March 20, 1888), Milltown (January 29, 1889) and Spotswood (April 15, 1908).

History

East Brunswick is the primary city name, but also E Brunswick are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is Township of East Brunswick. The general area of central New Jersey was originally occupied by the Lenape Native Americans. The area today known as East Brunswick was incorporated in 1860 from parts of North Brunswick and Monroe townships, including the community of Old Bridge. Large scale housing and road construction, especially after World War II, transformed East Brunswick into a more suburban community. The extension of the New Jersey Turnpike to East Brunswick in 1952 led to a sharp spike in population growth, with the 1950 Census population of 5,699 more than tripling to 19,965 as of the 1960 enumeration. In July 2021, the film Shiv Shastri Balboa starring Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta was filmed in East Brunswick. In the early 1970s, a citizens group called Concerned Citizens of East Brunswick sued the New York-based New York State Department of Transportation over a proposed major widening project. The citizens group effectively won the case, gaining concessions in turnpike design, scale and mitigation measures for noise and air quality. In May 1973, a car being driven by Zayd Malik Shakur (born James F. Costan), with Assata Shakur and Sundiata Acoli (born Clark Squire) as passengers, was stopped by New Jersey State Trooper James Harper. A shootout ensued in which Trooper Foerster was shot twice in the head with his own gun and killed, Zay d Shakur was killed, and both Assata and Trooper Harper were wounded. In November 2013, the town was the site of the filming of the film The Big Lebowski.

Geography

East Brunswick is located 31 miles (50 km) southwest of New York City's Times Square and 49 miles (79 km) northeast of Center City, Philadelphia. The township lies on exit 9 of the New Jersey Turnpike. The Lawrence Brook, a major tributary of the Raritan River, runs along the western border of the township. Route 18 serves as a vital route in Central Jersey for access to the Jersey Shore and interior parts of the state. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Brookview, Dunhams Corner, Fairview Knolls, Farrington Lake Heights, Gillilandtown, Halls Corner, Herberts and Westons Mills. East Brunswick borders the Middlesex County municipalities of Edison, Helmetta, Milltown, Monroe Township, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Old Bridge Township, Sayreville, South River, South Brunswick and Spotswood. Its municipal building, named for 1970s Mayor Jean Walling, is located in the center of the town. It takes approximately 4560 minutes to reach Midtown Manhattan in New York city or Center City, Philadelphia, depending on traffic and destination. It is a popular place for commuters to get to and from work and leisure, as it is located right on the southern shore of the. Raritans River is one of the major rivers that flows through the township, along with the Manalapan Brook and the Lawrence Brook. The South River is a tributaries of the South River.

Demographics

The 2010 U.S. census counted 47,512 people, 16,810 households, and 13,179 families in the township. The racial makeup of the township was 77.56% White, 2.83% African American, 0.09% Native American, 16.27% Asian, 1.01% Pacific Islander, and 2.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.70% (3,184) of the population. The median household income was $100,655 (with a margin of error of +/ $3,929) and the median family Income was $110,948 (+/$3,838) in 2010. About 3.0% of families and 3.4% of the town's population were below the poverty line, including 4.4 per cent of those under age 18 and 6.4 of those age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.23. The township has a population of 46,756 people, with 17,367 housing units at an average density of 800.0 per square mile (309.0/km²) The median age in the town is 42.5 years. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.4 males. The per capita income for the township is $41,518 (+/ $1,366) The township's median age was 39.3 years.

Economy

Brunswick Square is a single-story regional shopping mall, located on the corner of Route 18 and Rues Lane. Giamarese Farm & Orchards is a family owned business covering 35 acres (14 ha) and dating to 1941. The Tower Center complex includes two 23-story office towers, a 15-story Hilton Hotel and a Holiday Inn Express hotel, located near the intersection of the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 18. There are some other notable shopping destinations near East Brunswick, including the Menlo Park Mall in Edison, Woodbridge Center in Woodbridge, the Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold, and The Shoppes in Old Bridge. The township itself has many other shopping malls and plazas, mostly dotted on Route 18, and can be seen for several miles from the center of the town. It is located near New Brunswick, New York, Newark, and Philadelphia, and has easy access to major highways like Route 18 or the New York and New York City subway systems. It has a population of 4,000, with most residents living in the southern section of the township, which is home to the East Brunswick High School. It also has a large percentage of residents who live in the northern section, where the majority of the population lives in the central part of the county. The town is located on New Jersey Route 18 between the towns of Newark and Paramus, and on New York State Route 18 near the city of New York.

Arts and culture

Musical groups from East Brunswick include ska punk group Catch 22, heavy metal quintet God Forbid and skapunk band Streetlight Manifesto. The East Brunswick area is known for its ska, punk and heavy metal music. The city also has a thriving arts scene, particularly in the arts and culture sector. The town is home to the East Brunswick High School, which was founded in the 1970s and is located in East Brunswick, New Brunswick. It is also home to East Brunswick University, where students can study music, art and other subjects.

Parks and recreation

The Ireland Brook Conservation area is a 22,651,200 sq ft (2,104,370 m2) nature preserve of forests, fields, nature trails, and wetlands. Heavenly Farms is the largest park operated by the township's division of recreation. Crystal Springs Family Waterpark is an aquatic center that hosts 4 various size pools, a splash park, water slides, a lazy river, and more recreational activities. Smaller parks in the township include Bicentennial Park, Country Lane Park, Crandall Play Area, Dideriksen Park, Frost Woods, Great Oak Park, Keystone Park, Lenape Park, Pine Ridge Park, Riva Avenue Park, Sadowski Play Area and Washington Heights Park. The township's Community Park was built on the site of parts of Dallenbach Lake. It was the first municipal waterpark in New Jersey and opened in 1994. It is located in the much larger Raritan Valley region of New Jersey. There are no major county or state parks within East Brunswick's borders, but there is still a nice assortment of recreational activities in the Township. The town is located on the border of East Brunswick and South Brunswick. It has a population of about 2,000. The population of South Brunswick is about 1,800. The county's population is about 4,000, and the state's is about 3,500. It's located in a rural area near the Ireland Brook, which is a tributary of the Lawrence Brook.

Law and government

The Township of East Brunswick was established in 1860. Since January 1, 1965, the Township has operated within the Faulkner Act under the Mayor-Council Plan E form of municipal government. The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the five-member Township Council, with all members elected at-large as part of the November general election in even-numbered years. The Township Council adopts ordinances; adopts a budget after review and revisions; makes appropriations; sets taxes and bond issues; creates and abolishes jobs via ordinance. The council has the authority to initiate hearings for the purposes of gathering information for ordinance making, airing public problems and supervising the spending of its appropriations. East Brunswick Township is located in the 12th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 18th state legislative district. New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027) and Bob Menendez (Harrison,Term ends 2025) The 18th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented by Patrick J. Diegnan (D, Southfield) and in the General Assembly by Robert Karabinchak (D) East Brunswick County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners, whose seven members are elected on a partisan basis to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis. At an annual reorganization meeting in January, the board selects among its members a commissioner and deputy director of Middlesex County's Office of the Director of Public Works.

Education

As of the 2018-2019 school year, the district, comprised of 11 schools, had an enrollment of 8,260 students and 687.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentteacher ratio of 12.0:1. The district's high school was ranked 45th in New Jersey, after being ranked 48th statewide in 2011. Hatikvah International Academy Charter School, a Hebrew language charter school that offers an International Baccalaureate program opened in September 2010 for grades K7. The school plans to build a permanent structure as part of the Campus for Jewish Life (formerly known as the YM-YWHA of Raritan Valley) to replace its current facility the school has rented located near Trinity Presbyterian Church. Saint Bartholomew's School is a Catholic elementary school serving 323 students in Pre-K through eighth grade as of the 2017-2018 school year. In the 2012 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, theDistrict's High School was ranked 46th in the state and 48th in all of New Jersey. Solomon Schechter Day School of Rritan Valley, a Conservative Jewish day school, closed its doors before the start of the 2013-2014 school year in the wake of sharply lower enrollment and financial difficulties. During the 2009-2010 school year the school was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education. It operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen Diocese.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in East Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey = 26.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 20. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in East Brunswick = 3.9 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 5,758 individuals with a median age of 40.4 age the population grows by 1.31% in East Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,282.2 residents per square mile of area (881.2/km²). There are average 2.84 people per household in the 16,594 households with an average household income of $91,869 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.50% of the available work force and has dropped -3.55% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 24.20%. The number of physicians in East Brunswick per 100,000 population = 254.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in East Brunswick = 43.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 24.3 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 113. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 206. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 23.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 47, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in East Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey which are owned by the occupant = 82.56%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 35 years with median home cost = $307,200 and home appreciation of -5.97%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $23.65 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $8,363 per student. There are 13.1 students for each teacher in the school, 851 students for each Librarian and 593 students for each Counselor. 6.30% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 27.79% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 19.56% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).