Bloomfield is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Essex County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and an inner-ring suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 53,105, an increase of 5,790 (+12.2%) from the 2010 census count of 47,315, which in turn reflected a decline of 368 (-0.8%) from the 47,683 counted in the 2000 census. It is the location of the Bloomfield Green Historic District, which was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978.

History

The earliest settlers of the area were the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

Native Americans. The initial

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

for European settlement of the land that would become Bloomfield Township was granted to the English

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

colonists of Newark, and the area assigned to Essex County in 1675, and Newark Township in 1693. From the 1690s to about the 1720s, much of the northern and eastern land was sold to descendants of

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

colonists who had settled Acquackanonk, and the remainder mostly to English families. Speertown (now Upper Montclair), Stone House Plains (now Brookdale), and Second River (now Belleville and Nutley) were essentially Dutch and Jersey Dutch-speaking, while Cranetown, Watsessing, and the Morris Neighborhood (now North Center) were predominantly English. Starting in the mid-18th century, the English and Dutch neighborhoods gradually integrated, with Thomas Cadmus being among the first Dutchmen to settle in an English neighborhood. Numerous residents served in the Revolutionary War. No significant engagements occurred in Bloomfield, although the locale was on the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

's retreat route after the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...

;

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and American troops conducted foraging operations; and

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

is believed to have visited at least two residences. The Green was set aside to commemorate the use of that space for

drilling Drilling is a cutting process where a drill bit is spun to cut a hole of circular cross section (geometry), cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary Cutting tool (machining), cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit i ...

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. The

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Society of Bloomfield (now th
Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green
was formed in 1794 and named in honor of then-

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Joseph Bloomfield, commander of

troops in the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

. About the same time, the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

of Stone House Plains (now Brookdale Reformed Church) was established.Folsom, Joseph Fulford
''Bloomfield, Old and New : An Historical Symposium by Several Authors''
Bloomfield Centennial Historical Committee, 1912. Accessed November 3, 2019. The two churches became integral institutions of southern and northern Bloomfield, respectively. Bloomfield was incorporated as a township from portions of Newark Township by an act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

on March 23, 1812.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 126. Accessed January 28, 2012. At the time, the Presbyterian parish's namesake was governor of New Jersey and had recently been appointed brigadier general for service in the looming

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

.Bloomfield, New Jersey - A Brief History
, First Baptist Church of Bloomfield, New Jersey. Accessed August 21, 2007. At the time it was incorporated, the township covered (almost four times its current area of ) and included several municipalities which were formed from portions of Bloomfield during the course of the nineteenth century, including Belleville (created on April 8, 1839), Montclair (April 15, 1868), Woodside Township (March 24, 1869) and Glen Ridge (February 13, 1895). The Stone House Plains neighborhood was renamed as Brookdale in 1873. Bloomfield Station - 1908

In the township's first century, Brookdale farms thrived while southern Bloomfield industrialized, and the township's infrastructure, civil framework and social institutions developed. Several miles of the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a toll road, common carrier Anthracite, anthracite coal canal across North Jersey, northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals in Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its weste ...

passed through Bloomfield. The Oakes woollen mill thrived as a major supplier to the Union Army. Bloomfield was incorporated as a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

on February 26, 1900. In 1904, the city of Newark failed in its attempts to reannex Bloomfield as part of the "Greater Newark" movement. In 1981, the town was one of seven Essex County municipalities to pass a referendum to become a township, joining four municipalities that had already made the change, of what would ultimately be more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify themselves as townships in order to take advantage of federal

revenue sharing Revenue sharing is the distribution of revenue, the total amount of income generated by the sales, sale of goods and services among the stakeholder (corporate), stakeholders or Benefactor (law), contributors. It should not be confused with profit ...

policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis. In the 20th century, GE, Westinghouse and Schering built major facilities, and among others, the Charms Candy Company was started and grew. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Brookdale's farms were developed into residential neighborhoods and supporting services. Substantial population growth continued into the 1950s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, while many Bloomfield men served in the armed forces, Bloomfield's farms and factories, largely staffed by women, supported the war effort. In the decades after the war, the township's industrial base steadily shut down with stricter environmental regulations, rising labor costs, and growing competition. These influences, as well as construction of the

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May north to the New York ...

, further drove

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

and related population turnover and stagnation through the latter part of the 20th century. In the early 21st century, redevelopment of blighted and underutilized properties has further shifted Bloomfield towards being a primarily residential municipality.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township had a total area of 5.36 square miles (13.88 km²), including 5.34 square miles (13.82 km²) of land and 0.02 square miles (0.06 km²) of water (0.45%). Silver Lake (2010 total population of 4,243) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) defined by the

as of the 2010 Census that is split between Belleville (with 3,769 of the CDP's residents) and Bloomfield (474 of the total).New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)

, August 2012, p. III-3. Accessed November 4, 2012. "Silver Lake (formed from parts of deleted whole-township Belleville and Bloomfield CDPs)" Brookdale (2010 population of 9,239) is a CDP located entirely within Bloomfield. Watsessing and Ampere North are CDPs in the southern part of the township that were first listed prior to the 2020 census. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Halycon. Bloomfield is in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. The township borders the municipalities of Belleville, East Orange, Glen Ridge, Montclair, Newark and Nutley in Essex County; and Clifton in Passaic County.

Demographics

In 2014, the cost of living in Bloomfield was 20% higher than the U.S. average. According to a 2007 report from CNNMoney.com, the quality of life in Bloomfield in terms of crime are 3 incidents per 1,000 people as compared to the "best places to live average" of 1.3 incidents per 1,000. There were 35 property crime incidents per 1,000 people in Bloomfield as compared to the "best places to live average" of 20.6.

2020 census

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 47,315 people, 18,387 households, and 11,768 families in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 19,470 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 59.61% (28,205)

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

, 18.51% (8,757) Black or African American, 0.41% (193) Native American, 8.22% (3,891) Asian, 0.04% (21)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 9.35% (4,423) from other races, and 3.86% (1,825) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 24.53% (11,606) of the population. Of the 18,387 households, 28.3% had children under the age of 18; 44.2% were married couples living together; 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 36.0% were non-families. Of all households, 29.5% were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.20. 21.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 89.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 86.4 males. The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two 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 of und ...

was $62,831 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,641) and the median family income was $77,936 (+/− $4,120). Males had a median income of $51,498 (+/− $1,805) versus $44,735 (+/− $2,867) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $30,421 (+/− $1,122). About 5.8% of families and 7.4% 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 7.9% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 47,683 people, 19,017 households, and 12,075 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 19,508 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 70.09%

, 11.69%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.19% Native American, 8.38% Asian, 0.07%

, 6.42% from other races, and 3.16% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 14.47% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Bloomfield township, New Jersey

. Accessed September 29, 2012.,

. Accessed September 29, 2012. There were 19,017 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were

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

living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.16. In the township, 21.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males. The median income for a household in the township was $53,289, and the median income for a family was $64,945. Males had a median income of $43,498 versus $36,104 for females. The

for the township was $26,049. About 4.4% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the

, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Brookdale Park, established in 1928, covers over in Bloomfield and Montclair, making it the third-largest park in Essex County, of which are in Bloomfield. Watsessing Park, which is the county's fourth-largest park, covers split between Bloomfield and East Orange ( in Bloomfield), and features sections of the Second River and Toney's Brook flowing through the park. Both parks are administered by the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs. The Bloomfield Parks and Recreation Department administers eight parks covering .

Government

Local government

Bloomfield operates under a special charter granted by an act of the

. The township is one of 11 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that operate under a special charter. The township's governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the six-member Township Council. The mayor and three councilmembers are 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 tha ...

, and one member is elected from each of three wards, with all positions chosen on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. Councilmembers are elected to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with the three at-large seats (and the mayoral seat) up for election together and the three ward seats coming up for election two years later and no election in the middle year of the three-year cycle.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 128. Bloomfield's charter retains most of the characteristics of the

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

form, with additional powers delegated to an administrator. , the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of Bloomfield is Democrat Jenny Mundell, who was elected to fill the balance of the term of office ending December 31, 2025. Members of the Bloomfield Township Council are Sarah Cruz (D, 2026; Third Ward), Wartyna "Nina" Davis (D, 2025; at-large), Rosalee Gonzalez (D, 2026; First Ward, appointed to serve an unexpired term), Nicholas Joanow (D, 2026; Second Ward), Widney Polynice (D, 2025; at-large, appointed to serve an unexpired term) and Monica Charris Tabares (D, 2025; at-large, elected to serve an unexpired term).Your Elected Officials
Township of Bloomfield. Accessed January 19, 2025.County Directory
Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 19, 2025.General Election November 5, 2024 Official Results

Essex County, New Jersey Essex County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is one of the centrally located counties in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's second-most populous county,< ...

, updated November 18, 2024. Accessed January 1, 2025.General Election November 7, 2023 Official Results

, updated November 27, 2023. Accessed January 1, 2024.November 8, 2022, General Election Official Results

Clerk, updated November 22, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023. In December 2024, the township council appointed Rosalee Gonzalez to fill the first ward seat expiring in December 2026 that became vacant when Jenny Mundell took office as mayor and named Widney Polynice to fill the at-large seat expiring in December 2026 that became vacant when Richard Rockwell stepped down from office. Both will serve on an interim based until the November 2025 general election, when voters will choose candidates to fill the balance of the terms of office. The Township Council appointed Ted Gamble to serve as mayor in January 2024 to fill the seat vacated by Michael Venezia when he took office in 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 ...

; Gamble will serve on an interim basis until the November 2024 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office. In February 2024, Monica Charris Tabares was chosen to fill the at-large seat expiring in December 2025 that had been held by Ted Gamble; she will be sworn into office on February 24 and will serve on an interim basis until the November 2024 election. In the November 2024 general election, Jenny Mundell was chosen to serve the balance of the term as mayor and Tabares was chosen to serve the balance of the at-large term. In January 2018, the Township Council selected Richard Rockwell from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the at-large seat expiring in December 2019 that had been vacated the previous month by Carlos Pomares who resigned from office to serve on the Essex 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 ...

. Rockwell served on an interim basis until the November 2018 general election, when he was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.November 6, 2018, General Election Unofficial Results
Essex County, New Jersey, updated November 22, 2018. Accessed January 1, 2019. The Township Council selected Jenny Mundell to fill the vacant First Ward seat expiring in December 2017 that had been held by Elias N. Chalet until he resigned from office after being charged with accepting $15,000 in bribes in exchange for making sure that the township would proceed with the acquisition of a commercial property. After pleading guilty, Chalet was forced to resign from office and could be sentenced to five years in prison.

Emergency services

The township maintains its own

police department The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

. The town is protected by a fire department consisting of 78 active professional firefighters who operate out of four stations, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is also a squad of volunteers. In 2009, the department received international accreditation. The Fire Prevention Bureau established in 1953 and described as the first of its kind in the state, is operated by the department. It consists of one fire inspector, one fire official and a small support staff of civilians and fire personnel. The department apparatus consist of four engines (one is a rescue pumper), one Truck/Ladder, a rescue and three reserve apparatus. Engine 1 located at the fire headquarters frequently closes due to lack of manpower. In 2018, the

Insurance Services Office Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, is a provider of statistical, actuarial, underwriting, and claims information and analytics; compliance and fraud identification tools; policy language; information abou ...

once again listed the fire department as a class 2 agency, recognizing it in the top five percent of the nation's fire departments, a ranking it had held for the ten previous years. As of 2020, the department is again working toward achieving accreditation status. The Fire Chief is Louis Venezia. He is the brother of former mayor, Michael Venezia.Administration
, Township of Bloomfield. Accessed March 16, 2018.

Federal, state, and county representation

Bloomfield is in the 11th Congressional district2022 Redistricting Plan

New Jersey Redistricting Commission The New Jersey Redistricting Commission is a constitutional body of the government of New Jersey tasked with redrawing the state's Congressional election districts after each decade's census. Like Arizona, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, and Washington ...

, December 8, 2022. and is part of New Jersey's 34th state legislative district. Before the redistricting that followed the 2020 census, the township had been split between the 10th and 11th Congressional districtsPlan Components Report

, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. In the redistricting that went into effect in 2013, 24,480 residents in the northern portion of the township were placed in the 10th District, while 22,835 in the southern section were placed in the 11th District. Prior to the 2010 Census, Bloomfield had been part of the , a change made by the

that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.''2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
, p. 55, New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

. Accessed May 22, 2015.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 28,398 registered voters in Bloomfield, of which 11,925 (42.0%) were registered as Democrats, 4,393 (15.5%) were registered as Republicans and 12,061 (42.5%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 19 voters registered as either

Libertarians Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

or Greens. In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

received 69.9% of the vote (13,361 cast), ahead of Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

with 28.8% (5,501 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (245 votes), among the 19,242 ballots cast by the township's 29,923 registered voters (135 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 64.3%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 62.9% of the vote here (12,735 cast), ahead of Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

with 35.3% (7,154 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (186 votes), among the 20,251 ballots cast by the township's 27,981 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

received 57.0% of the vote here (10,829 ballots cast), outpolling Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

with 41.5% (7,891 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (208 votes), among the 19,012 ballots cast by the township's 27,995 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 67.9. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 53.1% of the vote (5,808 cast), ahead of Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

with 45.6% (4,984 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (141 votes), among the 11,118 ballots cast by the township's 30,606 registered voters (185 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 36.3%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, 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 f ...

received 53.8% of the vote here (6,241 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 37.6% (4,359 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.6% (761 votes) and other candidates with 1.3% (147 votes), among the 11,599 ballots cast by the township's 27,929 registered voters, yielding a 41.5% turnout.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The Bloomfield 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

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

. As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of 11 schools, had an enrollment of 6,191 students and 538.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 11.5:1.District information for Bloomfield Township School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed December 1, 2022. Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the

) are Early Childhood Center at Forest Glen (165 students; in grade PreK), Berkeley Elementary School (446; K-6), Brookdale Elementary School (320; K-6), Carteret Elementary School (375; K-6), Demarest Elementary School (480; K-6), Fairview Elementary School (452; PreK-6), Franklin Elementary School (343; K-6), Oak View Elementary School (314; PreK-6), Watsessing Elementary School (270; K-6), Bloomfield Middle School (971; 7-8) and Bloomfield High School / Bridges Academy (1,986; 9-12). As of the 2012–13 school year, the Bloomfield Public Schools had an actual Budgetary Per Pupil Cost of $11,848 (which is 16.4% below the statewide group average was $14,173), while Total Spending Per Pupil for the district was $15,848 (which is 16.0% below the $18,867 statewide). Bloomfield Tech High School is a regional, countywide

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

public high school that offers occupational and academic instruction for students in Essex County, as part of the Essex County Vocational Technical Schools.

Catholic schools

Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish School, which serves grades K–8, is operated under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.

Colleges and universities

Bloomfield College Bloomfield College of Montclair State University is a public college in Bloomfield, New Jersey, Bloomfield, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is chartered by the State of New Jersey and Higher education accreditation in the United States, accre ...

, a liberal arts college founded in 1868, is in downtown Bloomfield near the town green. The college has approximately 2,000 students and is affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Essex County and by the

New Jersey Turnpike Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge Town ...

. The major New Jersey highway artery that serves Bloomfield is the

, the longest road in the state. It has four interchanges in the township. Interchanges 148 in the south of Bloomfield and 151 in the north are complete interchanges, while 149 and 150 are partials. The Parkway's Essex toll plaza is southbound just south of interchange 150 in the township. There are two service areas on the Parkway in Bloomfield, one for northbound and one southbound. Troop D of the

New Jersey State Police The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors. History The legislation for the creation o ...

, which patrols the full length of the Garden State Parkway, has a station in Bloomfield at northbound milepost 153. County Road 506, 506 Spur and 509 also serve Bloomfield.

Commuter rail

South Bloomfield is served by two stations of the

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

Montclair-Boonton Line to

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...

or to Penn Station in

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

via the

Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction (signed as Secaucus) is an intermodal transit hub served by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and Metro-North Railroad in Secaucus, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey. It is one of the List of b ...

. About 55% of the weekday trains terminate in Penn Station via Midtown Direct. On weekends the line terminates in Hoboken. The Bloomfield train station is located off of Bloomfield Avenue in the downtown area. The Watsessing Avenue station is at the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street, and is located below ground. Bloomfield used to be served by other passenger rail lines. The Rowe Street station was served by the Boonton Line until September 2002, when it was closed as part of the addition of Midtown Direct service to the township. The Walnut Street station, on the same line, was closed in 1953 when the Garden State Parkway was built through it.

Light rail

The Grove Street station on the Newark City Subway line of the Newark Light Rail at the south end of Bloomfield provides service to Pennsylvania Station (Newark), Newark Penn Station, created as part of an extension to Belleville and Bloomfield that opened in 2002. This station was part of the Orange Branch of the New York & Greenwood Lake Line of the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad with service to Jersey City which last saw passenger service in 1965. Freight service was discontinued in 2010 by Norfolk Southern with the loss of the last remaining shipper Hartz Mountain.

Buses

bus service is available to and from Newark on the 11 (New Jersey bus), 11, 27 (New Jersey bus), 27, 28 (New Jersey bus), 28, 29 (New Jersey bus), 29, 34 (New Jersey bus), 34, 72 (New Jersey bus), 72, 90 (New Jersey bus), 90, 92 (New Jersey bus), 92, 93 (New Jersey bus), 93 and 94 (New Jersey bus), 94 routes, with local service on the 709 (New Jersey bus), 709 bus line. Service to Port Authority Bus Terminal is provided by route 102. In October 2009, the Go Bus 28 route was introduced, offering service nearly all day from Bloomfield Train Station to Newark Liberty International Airport.

Airports

Bloomfield is from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark / Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth, and from LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, Queens.

Points of interest

* Glendale Cemetery, Bloomfield, Glendale Cemetery * Holsten's Brookdale Confectionery, filming location of the final scene in the Made in America (The Sopranos), final episode of ''The Sopranos''. * The Oakes Estate, constructed in 1895 based on a design by Charles Granville Jones, was added to the

in 1981.

Notable events

In 1942, the Westinghouse Lamp Plant in Bloomfield produced the majority of uranium metal used in the Chicago Pile-1, the world's first self-sustaining chain reaction which was a critical early phase of the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb. On January 29, 2023, at 3 a.m. a person in a ski mask threw a lit Molotov cocktail at Temple Ner Tamid, in an apparent attempt to burn down the synagogue that was unsuccessful, with no damage done to the building. On February 1, a 26-year-old man was arrested and charged with one federal count of "attempted use of fire to damage a building", which could result in 20 years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000 if he is convicted of the crime.Frehse, Ro
"Suspect in Molotov cocktail attack at New Jersey synagogue is charged with federal crime"
''CNN'', February 1, 2023. Accessed February 5, 2023. "A New Jersey man has been arrested and charged with one count of attempted use of fire to damage a building after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at a New Jersey synagogue Sunday, according to court documents. Nicholas Malindretos, 26, of Clifton, will appear in federal court in Newark on Thursday for an initial appearance, the US Attorney's Office in the District of New Jersey said in a news release.... If convicted, Malindretos faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to prosecutors."

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Bloomfield include:

References

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External links

Bloomfield Township website

Bloomfield Public Schools

''The New York Times'', May 24, 2009 * {{Authority control Bloomfield, New Jersey, 1812 establishments in New Jersey Populated places established in 1812 Special charters in New Jersey Townships in New Jersey Townships in Essex County, New Jersey