Morris Plains, New Jersey

Morris Plains, New Jersey
—  Borough  —
Motto: "The Community of Caring"
Morris Plains highlighted in Morris County. Inset map: Morris County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Morris Plains, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°50′10″N 74°28′53″W / 40.83611°N 74.48139°W / 40.83611; -74.48139Coordinates: 40°50′10″N 74°28′53″W / 40.83611°N 74.48139°W / 40.83611; -74.48139
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Morris
Incorporated	April 15, 1926
Government[1]
- Type	Borough
- Mayor	Frank J. Druetzler
Area
- Total	2.6 sq mi (6.8 km2)
- Land	2.6 sq mi (6.7 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation[2]	433 ft (132 m)
Population (2007)[3]
- Total	5,534
- Density	2,018.7/sq mi (779.4/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	07950
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	34-48210[4][5]
GNIS feature ID	0885308[6]
Website	http://www.morrisplainsboro.org/

Morris Plains, billing itself "the Community of Caring," is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 5,236.

Morris Plains was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1926, from portions of Hanover Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 15, 1926.^[7]

Morris Plains serves as a bedroom community for workers in New York City. The Morristown Line of New Jersey Transit provides commuters with direct access to New York Penn Station and to Hoboken Terminal.

Morris Plains is also a major base of operations for Pfizer, previously the headquarters for Warner-Lambert. Pfizer also sponsors the Health and Medical Science Academy at Morristown High School and has an annual 5k race around Morris Plains.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), of which, 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.76%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	1,713		—
1940	2,018		17.8%
1950	2,707		34.1%
1960	4,703		73.7%
1970	5,540		17.8%
1980	5,305		−4.2%
1990	5,219		−1.6%
2000	5,236		0.3%
Est. 2007	5,534	[3]	5.7%
Population 1930 - 1990.[8]

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 5,236 people, 1,955 households, and 1,477 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,018.7 people per square mile (780.6/km²). There were 1,994 housing units at an average density of 768.8 per square mile (297.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 92.91% White, 1.34% African American, 0.06% Native American, 4.32% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.69% of the population.

There were 1,955 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.0% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the borough the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The average age is 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $84,806, and the median income for a family was $98,333. Males had a median income of $75,040 versus $44,554 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $36,553. About 1.5% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Morris Plains is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.^[1]

As of 2008^[update], the Mayor of Morris Plains is Frank J. Druetzler. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Stephen S. Welsh, Joseph Cecala, Jr., George J. Coogan, Jason C. Karr, Suzanne B. McCluskey and Donald F. Underhill.^[9]

Morris Plains Police

The Morris Plains Police Department has 17 sworn officers. The command structure has a chief, two lieutenants, five sergeants, nine patrolmen and six civilians.^[10] They are dispatched through the Morris County Communication Center who dispatches for the police, fire and first aid departments. According to morrisplainspolice.org, the police department handled over 28,000 calls for the year 2009.^[11]

Federal, state and county representation

Morris Plains is in the 11th Congressional district. New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, Harding Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

Morris Plains is in the 26th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Joseph Pennacchio (R, Pine Brook) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Alex DeCroce (R, Morris Plains) and Jay Webber (R, Morris Plains).^[12]

Morris County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year.^[13] As of 2011, Morris County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director William J. Chegwidden (Wharton),^[14] Deputy Freeholder Director Douglas R. Cabana (Boonton Township),^[15] Gene F. Feyl (Denville),^[16] Ann F. Grassi (Parsippany-Troy Hills),^[17] Thomas J. Mastrangelo (Montville),^[18] John J. Murphy (Morris Township)^[19] and Margaret Nordstrom (Washington Township).^[20][21]

Education

The Morris Plains Schools educate public school students from kindergarten through 8th grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics^[22]) are Mountain Way School for grades K-2 (230 students) and Borough School for grades 3-8 (368 students).

Students in public school for grades 9-12 attend Morristown High School, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Morris School District which also serves the communities of Morristown and Morris Township (for grades K-12).^[23]

St. Virgil School],^[24] a Catholic school serving grades PreK-8 (including PreK3 and PreK4), operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson.^[25]

TV & Movies

• In The Sopranos episode Made in America, Phil Leotardo is shot to death at a Morris Plains Raceway gas station before being run over.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Morris Plains include:

• Robert Martin (born 1947), State Senator since 1993 who represents the 26th Legislative District.^[26]
• Carol Murphy (born 1932), member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1992 to 2000.^[27]
• Ben Weinman (born 1975), of the band The Dillinger Escape Plan.^[28]
• Paul Zimmerman (born 1932), football sportswriter for Sports Illustrated.^[29]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 121.
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Borough of Morris Plains, Geographic Names Information System, accessed December 16, 2007.
3. ^ ^{a b} Census data for Morris Plains borough, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 22, 2008.
4. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
6. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 195.
8. ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
9. ^ Borough Council, Borough of Morris Plains. Accessed February 27, 2008.
10. ^ Police Organization, Morris Plains Police Department. Accessed February 10, 2008.
11. ^ see morrisplainspolice.org
12. ^ "Legislative Roster: 2010-2011 Session". New Jersey Legislature. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/roster.asp. Retrieved 2010-10-06. 
13. ^ What is a Freeholder?, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 5, 2011.
14. ^ William J. Chegwidden, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
15. ^ Douglas R. Cabana, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
16. ^ Gene F. Feyl, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
17. ^ Ann F. Grossi, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
18. ^ Thomas J. Mastrangelo, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
19. ^ John J. Murphy, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
20. ^ Margaret Nordstrom, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
21. ^ Meet the Freeholders, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
22. ^ Data for the Morris Plains Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 27, 2008.
23. ^ Morristown High School 2007 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 23, 2008. "It is composed of 1503 ethnically diverse students representing more than 31 different languages from Morristown, Morris Township and Morris Plains."
24. ^ St. Virgil School
25. ^ Morris County Elementary / Secondary Schools, Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. Accessed July 26, 2008.
26. ^ Legislative webpage for Robert J. Martin, accessed May 6, 2007.
27. ^ Assemblywoman Carol J. Murphy, New Jersey Legislature, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 25, 1998. Accessed June 11, 2010.
28. ^ Garcia, Alfa. "Morris Plains-based metal rockers The Dillinger Escape Plan will perform in Manhattan", The Record (Bergen County), March 11, 2010. Accessed January 20, 2011.
29. ^ King, Peter. "In wake of signing/trade frenzy, a reminder: Free agency is overrated", Sports Illustrated, March 9, 2010. Accessed January 13, 2011. "This was the enjoyable part of the weekend: having lunch with Paul Zimmerman and his wife Linda in Morris Plains, N.J., Saturday."

External links

• Borough of Morris Plains, New Jersey
• Morris Plains Police
• Morris Plains Schools
• St. Virgil School
• Morris Plains Schools's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Morris Plains Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Morristown High School
• Morris School District
• Regional area newspaper