Home Care In Essex Fells, NJ

Are you thinking of living in Essex Fells, NJ? Essex Fells is a beautiful, affluent suburb in New Jersey with large homes, tree-lined streets, and a tight-knit community.

Located Essex County, Essex Fells is a small town with a population of approximately 2244. It is one of the wealthiest towns in New Jersey with a mean household income of $351,049.

Below are demographics and household data that you will find useful if you are thinking of living in Essex Fells, NJ. The information presented in this article are based on data from the US Census American Community Survey.

Essex Fells, NJ Infographics

What is the Population of Essex Fells, NJ?

The population of Essex Fells, NJ is approximately 2244.

Are Essex Fells Residents Well Educated?

74.3% of Essex Fells residents have a Bachelor’s Degree or higher. Compare this to overall New Jersey where 41% of NJ residents have a Bachelor’s Degree or higher.

Is Essex Fells, NJ Diverse?

93.7% of Essex Fells residents are White, 3.6% of Essex Fells residents are Asians, 8.2% of Essex Fells residents are Hispanic and 0% of Essex Fells residents are African Americans.

Are There a Lot of Children Living in Essex Fells, NJ?

25.3% of Essex Fells residents are children under 18 years old and 5.2% of Essex Fells residents are children under 5 years old. Compare this to overall New Jersey where 22% of New Jersey residents are children under 18 years old.

Is there a Large Senior Citizen Population in Essex Fells, NJ?

19.6% of Essex Fells residents are seniors aged 65 years old and older. Compare this to overall New Jersey where 16.6% of New Jersey residents are seniors.

Is Essex Fells, NJ a Wealthy Town?

Essex Fells is an affluent town in New Jersey. Essex Fells is home to some of the wealthiest NJ residents with a mean household income of $351,049. Compare this to overall New Jersey where the mean household income is $124,191.

Where do the wealthy live in New Jersey? 10 Wealthiest Towns in New Jersey

Salaries in New Jersey

Are you getting paid enough? Find out: What are the Highest Paying Jobs in New Jersey? (Infographs)

Are There a Lot of Rentals in Essex Fells, NJ?

In Essex Fells, 6.1% of housing units are rentals while 93.9% of housing units in Essex Fells are owner occupied.

How Much Is Rent in Essex Fells, NJ?

The median gross rent in Essex Fells is $2,250. Compare this to overall New Jersey where the median gross rent is $1,376.

Is it Expensive to Buy a Home in Essex Fells, NJ?

The median sale price of homes in Essex Fells is $1,071,000.

How Much is Property Tax in Essex Fells, NJ?

The Average Property tax in Essex Fells, NJ is $20,413. Compare this to the average property tax in New Jersey of $9,115.

Check out our article on NJ Property Taxes for a complete town by town list of New Jersey Property taxes. For a complete town by town list of property tax rates, check out our article on NJ Property Tax Rates.

What County is Essex Fells, NJ located in?

Essex Fells, NJ is in Essex County.

How Long is the Average Commute to Work for Essex Fells Residents?

The mean travel time to work for Essex Fells residents is 35 minutes. Compare this to overall New Jersey where the average time to work is 33 minutes.

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Data Source: US Census American Community Survey and New Jersey Department of Community Affairs

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ESSEX FELLS -- Years back, Essex Fells officials anticipated phone companies would come calling to build a cellular tower in the 1.6-square-mile community.

Under federal law, the borough couldn’t just keep them out. So in 2004, the council passed an ordinance that requires any tower to be built far from any houses.

David Gard/New Jersey Local News Service

Last year, the planning board approved a proposal by wireless carriers AT&T and T-Mobile to build a 115-foot tower in Trotter Tract, the borough’s 83-acre wooded park. But a group of Essex Fells residents, who call themselves Friends of the Trotter Tract, alleges that the board acted improperly by ignoring municipal law. Calling it “illegal spot zoning,” the group filed an appeal in state Superior Court in Essex County late last month.

“This is not a boiler plate ordinance that was copied from another municipality or borrowed from the League of Municipalities,” the opposition group’s lawyer, Stuart Lieberman wrote in the appeal of the board’s decision. “Rather, great time and extensive care was taken by the Essex Fells governing body in drafting this regulation.”

But AT&T’s lawyer, Christopher Stracco, said the board didn’t do anything wrong.

“Our general position is what the board did was perfectly appropriate, didn’t make any errors, and that the board’s decision should be affirmed,” he said.

The Essex Fells ordinance, considered one of the strictest in the state, was intended to limit the impact of a cellular tower on the bucolic borough, which doesn’t have a business district. It mandates 500-foot setbacks around any towers, but requires communications companies to first consider other options, such as placing antennas on telephone poles.

“Towers are the least desirable of technologies out there. They’re ugly. They’re big,” Lieberman said in an interview. “When their application went in, all they discussed was their tower and where they were going to put it.”

Dick Chesnut, a founding member of the opposition group, said the tower is not expected to alleviate the entire coverage gap in Essex Fells. He believes a second tower would have to be built to cover the east side of the wealthy borough.

“It’s really a benefit more for neighboring towns than it is for Essex Fells,” said Chesnut, 73.

And the setback of the approved tower, which has yet to be built, is only 400 feet from a nearby ball field, according to Chesnut.

“We actually measured it,” he said on a recent walk through the tract’s woods.

After 10 public meetings in two years, the planning board approved the proposal in a 3 to 2 vote, with 3 abstentions. Those members abstained because of their affiliation with the Essex Fells Conservancy, which was accepting donations on behalf of Friends of the Trotter Tract, an unofficial group.

The Friends of the Trotter Tract has amassed about 200 donations totaling “well over $20,000” to cover costs associated with opposing the tower, Chesnut said. Supporters include residents from surrounding towns who enjoy the Trotter Tract’s walking trails and wildlife.

Mayor Ed Abbot, a planning board member who recused himself from the vote, said the tower could bring in about $80,000 annually to the borough, according to the ordinance’s fee structure.

The case is expected to be heard in Superior Court in Newark on March 19.

CALDWELL, NJ -- The project to modernize the tennis court facility and add pickleball courts at Essex County Grover Cleveland Park in Caldwell/Essex Fells has been completed. The project is part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to revitalize the Essex County Parks System and provide the most up-to-date recreation facilities to meet the current needs of residents.

Two of the existing tennis courts were repurposed to accommodate four pickleball courts. There are two tennis courts remaining. The complex received a new playing surface, fencing and nets and sports lighting.

The improvements to the tennis facility were designed in-house by the Essex County Department of Public Works. Shore Top Construction Corp. from Freehold was awarded a publicly bid contract for $566,200 to perform the construction work. The project was funded with a grant from the American Rescue Plan. Work began in April of this year.

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“Residents rely on our parks system for recreation, relaxation and exercise. Updating the tennis courts and including pickleball courts helps meet the demand of these two popular sports and provides residents with modern facilities to play on,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

Jim Casalino, a teacher at Essex County Newark Tech, presented the DiVincenzo with a pickleball rack where players can hang their rackets to determine who has access to the next open court. The wooden rack was created by the wood shop students at Essex County Newark Tech.

Photo: Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. (fourth from left) announced the project to modernize the tennis court facility and add pickleball courts at Essex County Grover Cleveland Park in Caldwell/Essex Fells was completed on Monday, July 10th. With the County Executive at one of the new pickleball courts are (from left) players Isabel Gribaldi and Lis McNamara, Essex County Newark Tech teacher Jim Casalino, Commissioners Patricia Sebold and Brendan Gill, player Vaughn Duff and Essex County Parks Director Dan Salvante. The project is part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to revitalize the Essex County Parks System and provide the most up-to-date recreation facilities to meet the current needs of residents. (Photo by Glen Frieson)

ESSEX FELLS -- It took a year, but Essex Fells, one of the smallest school districts in the state, has hired a permanent superintendent after the last one resigned in the wake of allegations of theft.

Michelle Gadaleta, 34, of Kinnelon, started at the 250-student primary school on Hawthorne Road last week after the Board of Education chose her from a pool of 40 candidates. Her annual salary is $132,000. Gadaleta, who will also serve as the school's principal, said she's going to work hard to restore trust in the system.

Alexandra Pais/New Jersey Local News Service

"When someone who deals with your most precious asset -- your children -- betrays you like that, you can’t really blame anyone for feeling hurt," she said.

A trial hasn’t been set yet for the former superintendent, Raymond Hyman, who resigned Jan. 31, 2009, two weeks after he was arraigned on charges of theft, forgery and official misconduct. He’s accused of stealing $22,000 in tuition-reimbursement funds from the school district for a Columbia University doctoral program he stopped attending.

"We wish the new superintendent well," said Hyman’s attorney, Belleville-based Thomas Murphy. "It was an extremely unfortunate situation, all the way around."

Hyman, 47, was with the district for about six years and, according to Gadaleta, it doesn’t appear anyone in the community was unhappy with his job performance. But Gadaleta wants families in the borough to know she’s going to keep the school’s business transparent.

"I just keep promising that I will do my best to keep everyone informed with what’s going on," she said.

When Hyman was suspended in the fall of 2008, the Essex Fells Board of Education hired Elaine Baldwin to serve as interim superintendent, said Birgit Criqui, the board’s president. The board hired a search firm for $10,000 to look for a permanent replacement.

Gadaleta, who received her bachelor’s degree from Radford University in Virginia and a master’s degree from Montclair State University, has five years of administrative experience as an elementary-school principal in Hawthorne and Washington boroughs.

"She also possesses the ambition, dynamic personality and child-centered vision that Essex Fells School needs to be successful in the future," Criqui said.

Gadaleta said she’s impressed with how polite the children are and the parents’ level of involvement at the school. An all-volunteer group runs the daily lunch program, ordering quesadillas and chili from local restaurants and bringing the food to the school. Parents also arrange arts-and-crafts activities on rainy days when children can’t play outside.

"I’m so eager to see what I can do to improve on a community that is so excellent," she said.

This has been a week like no other at Essex Fells Elementary School, where students, teachers and staff are mourning the sudden passing of their popular physical education and health teacher, John Paul Viggiano.

Viggiano, better known as “Mr. V” to everyone at the pre-K to 6 school, loved sports, comic books and movies. His death at the age of 45 last Friday initially shocked the community and was followed by an outpouring of love and support for Viggiano’s wife, Jennifer, daughter, Adelina, and son, Adam.

“Everyone in the community has really come together,” school Superintendent Michelle V. Gadaleta said Wednesday. “We’re working to get through this together as opposed to having to do so by oneself.”

Essex Fells Mayor Edward A. Davis issued a statement on behalf of the borough council that offered condolences to the Viggiano family. The mayor said Viggiano will be missed in the tight-knit town of 2,700 residents.

“John Viggiano, affectionately known to students and parents as ‘Mr. V,’ is a beloved figure in the Essex Fells community,” the mayor said in a statement. “To students, past and present, he is well known and fondly remembered for his engaging and joyful personality, his tireless encouragement and his ability to bring out the best in everyone. To parents, Mr. V has long been the kind of dedicated teacher and role model who you are grateful is in your children’s lives. He was an exceptional teacher and an exceptional man, and we will all miss him tremendously.”

Viggiano, of Basking Ridge, was born in Livingston and grew up in East Hanover. A graduate of Montclair State University, he had worked in the Essex Fells school district for 15 years.

Grief counselors were on hand when school opened on Monday to offer support to children and staff. Everyone was encouraged to wear orange and black, the school colors, to honor Mr. V. Each student is taking home an orange ribbon to tie around a tree, Gadaleta said.

The children set up a makeshift memorial at the entrance to the school gym with cards, letters, and mementos. The memorial will remain up through Spring Break, Gadaleta said, and then the items will be boxed up and sent to Viggiano’s family.

A memorial garden is being planned, and a scholarship is being established in Viggiano’s name, Gadaleta said.

Gadaleta said grief counselors offered training to teachers on how to deal both with their own grief and how to explain to children the sudden passing of a beloved figure. Everyone has been encouraged to talk, share their feelings, and support each other she said.

The children in the early grades are too young to understand the concept of death. But the older children generally understand, Gadaleta said, which makes this moment particularly hard on them. “For the most part, the children are doing well,” she said. “The older ones take it harder.”

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign that initially set a goal of $10,000 has collected more than $100,000 in donations as of Wednesday morning.

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