Piscataway, New Jersey

Piscataway Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 56,044,  reflecting an increase of 5,562 (+11.0%) from the 50,482 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 3,393 (+7.2%) from the 47,089 counted in the 1990 Census.

The name Piscataway may stem from the area's original European settlers, transplants from near the Piscataqua River defining the coastal border between New Hampshire and Maine, whose name derives from peske (branch) and tegwe (tidal river), or alternatively from pisgeu (meaning "dark night") and awa ("Place of") or from a Lenape language word meaning "Great Deer". The area was first settled in 1666 by Quakers and Baptists who had left the Puritan colony in New Hampshire. Piscataway is in the Trenton-Princeton-New Brunswick metropolitan area.

Piscataway Township was formed on December 18, 1666, and officially incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, as part of the state's initial group of 104 townships. The community, the fifth oldest municipality in New Jersey, has grown from Native American territory, through a colonial period and is one of the links in the earliest settlement of the Atlantic Ocean seacoast that ultimately led to the formation of the United States. Over the years, portions of Piscataway were taken to form Raritan Township (March 17, 1870, now Edison), Dunellen (October 28, 1887), Middlesex (April 9, 1913) and South Plainfield (March 10, 1926).

Society Hill (with a 2010 Census population of 3,829 ) is a census-designated place and unincorporated community located within Piscataway Township.

Piscataway has advanced educational and research facilities due to the presence of Rutgers University and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. High Point Solutions Stadium, home field for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team, is in Piscataway, and was renamed in 2011 as part of a deal that will pay the university more than $6 million over 10 years.

In 2008, Money magazine ranked Piscataway 23rd out of the top 100 places to live in America.

Geography
Piscataway Township is located at 40.54564°N, -74.46082°W (40.54564,-74.460817). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 19.029 square miles (49.286 km2), of which, 18.835 square miles (48.782 km2) of it is land and 0.194 square miles (0.504 km2) of it (1.02%) is water.

Piscataway lies on the south side of the Raritan Valley, a line of cities in Central Jersey, along with New Brunswick, Highland Park and South Plainfield. Piscataway lies 45 minutes southwest of New York City and 53 minutes northeast of Philadelphia.

Piscataway is bordered by nine municipalities in Middlesex County, Union County, and Somerset County.

The township consists of the communities of New Market (known as Quibbletown in the 18th Century), Randolphville, Fieldville and North Stelton. The original village settlement of Piscatawaytown is located in present day Edison Township. Piscataway is often segmented into unofficial sections by local residents which include Bound Brook Heights ("the Heights"), New Brunswick Highlands, Lake Nelson, Randolphville, Arbor, New Market, North Stelton, Fellowship Farm and Possumtown.

Significant portions of Piscataway make up part of historic Camp Kilmer and the Livingston and Busch Campuses of Rutgers University.

The Arbor and New Brunswick Highland sections of Piscataway were historically African American neighborhoods.

The New Market section historically comprised the Quaker village of Quibbletown. The early name of the village originated from the fact that settlers of different religious denominations quibbled about whether the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday or on Sunday in the village.

Census 2010
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $88,428 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,958) and the median family income was $95,483 (+/- $3,327). Males had a median income of $57,308 (+/- $4,335) versus $48,606 (+/- $1,863) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $31,254 (+/- $1,335). About 2.5% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 50,482 people, 16,500 households, and 12,325 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,688.6 people per square mile (1,037.9/km²). There were 16,946 housing units at an average density of 902.5 per square mile (348.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 48.81% White, 20.31% African American, 0.21% Native American, 24.80% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.08% from other races, and 2.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.93% of the population.

As of the 2000 census, 12.49% of Piscataway's residents identified themselves as being of Indian American ancestry, which was the fourth highest of any municipality in the United States and the third highest in New Jersey &mdash; behind Edison (17.75%) and Plainsboro Township (16.97%) &mdash; of all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.

There were 16,500 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the township the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $68,721, and the median income for a family was $75,218. Males had a median income of $47,188 versus $36,271 for females. The per capita income for the township was $26,321. About 2.7% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
In November, 1966, Piscataway voters, under the Faulkner Act, approved a Charter Study and elected a Charter Study Commission to recommend the form of Government best suited to Piscataway's needs. The Commission recommended Mayor-Council Plan F, and in November 1967, the voters approved, and the new form of government was inaugurated on January 1, 1969. Under Plan F the Mayor is the administrator and the Council is the legislative body. A full-time business administrator, appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council, and responsible to the Mayor, supervises the day-by-day operation of municipal government. Terms of office for the Mayor and Council members are four years, on a staggered schedule. There are seven Council members, one representing each of four wards, and three At-Large members.

, the mayor of Piscataway is Brian C. Wahler. Members of the Township Council are Council President Kenneth Armwood (At Large), Council Gabrielle Cahill (At Large), Michael Griffith (At Large), Mark Hardenburg (Ward 1), Vice President Jim Bullard (Ward 2), Steven D. Cahn (Ward 3) and Michele Lombardi (Ward 4).

Federal, state and county representation
Piscataway Township is located in the 6th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 17th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 31,266 registered voters in Piscataway Township, of which 11,355 (36.3%) were registered as Democrats, 3,034 (9.7%) were registered as Republicans and 16,859 (53.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 18 voters registered to other parties.

In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 71.0% of the vote here (15,978 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 27.2% (6,111 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (215 votes), among the 22,491 ballots cast by the township's 32,398 registered voters, for a turnout of 69.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 64.2% of the vote here (12,627 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 34.3% (6,749 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (218 votes), among the 19,670 ballots cast by the township's 27,842 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 70.6.

In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 54.9% of the vote here (6,773 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 37.6% (4,637 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.0% (738 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (111 votes), among the 12,334 ballots cast by the township's 31,079 registered voters, yielding a 39.7% turnout.

Emergency services
Fire and EMS Piscataway is divided into four fire districts which are served by a total of two volunteer rescue squads and six volunteer fire companies, one of which combines both fire and EMS services. The fire districts are the zones in which fire departments operate, and although the volunteer EMS squads follow the basic regions of the districts, only North Stelton Fire Rescue EMS is a part of a fire district. Additionally, on weekdays from 6am until 6pm, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital staffs an ambulance in Piscataway. When the volunteer rescue squads are not in service, either Rutgers University Emergency Services or Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital may be asked to send an ambulance.

District 1 District 2
 * Arbor Rescue Squad (EMS), 1790 W. 7th Street (partial coverage)
 * River Road Rescue Squad (EMS), 101 Shirley Parkway (partial coverage)
 * New Market Fire Co., 801 South Washington Avenue
 * North Stelton Fire Rescue (EMS), 70 Haines Avenue (partial coverage)
 * River Road Rescue Squad (EMS), 101 Shirley Parkway
 * River Road Fire Co., 102 Netherwood Avenue
 * Holmes Marshall Fire Co., 5300 Deborah Drive
 * Possumtown Fire Co., 85 Stratton Street South

District 3
 * Arbor Rescue Squad (EMS), 1790 W. 7th Street
 * Arbor Hose Co., 1780 West Seventh Street

District 4
 * North Stelton Fire Co., 70 Haines Avenue

Fire Prevention
 * Fire Marshall's Office, 555 Sidney Road

Fire District Map
 * Piscataway's Fire Districts

Law Enforcement The primary law enforcement agency within Piscataway is Piscatway Police Department. Rutgers University Police Department and The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) Police Department operate on their respective campuses within Piscataway. Also, The New Jersey State Police also patrols the section of Interstate 287 that bisects the town.

Transportation
Piscataway is served by a number of roads. County roads include CR 501 (along the border with South Plainfield), CR 514 and CR 529. Route 18 currently ends at Hoes Lane, with plans to extend to Interstate 287. Interstate 287 passes through the center of the township for about 4 miles.

Other limited access roads that are accessible include the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) in East Brunswick Township (Exit 9) and neighboring Edison Township (Exit 10).

New Jersey Transit provides bus service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 114 route, to Newark on the 65 and 66 routes, local service on the 819 line and additional service on the 980 route. Train service is not available Piscataway, but service is available on the Raritan Valley Line at the Dunellen station and on the Northeast Corridor at the New Brunswick station.

Education
The Piscataway Township Schools serves students with its high school, four schools that educate students in kindergarten through third grade, two intermediate schools serving grades 4-5, and three middle schools for students in grades six, seven, and eight. Schools in the district (with 2010-11 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are the four elementary schools — Eisenhower Elementary School (grades K-3; 533 students), Grandview Elementary School (PreK-3; 732), Knollwood Elementary School (K-3; 515) and Randolphville Elementary School (K-3; 553) — both Arbor Intermediate School (536) and Martin Luther King Intermediate School (503) for grades 4 and 5, three middle schools for grades 6-8 — Conackamack Middle School (454), Quibbletown Middle School (566) and Theodore Schor Middle School (565) — and Piscataway Township High School, with 2,226 students in grades 9-12.


 * Middlesex County schools:
 * Nu-View Academy Piscataway Campus, 1 Park Ave. - Programs for students with symptoms of; Depression, ADHD, Conduct Disorder, Thought Disorder, or Anxiety Disorder.
 * Bright Beginnings Learning Center, 1660 Stelton Road - Programs for students with Autism.
 * Piscataway Regional Day School, 1670 Stelton Road - Programs for students with Autism.
 * Raritan Valley Academy, 1690 Stelton Road - Programs for students with behavioral disabilities, learning and/or language disabilities.
 * Middlesex County Vo-Tech High School Piscataway, 21 Suttons Lane - Vocational and Technical High School.


 * Private schools:
 * St. Frances Cabrini School (PreK-8)
 * Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow School (PreK-8)
 * Lake Nelson Seventh-day Adventist School (PreK-8)
 * Timothy Christian School (K-12)
 * An-Noor Academy (PreK-12)


 * Colleges and continuing education:
 * Rutgers University Busch and Livingston Campuses
 * University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Piscataway Campus (which overlaps with Rutgers Busch Campus)
 * Cortiva Institute - Somerset School of Massage Therapy
 * Gibbs College Piscataway Campus
 * StenoTech Career Institute is a technical school in Fairfield that offers court reporting and medical transcription training.

Points of interest

 * WVPH is the community radio station of Piscataway High School and Rutgers University.
 * Yurcak Field is a multi-purpose soccer and lacrosse stadium, built in 1994, and holds 5,000 people. The stadium is officially named "The Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium at Yurcak Field" in honor of Ronald N. Yurcak, a 1965 All-American Rutgers Lacrosse player. Rutgers University and Major League Lacrosse's New Jersey Pride both host their home games at this stadium.
 * Ferrer Colony and Modern School and Fellowship Farm Cooperative Association, the remnants of the 1910s Utopian societies
 * Louis Brown Athletic Center is the home of the Rutgers University men's and women's basketball teams. The venue was originally named the Rutgers Athletic Center, and is still referred to as the RAC by many.
 * High Point Solutions Stadium is the home of the Rutgers University football team.
 * Road Up Raritan Historic District
 * The Metlar/Bodine House Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of Piscataway "from Indian trails to Interstate."
 * The Cornelius Low House A Middlesex County Museum

Corporate residents

 * Gorgias Press, an academic publisher that specializes on Eastern Christianity. George Kiraz is the president. Founded in 2001, it reprinted 12 rare works on Eastern Christianity and the Ancient Near East in its first year. The press moved to publishing new books while continuing to reprint academic books. As of 2010, its catalog contained about 2,500 titles.
 * Ingersoll Rand and wholly owned subsidiary Trane
 * Hapag-Lloyd America, An international shipping company.
 * Pepsi Cola Bottling Group A Pepsi Cola bottling plant.
 * Cintas Corporation
 * Colgate-Palmolive, Research and Development
 * Siemens Hearing Instruments, is the world’s largest manufacturer of hearing aids.
 * Telcordia Technologies, World Headquarters
 * Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.
 * Marlabs
 * IEEE

Notable people
Notable current and former residents of Piscataway include:
 * Mike Alexander (born 1965), former NFL wide receiver.
 * Melissa Bacelar (born 1979), horror film actress.
 * John Celestand (born 1977), 30th Pick of 1999 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
 * Anthony Davis (born 1989), offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers.
 * Malcolm Jenkins (born 1987), cornerback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, now a member of the New Orleans Saints.
 * Asjha Jones (born 1980), WNBA basketball player for the Connecticut Sun.
 * Lisa Marie (born 1968), actress in Planet of the Apes, and Sleepy Hollow.
 * Richard Levis McCormick (born 1947), 19th President of Rutgers University.
 * Brandon Renkart (born 1984), practice squad player for the Arizona Cardinals.
 * Kyle Wilson (born 1987), cornerback for the New York Jets.