Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 11.1 square miles (28.8 km²), of which, 11.0 square miles (28.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.81%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census⁴ of 2000, there were 26,959 people, 10,254 households, and 7,341 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,443.3 people per square mile (943.7/km²). There were 10,756 housing units at an average density of 974.8/sq mi (376.5/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 84.34% White, 5.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 6.27% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.51% of the population.

There were 10,254 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the township the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $62,058, and the median income for a family was $74,572. Males had a median income of $52,376 versus $35,439 for females. The per capita income for the township was $30,581. About 3.6% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Ocean Township operates under the Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) form of government. The Township Committee is elected at large by the voters in nonpartisan elections to serve four-year terms of office on a concurrent basis.¹ At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor.

The five-member Council sets policy and adopts local ordinances while the Council-appointed Township Manager oversees the day-to-day administration of the Township. The Council sets policy for the municipality. The Mayor presides over the Council and, as a member, has a voice and a vote in its proceedings.⁹

Members of the Township Council are Mayor William F. Larkin, Deputy Mayor J. David Hiers, William J. Garofalo, Donna L. Schepiga and Chris Siciliano.¹⁰

Federal, state and county representation

Ocean township is in the Sixth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 11th Legislative District.¹³

Education

Recreation

Ocean Township has five named parks, the largest, Palaia Park (formerly Deal Test Site) is the site of the township's 4th of July celebration, and the Italian American Association of the Township of Ocean's Annual four day festival.¹⁹ Ocean Township also contains Weltz Park, an undeveloped parcel of the Monmouth County Park System.

Noted residents

References

^ ^a ^b 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 58.
^ USGS GNIS: Township of Ocean, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed January 4, 2008.
^ ^a ^b Census data for Ocean township, Monmouth County, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 16, 2008.
^ ^a ^b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 183.
^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990. Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
^ About Our Town, Ocean Township. Accessed October 18, 2006.
^ Mayor & Council, Ocean Township. Accessed June 6, 2008.
^ O'Connell, Carolyn. "Larkin selected as township’s mayor", Atlanticville, October 18, 2002. Accessed May 11, 2007. "On Oct. 10, Terrance D. Weldon, who was also the Asbury Park city administrator, pleaded guilty before Judge William H. Walls in federal court in Newark to taking $64,000 in bribes."
^ The Star Ledger, August 27, 2007. Accessed August 28, 2007
^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 62. Accessed August 30, 2006.
^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
^ Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Accessed January 29, 2008.
^ DeNicola, Linda. "Ocean Township voters approve school budget: Taxes will rise 3.3 percent in Ocean, decrease in Loch Arbour", Atlanticville, April 28, 2005. Accessed July 21, 2008.
^ Data for the Ocean Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed June 6, 2008.
^ American Association of the Township of Ocean web site, accessed May 14, 2007.
^ "LOU BARBARO IS DEAD; WON JERSEY GOLF TITLE", The New York Times, October 13, 1976. Accessed November 26, 2007.
^ Harvin, Al. "An Offseason Game; New Jersey Sports", The New York Times, January 12, 1973. Accessed December 15, 2007. "When Bob Davis was a senior at Neptune (N.J.) High School he had a decision to make-play basketball, or football. He chose football. "I was actually a much better basketball player in high school than I was a football player," says Davis, now a resident of Wayside, N.J., and the backup quarterback to Joe Namath of the New York Jets."
^ Lynn, Allison. "Nies 'n' easy: MTV stud Eric Nies has his life back in shape.", People (magazine)October 7, 1996. "It is a sunny morning in the spring of 1995, and Eric Nies is fiddling with the sunroof of the stretch limo heading to his hometown of Ocean Township, N.J."
^ Hall, Trisha. "Habitats/Elizabeth Street; A Loft for Living, Working and Sharing", The New York Times, April 23, 2000. Accessed May 14, 2007. "When Mr. Nies first saw the space he was, by his own description, living nowhere. Sometimes he stayed with friends in Manhattan, sometimes with his mother in Ocean Township, in southern New Jersey."
^ "'High School' success story", Asbury Park Press, March 7, 2006. "EVEN Ashley Tisdale is having a hard time believing her luck. Not only is the former Ocean Township resident starring in the hottest cable movie on the tube these days ... ""High School Musical" ... and gracing the pages of Bop and Tiger Beat magazines, she's also sitting at No. 1 (along with her "High School Musical' cast mates) on the Billboard top 200 music chart."
^ Harvin, Al. "An Offseason Game; New Jersey Sports", The New York Times, January 12, 1973. Accessed November 16, 2008. "Some of the other Jersey residents on the team, according to Davis, are Bob Tucker, the New York Giants' tight end from Lincroft; Phil Villapiano, Oakland Raider linebacker from Ocean Township, and Ron Johnson, Giant running back, now a resident of Fort Lee."
^ Fishman, Steve. "How New York's Shock Jockette Got Supersized", New York (magazine), October 16, 2005. Accessed December 3, 2007. "As a youngster, Wendy did not seem destined for success on the radio, or anywhere else. She grew up in Wayside, New Jersey, an upper-middle-class part of Ocean Township, one of four black students in her class, and one of the heaviest of any race."
^ The Wendy Williams Experience, VH1, accessed May 14, 2007. "Wendy grew up in Ocean Township, New Jersey where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications (with a minor in journalism) from Northeastern University in Boston."

Contents

Geography