According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.08 square miles (5.38 km2), including 2.07 square miles (5.37 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km2) of water (0.34%).[1][2]
At the heart of Demarest is an area known as the Duck Pond, which is a section of the Tenakill Brook.[27]
Of the 1,597 households, 45.1% had children under the age of 18; 76.8% were married couples living together; 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 12.1% were non-families. Of all households, 10.8% were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.29.[19]Same-sex couples headed eight households in 2010, an increase from the four counted in 2000.[39]
27.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 18.2% from 25 to 44, 33.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 93.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 89.7 males.[19]
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $147,714 (with a margin of error of +/− $14,743) and the median family income was $150,208 (+/− $9,154). Males had a median income of $101,085 (+/− $10,254) versus $58,295 (+/− $10,277) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $69,460 (+/− $10,589). About 1.4% of families and 1.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.[40]
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census[16] there were 4,845 people, 1,601 households, and 1,386 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,343.7 inhabitants per square mile (904.9/km2). There were 1,634 housing units at an average density of 790.4 per square mile (305.2/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 77.28% White, 0.50% African American, 0.02% Native American, 20.25% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.45% of the population.[36][37]
As of the 2000 Census, 3.72% of Demarest's residents identified themselves as being of Japanese ancestry, which was the second highest of any municipality in New Jersey—behind Fort Lee (6.09%)—for all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.[41] In this same census, 2.3% of Demarest's residents identified themselves as being of Armenian-American ancestry. This was the 19th highest percentage of Armenian American people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.[42]
There were 1,601 households, out of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.2% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.4% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.27.[36][37]
In the borough the age distribution of the population shows 28.9% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.[36][37]
The median income for a household in the borough was $103,286, and the median income for a family was $113,144. Males had a median income of $82,597 versus $43,750 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $51,939. About 0.9% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.7% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.[36][37]
Government
Local government
Demarest 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 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 Demarest 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 2024[update], the mayor of Demarest Borough is Democrat Brian K. Bernstein, whose term of office ends December 31, 2026. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Andrea Slowikowski (R, 2024), Adam J. Collins (D, 2026), Daryl Ury Fox (D, 2024), David Jiang (D, 2025), Daniel Marks (D, 2025) and Jonathan Reiss (D, 2026).[3][46][47][48][49][50]
On the night of the November 2018 general election, Melinda Iannuzzi won the first seat with 1,099 votes and Republican Joseph Gray won the second seat with 1,094 votes with Jim Caroll in fourth place; Later that month, once all ballots were counted and the results were certified, Carroll pulled ahead and won the second council seat up for election.[51]
Joseph N. Connolly was appointed to take office in December 2015, filling the vacant seat expiring in December 2017 left by the resignation of Republican Steve Schleim.[52] In the November 2016 general election, Democrat Rebecca LaPira was elected to serve the one year remaining on the term of office.[53]
Gregg Paster was appointed in October 2013 to fill the vacant seat of Blake Chroman that was due to expire at the end of 2015. Paster served on an interim basis until a special ballot item in November 2014, when voters chose him to serve the balance of Chroman's term of office.[54]
Federal, state and county representation
Demarest is located in the 5th Congressional District[55] and is part of New Jersey's 39th state legislative district.[56][57][58]
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 2025[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.[64]
As of March 2011, there were a total of 3,117 registered voters in Demarest, of which 984 (31.6% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 589 (18.9% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 1,542 (49.5% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.[86] Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 63.9% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 88.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).[86][87]
In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received 1,578 votes (62.4% vs. 54.2% countywide), ahead of Republican Donald Trump with 853 votes (33.7% vs. 41.1% countywide) and other candidates with 68 votes (2.7% vs. 3.0% countywide), among the 2,528 ballots cast by the borough's 3,491 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.4% (vs. 73% in Bergen County).[88] In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 1,211 votes (51.0% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 1,127 votes (47.5% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 17 votes (0.7% vs. 0.9%), among the 2,373 ballots cast by the borough's 3,343 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.0% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County).[89][90] In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 1,388 votes (54.9% vs. 53.9% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 1,105 votes (43.7% vs. 44.5%) and other candidates with 14 votes (0.6% vs. 0.8%), among the 2,526 ballots cast by the borough's 3,212 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.6% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County).[91][92] In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 1,292 votes (51.4% vs. 51.7% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 1,204 votes (47.9% vs. 47.2%) and other candidates with 12 votes (0.5% vs. 0.7%), among the 2,512 ballots cast by the borough's 3,083 registered voters, for a turnout of 81.5% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county).[93]
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 62.5% of the vote (883 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 36.4% (515 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (15 votes), among the 1,452 ballots cast by the borough's 3,167 registered voters (39 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 45.8%.[100][101] In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 823 ballots cast (48.2% vs. 48.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 787 votes (46.1% vs. 45.8%), Independent Chris Daggett with 78 votes (4.6% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 10 votes (0.6% vs. 0.5%), among the 1,708 ballots cast by the borough's 3,164 registered voters, yielding a 54.0% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).[102]
Education
The Demarest Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.[103] As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 714 students and 71.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.0:1.[104] Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[105]) are
County Road School[106] with 168 students in pre-kindergarten through first grade,
Luther Lee Emerson Schools[106] with 217 students in grades 2 - 4 and
Demarest Middle School[107] with 320 students in grades 5 through 8.[108][109]
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.[115][116]
Demarest has a volunteer fire department that was established in 1894. Its station is located on Park Street and consists of Engine 461, Rescue 465, Engine 2, and Ladder 1.[118]
Medical services
Demarest has a volunteer ambulance corps. that was first established in 1961 and is located on Wakelee Drive.[119]
Police department
The Demarest Police Department was established in 1903 with its station on Serpentine Road.[120]
As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 27.27 miles (43.89 km) of roadways, of which 21.56 miles (34.70 km) were maintained by the municipality and 5.71 miles (9.19 km) by Bergen County.[121]
County Route 501 and County Route 505 travels through Demarest. While Demarest is a small community, there are often traffic jams at around 8:00 am and 3:00 pm when all three grammar schools let out for the day. These small traffic jams usually occur at the intersection of County Road and Hardenburgh Avenue, and sometimes require the local police to direct traffic.
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Demarest include:
John Calabro (1914–1994), artist and sculptor who has created coins, medals, plaques, busts, statutes and heroic-size works of famous events and notable figures[125]
^Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living In / Demarest, N.J.; Small Town, Large Sense of History", The New York Times, April 4, 1999. Accessed December 4, 2013. "The borough is named for State Senator Ralph S. Demarest -- a direct descendant of David Desmarets -- who, as a director of the New Jersey Line Railroad (later taken over by the Erie Railroad), brought trains to town in 1859. He lived directly across from the train station, built in 1872 from locally quarried freestone."
^Rondinaro, Gene. "If You're Thinking of Living In: Demarest", The New York Times, January 27, 1985. Accessed December 11, 2011. "One attraction is the Tenakill Brook Duck Pond, near the intersection of Hardenburgh Avenue and Piermont Road, where mothers and young children feed the resident population of water fowl and where newlyweds line up on summer weekends for pictures under spreading willows."
^Noda, Stephanie. "Democrat Carroll is upset winner for Demarest council", The Record, November 18, 2016. Accessed September 16, 2019. "In the latest numbers, to be certified later Friday, Carroll and Democratic incumbent Melinda Iannuzzi received 1,103 and 1,258 votes respectively, to win the two full-term seats up for grabs, according to the Bergen County Board of Elections. Republican incumbents Joseph Gray and Joseph Connolly finished with 1,094 and 1,093 votes respectively. On Nov. 8, Iannuzzi had received the most votes, 1,099, for one of the seats. Gray, with 998 votes, appeared to have bested Carroll, with 965 votes, and Connolly, with 986 votes, for the second seat but the addition of the outstanding ballots gave Carroll the win."
^Miraglia, Mary. "Joseph Connolly Sworn In As New Demarest Councilman", Cresskil-Closter-Demarest Daily Voice, December 23, 2015. Accessed April 18, 2016. "Joseph N. Connolly has been sworn in as Demarest Councilman, filling a vacancy left by Steve Schleim's resignation."
^Curley, Mike. "Paster tapped to replace Chroman on Demarest council", Northern Valley Suburbanite, October 10, 2013, backed up by the Internet Archive as of August 14, 2016. Accessed September 12, 2017. "The borough council appointed Gregg Paster to replace Blake Chroman on the council at the Oct. 7 council meeting. Paster was one of three candidates nominated by the Bergen County Democratic Committee to fill the spot, along with Zoning Board of Adjustment Chairperson Daryl Fox, and former mayor James Carroll."
^Biography, Congressman Josh Gottheimer. Accessed January 3, 2019. "Josh now lives in Wyckoff, New Jersey with Marla, his wife who was a federal prosecutor, and their two young children, Ellie and Ben."
^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."
^Demarest Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Demarest Public Schools. Accessed January 25, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades preschool through eight in the Demarest School District. Composition: The Demarest School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Demarest."
^Our CommunitiesArchived October 10, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Northern Valley Regional High School District. Accessed August 28, 2014. "The seven towns that make up the Northern Valley Regional High School District - Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood, and Old Tappan - are situated in the northeast corner of Bergen County, New Jersey."
^Northern Valley Regional High School District 2016 Report Card NarrativeArchived September 12, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 12, 2017. "Located in the upper North Eastern corner of the state, Northern Valley Regional is comprised of two high schools, Northern Valley at Demarest and Northern Valley at Old Tappan... Our long standing successful and cost efficient Pre-K-12 consortium remains an exemplar model of shared services including seven local Pre-K-8 districts that send their students to the regional high schools: Closter, Demarest, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood and Old Tappan."
^Staff. "'Last Stop' on the Demarest Railroad Depot Restoration Project"Archived 2017-09-13 at the Wayback Machine, Bergen County, New JerseyOpen Space Momentum, Fall 2010. Accessed September 12, 2017. "Passenger service for the station ended in 1966. The rail line is still used for freight transport as part of the CSX Northern Branch. The borough of Demarest purchased the depot in 1978. It was added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 2004."
^Haney, Thomas V. "Sculptor Creates 'Friends'", The New York Times, August 13, 1972. Accessed November 22, 2017. "Northvale — 'It's a pleasure to work among friends such as these,' John Calabro said, with a gentle sweep of his hand, as the artist‐sculptor introduced his visitor to the companions he has gathered in the studio of his home here.... Mr. Calabro does much of his work, except for heroic size projects, in the studio of his home on Campora Drive here. He had the house built to his specifications and took possession in 1964, moving from Demarest."
^Ensslin, John C. "Sen. Cardinale still skeptical of Demarest police contract", The Record, December 11, 2012, backed up by the Internet Archive as of March 6, 2016. Accessed September 12, 2017. "State Sen. Gerald Cardinale met with Bergen County officials this week to be briefed on a proposal to have the county provide police services to Demarest. Based on a Record Talk Radio interview with Cardinale Tuesday, the former Demarest mayor still sounds pretty skeptical of the deal, which goes before the freeholders later this month."
^Einhorn, David, Fooling Some of the People All of the Time, Wiley, May 2, 2008.
^Iseman, Chris. "Far from NJ roots, ex-Nets coach Lawrence Frank helping to change NBA landscape with LA Clippers", The Record, January 16, 2020. Accessed May 25, 2020. "If this wasn't the right opportunity, even the perfect one, Lawrence Frank wouldn't be here. Not in Southern California, 3,000 miles away from his family in Bergen County. Not frequently separated from his wife and two daughters in Demarest.... But when Jason Kidd was hired as the Brooklyn Nets head coach in June 2013 and asked him to join his coaching staff, it gave Frank the chance to come home to Demarest and be with his family."
^Staff. "Menne, Brown Lead By One", The Palm Beach Post, January 14, 2003. Accessed September 22, 2011. "Bob Menne of Demarest, N.J., and Mark Brown of Oyster Bay, N.Y., combined for an 11-under-par 61 and the first-round lead Monday in the 45th annual PGA Senior-Junior Championship at the PGA Golf Club."
^Hersh Mosier. Pro Basketball Encyclopedia. Accessed July 25, 2018. "Hometown: Demarest, NJ"
^Carmiel, Oshrat. "Shulman to run against Garrett", The Record, February 29, 2008, backed up by the Internet Archive as of July 18, 2008. Accessed September 12, 2017. "Bergen County Democrats endorsed Dennis Shulman, a legally blind rabbi and psychologist from Demarest, to run against Republican Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, in the 5th Congressional District."
^Levin, Jay. "Richard H. Tedford, 82; paleontologist and author", The Record, July 21, 2001, backed up by the Internet Archive as of August 21, 2011. Accessed September 12, 2017. "Richard H. Tedford of Demarest, whose eminent, decades-long career as a vertebrate paleontologist took him on fossil explorations of Australia, China and the American West, died last Friday. He was 82."
^Martin, Douglas. "Lucius Walker, Baptist Pastor for Peace, Dies at 80", The New York Times, September 11, 2010. Accessed December 4, 2013. "The Rev. Lucius Walker, a Baptist minister who gained national attention with calls for reparations for the descendants of slaves and with repeated violations of the United States embargo of Cuba through caravans of humanitarian aid, died on Tuesday at his home in Demarest, N.J. He was 80."
^Sisario, Ben. "Hy Weiss, 84, Music Executive From Rock 'n' Roll's Early Days, Dies", The New York Times, March 31, 2007. Accessed December 4, 2013. "His death was announced by the Zomba Label Group, of which his son, Barry Weiss, is president and chief executive.... Besides his son, who lives in Demarest, N.J., and his brother Sam, of Manhattan, Mr. Weiss is survived by another brother, George, of Oceanside, N.Y.; two daughters, Maureen Spergel of East Meadow, N.Y., and Pam Katz of Manhattan; and four grandchildren."
^Zambito, Thomas "Actors Get Their Days In Court", The Record, November 8, 1995, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 11, 2016. Accessed September 12, 2017. "Julia Weldon of Demarest plays the sister of the accused, who is played by Edward Furlong, the young co-star of Terminator 2: Judgment Day."
Further reading
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.
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