Little Ferry, New Jersey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Little Ferry, New Jersey
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Borough
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Winant Avenue Bridge
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Location of Little Ferry in Bergen County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Bergen County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
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Census Bureau map of Little Ferry, New Jersey
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 Little Ferry, New Jersey
Location in Bergen County, New Jersey
Little Ferry, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Little Ferry, New Jersey
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  New Jersey |
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| County | Bergen | |
| Incorporated | September 18, 1894 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Borough | |
| • Body | Borough Council | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 1.67 sq mi (4.32 km2) | |
| • Land | 1.48 sq mi (3.83 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.19 sq mi (0.50 km2) 11.44% | |
| Area rank | 433rd of 565 in state 55th of 70 in county |
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| Elevation | 3 ft (0.9 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 10,987 | |
| • Estimate
(2023)
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10,914 | |
| • Rank | 228th of 565 in state 35th of 70 in county |
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| • Density | 7,438.7/sq mi (2,872.1/km2) | |
| • Density rank | 61st of 565 in state 18th of 70 in county |
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| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT)) | |
| ZIP Code |
07643
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| Area code(s) | 201 | |
| FIPS code | 3400340680 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885281 | |
Little Ferry is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,987, an increase of 361 (+3.4%) from the 2010 census count of 10,626, which in turn reflected a decline of 174 (−1.6%) from the 10,800 counted in the 2000 census.
Contents
History
Little Ferry was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 18, 1894, from portions of Lodi Township and New Barbadoes Township, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier. The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone.
During the colonial era, the borough was the site of an important ferry crossing between the region's towns at Bergen and Hackensack, which was operated by rope on the site starting in 1659, continuing until 1826 when it was replaced by a bridge on the Bergen Turnpike.
Gethsemane Cemetery, an African burial ground, was opened in 1860 and was used for interments until 1924. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
In the earlier 20th nearby Fort Lee on the Hudson Palisades was home to many film studios of America's first motion picture industry. On July 9, 1937, a major fire broke out in a 20th Century-Fox film storage facility in Little Ferry. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several fires in film industry laboratories, studios and vaults, although the precise causes were often unknown; in the Little Ferry fire, temperatures of 100 °F (38 °C) and insufficient venting were the proximate causes.
Rosie's Diner (formerly the Farmland Diner) was used in the 1970s for the filming of Bounty paper towel commercials featuring Nancy Walker as Rosie the Waitress.
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Little Ferry 35th in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.67 square miles (4.32 km2), including 1.48 square miles (3.83 km2) of land and 0.19 square miles (0.50 km2) of water (11.44%).
The borough borders the Bergen County municipalities of Hackensack, Moonachie, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, South Hackensack and Teterboro.
The borough lies near the confluence of the Hackensack River and Overpeck Creek in the New Jersey Meadowlands.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 58 | — | |
| 1890 | 781 | 1,246.6% | |
| 1900 | 1,240 | 58.8% | |
| 1910 | 2,541 | 104.9% | |
| 1920 | 2,715 | 6.8% | |
| 1930 | 4,155 | 53.0% | |
| 1940 | 4,545 | 9.4% | |
| 1950 | 4,955 | 9.0% | |
| 1960 | 6,175 | 24.6% | |
| 1970 | 9,064 | 46.8% | |
| 1980 | 9,399 | 3.7% | |
| 1990 | 9,989 | 6.3% | |
| 2000 | 10,800 | 8.1% | |
| 2010 | 10,626 | −1.6% | |
| 2020 | 10,987 | 3.4% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 10,914 | 2.7% | |
| Population sources: 1880–1890 1890–1920 1890–1910 1910–1930 1900–2020 2000 2010 2020 |
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2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 10,626 people, 4,239 households, and 2,730 families in the borough. The population density was 7,200.1 per square mile (2,780.0/km2). There were 4,439 housing units at an average density of 3,007.8 per square mile (1,161.3/km2). The racial makeup was 60.78% (6,458) White, 3.94% (419) Black or African American, 0.30% (32) Native American, 24.24% (2,576) Asian, 0.04% (4) Pacific Islander, 7.05% (749) from other races, and 3.65% (388) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.98% (2,442) of the population. Korean Americans accounted for 12.0% of the population.
Of the 4,239 households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18; 47.9% were married couples living together; 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 35.6% were non-families. Of all households, 31.0% were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.19. Same-sex couples headed 27 households in 2010, an increase from the 24 counted in 2000.
19.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 92.8 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $57,276 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,389) and the median family income was $74,000 (+/− $10,299). Males had a median income of $52,898 (+/− $3,123) versus $40,934 (+/− $3,050) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,257 (+/− $2,542). About 4.8% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Little Ferry Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 806 students and 84.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.6:1. The district's two school buildings are located across the street from each other. Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Washington Elementary School with 445 students in grades PreK-4 and Memorial Middle School with 342 students in grades 5-8.
As Little Ferry does not have its own high school, public school students from the borough attend Ridgefield Park High School in Ridgefield Park for ninth through twelfth grades as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Ridgefield Park Public Schools that has been in place since 1953. As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,174 students and 87.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4:1.
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, Applied Technology High School, located at Bergen Community College in Paramus, and the Bergen County Technical High Schools in Teterboro and 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.
Transportation
_just_west_of_Bergen_County_Route_124_(Bergen_Turnpike)_in_Little_Ferry,_Bergen_County,_New_Jersey.jpg)
Roads and highways
As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 20.20 miles (32.51 km) of roadways, of which 15.95 miles (25.67 km) were maintained by the municipality, 3.42 miles (5.50 km) by Bergen County and 0.83 miles (1.34 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
The Little Ferry Circle connected U.S. Route 46 and Bergen Turnpike. The circle was originally constructed in 1933 in conjunction with the nearby Route 46 Hackensack River Bridge, which crosses the river to Ridgefield Park and beyond to the George Washington Bridge.The circle was largely reconstructed in 1985, allowing vehicles traveling on Route 46 to pass directly through the circle. The circle has been a constant site of accidents, with 40-50 accidents per year at the circle each year from 2004 through 2006. In March 2007, the New Jersey Department of Transportation proposed its latest plan to address issues at the circle. The plan would realign the circle into a straight intersection, complete with turning lanes; prohibit left turns onto many residential streets; and would include construction of a pump station to move water off the oft-flooded highway and into the Hackensack River. This plan was later completed, with the circle no longer in existence.
Public transportation
NJ Transit bus routes 161 and 165 provide service between Little Ferry and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, with local service on the 772 route.
The Little Ferry Seaplane Base (FAA LID: 2N7) is a public-use seaplane base located 1-mile (1.6 km) east of the borough's central business district, on the Hackensack River. The base is privately owned.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Little Ferry include:
- Tom Boisture (1931–2011), American football high school / college coach and NFL scout who was the head of player personnel for the New York Giants
- Oscar Gamble (1949–2018), former outfielder / designated hitter who played for the New York Yankees
- Phil Hawes (born 1989), mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Bill Lovett (1894–1923), gangster
- Ambar Lucid (born 2001), singer-songwriter, musician
- Margherita Marchione (1922–2021), nun, writer, teacher and apologeticist, who dedicated herself in her later years to the defense of Pope Pius XII and his failure to save more Jews from the Nazis during The Holocaust
- Pete Michels (born 1964), animation director, whose credits include The Simpsons, Family Guy and Rick and Morty
- Chico Resch (born 1949), retired ice hockey goaltender and television sportscaster who played 14 seasons in the NHL for the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils
- Buddy Valastro (born 1977), star of Cake Boss, who was presented with the "keys to the city" of Little Ferry in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Little Ferry para niños
