Politics & Government

Residents on Census 2010: We've Seen Signs Washington Twp. Has Grown

It's still a largely white community, but minority populations see big proportionate gains since last census.

Washington Township's population is on the rise, and it's becoming slightly more diverse, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The total township population grew by almost 950 residents to 18,533 over the decade between 2000 and 2010, according to the data, New Jersey's first look at the population counts and analysis of racial makeup, Hispanic origin, voting age population and housing status to come out of the 2010 Census. The data released Thursday will help redraw federal, state and local legislative districts. New Jersey is losing one seat in the House under the counts.

Police Lt. Mark Niemynski said he hasn't seen much impact on crime from the growth. But the increase has affected the police department in some significant ways

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“As the population increases, more people move in, and we get more service-type calls," Niemynski said. “Alarms go off, people need first aid and fire response—things that are coupled with theservices that the police might need to give.”

And Niemynski said with more people comes an increase in the need for non-emergency police services—which have been more difficult for the department to provide, as the police department has endured cuts.

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“Right now with the economy, our agency’s been cut back significantly with officers. We lost our community policing unit, and cut back an officer whose primary responsibility was with the first aidsquad and EMTs," Niemynski said. “I would think, if allowed, we would like to bring some of those programs back, but that’s all going to depend on the economy.”

Resident Joseph Longo said he has some concerns about the overall population growth—and its impact on how much of the town will remain farmland, rather than homes.

“More people put a strain on the infrastructure and water capacities," Longo said. “The more people there are, the more taxes we have to pay to cover infrastructure and water capacity.”

Populations increased across several racial demographics in Washington Township. The community's white population increased by 330, from 16,917 to 17,247—but that increase is overtaken, at least proportionality, by those seen among minority populations.

The Asian population nearly doubled from 329 in 2000 to 612 in 2010. The black population rose from 146, to 257, a 76 percent increase.

And the Hispanic population jumped from 389 to 847 (Hispanic is a cultural designation, and Hispanic residents may be of any race).

But overwhelmingly, Washington has stayed a majority white township. Some residents said they hadn't noticed much change the racial demographics.

“Of course, there’s an increase in people living here because there’san increase in homes, but I haven’t noticed a change in the make-up of the population," Long Valley resident Ken Zuerblis said.

The local trends in many ways mirror those seen throughout Morris County. While Morris County's overall population rose slightly, from 470,212 to 492,276, it saw a significant influx of Hispanic residents. The Hispanic population jumped from 36,626 to 56,482.

The county also saw significant increases in its Asian population (from 29,432 to 44,069), its American Indian and Alaska Native population (572 to 805) and its black population (13,181 to 15,360). The county's white population dropped from 410,042 to 406,683, and its small Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander population dropped from 188 to 106.

Estimates released through the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey in 2010 gave an early indication of the rise in the Hispanic population throughout the larger area. When that data was released, John Skrodinsky, with , an immigration resource center based in Morristown, said he'd been watching the trend for some time.

"Though some people may not have recognized it, I know there is a lot of surprise" that Hispanic populations have been growing not just in urban areas like Morristown, but throughout the northwestern portions of the state, including throughout Morris County and into Sussex County, he said. "It's not new in Newark and counties like Bergen, Hudson. ... Morris County has a growing Hispanic population. There are several pockets throughout the whole county."

As a lawyer by trade and as part of the leadership team at the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling, Skrodinsky said at the time there has been a strong effort by local governments, places of worship and organizations like Wind of the Spirit to help not local populations understand those coming into the area from other countries. The groups also aim to help those coming coming here to understand their new homes, he said.

"They're new, the culture is new, the language is new, the laws are new," he said. "We need to help orientate them and welcome them into the community."

Read below the charts for more on how the Census data impacts New Jersey overall.

LOCAL CENSUS DATA


Washington Township 2000
Washington Township 2010 Total 17,592 18,533 White 
16,917 17,247 Black or African American 
146 257 American Indian and Alaska Native 
15 11 Asian 
329 612 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 
9 2 Some other race 
62 127 Population of two or more races 114 277 Hispanic or Latino (Cultural designation, may be any race) 389 847 18 or older (voting age) 12,281 13,218

COUNTY, STATE DATA

 

New Jersey 2000
New Jersey 2010 Morris County 2000
Morris County 2010 Total 8,414,350 8,791,894
470,212 492,276
White 
6,104,705 6,029,248
410,042 406,683
Black or African American 
1,141,821 1,204,826
13,181 15,360
American Indian and Alaska Native 
19,492 29,026
572 805
Asian 
480,276 725,726
29,432 44,069
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 
3,329 3,043
188
106
Some other race 
450,972 559,722
9,471 14,910
Population of two or more races 213,755 240,303
7,326 10,343
Hispanic or Latino (Cultural designation, may be any race) 1,117,191 1,555,144
36,626 56,482
18 or older (voting age) 6,326,792 6,726,680
353,374 374,581

WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN FOR N.J.

The Census data shows that the Garden State is growing Down the Shore. And that move could trigger a power shift among longtime political leaders as redistricting begins.

According to the 2010 counts, Ocean County, where population grew by 65,651, is the state's fastest-growing county. Overall, the state's Hispanic population claimed the top spot among minority residents. A recent influx in residents allowed Newark to retain its standing at the New Jersey's largest city, while Jersey City officials who expected to surpass "Brick City" in population, are looking for a possible recount.

Middlesex (59,966), Gloucester (33,615), Somerset (25,954) and Burlington (25,340) counties followed Ocean in growth. In north Jersey, development-heavy Hudson County grew by 25,291 people, the highest population growth among the state's northern counties over the past decade. Conversely, residents of neighboring Essex County dropped by 9,664 over the same period past.

Ocean County's growth appears to have hinged on development in Lakewood, a center of new residential development, including active-adult communities for residents 55 years old and older. Lakewood grew by 32,491—or just more than 50 percent—to 92,843 over the past decade, jumping from 22nd to 7th  in the state. None of the other communities in the state's top 20 posted gains of more than 10,000 residents. In fact, several urban communities reported population losses since the last census.

None of the cities are as disappointed in the numbers as Jersey City, where leaders have spent the decade promoting their belief that the city would surpass Newark as the state's largest in the 2010 census, a notion Newark developers disputed, the data shows Newark is still largest. Jersey City grew by 7,542 residents, to 247,597 in 2010, while Newark, which added  3,594 residents, couts 277,140 residents.

Jersey City leaders were hanging their city's hopes on high-rise residential construction that has dominated the city's waterfront. The construction boom took a hit after the nation's housing bubble burst in 2008. Even Donald Trump scaled back his Jersey City luxury condo complex from two towers to one. The much anticipated Rem Koolhaas mixed-use tower in Jersey City's Powerhouse Arts District, unveiled during a 2007 press conference, has yet to be built.

Perhaps because of Hoboken's dense population and Jersey City's development, Newark's population rise has been fueled by new downtown development and increased marketing, which has drawn  young professionals and students renting properties or buying houses within walking distance to Penn Station that are a fraction of the cost for similar properties in Manhattan and the properties along the Hudson River waterfront.

Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop said he and other city officials had been hoping to grab the state's top spot due to the housing development and the undercount of city residents during the 2000 census. He said he plans to investigate the possibility of an undercount in the new census. 

"It's disappointing because I thought with the growth that Jersey City had we'd overtake them," Fulop said.

Outside of population growth in Newark and Jersey City, many of the state's urban areas endured population drops in the last decade. Paterson fell 3,023, to 146,199; Camden dropped 2,560, to 77,344 and East Orange dropped 5,554, to 64,270.

Union City held most of its population, losing only 633 residents, to 66,455. Union City has been touted by developers as the next Hoboken, as new luxury condo complexes have risen in the city, at prices lower than in the Mile Square City. A center for the state's Cuban community, Union City's new housing has largely been smaller in scale than Hoboken or neighboring communities in northern Hudson County though. The Port Imperial complex, which spans multiple waterfront communities in Hudson and Bergen Counties does not span Union City.

In Somerset and Morris counties, new residential developments, including more 55-and-over communities for aging Baby Boomers, have triggered growth in what were once rural areas of the counties. Morristown, one of the state's new  so-called "transit villages," has also seen a spike in downtown apartment and condominium complexes in the last decade.

The state's Hispanic population has grown 17 percent in the last decade, from 1,117,191 in 2000 to 1,555,144 in 2010. The Hispanic bloc topped the African-American population, which, despite a jump from 1,141,821 in 2000 to 1,204,626, fell to third demographic audience in the state. The Asian-American population rose 47 percent in New Jersey, going from 480,276 residents in 2000 to 725,726 in 2010.

The data sets will likely have an impact on the state's redistricting of congressional and state legislative districts. Census Bureau officials have already said New Jersey will lose one of the state's 13 seats in the House of Representatives and a state commission is presently reworking the state's 40 districts for state legislative seats, which will go into effect by April.

While data shows that southern New Jersey has seen population growth to warrant the addition of seats in that region, a move that could benefit Republicans, given the population growth in Ocean County, a Republican bastion, national voting rights laws will help dictate the redistricting.

Voting rights laws will likely protect the seats of U.S. Reps. Donald Payne in Essex County and Albio Sires in Hudson County, which have been designed as African-American and Hispanic majority seats, respectively. Population figures show the Hispanic population remaining the highest in Sires' Hudson County powerbase and the African-American population remaining the highest in Payne's base in Essex.

While New Jersey will lose a seat, population totals show that Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Smith's 4th district is closest to calculated ideal size of 732,658 for a congressional district. The district, which includes Lakewood, is 8,062 under the total. The highest deviation belongs to Payne, who is 98,315 below the ideal size.

In North Jersey, Bergen County's 905,115 residents lead the state and likely will provide the county with more political clout as lines are redrawn. The county remains politically competitive, with Republicans seeing a rise in political power with the 2010 election of County Executive Kathe Donovan after an eight-year Democratic Party dominance. Bergen County is currently split among several state legislative districts and the congressional districts of Republican Scott Garrett and Democrat Steve Rothman.

The population figures show that Garrett's base in northwestern New Jersey, specifically Sussex and Warren Counties, showing a population growth of roughly 11,000 people, fueled primarily by a flood of new housing development in the last decade. But growth has been higher in Bergen and Passaic Counties, portions of which are in Garrett's district, leading to the potential of mapmakers merging the Republican rich areas with another district.

In the state legislative districts, 14 of 40 are more than 5 percent away from the 219,797 ideal district size. State law allows districts to be within 5 percent of the ideal size. The districts outside of the deviation are scattered throughout the state, with the highest deviation being in the Ocean County-based 30th district, which has 50,503 more than the ideal size. The district is anchored in Lakewood.

The Gloucester County-based 4th district and Union County-anchored 21st district are both within zero-percent deviation. The Democratic leaning 4th district is seven people above the ideal size and the Republican leaning 21st is 78 people above the ideal district size.

The Essex County based 27th district, headed by state Sen. Dick Codey (D) is 15,301 people, or 7 percent below the ideal size. The district is considered one on the Repubicans' list to move into more GOP-friendly territory, possibly moving Codey, a West Orange resident and former governor, into Republican-rich Morris County.


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