Roosevelt was originally called Jersey Homesteads, and was created during the Great Depression as part of President Roosevelt's New Deal, its main purpose being to resettle Jewish garment workers. The town was conceived as an integrated cooperative project, with farming, manufacturing, and retail all on a cooperative basis.[25] The project fell under the discretion of the Resettlement Administration, but was conceived and largely planned out by Benjamin Brown.[26][27]
Farmland in Central Jersey was purchased by Jersey Homesteads, Inc., a corporation owned by the federal government but under control of a board of directors selected by Brown. Construction started around 1936. Soon after there were 200 homes and various public facilities in place. The economy of the town consisted of a garment factory and a farm.[28] Objectives of the community were to help residents escape poverty, to show that cooperative management can work, and as an experiment in government intervention.
Albert Einstein gave the town his political and moral support. Artist Ben Shahn lived in the town and painted a fresco mural viewable in the current Roosevelt Public School. The three panels show the history of the Jersey Homesteads, starting with the eastern European origins of its Jewish residents, their passage through Ellis Island and making plans for the community in Roosevelt.[29][30]
David Dubinsky and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union opposed the project, arguing that the factory town would cause unions to lose their power over wages. Political opposition came from those who thought too much money was being spent on the project, as well as those opposed to the New Deal in general.
The Jersey Homesteads cooperative didn't last through World War II. It failed for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons for its failure is because of delays in housing construction and resulted of shortage in workers in the garment factory. They ended up going on strike against themselves and the Farm Security Administration declared it a failure in 1939 and tried to auction off the assets. By early 1940, having failed to auction the factory fixtures, negotiations with Kartiganer and Co. succeeded and the company began operations at the Jersey Homesteads factory. Proving to be no more economically successful than the factory, the settlement's agricultural cooperative ceased operations in 1940. Although the clothing store failed with the factory, the borough's cooperative grocery and meat market endured into the 1940s. According to town expert Michael Hiltzik another reason it failed is "It was very, very expensive, and the agricultural progress that New Dealers thought they'd make, and certainly the industrial gains they thought they would see, never really materialized" [31][32][33][34]
Roosevelt is a historic landmark and is the subject of the 1983 documentary, Roosevelt, New Jersey: Visions of Utopia. The Jersey Homesteads Historic District was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, including "all that area within the corporate boundaries of the Borough of Roosevelt".[35]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.95 square miles (5.05 km2), including 1.94 square miles (5.02 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km2) of water (0.46%).[1][2]
Of the 314 households, 31.8% had children under the age of 18; 65.9% were married couples living together; 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present and 23.2% were non-families. Of all households, 17.5% were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.22.[18]
23.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 17.5% from 25 to 44, 37.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 98.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 93.9 males.[18]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $81,000 (with a margin of error of +/− $13,354) and the median family income was $86,406 (+/− $11,892). Males had a median income of $48,571 (+/− $11,433) versus $40,909 (+/− $17,307) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $33,863 (+/− $6,772). About 4.7% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.[42]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States Census[15] there were 933 people, 337 households, and 258 families residing in the borough. The population density was 477.0 inhabitants per square mile (184.2/km2). There were 351 housing units at an average density of 179.4 per square mile (69.3/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 88.96% White, 2.57% African American, 2.04% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 2.25% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.50% of the population.[40][41]
There were 337 households, out of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.1% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.17.[40][41]
In the borough the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.[40][41]
The median income for a household in the borough was $61,979, and the median income for a family was $67,019. Males had a median income of $50,417 versus $38,229 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $24,892. About 3.9% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 18.4% of those age 65 or over.[40][41]
Government
Local government
Roosevelt 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.[43] 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. A 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.[6] The borough form of government used by Roosevelt 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.[44][45]
As of 2023[update], the mayor of Roosevelt is Democrat Peggy Malkin, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023.[3] The members of the Roosevelt Borough Council are Council President Michael B. Hamilton (D, 2025), Robert Atwood (D, 2024), Louis Esakoff (D, 2023), Constance Herrstrom (D, 2025), Steve Macher (D, 2024) and Joseph E. Trammell (D, 2023).[46][47][48][49][50]
In June 2021, the borough council selected Constance Herrstrom from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Luke D. Dermody until he resigned from office.[51] Herrstrom served on an interim basis until the November 2021 general election when she was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.[49]
In August 2017, Mayor Jeff Ellentuck (whose term was to expire in December 2019), Council President Stacey Bonna (in 2017) and Councilwoman Jill Lipoti (2018) all resigned, citing conflicts between factions of the Democratic Party in the borough.[52] Councilmember Michael L. Ticktin, who had been elected to serve an unexpired term of office expiring in 2018, presented his resignation as Councilmember on August 19, leaving the three remaining councilmembers without the quorum needed to conduct official business. As in all such cases where there is an insufficient number of elected officials, Governor Chris Christie will have 30 days to appoint replacements to fill the vacancies.[53]
Citing infighting on the council, Mayor Jeff Ellentuck, and councimembers Stacey Bonna and Jill Lipoti resigned in August 2017[54] and when councilmember Michael Ticktin resigned less than a week later, the governing body was left without a quorum.[55] As specified by state law in such circumstances, Governor of New JerseyChris Christie selected registered Democrats Robin Middleman Filepp, Nicholas Murray and Maureen S. Parrott to fill the vacant seats, from applications submitted by borough residents.[56] In the November 2017 general election, Peggy Malkin was elected to serve the two years remaining on the mayoral term and Robin Filepp and Deirdre Sheean were elected to one-year vacancies on the borough council.[57]
In February 2015, the borough council selected Jill Lipoti to fill the vacant seat expiring in December 2017 of Michelle Hermelee, who had resigned earlier that month due to work demands.[58]
In 2006, more than 80% of Roosevelt voters supported the recall of Neil Marko, the borough's mayor, by a vote of 282–68, in an effort initiated by the Committee to Recall Marko. Voters chose Beth Battel, then the borough council's president, to replace Marko as mayor.[59] The recall election was part of a larger controversy regarding a local yeshiva, a school for Jewish boys, that had been permitted to operate in a local synagogue by Mayor Marko, who was also the congregation's president. While supporters of the yeshiva, including Mayor Marko, described the opposition as "thinly veiled prejudice", a local historian described the recall as reflecting "not so much anti-Semitism as anti-Orthodox feelings".[60]
Federal, state, and county representation
Roosevelt is located in the 3rd Congressional District[61] and is part of New Jersey's 12th state legislative district.[62][63][64]
Monmouth County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners composed of five members who are elected at-large to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats up for election each year as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization meeting held in the beginning of January, the board selects one of its members to serve as director and another as deputy director.[70] As of 2024[update], Monmouth County's Commissioners are Director Thomas A. Arnone (R, Neptune City, 2025),[71] Susan M. Kiley (R, Hazlet Township, 2024),[72]
Erik Anderson (R, Shrewsbury, 2026),[73]
Nick DiRocco (R, Wall Township, 2025),[74] and
Deputy Director Ross F. Licitra (R, Marlboro Township, 2026).[75][76][77]
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 608 registered voters in Roosevelt, of which 351 (57.7%) were registered as Democrats, 60 (9.9%) were registered as Republicans and 195 (32.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.[84]
Roosevelt is a historically Democratic jurisdiction in the state of New Jersey. Since the first presidential election after its incorporation as Jersey Homesteads, all 21 Democratic party nominees for president have carried the borough by a margin of 25 points or greater, even in the nationwide Republican landslides of 1956, 1972, and 1984 that saw New Jersey vote Republican by over 20 points, and Monmouth County vote Republican by over 30 points.
The highest percentage of the vote won by a Democratic presidential candidate is the 94.68% of the vote won by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1944. Roosevelt in 1940, as well as Lyndon Johnson in 1964 also won over 90% of the vote for the Democrats. The highest percentage of the vote won by a Republican presidential candidate is the 36.11% of the vote won by Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Similarly, all 23 Democratic party nominees for governor of New Jersey since 1937 have carried Roosevelt with three campaigns, Robert B. Meyner in 1953 and 1957, and Brendan Byrne in 1973 each breaking 90% of the vote for the party. Meyner's 1957 campaign which garnered 93.52% being the largest total won by any gubernatorial candidate in Roosevelt since the borough's incorporation. The best showing by a Republican gubernatorial nominee was the 46.13% received by Thomas Kean in 1985. In that election, Roosevelt was one of only three municipalities (along with Audubon Park, and Chesilhurst) in the entire state of New Jersey that supported Peter Shapiro.[85]
The Roosevelt Public School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade at Roosevelt Public School.[123][124][125][126] As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 84 students and 8.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.5:1.[127] In the 2016–17 school year, Roosevelt had the 6th-smallest enrollment of any school district in the state, with 88 students.[128]
From 2005 to 2010, a Jewish secondary and post-secondary religious school, Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah, was located in a local synagogue, Congregation Anshei Roosevelt. Due to unresolvable zoning issues for its dormitory and dining facilities, and local opposition to its presence, the yeshiva relocated to Monsey, New York, after the yeshiva brought and lost several actions against the borough and certain individual borough officials in state and Federal courts.[134]
Transportation
As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 8.43 miles (13.57 km) of roadways, of which 6.27 miles (10.09 km) were maintained by the municipality and 2.16 miles (3.48 km) by Monmouth County.[135]
The only major road that passes through is County Route 571, which traverses the center of the borough.[136]
^Borough Council Meeting Minutes for June 21, 2021, Borough of Roosevelt. Accessed May 12, 2022. "Mayor Malkin read a letter from the Roosevelt Democratic Municipal Committee, dated June 17, 2021, submitting the following three nominees to fill the vacancy left by Councilman Luke Dermody: Constance J. Herrstrom, Jean S. Shahn, Jacquelin A. Carpenter.... Oath of Office to be administered at the next Borough Council meeting."
^Solis, Steph. "Roosevelt mayor, council members resign over infighting", Asbury Park Press, August 16, 2017. Accessed August 31, 2017. "Mayor Jeff Ellentuck, deputy borough clerk Kelly Tyers and council members Jill Lipoti and Stacey Bonna announced their resignation in a joint statement, citing an increasing divisiveness over the past two years."
^Solis, Steph. "Roosevelt needs state intervention after councilman resigns, citing 'improper' code enforcement", Asbury Park Press, August 21, 2017. Accessed August 31, 2017. "Michael Ticktin said in his resignation letter Friday morning that he felt compelled to leave the council after the three remaining members demonstrated a 'different philosophy of code enforcement.'... Peggy Malkin, Mike Hamilton and Joe Trammell remain on the council, but there are too many vacancies for the legislative body to hold a quorum.... It is up to the Office of Gov. Chris Christie to appoint replacements within 30 days, according to state law."
^Solis, Steph. Roosevelt mayor, council members resign over infighting", Asbury Park Press, August 16, 2017. Accessed December 7, 2017. "The borough's mayor, deputy clerk and two council members resigned during Monday night's council meeting, saying they're sick of infighting. Mayor Jeff Ellentuck, deputy borough clerk Kelly Tyers and council members Jill Lipoti and Stacey Bonna announced their resignation in a joint statement, citing an increasing divisiveness over the past two years."
^Solis, Steph. "Roosevelt needs state intervention after councilman resigns, citing 'improper' code enforcement", Asbury Park Press, August 21, 2017. Accessed December 7, 2017. "State intervention is necessary after a week in which two council members and the mayor resigned over in-fighting and a third council member stepped down complaining of 'improper' code enforcement.Michael Ticktin said in his resignation letter Friday morning that he felt compelled to leave the council after the three remaining members demonstrated a "different philosophy of code enforcement.'... Peggy Malkin, Mike Hamilton and Joe Trammell remain on the council, but there are too many vacancies for the legislative body to hold a quorum."
^Solis, Steph. "Roosevelt: 3 new council members mean town has government again", Asbury Park Press, September 13, 2017. Accessed December 7, 2017. ""Weeks after the mayor and three council members resigned citing infighting and improper code enforcement, Gov. Chris Christie appointed three new council members. Robin Middleman Filepp, Nicholas Murray and Maureen S. Parrott will join the Roosevelt Borough Council.All three appointees are registered Democrats living in the borough."
^Smothers, Ronald. "Built as a Refuge With a Dash of Utopia, It Faces Change and Resists It", The New York Times, September 20, 2005. Accessed December 6, 2019. "Neil Marko, who was president of the synagogue board and is now mayor of Roosevelt, accepted an offer to rent space for a yeshiva in the synagogue, serving 12 ninth graders at first but eventually 150 students.... Further, critics object to the way the synagogue's board of directors and the mayor have acted in bringing in the yeshiva. Critics have accused Mr. Marko of neglecting his duty as mayor for failing to consider the eventual effect of 150 students on the town's water, sewer and road infrastructure and taxes.... Mr. Marko and other supporters of the yeshiva said they suspected that what was really driving the resistance to the yeshiva was not safety concerns but a thinly veiled prejudice.... But Arthur Shapiro, the town historian who also grew up in Roosevelt, said he sensed that it was not so much anti-Semitism as anti-Orthodox feelings."
^Monmouth County Government, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Accessed July 19, 2022. "Monmouth County is governed by five commissioners elected at-large for three-year terms. Each January, the freeholders select one of their members to serve as the director of the board for the year to preside over the meetings and activities of the Board."
^Roosevelt Board of Education District Bylaw 0110 - Identification, Roosevelt Public School District. Accessed October 21, 2023. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through six in the Roosevelt School District. Composition: The Roosevelt School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Roosevelt."
^Frequently Asked Questions, Roosevelt Public School District. Accessed June 23, 2020. "What grade levels are taught in Roosevelt Public School? Roosevelt Public School is a Pre-K through fifth-grade school, with a four-hour Pre-K and a full-day Kindergarten."
^Guion, Payton. "These 43 N.J. school districts have fewer than 200 students", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 2017. Accessed January 30, 2020. "Based on data from the state Department of Education from the last school year and the Census Bureau, NJ Advance Media made a list of the smallest of the small school districts in the state, excluding charter schools and specialty institutions.... 6. Roosevelt Borough; Enrollment: 88; Grades: Pre-K-6; County: Monmouth; Town population: 882"
^East Windsor Regional School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 23, 2020. "The East Windsor Regional School District, located in central New Jersey at New Jersey Turnpike Exit 8, is a stable K-12 public school district serving the communities of the East Windsor Township and the Borough of Hightstown as well as Roosevelt Borough students grades 7 through 12."
^Jamieson, Wendell. "CITY LORE; Hard-Boiled Tales, Told by a Gentleman", The New York Times, January 1, 2006. Accessed July 31, 2012. "BENJAMIN APPEL was an author of more than 25 novels from 1934 to 1977, many of them set in New York. He was raised in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan and lived much of his life in Roosevelt, N.J., but after he moved he still came back to New York often."
^Staff. "Rev. J. S. Grauel, 68, A Supporter of Israel", The New York Times, September 10, 1986. Accessed February 14, 2011. "The Rev. John Stanley Grauel, a Methodist minister who was an activist for the Jewish people and Israel, died Friday at his home in Roosevelt, N.J."
^Jacob Landau (1917-2001)Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, Art & Architecture of New Jersey, Stockton University. Accessed July 31, 2012. "Jacob Landau, a resident of Roosevelt, New Jersey in his later years, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 17, 1917."
^Staff. "Stefan Martin; Artist, 58", The New York Times, October 19, 1994. Accessed November 21, 2017. "Stefan Martin, an artist noted for his wood engravings, drowned on Oct. 7 in Assunpink Lake in Millstone Township, N.J. He was 58 and lived in Roosevelt, N.J."
^Smith, Richard D. "Paul Prestopino passes", Bluegrass Today, July 20, 2023. Accessed November 13, 2023. "Paul Prestopino, a renowned multi-instrument sideman and recording engineer, with long experience in bluegrass, old-time, folk, and contra dance musics, passed away peacefully at his home in Roosevelt, NJ, on July 16, 2023."
^Staff. "Roosevelt featured in new exhibit"Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine, Allentown Examiner, August 27, 2009. Accessed February 14, 2011. "On Oct. 7, photo-historian and Monmouth County Archivist Gary Saretzky will give a lecture on the late Edwin and Louise Rosskam, who lived in Roosevelt for many years."
^Fox, Margalit. "Bernarda Bryson Shahn, Painter, Dies at 101", The New York Times, December 16, 2004. Accessed February 14, 2011. "Bernarda Bryson Shahn, the widow of the painter Ben Shahn, who won her own recognition as an artist late in life, died on Sunday at her home in Roosevelt, N.J., her son, Jonathan Shahn, said. She was 101."
^Staff, U. S. 1 (September 9, 2020). "Deaths". Community News. Retrieved March 10, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)