River Vale is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States. River Vale is the easternmost municipality in an area of the county referred to as the Pascack Valley. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the township's population was 9,659,DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 for River Vale township, Bergen County, New Jersey
,

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

. Accessed March 13, 2013. reflecting an increase of 210 (+2.2%) from the 9,449 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 39 (+0.4%) from the 9,410 counted in the 1990 Census. The township was ranked #29 on the 100 Best Places to Live 2007 survey published by CNN/''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

'' magazine. River Vale was formed as a township on April 30, 1906, from portions of both Hillsdale Township (now Hillsdale Borough) and Washington Township.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 86. Accessed January 30, 2012. The township was named for its location along the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the subur ...

. On January 5, 1904, the temperature in River Vale fell to , the lowest temperature ever recorded in New Jersey.

History

Before 1841, the area comprising River Vale was part of Harrington Township. It used to be known as the "Over Kill Neighborhood" or just "Over Kill"—it being over the

kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...

(

) from Tappan. Its southern part, known as

Eastwood Eastwood may refer to: Places ;in Australia *Eastwood, New South Wales **Eastwood railway station ** Electoral district of Eastwood *Eastwood, South Australia ;in Canada * Eastwood, Ontario *Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood ;in the P ...

(named in contrast to Westwood), became an independent borough in 1894, but was dissolved and re-absorbed into Washington Township in 1896. River Vale was incorporated as a township in 1906, formed from portions of both Hillsdale and Washington Township. On July 15, 1929, part of River Vale was ceded to Park Ridge. On May 20, 1959, territory was acquired from Montvale. In 1967, a mass grave site was discovered in River Vale from an event in 1778 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the

Baylor Massacre The "Baylor Massacre" (also "Skirmish Near Tappan", "Rebel Post Near Old Tapan", "Tappan Massacre", and "Raid on Old Tappan") was a British attack on September 27, 1778, which surprised the 3rd Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons under the c ...

. This became widely known due to a February 1968 report to the Bergen County

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

, "1778 – The Massacre of Baylor's Dragoons." The burial site was made into a county park that was dedicated on October 15, 1972. On July 28, 1994, the residents of River Vale voted to

recall Recall may refer to: * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning * Recall (memory) * ''Recall'' (Overwatc ...

Mayor Walter Jones, Councilwoman Patricia Geier and Councilman Bernard Salmon, following a battle between residents and the mayor and some council members over the mayor's plan to merge River Vale's

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency n ...

center to a regional dispatch center located in Park Ridge. A River Vale resident, Henry Hoffman, directed the scrapping of in Kearny from 1958 to 1960. Following Hoffman's death in 1965, the stern plate of the ''Enterprise'' was placed on a

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization baseball field A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

as a memorial. The field was later named Hoffman Field. On October 2, 2000, the stern plate was moved to the township's Veterans' Memorial Park.Shepherd, Joel
Stern Plate Dedication Ceremony
USS ''Enterprise'' CV-6, December 9, 2000. Accessed December 16, 2013. "On December 9, 2000 – a clear, crisp winter day – eleven veterans of Enterprise CV-6 joined Dr. Raymond Z. Darakjian, mayor of New Jersey's River Vale Township, Rear Admiral Richard Naughton, who commanded Enterprise CVN-65 in 1993, and other dignitaries to dedicate the stern plate of Enterprise CV-6, in its new resting place in River Vale's Veterans' Memorial Park." In March 2004, the township became the first municipality in the state to be placed on probation by the Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund, a fund that covers legal expenses of member municipalities and government agencies. The issue was due to the number and scope of legal cases against the township, its employees and its governance, plus what David Grub, chief executive of the fund, called "a general environment of personal attack". The fund urged the township to update employment practices and better train managers to avoid liabilities. As a result of these issues, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called the township "small but litigious".

Geography

According to the

, the township had a total area of 4.31 square miles (11.17 km²), including 4.07 square miles (10.54 km²) of land and 0.24 square miles (0.63 km²) of water (5.64%). The township is bordered by Montvale to the northwest, Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake (a very small section) and Hillsdale to the west, Westwood to the southwest, a small section bordering Emerson to the south, Harrington Park to the southeast, Old Tappan to the east, and

Pearl River, New York Pearl River is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is east of Chestnut Ridge, New York, ...

to the north. Its borders are defined by the

to the east, which was dammed to form

Lake Tappan Lake Tappan is a reservoir impounded by the Tappan Dam on the Hackensack River, straddling the border between the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. Within New Jersey, the lake traverses the border separating the municipalities of Riv ...

, and Pascack Brook to the south. The northern border is defined by the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

state border. The western border has several sections, including a section defined by an unnamed creek and a section defined by Cedar Lane. The southern portion of the township lies between the Hackensack River and Pascack Brook, and is relatively flat. The northern portion slopes down from rolling hills in the west into Lake Tappan to the east. Much of the land is developed as

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

an single-family residences, but there remain some undeveloped areas. The undeveloped areas are mostly wooded and are south and west of Lake Tappan, following the Cherry Brook and the Hackensack River watershed. In 1996, plans to develop watershed land received resistance from the community. In the southwest of the township, the

Pascack Brook County Park Pascack Brook County Park, 137 acre (55.4 hectare) county park, is located on Emerson Road in Westwood, New Jersey, about a mile (1.6 km) east of Westwood (NJT station) and half a mile upstream from the mouth of Pascack Brook Pascack Brook ...

also preserves a wooded area. There are three

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

s in the township, two 18-hole public courses, and a private 18-hole course. There is a small commercial district surrounding the intersection of Rivervale Road and Westwood Avenue in the southern portion of the township.

Demographics

2010 Census

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways ...

was $120,820 (with a margin of error of +/− $7,009) and the median family income was $135,612 (+/− $8,972). Males had a median income of $100,594 (+/− $8,458) versus $61,516 (+/− $11,658) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the township was $49,586 (+/− $4,018). About 0.7% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over. Same-sex couples headed 23 households in 2010, an increase from the 9 counted in 2000.

2000 Census

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

there were 9,449 people, 3,275 households, and 2,675 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 2,317.7 people per square mile (894.2/km²). There were 3,312 housing units at an average density of 812.4 per square mile (313.4/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 92.33%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.58%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 5.89% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.43% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 3.22% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for River Vale township, Bergen County, New Jersey

. Accessed March 13, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for River Vale township, Bergen County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed March 13, 2013. There were 3,275 households, out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.3% were non-families. 15.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.22. In the township the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $95,129, and the median income for a family was $105,919. Males had a median income of $77,794 versus $39,732 for females. The

for the township was $40,709. 2.8% of the population and 2.4% of families were below the

. Out of the total population, 2.1% of those under the age of 18 and 5.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Government

Local government

River Vale is governed within the

Faulkner Act The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act (, et seq.) provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H. Faulkner, former mayor ...

(formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law) under the Mayor-Council system of municipal government (Plan E), implemented by direct petition as of January 1, 1979. The township is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government. The governing body is comprised of two separate and coequal power centers, each directly elected by voters, with the Mayor serving as Chief Executive, while the Council is the municipal legislature. The Township Council is comprised of five members elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

to four-year staggered terms on a partisan basis, with either two seats (plus the mayor) or three seats coming up for vote in even-numbered years as part of the November general election.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 165. , the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of River Vale is Republican Glen Jasionowski, whose term of office ends December 31, 2022.Office of the Mayor
Township of River Vale. Accessed July 18, 2022. The members of the Township Council are Council President Mark Bromberg (R, 2022), Vice President Paul J. Criscuolo (R, 2024), Ari Ben-Yishay (R, 2024), John Donovan (R, 2024) and Denise Sieg ( D, 2022).''2022 County and Municipal Directory''

Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Precinct Summary Results Report - Combined 2020 Bergen County General Election - November 3, 2020 Official Results

Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Bergen County November 6, 2018 General Election Statement of Vote

Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Plan Components Report
New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 39th state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as ...

. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 6,881 registered voters in River Vale Township, of which 1,607 (23.4% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,889 (27.5% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 3,381 (49.1% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 4 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.Voter Registration Summary - Bergen
,

Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed December 16, 2013. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 71.2% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 97.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide). In the 2016 presidential election, Republican

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

received 2,904 votes (50.2% vs. 41.6% countywide), ahead of Democrat

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

with 2,609 votes (45.1% vs. 54.8%) and other candidates with 202 votes (3.5% vs. 3.0%), among the 5,781 ballots cast by the township's 7,704 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.0% (vs. 72.5% in Bergen County). In the 2012 presidential election, Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

received 2,962 votes (55.6% vs. 43.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

with 2,303 votes (43.2% vs. 54.8%) and other candidates with 33 votes (0.6% vs. 0.9%), among the 5,330 ballots cast by the township's 7,189 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.1% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County). In the 2008 presidential election, Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

received 2,963 votes (53.2% vs. 44.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 2,529 votes (45.4% vs. 53.9%) and other candidates with 33 votes (0.6% vs. 0.8%), among the 5,573 ballots cast by the township's 7,088 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.6% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County).2008 General Election Results for River Vale
, ''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee G ...

''. Accessed January 30, 2012. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 2,946 votes (54.4% vs. 47.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

with 2,424 votes (44.8% vs. 51.7%) and other candidates with 29 votes (0.5% vs. 0.7%), among the 5,414 ballots cast by the township's 6,646 registered voters, for a turnout of 81.5% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

received 68.3% of the vote (2,067 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 30.5% (922 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (38 votes), among the 3,083 ballots cast by the township's 7,027 registered voters (56 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 43.9%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 2,017 votes (56.0% vs. 45.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

with 1,369 votes (38.0% vs. 48.0%), Independent Chris Daggett with 174 votes (4.8% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 12 votes (0.3% vs. 0.5%), among the 3,604 ballots cast by the township's 7,009 registered voters, yielding a 51.4% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).

Emergency services

Police

The River Vale Police Department is a full-time department that has provided police services to the township since 1930. As of 2015, there were a total of 21 members of the department: one

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

, two Lieutenants, five

Sergeants Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other un ...

, 11

Officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fr ...

, and one Dispatcher. The force is responsible for all aspects of policing in the township, including responding to fire and medical emergency calls. Each patrol car is equipped with a

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial i ...

kit,

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...

tank, and an

Automated external defibrillator An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and is able to treat them thro ...

. Dispatch for all River Vale emergency services (police, fire, ambulance) is contracted to Ridgewood, New Jersey based Northwest Central Bergen Dispatch (NWBCD). Officers of the River Vale Police Department are members of Pascack Valley Local 206 of the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association.

Fire

The River Vale Volunteer Fire Department (RVFD) is an all-volunteer fire department. Started in 1923, the department consists of one

, one Assistant/Deputy Chief, two Captains, and five Lieutenants (one for each apparatus). In addition, there is also a Fire Official who is in charge of the River Vale Bureau of Fire Prevention with 2 Fire Inspectors under his direction. The department is staffed by fully trained

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions als ...

junior firefighter Junior firefighting is a youth activity mostly organized by fire departments. It serves as a means of personal development for the youths, as well as a recruiting pool for the fire departments. Junior firefighter programs give young people the cha ...

s, and fire police. The RVFD is a municipal-run public volunteer fire department that is funded by taxes. It is a member of the Pascack Valley mutual aid. The department has two stations. The ''North Firehouse'' is located at 620 Rivervale Road, and houses one pumper, Engine 56 and the Fire Prevention Bureau. The ''South Firehouse'' is located at 334 Rivervale Road, and houses two pumpers, Engines 57 and 58, one tower ladder, Ladder 59, and one rescue unit, Rescue 54, and one rescue boat, Marine 5. There is also a

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

for the Chief, a vehicle for the Assistant Chief, both Ford Explorers and known as 55 and 551 respectively, and two vehicles for the Fire Prevention Bureau. Dispatching is contracted to Ridgewood, New Jersey based Northwest Central Bergen Dispatch (NWBCD).

Ambulance

Begun in 1956, and formally incorporated in 1957, the River Vale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Inc. (RVVAC) is located at 333 Rivervale Road. The corps is run by an executive board, consisting of the business officers and the line officers. The business officers are the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and the line officers are the Captain, 1st Lieutenant, and 2nd Lieutenant. The RVVAC is an all-volunteer independent public emergency medical service. As such, they do not bill for services, and their equipment is not directly paid for by the township. Funding is provided by donations and support from the township. The corps provides

basic life support Basic life support (BLS) is a level of medical care which is used for patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries until they can be given full medical care by advanced life support providers (paramedics, nurses, physicians). It can be p ...

, and is staffed primarily by certified

Emergency Medical Technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

-trained drivers are also sometimes on duty. They have two Type III ambulances, Ambulance 50 and Ambulance 60, and three first responder vehicles that on-duty members use to respond to emergency calls. Dispatching is provided by the River Vale Police Department's 9-1-1 center. The primary jurisdiction of the RVVAC is the Township of River Vale, but the corps also regularly responds to requests for mutual-aid from the neighboring First Aid Squads of Old Tappan, Emerson, Washington Township, Westwood, Hillsdale, and Tri-Boro ( Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, and Montvale). The RVVAC is a member of the New Jersey State First Aid Council, the Pascack Valley Volunteer Ambulance Association and the Pascack Valley Mutual Aid Group.

Education

The River Vale Public Schools serve students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

eighth grade Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...

. As of the 2020–2021 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 1,073 students and 94.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 11.4:1.District information for River Vale Public School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district financ ...

. Accessed February 15, 2022. Schools in the district (with 2020–2021 enrollment data from the

) are Roberge Elementary School with 302 students in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, Woodside Elementary School with 342 students in kindergarten to fifth grade and Holdrum Middle School with 413 students in grades sixth to eighth. River Vale's public high school students attend

Pascack Valley High School Pascack Valley High School (PVHS) is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located in Hillsdale in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of two secondary schools in t ...

in Hillsdale, together with students from Hillsdale, as part of the

Pascack Valley Regional High School District The Pascack Valley Regional High School District is a regional public high school district encompassing students from four communities in the Pascack Valley region of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through ...

. As of the 2020–2021 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,087 students and 93.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

of 11.7:1. Seats on the high school district's board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent districts, with one seat assigned to River Vale. Public school students from the township, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the

Bergen County Technical Schools Bergen County Technical Schools (BCTS) is a county technical school district that serves as the vocational / technical education arm of all the school districts within the 70 municipalities in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The primar ...

, which include the

Bergen County Academies Bergen County Academies (BCA) is a tuition-free public magnet high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey that serves students in the ninth through twelfth grades from Bergen County, New Jersey. The school was founded by John Grieco, also fou ...

in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or

Paramus Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality and by Bergen County. Main roads in River Vale include Westwood Avenue, Rivervale Road and Prospect Avenue.

Public transportation

Daily bus service is provided by Rockland Coaches (Red and Tan Lines) on routes 84 and 14K to the

George Washington Bridge Bus Station The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City. The bus station is owned and operated by the Port Authori ...

and on route 14ET to the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

. While there is no rail transport in River Vale, the

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

Pascack Valley Line The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the United States. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson County and Bergen County in New Jersey, and into Rockland Co ...

is available in adjacent communities to the west. Daily service is available to

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

and

Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction (known as Secaucus Transfer during planning stages and signed simply as Secaucus) is a NJ Transit Rail Operations commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey. The $450 million, station opened on December 15, 2003, and was ded ...

from the Montvale, Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, Hillsdale and Westwood stations.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with River Vale include: *

Brooke Ammerman Brooke Reimer (née Ammerman; born July 13, 1990) is an American retired ice hockey forward. She scored the first goal in Metropolitan Riveters franchise history in the inaugural game of the National Women's Hockey League, on October 11, 2015. ...

(born 1990),

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

forward who was the first player to score a goal in Metropolitan Riveters history * Mike Bajakian (born 1974),

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

quarterbacks coach, former offensive coordinator for the

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Tennessee", "Vols", "UT", or "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 130 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 862� ...

team * John Campbell (born 1955),

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Austral ...

driver and youngest ever person inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame *

Richard Cottingham Richard Francis Cottingham (born November 25, 1946) is an American serial killer and rapist who murdered at least 17 young women and girls in New York and New Jersey between 1967 and 1980. His confirmed killings include nine convictions and a fur ...

(born 1946), serial-killer also known as "the torso-killer", who is believed to have murdered 11 people and claimed to have killed 85–100 *

Jack Curry Jack F. Curry is an American sports commentator. He has worked in television for the YES Network since 2010, providing analysis of New York Yankees baseball games during pregame and postgame shows. He was part of YES's Emmy Award-winning Yankee co ...

, analyst on the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

pre and postgame shows on the YES Network *

Chris Eliopoulos Chris Eliopoulos (born September 30, 1967) is an American cartoonist and letterer of comic books. Early life Eliopoulos attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City from 1985 to 1989. He majored in graphic design and minored in ...

(born 1967), cartoonist *

Peter Enns Peter Eric Enns (born January 2, 1961) is an American Biblical scholar and theologian. He has written widely on hermeneutics, Christianity and science, historicity of the Bible, and Old Testament interpretation. Outside of his academic work En ...

(born 1961), author, former professor of

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

and

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary is a Protestant theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929 after Princeton chose to ...

Arthur Feuerstein Arthur William Feuerstein (December 20, 1935 – February 2, 2022) was an American chess master, and winner of the first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship in 1960. He represented the United States twice in FIDE Student Olympiads. Early life an ...

(born 1935), national chess champion * Dan Fogelman (born 1976), Hollywood screenwriter *

Stewart Krentzman Stewart H. Krentzman (born March 30, 1951) is the founder of Hummingbird Enterprises, Inc., a private holding company involved in several entrepreneurial startups. From 2003 until 2010, Krentzman was the president and chief executive officer of 120 ...

(born 1951), former President and Chief Executive Officer of Oki Data Americas, Inc. *

Florence Lawrence Florence Lawrence (born Florence Annie Bridgwood; January 2, 1886 – December 28, 1938) was a Canadian-American stage performer and film actress. She is often referred to as the "first movie star", and was thought to be the first film actor to ...

(1886–1938), the first ever "movie star" lived in River Vale from 1913 through 1916Florence Lawrence
Women Film Pioneers Project. Accessed September 23, 2015. "Florence Lawrence intended her last Victor photoplay to be her second two-reel film, The Lady Leone (1912), and after its completion, she and Solter retired to their home in River Vale, New Jersey."PHS Answer Girl & Curator
, Pascack Historical Society. Accessed September 23, 2015. "Florence Lawrence was America's first movie star according to movie historians. She lived at 565 Rivervale Road in River Vale from 1913 through 1916." *

Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show '' Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar ...

(born 1956), comedian and actor * Daniel S. Nevins (born 1966), rabbi who is Dean at the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

* Ian O'Connor (born 1964), sports columnist and ESPN radio host who wrote the books ''Arnie & Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus & Golf's Greatest Rivalry'' and ''The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter'' *

Holly Schepisi Holly T. Schepisi (born December 20, 1971) is an American lawyer, businesswoman, and Republican Party politician who is the New Jersey State Senator, representing the 39th legislative district. She previously served in the New Jersey General ...

(born 1971), member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

who has represented the 39th Legislative District since 2012 * Celita Schutz (born 1968),

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

ka who competed on the women's team in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

and in the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

William J. Snow William J. Snow (December 16, 1868 – February 27, 1947) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of major general, and served as the Chief of Field Artillery for seven years in the 1920s. A native of Brooklyn, New Y ...

, (1868–1947),

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

* Harry Solter (1873–1920), silent film actor, screenwriter and director

Historical sites

Burial Site, site of the 1778 incident where the British captured 54 Americans and killed 15 Americans. * River Vale's Veterans Memorial is home to the sixteen-foot, one-ton nameplate from the stern of .

Other points of interest

* River Vale Country Club has an 18-hole golf course and a restaurant.Home page
River Vale Country Club. Accessed October 7, 2019.

References

Sources

* ''Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties)'' prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958. * Clayton, W. Woodford; and Nelson, William
''History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men.''
Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1882. * Harvey, Cornelius Burnham (ed.)
''Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey.''
New York: New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Co., 1900. * Moderacki, Edmund
''River Vale'' (Images of America series)

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publ ...

, 2002. * Van Valen, James M
''History of Bergen County, New Jersey.''
New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Co., 1900. * Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858–1942
''History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630–1923''
Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1923.

External links

*
River Vale official website
{{authority control 1906 establishments in New Jersey Faulkner Act (mayor–council) Pascack Valley Populated places established in 1906 New Jersey populated places on the Hackensack River Townships in Bergen County, New Jersey