Mountain Lakes is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,160, reflecting a decline of 96 (-2.3%) from the 4,256 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 409 (+10.6%) from the 3,847 counted in the 1990 Census.
Mountain Lakes was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 3, 1924, from portions of Boonton Township and Hanover Township, subject to the results of a referendum passed on April 29, 1924. The borough was named for a pair of lakes in the area.
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Mountain Lakes as the 26th best place to live in New Jersey in its rankings of the "New Jersey's Top Towns 2011-2012" in New Jersey.
According to Neighborhood Scout, Mountain Lakes is one of New Jersey's most highly educated municipalities, with 85.94% of adults attaining a four-year undergraduate or graduate degree, quadruple the national average of 21.84%, while the percentage of white-collar workers was 98.77%.
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History
Grimes Homestead, is an 18th-century historic home that served as a way station on the Underground Railroad.
Mountain Lakes was originally a planned community, founded in 1910 by Herbert Hapgood. It became an independent town in 1924.
The United States Navy's Underwater Sound Reference Laboratories was located in Mountain Lakes during World War II.
Mountain Lakes had a discriminatory "gentleman's agreement" from its inception up through the 1960s, preventing African-Americans, Jews, Latinos, Catholics, and other "undesirable groupings" from living there. While this has changed in recent years, the town still has a less diverse population than the rest of New Jersey, or Morris County.
Mountain Lakes Resort Video
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.885 square miles (7.473 km2), including 2.616 square miles (6.775 km2) of land and 0.269 square miles (0.698 km2) of water (9.34%).
Part of The Tourne county park is in Mountain Lakes.
Man-made lakes in Mountain Lakes include Birchwood Lake, Crystal Lake, Mountain Lake, Sunset Lake, Wildwood Lake, and Cove Lake. It is only legal to swim in Birchwood Lake, and Mountain Lake in the areas that are roped off. Swimming is allowed between the hours of 5 am to 10 PM every day between the months of June and August with a beach badge purchased at the borough hall.
The borough borders Parsippany-Troy Hills, to the east and south, the town of Boonton to the northeast, Boonton Township to the northwest and Denville to the west all of which are located in Morris County.
Demographics
Census 2010
The 2010 United States Census counted 4,160 people, 1,313 households, and 1,144 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,590.3 per square mile (614.0/km2). The borough contained 1,363 housing units at an average density of 521.1 per square mile (201.2/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 89.57% (3,726) White, 0.36% (15) Black or African American, 0.07% (3) Native American, 7.64% (318) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.34% (14) from other races, and 2.02% (84) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.55% (106) of the population.
Out of a total of 1,313 households, 53.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.9% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.9% were non-families. 11.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the borough, 34.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 16.8% from 25 to 44, 33.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.8 years. For every 100 females the census counted 99.9 males, but for 100 females at least 18 years old, it was 93.5 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $155,139 (with a margin of error of +/- $20,127) and the median family income was $181,600 (+/- $26,906). Males had a median income of $144,688 (+/- $24,336) versus $77,734 (+/- $26,273) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $75,525 (+/- $11,503). About 2.1% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
According to The New York Times, a diverse group of foreigners have been moving to the borough, including Germans, Chinese, South Africans, and New Zealanders have been moving into the borough.
Census 2000
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 4,256 people, 1,330 households, and 1,186 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,593.0 people per square mile (615.4/km2). There were 1,357 housing units at an average density of 507.9 per square mile (196.2/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.05% White, 0.38% African American, 5.17% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population.
There were 1,330 households out of which 53.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 83.3% were married couples living together, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 10.8% were non-families. 9.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.41.
In the borough the population was spread out with 35.7% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $141,757, and the median income for a family was $153,227. Males had a median income of $100,000+ versus $61,098 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $65,086. About 1.4% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.7% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Mountain Lakes operates within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Council-Manager form of municipal government (Plan E), implemented based on the recommendations of a Charter Study Commission as of January 1, 1975. The Borough Council consists of seven elected officials, who are elected at-large for four-year terms of office on a staggered basis in partisan elections, with either three or four seats coming up for election every other year. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are chosen by the members of the Council from among its members at a reorganization meeting held each year during the first week in January.
As of 2016, members of the Mountain Lakes Borough Council are Mayor Peter L. Holmberg (R, term on committee ends December 31, 2018; term as mayor ends 2016), Deputy mayor Frank Borin (R, term on committee and as deputy mayor ends 2016), William J. Albergo (R, 2016; elected to serve an unexpired term), Bill S. Barrett (R, 2018), Daniel J. Happer (R, 2018), John Lester (R, 2016) and G. Douglas "Doug" McWilliams (R, 2016).
In January 2014, the Borough Council selected William Albergo from three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the vacant seat of Jason Bradlee, who had resigned the previous month after announcing that he was relocating to Texas. in the November 2014 general election, Albergo was elected to serve the remaining two years of the term of office.
Federal, state and county representation
Mountain Lakes is located in the 11th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th state legislative district.
New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, Harding Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Cory Booker (D, Newark, term ends 2021) and Bob Menendez (D, Paramus, 2019).
For the 2016-2017 session (Senate, General Assembly), the 25th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Anthony Bucco (R, Boonton Town) and in the General Assembly by Tony Bucco (R, Boonton Township) and Michael Patrick Carroll (R, Morris Township). The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham Township). The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).
Morris County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are elected at-large to three-year terms on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats up for election each year as part of the November general election. The Freeholder Board sets policies for the operation of six super-departments, more than 30 divisions plus authorities, commissions, boards and study committees. Actual day-to-day operation of departments is supervised by County Administrator, John Bonanni. As of 2016, Morris County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Kathryn A. DeFillippo (Roxbury Township, term ends December 31, 2016), Deputy Freeholder William "Hank" Lyon (Montville, 2017), Douglas Cabana (Boonton Township, 2016), John Cesaro (Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, 2018), Thomas J. Mastrangelo (Montville, 2016) Christine Myers (Mendham Township, 2018), and Deborah Smith (Denville, 2018). Constitutional officers are County Clerk Ann F. Grossi (Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, 2018), Sheriff Edward V. Rochford (Morris Plains, 2016) and Surrogate John Pecoraro (Mendham Borough, 2019).
Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 2,964 registered voters in Mountain Lakes, of which 715 (24.1%) were registered as Democrats, 975 (32.9%) were registered as Republicans and 1,271 (42.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 3 voters registered to other parties.
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 58.0% of the vote (1,262 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 41.1% (893 votes), and other candidates with 0.9% (19 votes), among the 2,184 ballots cast by the borough's 3,125 registered voters (10 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 69.9%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 49.2% of the vote (1,177 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 49.1% (1,173 votes) and other candidates with 1.1% (27 votes), among the 2,391 ballots cast by the borough's 3,103 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.1%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 55.1% of the vote (1,299 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 43.6% (1,027 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (21 votes), among the 2,356 ballots cast by the borough's 3,018 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 78.1.
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 71.4% of the vote (935 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 26.6% (349 votes), and other candidates with 2.0% (26 votes), among the 1,325 ballots cast by the borough's 3,036 registered voters (15 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 43.6%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 57.1% of the vote (937 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 32.3% (530 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 10.0% (164 votes) and other candidates with 0.4% (6 votes), among the 1,642 ballots cast by the borough's 3,024 registered voters, yielding a 54.3% turnout.
Education
The Mountain Lakes Schools serve public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2012-13 school year, the district's four schools had an enrollment of 1,584 students and 149.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 10.62:1. Schools in the district (with 2012-13 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Wildwood Elementary School for grades K-5 (473 students), Briarcliff Middle School for grades 6-8 (317 students) and Mountain Lakes High School for grades 9-12 (705 students), along with Lake Drive School (89 students), which serves as a regional school for deaf and hard of hearing students from birth through high school, with students from nearly 100 communities in 12 New Jersey counties. Students from Boonton Township attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship. The school was the 7th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 9th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.
Mountain Lakes is also home to The Craig School, a private coeducational day school serving students in third through twelfth grade. The school has an enrollment of 160 students split between the Lower School (grades 3-8), located in Mountain Lakes, and the Upper School (grades 9-12), in Lincoln Park.
Transportation
Roads and highways
As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 29.38 miles (47.28 km) of roadways, of which 25.86 miles (41.62 km) were maintained by the municipality, 2.32 miles (3.73 km) by Morris County and 1.20 miles (1.93 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Public transportation
NJ Transit offers train service at the Mountain Lakes station on the Montclair-Boonton Line to Hoboken Terminal and to Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan via Midtown Direct through Newark Broad Street Station.
Lakeland Bus Lines provides service along Route 46 operating between Dover and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Mountain Lakes include:
- Frederick Walker Castle (1908-1944), general officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
- Frederick Elmes (born 1946), cinematographer who won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography for Wild at Heart and Night on Earth.
- Richard M. Freeland (born 1941), President of Northeastern University from 1996 to 2006.
- Jeff Friesen (born 1976), professional hockey player who has played for the New Jersey Devils.
- Brittany Underwood (born 1988), actress and singer best known for her role as teenager Langston Wilde on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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