Victory Gardens, New Jersey
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Victory Gardens is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,582,<ref name=LWD2020/> an increase of 62 (+4.1%) from the 2010 census count of 1,520,<ref name=Census2010/><ref name=LWD2010/> which in turn reflected a decline of 26 (−1.7%) from the 1,546 counted in the 2000 census.<ref>Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.</ref>
Victory Gardens is Morris County's smallest municipality, measured both by size and population, and its most densely populated.<ref>GCT-PH1: Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place from 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Morris County, New Jersey Template:Webarchive, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 19, 2012.</ref> Additionally, the borough is the state's fourth-smallest municipality by area.<ref>Astudillo, Carla."The 10 tiniest towns in New Jersey (they're really small)", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 1, 2016, updated May 16, 2019. Accessed March 5, 2020. "We used square mile data from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to rank the ten municipalities with the smallest area size.... 4. Victory Gardens This tiny borough in the middle of Morris County has over 1,500 residents spread across only 0.14 square miles. It started out as a 300-unit World War II housing project built in the town of Randolph for workers at the nearby Picatinny Arsenal."</ref>
History
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The origins of the borough began in 1941, when the federal government acquired Template:Convert in Randolph Township as the site of a 300-unit housing project for war industry employees. The borough's name is derived from the victory gardens planted at homes and parks during World War II to provide additional supplies of fruits and vegetables.<ref>History, Borough of Victory Gardens. Accessed October 18, 2015. "The borough was named for the victory gardens planted at private residences during World War II."</ref><ref>"Victory Gardens: a tiny town with an interesting past", Hidden New Jersey, March 28, 2013. Accessed October 18, 2015. "As you might have guessed from the name, Victory Gardens was born during World War II as housing for workers who were employed at nearby Picatinny Arsenal and other private defense contractors manufacturing war goods."</ref> Streets are named for U.S. Presidents.<ref>Victory Gardens profile, Morris County, New Jersey, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 28, 2007. Accessed August 29, 2011.</ref>
Randolph Township residents approved a referendum as part of a September 1951 special election in which voters were asked if the township's Victory Gardens neighborhood should be removed from the township and created as an independent municipality for its 1,300 residents covering Template:Convert.<ref>Staff. "Community Separates; Federal Housing Project Is Split From Jersey Township", The New York Times, September 19, 1951. Accessed November 10, 2013. "Randolph Township voters decided tonight by a margin of twenty-four ballots to discontinue a Federal housing development as part of the township."</ref> Residents of other areas of Randolph Township argued that the compensation paid by the federal government for the more than 250 students attending the Randolph Township Schools did not adequately cover the cost of their public education, that the housing and other structures in Victory Gardens was out of compliance with the township's building and zoning ordinances and that the overwhelming Democratic Party political leanings of residents of Victory Gardens were out of sync with the largely Republican Party township.<ref>"Township To Vote On Excluding Area; Randolph, N.J., to Decide by Ballot Tomorrow Fate of Victory Gardens Section", The New York Times, September 17, 1951. Accessed November 10, 2013. "Citizens in near-by Randolph Township will ballot Tuesday to decide whether the Victory Gardens section should be excluded from the township and ordered to form a municipality of its own."</ref>
Victory Gardens was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 20, 1951, from portions of Randolph Township, based on the results of the referendum passed on September 18, 1951.<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 197. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref><ref>Historical Timeline of Morris County Boundaries, Morris County Library. Accessed December 24, 2016. "1951, September. Victory Gardens is established from Randolph. Victory Gardens had been a temporary community of defense industry workers during World War II whose municipal services were provided by Randolph Township. From PL 1951, c. 259."</ref>
The small town made news on November 16, 1958, when 262 members of its 297 families participated voluntarily as "refugees" in a civil defense exercise, while other residents of the town — "school boys with Geiger counters, staff men with fancy helmets, girls with typewriters, Explorer Scouts, police and fire crews, medical teams and the dozens who just washed pots and pans and ladled stew" — volunteered to assist. "Those who remained home," The New York Times wrote, "were restricted in their movements by guards who patrolled the town."<ref>O'Kane, Lawrence."Residents Evacuate Jersey Town As 2 Counties Hold Bomb Drill", The New York Times, November 17, 1958, p. 33</ref>
A project approved in 1973 brought the construction of 184 units of garden apartments on a site covering Template:Convert, providing additional rateables and offering permanent housing for an estimated 400 people, that would contrast with the temporary original structures built in the 1940s that had long passed their expected lifespan.<ref>Staff. "Victory Gardens Expanding", The New York Times, March 11, 1973. Accessed November 10, 2013. "Victory Gardens-This tiny community, which faces an uncertain future, is engaged in its biggest expansion ever, the development of Carmel Gardens, a 184-unit garden-apartment complex on 12.4 acres of land."</ref>
Geography
[edit]According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 0.15 square miles (0.38 km2), all of which was land.<ref name=CensusArea/><ref name=GR1 />
The borough borders the Morris County municipalities of Dover and Randolph.<ref>Areas touching Victory Gardens, MapIt. Accessed March 12, 2020.</ref><ref>Morris County Municipalities Map, Morris County, New Jersey Department of Planning and Preservation. Accessed March 12, 2020.</ref><ref>New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.</ref>
Demographics
[edit]2010 census
[edit]The 2010 United States census counted 1,520 people, 533 households, and 398 families in the borough. The population density was 10,419.2 per square mile (4,022.9/km2). There were 566 housing units at an average density of 3,879.8 per square mile (1,498.0/km2). The racial makeup was 58.49% (889) White, 16.25% (247) Black or African American, 0.66% (10) Native American, 2.43% (37) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 17.43% (265) from other races, and 4.74% (72) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 62.96% (957) of the population.<ref name=Census2010/>
Of the 533 households, 41.7% had children under the age of 18; 43.0% were married couples living together; 21.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.3% were non-families. Of all households, 20.3% were made up of individuals and 3.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.16.<ref name=Census2010/>
26.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.8 males.<ref name=Census2010/>
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $53,269 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,599) and the median family income was $52,500 (+/− $6,885). Males had a median income of $34,063 (+/− $5,135) versus $33,750 (+/− $9,755) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,340 (+/− $1,640). About 11.9% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.<ref>DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Victory Gardens borough, Morris County, New Jersey Template:Webarchive, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 21, 2012.</ref>
2000 census
[edit]As of the 2000 United States census<ref name="GR2" /> there were 1,546 people, 564 households, and 381 families residing in the borough. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 588 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the borough was 51.36% White, 21.41% African American, 0.06% Native American, 5.43% Asian, 15.27% from other races, and 6.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 50.65% of the population.<ref name=Census2000>Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Victory Gardens borough, New Jersey Template:Dead link, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 19, 2012.</ref><ref name=Census2000SF1>DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Victory Gardens borough, Morris County, New Jersey Template:Webarchive, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 19, 2012.</ref>
15.27% of Victory Gardens residents identified themselves as being of Colombian ancestry in the 2000 Census, the highest percentage of the population of any municipality in the United States.<ref>Colombian Communities, EPodunk. Accessed August 23, 2006.</ref>
There were 564 households, out of which 39.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.21.<ref name=Census2000/><ref name=Census2000SF1/>
In the borough the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 39.3% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.<ref name=Census2000/><ref name=Census2000SF1/>
The median income for a household in the borough was $44,375, and the median income for a family was $43,594. Males had a median income of $32,841 versus $24,875 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $20,616. About 8.9% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.<ref name=Census2000/><ref name=Census2000SF1/>
Government
[edit]Local government
[edit]Victory Gardens is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey.<ref>Inventory of Municipal Forms of Government in New Jersey, Rutgers University Center for Government Studies, July 1, 2011. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle.<ref name=DataBook>2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 116.</ref> The borough form of government used by Victory Gardens is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.<ref>Cerra, Michael F. "Forms of Government: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask" Template:Webarchive, New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Accessed November 30, 2014.</ref><ref>"Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey", p. 6. Rutgers University Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=MayorCouncil/>
Template:As of, the mayor of Victory Gardens is Democrat David L. Holeman Jr., whose term of office ends December 31, 2024. Members of the Borough Council are Vera C. Cheatham (D, 2025), Ondria Garcia-Montes (D, 2024), James R. Glass (D, 2025), Stuart Hale (D, 2023), Kendyll Hedgepath (D, 2024) and Ismael Lorenzo Sr. (D, 2023).<ref name=MayorCouncil>Borough Government, Borough of Victory Gardens. Accessed April 27, 2023. "The Borough form remains the single most popular form of local government in New Jersey. This form dates back to the Borough Act of 1878 and was revised in 1897 and by the Borough Act of 1987. The Borough mayor is elected at-large to a four-year term. Six council members are elected at-large to staggered three-year terms. The Borough form is often referred to as a 'weak mayor-strong council' form." Note that as of date accessed, Cheatham and Glass are listed with term-end dates that have not been updated to reflect their re-election, while Hale's term-end year is incorrect.</ref><ref>2021 Municipal Data Sheet, Borough of Victory Gardens. Accessed April 12, 2022.</ref><ref name=MorrisManual>Morris County Manual 2024, Morris County, New Jersey Clerk. Accessed May 1, 2024.</ref><ref name=MorrisOfficials>Morris County Municipal Elected Officials For The Year 2024, Morris County, New Jersey Clerk, updated March 20, 2024. Accessed May 1, 2024.</ref><ref name=Morris2022>General Election November 8, 2022, Official Results, Morris County, New Jersey, updated November 28, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=Morris2021>General Election Winners For November 2, 2021, Morris County, New Jersey Clerk. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref><ref name=Morris2020>General Election Winners List For November 3, 2020, Morris County, New Jersey Clerk. Accessed January 1, 2021.</ref>
Joan Cegelka won election in November 2013 to serve the balance of the term expiring in 2014 that had been held by David Holeman before he took office as mayor, with Vera Cheatham winning re-election to a full three-year term and Independent Hector Lorenzo Jr. knocking off incumbent Sonia Hall for terms starting January 1, 2014.<ref>Staff. "Morris County election results 2013: Local, county, school races", The Star-Ledger, November 5, 2013. Accessed November 10, 2013.</ref>
In December 2010, Councilmember Ondria Garcia-Montes was placed on probation for 12 months after an incident in which she falsely told police that a criminal suspect who was the subject of a search warrant was not in her apartment.<ref>Horowitz, Ben. "N.J. councilwoman is placed on probation, pre-trial program for allegedly hiding suspect", The Star-Ledger, December 15, 2010. Accessed August 29, 2011.</ref>
Dover serves as the lead agency operating a joint municipal court that include Victory Gardens and the neighboring municipalities of Mine Hill Township, Mount Arlington and Wharton.<ref>Mayor and Board of Aldermen, Town of Dover Minutes of the Reorganization Meeting for January 1, 2015, Town of Dover. Accessed July 29, 2015.</ref> Established in 2009, the joint municipal court was forecast to offer annual savings in excess of $250,000 over the 10-year life of the agreement.<ref>Forrest, Cindy. "Victory Gardens Council judges proposal for joint municipal court", The Record, May 18, 2012. Accessed July 29, 2015. "With Dover as the lead agency, four other area towns - Rockaway Borough, Wharton, Mine Hill, and Mt. Arlington - entered into a landmark municipal court shared-services agreement in 2009 anticipating an estimated $2.65 million savings over the 10-year life of the contract."</ref>
In 2018, the borough had an average property tax bill of $4,417, the lowest in the county, compared to an average bill of $10,480 in Morris County and $8,767 statewide.<ref>2018 Property Tax Information, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, updated January 16, 2019. Accessed November 7, 2019.</ref><ref>Marcus, Samantha. "These are the towns with the lowest property taxes in each of N.J.’s 21 counties", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, April 30, 2019. Accessed November 7, 2019. "New Jersey’s average property tax bill may have hit $8,767 last year — a new record — but taxpayers in some parts of the state pay just a fraction of that.... The average property tax bill in Victory Gardens Borough was $4,417 in 2018, the lowest in Morris County."</ref>
Federal, state and county representation
[edit]Victory Gardens is located in the 11th Congressional District<ref name=PCR2012>Plan Components Report, New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020.</ref> and is part of New Jersey's 25th state legislative district.<ref name=Districts2011>Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed February 1, 2020.</ref><ref name=LWV2019>2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed October 30, 2019.</ref><ref>Districts by Number for 2011-2020, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 6, 2013.</ref>
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Politics
[edit]Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow |} Every Democratic Party nominee for president since at least Jimmy Carter has carried Victory Gardens. 1984, 1988, 2004, and 2024 were the only presidential elections where the Republican candidate got over 30.0% of the votes cast. Democrat Kamala Harris won with 60.15% of votes cast in the 2024 United States presidential election, the lowest any Democratic candidate had gotten since at least Bill Clinton with 56.45% in 1992.
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 523 registered voters in Victory Gardens, of which 234 (44.7%) were registered as Democrats, 58 (11.1%) were registered as Republicans and 231 (44.2%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties.<ref>Voter Registration Summary - Morris, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed December 23, 2012.</ref>
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie and Democrat Barbara Buono each received 48.4% of the vote (90 cast), ahead of other candidates with 3.2% (6 votes), among the 224 ballots cast by the borough's 556 registered voters (38 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 40.3%.<ref name=2013Elections>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=2013VoterReg>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 58.4% of the vote (118 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 27.2% (55 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 8.4% (17 votes) and other candidates with 0.5% (1 votes), among the 202 ballots cast by the borough's 544 registered voters, yielding a 37.1% turnout.<ref>2009 Governor: Morris County Template:Webarchive, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, December 31, 2009. Accessed December 23, 2012.</ref>
Education
[edit]Victory Gardens is a non-operating school district, with all public school students in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Victory Gardens attending the schools of the Dover School District in Dover, which has been consolidated between the two municipalities since 2010.<ref>Martin, Liz. "Voters have their say on the budgets", Neighbor News, April 28, 2010. Accessed July 11, 2016. "The school board goes from 11 members to 10 after this election as the temporary Board seat assigned to the Victory Gardens representative Danielle Press expired permanently on April 20. Now that Victory Gardens has merged with the Dover school district, there will no longer be a dedicated Victory Gardens seat on the Board. Any resident from either Dover or Victory Gardens will be eligible to run for any available Board seat."</ref><ref>13 Non-Operating School Districts Eliminated, New Jersey Department of Education press release dated July 1, 2009. Accessed July 11, 2016.</ref><ref>Dover Public Schools District Policy 0110 - Identification, Dover School District. Accessed May 20, 2020. "Purpose The Board of Education exists for providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades PK through 12 in the Dover School District. Composition The Dover School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Dover in County of Morris."</ref> As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 3,448 students and 244.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.1:1.<ref name=NCES>District information for Dover Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.</ref> Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment from the National Center for Education Statistics<ref>School Data for the Dover School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.</ref>) are Academy Street Elementary School<ref>Academy Street Elementary School, Dover School District. Accessed February 26, 2023.</ref> with 470 students in grades K-6, East Dover Elementary School<ref>East Dover Elementary School, Dover School District. Accessed February 26, 2023.</ref> with 389 students in grades K-6, North Dover Elementary School<ref>North Dover Elementary School, Dover School District. Accessed February 26, 2023.</ref> with 658 students in grades PreK-6, Dover Middle School<ref>Dover Middle School, Dover School District. Accessed February 26, 2023.</ref> with 524 students in grades 7-8 and Dover High School<ref>Dover High School, Dover School District. Accessed February 26, 2023.</ref> with 1,094 students in grades 9-12.<ref>School Performance Reports for the Dover Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 1, 2024.</ref><ref>New Jersey School Directory for the Dover School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.</ref> Public school students in grades 7–12 from Mine Hill Township attend Dover Middle School and Dover High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Mine Hill School District.<ref>Dover High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed July 11, 2016. "Dover High School, located 40 miles from New York City, services approximately 900 high school students from the Town of Dover, the Borough of Victory Gardens, and the Township of Mine Hill."</ref> The high school was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award in 2013.<ref>2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools; All Public and Private, United States Department of Education. Accessed March 2, 2015.</ref>
Transportation
[edit]_at_Washington_Avenue_in_Victory_Gardens,_Morris_County,_New_Jersey.jpg){kind=link}
Roads and highways
[edit]Template:As of, the borough had a total of Template:Convert of roadways, of which Template:Convert were maintained by the municipality and Template:Convert by Morris County.<ref>Morris County Mileage by Municipality and Jurisdiction, New Jersey Department of Transportation, May 2010. Accessed November 10, 2013.</ref>
County Route 665 (South Salem Street) runs through the northwest corner of the borough, connecting Randolph on both sides.<ref>Morris County Route 665 Straight Line Diagram, New Jersey Department of Transportation, October 2000. Accessed November 10, 2013.</ref>
Public transportation
[edit]NJ Transit offers local bus service on the 875 route.<ref>Riding the Bus, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed April 26, 2023.</ref><ref>Morris County System Map, NJ Transit. Accessed August 5, 2015.</ref> NJ Transit had previously offered service in the borough on the MCM2 and MCM7 routes.<ref>Morris County Bus / Rail Connections, NJ Transit, backed up by the Internet Archive as of May 22, 2009. Accessed December 23, 2012.</ref><ref>Private Carrier Bus Service reductions, NJ Transit. Accessed August 3, 2015.</ref>
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Victory Gardens Borough website
- Dover School District
- Template:NJReportCard
- School Data for the Dover School District, National Center for Education Statistics
- Daily Record regional area newspaper