Historical Background of Park Ridge
Incorporated in 1894 the Borough of Park Ridge is a 2.6 square mile residential community located in the north-central part of Bergen County in a nine-community area known as the Pascack Valley. The Borough is bounded by the Boroughs of Montvale, Woodcliff Lake and Hillsdale and the Township of River Vale.
In 1940 the Borough’s population was 2,519; as of the 1990 census, the Borough had grown to 8,102. While the 2000 census will establish the present population, it is presently estimated to be in excess of 8,500.
During the middle of the 18 th century, settlers of Dutch and Scottish extraction settled in the area. Today descendants and structures of those times remain. The Wortendyke Barn has been refurbished into a museum. The Pascack Historical Society Museum also reminds the community of its roots with the past. The Pascack Reformed Church remains active in the community.
From its inception, Park Ridge has shown a most independent penchant. In 1904, the Borough dammed the Pascack Brook and installed a hydrogenerator to supply the electric needs of 17 consumers. In 1977 the Borough, through its Board of Public Works, completed the construction of a $750,000, 26 KVA substation to transform and distribute power purchased wholesale from Pubic Service Electric and Gas to supply over 3000 homes and businesses. It should be noted the cost of the substation was paid out of operating surpluses.
Over the years, significant additional improvements have been made to the electric distribution system and the substation to reduce the number of electrical outages. In addition, through aggressive negotiations with electric suppliers, the Board of Public Works continues to purchase power from the national grid, which has resulted in essentially the lowest residential and commercial electric rates in the State of New Jersey.
Similarly, in 1924 the Borough started its own water supply system. Today, 19 wells supply the Boroughs of Park Ridge and Woodcliff Lake with high purity well water at costs substantially below other water companies. The Park Ridge Water Utility has been a leader in New Jersey with the installation of carbon filters on its wells to ensure a water supply that meets and exceeds all the standards of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and Energy and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Park Ridge is one of the only nine municipalities in New Jersey to own and operate utilities which supply both water and electricity to its residents.
A similar independence was exhibited in the educational system. For many years, Park Ridge High School was a regional school for the area communities. In the 1960’s the Pascack Valley School District was formed, but the residents of Park Ridge declined to join the regional district. Today Park Ridge has two elementary schools strategically located to each serve half of the municipality and its own high school. The three schools provide a K-12 school system based on the neighborhood school concept.
Beginning in about 1980, and continuing to the present, Park Ridge has gone through a significant growth spurt, combined with a rejuvenation of its small, but economically healthy, business district.
In 1976 the Governing Body rezoned a 180-acre tract in the westerly part of the Borough known as the “Bears Nest” from a light industrial zone to 100 acres of office and research laboratory (ORL) zone and 80 acres of townhouse (TH) zone. Included within the 180 acres is 40 acres of swampland that are now covered by the Department of Environmental Protection regulations as “protected wetlands.”
In 1982, Sony established its division’s headquarters in Park Ridge in a 225,000 square foot, three-story complex on a 30-acre parcel. In 1986, National Utilities Services, Inc. took occupancy of a 75,250 square foot office building for its international headquarters and in 1988 completed a 64,000 square foot addition. In 1987 the Marriott Corporation opened a 195,400 square foot, 289-room motel in the same area, and in September 1988 Hertz Corporation opened its international headquarters in a 225,000 square foot complex on a 15-acre tract.
As of 1999, the sum total of these four corporate assessments is $70,880,000, or 87% of the borough’s total assessments.