Editing Woodland Park, New Jersey (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the borough had a total area of 3.08 square miles (7.97&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 2.94 square miles (7.61&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.14 square miles (0.36&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (4.51%).<ref name=CensusArea/><ref name=GR1 />

[[Slippery Rock Brook]] is a [[tributary]] of the [[Passaic River]] that flows north as it drains part of the western flank of [[Watchung Mountains|First Watchung Mountain]]. Traveling south from its confluence with the Passaic River, it passes through the city of [[Paterson, New Jersey|Paterson]] and the borough of Woodland Park.

The borough borders the Passaic County municipalities of [[Clifton, New Jersey|Clifton]], [[Little Falls, New Jersey|Little Falls]], [[Paterson, New Jersey|Paterson]] and [[Totowa, New Jersey|Totowa]].<ref>[https://global.mapit.mysociety.org/area/1010612/touches.html Areas touching West Paterson], MapIt. Accessed March 12, 2020.</ref><ref>[http://chnj.njpn.org/passaic-county/ Passaic County Map], Coalition for a Healthy NJ. Accessed March 12, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/gis/maps/polnoroads.pdf New Jersey Municipal Boundaries], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]. Accessed November 15, 2019.</ref>

===Borough renaming===
Borough residents voted in November 2008 to change the community's name to Woodland Park. This close decision—the majority was only 33 votes according to early results—marked the fourth attempt to change the borough's historic name of West Paterson: voters rejected the names "Whispering Pines", "West Park," and "Garret Mountain" in 1989, 1995, and 2001 respectively.<ref name=newpush>[http://www.northjersey.com/news/passaicpolitics/A_new_push_for_a_new_name.html?c=y&page=1 A new push for a new name], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', October 2, 2008. Accessed November 5, 2008</ref>

Such a change is not unique in recent New Jersey history: Dover Township in [[Ocean County, New Jersey|Ocean County]] became [[Toms River, New Jersey|Toms River Township]] in November 2006,<ref>[http://www.nypost.com/seven/11122006/news/regionalnews/toms_the_word_in_n_j__regionalnews_.htm Toms the Word in N.J.], ''[[New York Post]]'', November 12, 2006. Accessed November 5, 2008</ref> and Washington Township in [[Mercer County, New Jersey|Mercer County]] became [[Robbinsville Township, New Jersey|Robbinsville Township]] in November 2007.<ref>[http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2007/11/then_there_were_five_one_washi.html Then there were five], ''South Jersey News Online'', November 7, 2007. Accessed November 5, 2008</ref> The borough of East Paterson, located in adjacent [[Bergen County, New Jersey|Bergen County]], changed its name to [[Elmwood Park, New Jersey|Elmwood Park]] in 1972.<ref name=newpush />

Both East and West Paterson changed their names in hopes of dissociating themselves from the larger city of [[Paterson, New Jersey|Paterson]], which is significantly poorer and faces higher levels of crime, while preserving their E.P. and W.P. initials. In West Paterson, proponents of name change argued that their proposal would improve the borough's reputation and thus property values within the borough, as outsiders would be less likely to confuse it with Paterson. Opponents of the renaming saw no need to change, with businesses and the fire department citing the cost of changing references to the borough's name and the consequences of forgetting the community's history as West Paterson. The name change has been marred with accusations of racism and discrimination due to the city of Paterson's lower quality of life and diverse minority demographics. Some Paterson residents and advocates have jokingly suggested renaming Paterson to East Woodland Park and West Elmwood Park.<ref>Schweber, Nate. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/nyregion/new-jersey/16patersonnj.html "Bid for Name Change Roils Town"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 14, 2008. Accessed August 14, 2011. "Thomas Rooney, who was sworn in as mayor in Paterson on the day East Paterson became Elmwood Park, joked in the 1970s that Paterson should rename itself 'West Elmwood Park.' Today he jokes that Paterson should call itself 'East Woodland Park' because it sounds 'elegant.' "</ref>

Residents who voted "No" to the name change petitioned the municipal government in an attempt to change the name back to West Paterson. A referendum was held on November 3, 2009, and the proposal was defeated by 2,248 votes to 2,216.<ref>via [[Associated Press]]. [http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/after_final_count_borough_is_o.html "After final count, voters choose to affirm name change to Woodland Park"], [[NJ.com]], November 14, 2009. Accessed August 12, 2013.</ref>

There is an unincorporated area called Woodland Park in the city of [[Summit, New Jersey|Summit]], in [[Union County, New Jersey|Union County]], adjacent to [[New Providence, New Jersey|New Providence]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Woodland Park Populated Place Profile / Union County, New Jersey Data|url=https://newjersey.hometownlocator.com/nj/union/woodland-park.cfm|access-date=2021-10-10|website=newjersey.hometownlocator.com}}</ref>