Franklin Lakes, New Jersey


Franklin Lakes 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 11,079, an increase of 489 from the 2010 census count of 10,590, which in turn reflected an increase of 168 from the 10,422 counted in the 2000 census. Becton Dickinson, a Fortune 500 company, is headquartered in Franklin Lakes.
Franklin Lakes was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 11, 1922, from portions of Bergen County, New Jersey|Franklin Township], based on the results of a referendum held on April 11, 1922. The borough was named for William Franklin, the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, a steadfast Loyalist who served as the last colonial governor of New Jersey.
The borough is one of the state's highest-income communities. Based on data from the American Community Survey for 2014–2018, Franklin Lakes residents had a median household income of $159,883, more than double the statewide median. In 2010, Forbes ranked Franklin Lakes at 146th in its listing of "America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes," with a median home price of $1,306,546.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 9.88 square miles, including 9.41 square miles of land and 0.47 square miles of water.
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or wholly within the borough include Bakers Pond, Blauvelt Lakes, Campgaw, Crystal Lakes, Ferdinands Mills, Hopper Lake, Pulis Mills and Shadow Lake.
The borough borders the municipalities of Mahwah, Oakland and Wyckoff in Bergen County; and both North Haledon and Wayne in Passaic County.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 10,590 people, 3,527 households, and 3,012 families in the borough. The population density was. There were 3,692 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup was 88.92% White, 1.41% Black or African American, 0.04% Native American, 7.34% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.96% of the population.
Of the 3,527 households, 40.2% had children under the age of 18; 76.4% were married couples living together; 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 14.6% were non-families. Of all households, 12.6% were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.29.
27.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 16.7% from 25 to 44, 33.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 93.8 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $151,224 and the median family income was $155,156. Males had a median income of $125,586 versus $63,170 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $74,219. About 0.7% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.7% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.
Same-sex couples headed 28 households in 2010, double the 14 counted in 2000.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census of 2000, there were 10,422 people, 3,322 households, and 2,959 families residing in the borough. The population density was. There were 3,395 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the borough was 91.35% White, 0.92% African American, 0.11% Native American, 6.33% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.74% of the population. 29.8% of residents reported being of Italian ancestry in the 2000 Census, the highest percentage recorded as a percentage of borough population.
There were 3,322 households, out of which 43.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.0% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 10.9% were non-families. 8.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $132,373, and the median income for a family was $142,930. Males had a median income of $97,233 versus $45,588 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $59,763. About 2.6% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Franklin Lakes hosts the corporate headquarters of Becton Dickinson, the medical technology firm founded in 1897. Medco Health Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefit manager, was based here until it was acquired by Express Scripts, another PBM, in 2012.

Popular culture

Franklin Lakes has been the setting of several reality television shows, including: Bravo network's series The Real Housewives of New Jersey, MTV's My Super Sweet 16, and VH1's My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding. Franklin Lakes was also used for filming the fictional upstate New York town of Dargerville in the Law & Order episode "Knock-Off".

Government

Local government

Franklin Lakes is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. 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. The borough form of government used by Franklin Lakes 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. All council meetings are held at the Borough Hall located on DeKorte Drive, formerly Municipal Drive.
, the mayor of Franklin Lakes is Republican Charles J. X. Kahwaty, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2026. Members of the Franklin Lakes Borough Council are Council President Gary H. Sheppard, Joel Ansh, Ardith Cardenas, Michelle M. DeLuccia, Gail A. Kelly and Thomas G. Lambrix.
In July 2021, the borough council chose Susan McGowan to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Dennis Bonagura until resigned from office after the council implemented a nepotism policy that would impact the possibility that his son could have been hired by the borough as a police officer. Bonagura ran for office again in November 2021 and was elected to serve the balance of his own unexpired term.
The borough administrator is Gregory C. Hart.

Emergency services

The Franklin Lakes Police Department is headed by Chief Mark McCombs.
The Franklin Lakes Fire Department is an all-volunteer fire department, founded in 1924. The FLFD has two locations, one known as "Headquarters" which is located off of Franklin Avenue, and the other is the "Southside" Firehouse, located on Franklin Lakes Road. The current chief of the FLFD is Chuck Bohny.
The Franklin Lakes Office of Emergency Management is located at 745 Franklin Avenue. The current Emergency Management Coordinator is Joe Barcelo.

Federal, state, and county representation

Franklin Lakes is located in the 9th congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 40th legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there was a total of 7,446 registered voters in Franklin Lakes, of whom 1,141 were registered as Democrats, 3,307 were registered as Republicans, and 2,986 were registered as unaffiliated. There were 12 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 70.3% were registered to vote, including 96.8% of those ages 18 and over.

Education

Students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Franklin Lakes Public Schools. As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,200 students and 144.1 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 8.3:1. Schools in the district are
Colonial Road School with 246 students in grades PreK–5,
High Mountain Road School with 297 students in grades PreK–5,
Woodside Avenue School with 281 students in grades K–5 and
Franklin Avenue Middle School with 377 students in grades 6–8.
Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend the schools of the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District, a regional district consisting of two four-year public high schools serving students from Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff. Before enrolling, students have the option to choose to attend either of the district's high schools. Schools in the high school district are
Indian Hills High School, located in Oakland and
Ramapo High School, located in Franklin Lakes. The district's nine-member board of education oversees the operation of the district; seats on the board are allocated based on population, with two of the nine seats allocated to Franklin Lakes.
Prior to the formation of the regional high school district, students from Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff had attended Ramsey High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship, until the Ramsey Public School District informed officials from the two communities that the Ramsey school would no longer have space to accommodate out-of-district students after the 1956–1957 school year. Franklin Lakes, Oakland and Wyckoff approved the creation of a regional high school in 1954 by a vote of 1,060 to 51, with Ramapo High School opening in 1957 and Indian Hills High School in 1960.
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 County [Technical High School, Teterboro Campus|Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro] or Paramus Campus|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.
Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament is a K–8 elementary school that operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Newark. In 2016, the school was one of ten schools in New Jersey, and one of four non-public school in the state, recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Bergen County, and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Route 208 runs for across the borough's midsection, from Wyckoff to its western terminus at its intersection with Interstate 287 in Oakland. Interstate 287 enters on the borough's western border with Oakland and heads north towards Mahwah, with the highway's exit 59 in the borough. County Route 502 enters from Wayne Township in Passaic County at the borough's southwest corner, runs along the border with Oakland and re-enters Franklin Lakes, heading north towards Wyckoff.

Public transportation

bus route 752 serves Franklin Lakes, providing local service.
From the late 1800s until 1966, Franklin Lakes had passenger train service at the Crystal Lakes and Campgaw stations on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Franklin Lakes include:

Historic sites

Franklin Lakes is home to the following locations on the National Register of Historic Places: