Location of Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Bergen County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey
The borough was listed as the third-safest place in New Jersey[24] as well as the eighth-safest municipality in the nation according to a 2022 crime statistic compilation from Safewise.com.[25]
The area that would become the borough had been known as Corona from the mid-1800s and grew up around the two local railroad stations. The name "Hasbrouck" was chosen in 1889 to honor Jacob Dillon Hasbrouck (1842–1918), general manager of the New Jersey and New York Railroad.[26][27] In the face of local opposition, the name change was promoted as improving the community's public perception and avoiding confusion with the Corona, Queens neighborhood, while "Heights" was added to avoid confusion with a similarly named community in upstate New York.[28]
Hasbrouck Heights was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on August 2, 1894, based on the passage of a referendum on July 31, 1894, and was created from portions of Lodi Township at the height of the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County.[29][30] A part of the borough was annexed to Lodi in 1901.[31]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.53 square miles (3.95 km2), including 1.52 square miles (3.95 km2) of land and <0.01 square miles (0.01 km2) of water (0.20%).[1][2][1][2]
The 2010 United States census counted 11,842 people, 4,433 households, and 3,187 families in the borough. The population density was 7,865.4 per square mile (3,036.8/km2). There were 4,627 housing units at an average density of 3,073.2 per square mile (1,186.6/km2). The racial makeup was 81.34% (9,632) White, 2.86% (339) Black or African American, 0.08% (9) Native American, 9.99% (1,183) Asian, 0.02% (2) Pacific Islander, 3.68% (436) from other races, and 2.04% (241) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.86% (1,760) of the population.[21]
Of the 4,433 households, 31.5% had children under the age of 18; 57.4% were married couples living together; 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 28.1% were non-families. Of all households, 24.5% were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.22.[21]Same-sex couples headed 9 households in 2010, less than half of the 19 counted in 2000.[42]
22.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 89.4 males.[21]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $88,375 (with a margin of error of +/− $7,467) and the median family income was $100,264 (+/− $9,917). Males had a median income of $60,618 (+/− $5,446) versus $47,385 (+/− $6,455) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $37,428 (+/− $3,231). About 3.6% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.[43]
As of the 2000 United States census[17] there were 11,662 people, 4,521 households, and 3,142 families residing in the borough. The population density was 7,735.0 inhabitants per square mile (2,986.5/km2). There were 4,617 housing units at an average density of 3,062.3 per square mile (1,182.4/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 87.87% White, 1.71% African American, 0.04% Native American, 6.65% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.19% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.27% of the population.[40][41]
There were 4,521 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.16.[40][41]
In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.[40][41]
The median income for a household in the borough was $64,529, and the median income for a family was $75,032. Males had a median income of $51,328 versus $40,570 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,626. About 2.1% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.[40][41]
Hasbrouck Heights 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.[44] The governing body is comprised of a mayor and a 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.[7] The borough form of government used by Hasbrouck Heights, the most commonly used system in the state, 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.[45][46]
As of 2024[update], the mayor of Hasbrouck Heights is Republican Ronald F. Kistner, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the Hasbrouck Heights Borough Council are Robert Bing (R, 2024), Susan B. McGuire (R, 2025), Thomas Meli (R, 2024), Joseph Samperi (R, 2025; appointed to serve an unexpired term), Michael Sickels (R, 2026) and Charlotte Sodora (R, 2026).[3][47][48][49][50][51]
Joseph Samperi was appointed in January 2024 to fill the council seat expiring in December 2025 that had been held by Ron Kistner until he stepped down to take office as mayor. Samperi will serve on an interim basis until the November 2024 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.[52]
Bergen County is governed by a directly elected County Executive, with legislative functions performed by a Board of County Commissioners composed of seven members who are elected at-large to three-year terms in partisan elections on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats coming up for election each November; a Chairman and Vice Chairman are selected from among its seven members at a reorganization meeting held every January. As of 2024[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.[61]
As of March 2011, there were a total of 7,221 registered voters in Hasbrouck Heights, of which 1,630 (22.6% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 2,549 (35.3% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 3,040 (42.1% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.[83] Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 61.0% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 78.4% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).[83][84]
In the 2016 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump received 3,126 votes (51.0% vs. 41.1% countywide), ahead of Democrat Hillary Clinton with 2,796 votes (45.7% vs. 54.2%) and other candidates with 205 votes (3.3% vs. 4.6%), among the 6,195 ballots cast by the borough's 8,119 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.3% (vs. 72.5% in Bergen County).[85] In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 2,883 votes (51.1% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 2,669 votes (47.3% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 43 votes (0.8% vs. 0.9%), among the 5,640 ballots cast by the borough's 7,558 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.6% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County).[86][87] In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 3,218 votes (52.9% vs. 44.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 2,772 votes (45.5% vs. 53.9%) and other candidates with 48 votes (0.8% vs. 0.8%), among the 6,087 ballots cast by the borough's 7,612 registered voters, for a turnout of 80.0% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County).[88][89] In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 3,066 votes (53.2% vs. 47.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 2,629 votes (45.6% vs. 51.7%) and other candidates with 53 votes (0.9% vs. 0.7%), among the 5,768 ballots cast by the borough's 7,345 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.5% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county).[90]
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 62.7% of the vote (2,191 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 36.4% (1,272 votes), and other candidates with 0.9% (32 votes), among the 3,571 ballots cast by the borough's 7,346 registered voters (76 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 48.6%.[91][92] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 2,037 votes (51.7% vs. 45.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 1,663 votes (42.2% vs. 48.0%), Independent Chris Daggett with 181 votes (4.6% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 24 votes (0.6% vs. 0.5%), among the 3,937 ballots cast by the borough's 7,449 registered voters, yielding a 52.9% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).[93]
The Hasbrouck Heights School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.[94] The district also serves students from Teterboro, a non-operating district that was merged into the Hasbrouck Heights School District following its dissolution on July 1, 2010.[95] As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,745 students and 145.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1.[96] Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[97]) are
Euclid Elementary School[98] with 338 students in grades Pre-K–5,
Lincoln Elementary School[99] with 386 students in grades Pre-K–5,
Hasbrouck Heights Middle School[100] with 426 students in grades 6–8 and
Hasbrouck Heights High School[101] with 558 students in grades 9–12.[102][103][104]
Public school students from the borough, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.[105][106]
Corpus Christi School is a Catholic elementary school that serves children in preschool through eighth grade. The school belongs to the Corpus Christi Parish, and has two main buildings: the early childhood learning center, for ages three to five, and the main building for ages five to thirteen.[107] The school operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.[108]
As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 36.64 miles (58.97 km) of roadways, of which 29.29 miles (47.14 km) were maintained by the municipality, 4.78 miles (7.69 km) by Bergen County and 2.57 miles (4.14 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.[109]
NJ Transit provides rail service via the Pascack Valley Line's Teterboro – Williams Avenue station, which is located on the eastern boundary with Teterboro, just across the tracks from the Williams Avenue dead end in Hasbrouck Heights. The station is four stops from the line's northern terminus at Hoboken Terminal. Although the rail line's tracks lie entirely within the borders of Hasbrouck Heights, and in fact form the borough's eastern boundary with Teterboro, New Jersey Transit considers the station to be in Teterboro because passenger boarding, passenger shelter, parking lot, and ingress/egress roads are accessed from that municipality.[112][113]
In January 2013, New Jersey Transit erected a 300-foot (91 m) chain link fence in the vicinity of the Williams Avenue dead end as a safety measure to prevent pedestrians / commuters from crossing over the tracks illegally to gain access to the trains on the Teterboro side. Hasbrouck Heights Mayor Rose Marie Heck, Assemblyman Tim Eustace, and Hasbrouck Heights commuters have tried to work with New Jersey Transit to find alternative solutions, including installation of a pedestrian rail crossing with swing gates and warning lights. New Jersey Transit has indicated there are no immediate alternatives available since funding is not available.[114][115][116]
1896 – Volunteer fire department established.[118]
1935 – (May 19) Small biplane loses altitude after taking off from Teterboro Airport, and drops directly in front of automobile on Route 2 (now Route 17). Driver of automobile only bruised after crash, pilot and student co-pilot severely injured.
1966 – (June 29) Pilot James P. Scott crash-lands his Piper Aztec twin-engine plane on front lawn of Burton Avenue home after losing an engine and skimming the top of a tree, which softened his landing. The plane slid up the driveway and struck the house. The residents were not at home, and the pilot survived.
1999 – (December 9) A Beechcraft Baron bound from Virginia for neighboring Teterboro Airport crashed in a backyard. All four people passengers aboard the plane died, no injuries occurred on the ground.[119]
1999 – (December 10) The Municipal Building (housing the borough hall, borough court, fire department, police department) catches fire. The cause of the blaze was found to be an electrical problem. A new building was constructed on the Boulevard and Central and dedicated on December 14, 2003.
2006 – (June) The public library director Michele Reutty was in the news for not providing information to the borough police when they turned up at the library without a subpoena.[120] This event drew widespread attention via a Slashdot article.[121]
Clarence Chamberlin (1893–1976), aviation pioneer who was the second man to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to the European mainland, while carrying the first transatlantic passenger[126]
Edgar Smith (1934–2017), convicted murderer, who was once on death row for the 1957 murder of 15-year-old honor student and cheerleader Victoria Ann Zielinski[146]
The song "Hasbrook Heights" (note the different spelling to the name of the borough) was composed and recorded by Burt Bacharach in 1971. Hal David wrote the lyrics. The song's best-known version can be found on Dionne Warwick's 1972 album Dionne.[147][148]
^History, Hasbrouck-Heights.com. Accessed August 31, 2015. "The name Hasbrouck Heights was chosen to honor J. D. Hasbrouck, then General Manager of the New Jersey and New York Railroad."
^DePalma, Rachelle. "If You're Thinking Of Living In Hasbrouck Heights", The New York Times, November 10, 1985. Accessed February 18, 2020. "By the mid-1800s, the New Jersey and New York Railroad made its first appearance, transforming the village, then known as Corona, from a simple farmland into a thriving community.... In 1889, according to Hasbrouck Heights, History, by Jody Falco and Stephen McNabb, a group of prominent residents including Edward Anson, associate editor of the local newspaper, spearheaded a campaign to give the village of Corona a new name. The residents urged renaming it in honor of Dillon Hasbrouck, general manager of the New Jersey and New York Railroad, who had been instrumental in building two train stations in town. They said the village was often confused with the Queens County, N.Y., community of the same name, and argued that it would 'present a better image if renamed.'... The word Heights was then added so the borough would not be confused with the hamlet of Hasbrouck in Sullivan County, N.Y."
^"Samperi Selected to Fill Open Hasbrouck Heights Council Seat", TAPinto Hasbrouck Heights / Wood-Ridge / Teterboro, January 31, 2024. "Joseph Samperi was selected by the Hasbrouck Heights Council to fill the open seat left by Ron Kistner’s election as Mayor last November at a Special Council meeting held Tuesday evening in the Council Chambers at Borough Hall.... Kistner vacated his spot on the Council in January when he was sworn in as Mayor."
^Biography, Congressman Bill Pascrell. Accessed January 3, 2019. "A native son of Paterson, N.J., Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. has built a life of public service upon the principles he learned while growing up on the south side of the Silk City."
^Cattafi, Kristie. "Democrats pick Bergenfield councilman to fill vacancy on Bergen County commissioners board", The Record, March 13, 2023. Accessed March 16, 2023. "A Democratic councilman from Bergenfield will be sworn in as a Bergen County commissioner Wednesday night, filling a vacancy on the governing body for almost 1 million residents. Rafael Marte will serve until Dec. 31, taking on the unexpired term left by former Commissioner Ramon Hache, a Democrat who resigned last week to lead the Ridgewood YMCA as its chief executive officer."
^Hasbrouck Heights Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Hasbrouck Heights School District. Accessed February 18, 2020. "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 twelve in the Hasbrouck Heights School District. Composition The Hasbrouck Heights School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Hasbrouck Heights."
^Graham, Aaron R. Bergen County Report on Consolidation and Regionalization, Bergen County Executive County Superintendent, March 15, 2010. Accessed June 15, 2011. "Hasbrouck Heights (PK-12) and Teterboro (non-op): The two districts will form the newly merged district of Hasbrouck Heights with Teterboro, a non-operating district scheduled for elimination on July 1, 2010."
^Home page, Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department. Accessed December 4, 2014.
^McFadden, Robert D."Plane Crashes Into Backyard in New Jersey, Killing All 4 On Board", The New York Times, December 10, 1999. Accessed December 6, 2013. "A private twin-engine plane carrying four people from Virginia to New Jersey crashed in a residential section of Bergen County just short of its destination late yesterday and exploded in flames. Three on board were killed, and the fourth, who was hurled burning from the wreckage, died hours later. ... Witnesses yesterday said that the aircraft, a six-seat Beechcraft Baron 58 that had been cleared for a landing at Teterboro Airport in Bergen County, was sputtering and wobbling in the sky and at 5:32 p.m. suddenly plummeted into the backyard of a home on Washington Place in Hasbrouck Heights, a mile west of the airport."
^Staff. "Library chief draws cops' ire", The Record, June 22, 2006, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 12, 2016. Accessed August 31, 2017. "Hasbrouck Heights Library Director Michele Reutty is under fire for refusing to give police library circulation records without a subpoena."
^Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1976, p. 253. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1976. Accessed July 23, 2019. "Robert Burns, Dem., Hasbrouck Heights – Assemblyman Burns was born in Jersey City on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1926."
^Nicholaides, Kelly. "Red Wheelbarrow Poets release 4th book", South Bergenite, February 16, 2012. Accessed August 16, 2013. "Three in particular — Madeline Tiger, Marian Calabro and Celine Beaulieu — also featured essays offering insights into the Williams' life.... 'Williams was all about the specifics,' Calabro, a Hasbrouck Heights resident, says."
^Clarence Duncan Chamberlin, pitcairnfield.org. Accessed September 7, 2017. "The 1940 Census placed Chamberlin (age 46), Louise (33) and Phillip (14) living at 236 Washington Place, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ."
^Olivier, Bobby. "How this Nutley artist became New Jersey's latest music pioneer", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 21, 2016. "The EDM bleed has paid dividends for Mike Volpe, a Nutley native better known as Clams Casino, who has become one of the most sought-after digital designers in hip-hop's experimental universe.... 'It's great, how easy it is to get stuff out, and make music at home and all the sudden people everywhere can hear it,' he says, from his home in Hasbrouck Heights."
^Emblen, Frank. "New Jersey Guide", The New York Times, December 18, 1983. Accessed June 5, 2012. "Mr. Godfrey, who died on March 16 at the age of 79, was a native of Hasbrouck Heights."
^Old Wall, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accessed May 13, 2016. "Victoria Hutson Huntley (American, Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey 1900–1971 Arlington, Virginia)"
^Ervolino, Bill. "Tony Orlando to perform in Morristown", The Record, May 12, 2011, backed up the Internet Archive as of August 7, 2016. Accessed August 31, 2017. "He recorded his first single a decade earlier, when he was a teenager living in Hasbrouck Heights. 'We had moved from Union City to Hasbrouck Heights,' he recalls, 'and lived on Burr Street, near Teterboro Airport.'"
^Needell, Paul. "For Parcells, there is no greater game", The Star-Ledger, December 27, 2008. Accessed March 7, 2011. "Fifty years ago today, when the course of NFL history changed forever with the so-called Greatest Game Ever Played, New Jersey's favorite football son did not sit transfixed in front of his family's grainy black-and-white television set in Hasbrouck Heights."
^Litsky, Frank. "Super Bowl XXI: The Giants Vs. The Broncos; The Two Sides Of Bill Parcells", The New York Times, January 19, 1987. Accessed March 7, 2011. "Bill is his nickname. His real name is Duane Charles Parcells, but once he became a teen-ager only his mother called him Duane. He was raised in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., and everyone knew him as Duane except his fourth-grade teacher. She used to say, 'Duane Parcells, is she here?'"
^Blum, June. "Shop Talk; About Hasbrouck Heights", The New York Times, September 17, 1972. Accessed August 31, 2017. "Every athlete is indebted to another native son, the late Oscar Schwidetsky, the unsung hero who developed the Ace Bandage."
^Rohan, Virginia. "Awake: Bergen man stars in new NBC drama", Bergen.com, February 29, 2012, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 8, 2016. Accessed August 31, 2017. "You might call the path that led actor Jay Seals to Awake – the NBC drama that premieres on Thursday – Three Degrees of Mad Men. After the Hasbrouck Heights native landed a role as an ad client in the AMC hit's fourth-season finale, that show's casting directors hired him to be a 'reader' on Metro, an NBC pilot from Oscar-winning writer Stephen Gaghan (Traffic)."
^"The Kid from Hoboken", Time, August 29, 1955. Accessed August 31, 2017. "Even at home, Sinatra was not safe. His house in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. was ringed all day and half the night by gazing girldom. Originally white, its sides were soon smeared with lipstick. Sometimes the girls made human ladders and peered into his bedroom, and when he got a haircut the clippings were claimed."
^Eskanazi, Gerald. "Pro Football; From the Marine Corps To the Tight Ends Corps", The New York Times, August 21, 2001. Accessed August 31, 2017. "Becht's backup will most likely be Scott Slutzker, who began his pro career with the Colts in 1996 and is in his first season with the Jets. He grew up a Giants fan in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J."
^Stout, David. "Edgar Smith, Killer Who Duped William F. Buckley, Dies at 83", The New York Times, September 24, 2017. Accessed September 25, 2017. "Edgar Herbert Smith Jr. was nothing like that. Born in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., he was angry when his parents separated when he was a boy, and angry at being shuttled from aunt to orphanage to grandmother, he recalled at a 2009 parole hearing."
^Lustig, Jay. "‘Hasbrook Heights,’ Dionne Warwick", NJArts.net, April 20, 2015. Accessed August 11, 2021. "Yes, I know it’s misspelled, and should be 'Hasbrouck Heights.' But that’s how Burt Bacharach rendered it when he recorded the song — which he co-wrote with lyricist Hal David — on his self-titled 1971 album. And that’s how the songwriting team’s favorite vocalist, Dionne Warwick, spelled it, too, when she covered it on her 1972 album, Dionne."
Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties) prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958.