Brick Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brick Township, New Jersey
Township
Township of Brick
Damage from Hurricane Sandy on the township's barrier island portion
Nickname(s):  Bricktown
Map of Brick Township in Ocean County. Inset: Location of Ocean County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Brick Township, New Jersey
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Ocean
Incorporated	February 15, 1850
Named for	Joseph W. Brick
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	32.22 sq mi (83.44 km2)
• Land	25.61 sq mi (66.34 km2)
• Water	6.61 sq mi (17.11 km2)  20.50%
Area rank	77th of 565 in state 11th of 33 in county
Elevation	16 ft (5 m)
Population  (2020 Census)
• Total	73,620
• Rank	13th of 566 in state 3rd of 33 in county
• Density	2,919.4/sq mi (1,127.2/km2)
• Density rank	218th of 566 in state 9th of 33 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	08723-08724
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	3402907420
GNIS feature ID	0882075

Brick Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township had a population of 73,620, making it the state's 13th-largest municipality and the third most populous municipality in Ocean County (behind Lakewood Township and Toms River Township), having seen a decline of 1,452 residents (−1.9%) from its population of 75,072 in the 2010 Census.

While the majority of Brick Township is located on the mainland, Ocean Beaches I, II and III are situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The mainland and beach area of the town are not geographically adjacent. Brick Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 15, 1850, from portions of both Dover Township (now Toms River Township) and Howell Township. The township was named after Joseph Brick, the owner of Bergen Iron Works located on the Metedeconk River. Portions of the township were taken to form Point Pleasant Beach (May 18, 1886), Bay Head (June 15, 1886), Lakewood Township (March 23, 1892), Mantoloking (April 10, 1911) and Point Pleasant (April 21, 1920). In 1963, voters rejected a referendum that would have changed the township's name to "Laurelton".

The Havens Homestead Museum is dedicated to the Havens family that originally settled in the Laurelton/Burrsville section of Brick. The museum is the original Havens home which lies on a small plot of farmland. The museum has a gift shop and runs tours of the property daily.

After hovering for years in the top five, in 2006, the township earned the title of "America's Safest City", out of 371 cities included nationwide in the 13th annual Morgan Quitno survey. Since the year 2000, Brick Township has been the safest "city" (population over 75,000) in New Jersey. In 2003 and 2004, Brick Township was ranked as the second safest city in the United States, after Newton, Massachusetts. In 2005, Brick Township had dropped down to the fifth safest "city" (population over 75,000) in the United States, before it rebounded to the top in 2006.

Brick Township has also been in the news for a claimed autism epidemic, in which 40 children out of over 6,000 surveyed were found to be autistic, though Brick's autism rate is statistically near the national average. Many of the children found to be autistic were born in Northern New Jersey and other parts of the country. There is no evidence that the levels of autism are linked to any specific environmental factor in Brick. Parents of children diagnosed with autism have moved to the township in order to make use of the special education programs offered by the school district.

During the December 2010 North American blizzard, Brick Township received 30 inches (760 mm) of snow, the highest accumulation recorded in the state. In October 2012, parts of Brick were devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Barrier island and other waterfront properties were particularly hard hit. Homes and such buildings as the Shore Acres Yacht Club sustained major damage; some buildings had to be demolished.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 32.315 square miles (83.697 km²), including 25.715 square miles (66.602 km²) of land and 6.600 square miles (17.095 km²) of water (20.42%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Adamston, Arrowhead Village, Breton Woods, Burrsville, Cedar Bridge, Cedarwood Park, Cherry Quay, Greenbriar, Havens Cove, Havens Point, Herbertsville, Herring Island, Lanes Mills, Laurelton, Mandalay Park, Mardells Neck, Metedeconk, Metedeconk Neck, Osbornville, Playground Beach, Riviera Beach, Seaweed Point, Shore Acres, Sloop Point, Swan Point, West Mantoloking and West Osbornville.

The communities of Herbertsville and Parkway Pines are located close to exit 91 of the Garden State Parkway, near the Monmouth County border, and are geographically distant from the rest of the township.

The township borders Bay Head, Lakewood Township, Mantoloking, Point Pleasant and Toms River Township in Ocean County; and the Monmouth County municipalities of Brielle, Howell Township and Wall Township.

Demographics

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 75,072 people, 29,842 households, and 20,173 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,919.4 per square mile (1,127.2/km²). There were 33,677 housing units at an average density of 1,309.6 per square mile (505.6/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the township was 93.05% (69,856) White, 2.00% (1,502) Black or African American, 0.14% (104) Native American, 1.56% (1,173) Asian, 0.04% (27) Pacific Islander, 1.80% (1,350) from other races, and 1.41% (1,060) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.06% (5,301) of the population.

There were 29,842 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the township, the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.6 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 87.6 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $65,129 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,969) and the median family income was $81,868 (+/− $2,081). Males had a median income of $60,769 (+/− $1,755) versus $41,361 (+/− $1,655) for females. The per capita income for the township was $33,258 (+/− $891). About 4.1% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Brick Township Reservoir, with parts located in both Brick and Wall Township, covers 80 acres (32 ha) and is encircled by a 1.7-mile (2.7 km) trail. Fishing is permitted on the reservoir. The reservoir can hold up to 1,000,000,000 US gallons (3.8×10⁹ L; 830,000,000 imp gal) of water, which is pumped in from the Metedeconk River.

Transportation

The southbound Garden State Parkway in Brick Township

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 318.77 miles (513.01 km) of roadways, of which 256.23 miles (412.36 km) were maintained by the municipality, 46.64 miles (75.06 km) by Ocean County and 12.61 miles (20.29 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 3.29 miles (5.29 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The Garden State Parkway is the most prominent highway passing through Brick. It traverses the western part of the municipality with three interchanges: Exits 91, 90, and 89. Three state routes also pass through: Route 70 Route 88, and Route 35. The major county routes that pass through are CR 528, and CR 549 (as well as its spur).

The Laurelton Circle was located near the center of Brick Township. The traffic circle was at the junction of Route 70, Route 88 and Princeton Avenue. It was converted to a traffic light regulated intersection in 1986, due to an increase in traffic and accidents. To reduce the need for left turns, a short portion of eastbound Route 88 was re-routed onto Princeton Avenue. Some other movements are controlled by jughandles and a two-way connection in the northwest corner.

Public transportation

NJ Transit offers bus service between the township and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 137 route, to Camden on the 317 and to Newark on the 67. Ocean Ride service is provided on route 3, 3A and 4.

The First Baptist Church of Laurelton in Brick located on Rt. 88

The historical plaque that adorns the church's lawn

Sports

The Brick Pop Warner Little Scholars Mustangs finished the 2006 season with a perfect 9–0 record and won the Jersey Shore B Division.

In 2003, and from 2006 to 2009, the Pop Warner Brick Mustang cheerleaders competed against other teams from across the nation in Disney World. In 2003, the junior peewee Mustang cheer squad won the national title.

Brick is home of the Ocean Ice Palace, built in 1960, which hosts the Brick Hockey Club. The ice rink is also home to the Brick Stars, a special needs hockey team who has home games and practices.

Education

The Brick Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2017–18 school year, the district, comprised of 12 schools, had an enrollment of 8,809 students and 758.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.6:1. Schools in the district (with 2017–18 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Drum Point Elementary School (428; K–5), Herbertsville Elementary School (239; K–5), Lanes Mill Elementary School (559; K–5), Midstreams Elementary School (473; K–5), Osborneville Elementary School (395; K–5), Veterans Memorial Elementary School (636; K–5), Warren H. Wolf Preschool (333; PreK-3; created for 2014–15 school year from Primary Learning Center), Emma Havens Young Elementary School (754; K–5), Lake Riviera Middle School (943; 6–8) Veterans Memorial Middle School (1,105; 6–8), Brick Memorial High School (1,346; 9–12) and Brick Township High School (1,513; 9–12).

Nonsectarian private schools include Cuddle Care Early Childhood Center and Ocean Early Childhood Center. St. Dominic Elementary School is a Roman Catholic private school overseen by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, and St. Paul's Christian School, a Methodist private school, serve students in nursery through eighth grade.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Brick Township include:

• Joe Acanfora (born 1950, class of 1968), educator and activist who fought to teach earth science in public schools in the early 1970s but was dismissed based upon his acknowledged homosexuality.
• Jay Alders (born 1973), fine artist, photographer and graphic designer, who is best known for his original surf art paintings.
• Harry Bernstein (1910–2011), author of The Invisible Wall.
• Hank Borowy (1916–2004), Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher who played for the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers. He lived the majority of his life in Brick Township and died there at age 88.
• John Catalano (born 1949), politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2020, where he represents the 10th Legislative District.
• Nick Catone (born 1981), mixed martial artist who participates in the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
• Andrew R. Ciesla (born 1953), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 2012, where he represented the 10th Legislative District.
• Jim Dowd, (born 1968), former player in the National Hockey League (NHL), won a Stanley Cup with the 1994-95 New Jersey Devils and last played for the Philadelphia Flyers.
• John Paul Doyle (born 1942), politician who served as majority leader of the New Jersey General Assembly.
• Kirsten Dunst (born 1982), actress, grew up in the township before relocating to California.
• Garrett Graham (born 1986), NFL tight end who plays for the Houston Texans.
• Jack Martin (1887–1980), Major League Baseball infielder who played for the 1912 New York Yankees (Highlanders), 1914 Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Braves, who lived out his twilight years in Brick Township and is the namesake of Jack Martin Boulevard.
• Tom McCarthy (born 1968), television announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies.
• Gregory P. McGuckin (born 1961), politician who has represented the 10th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2012.
• Eli Mintz (1904–1988), actor.
• Daniel F. Newman (1935–2009), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly and as Mayor of Brick Township.
• Nick Piantanida (1932–1966), amateur parachute jumper who reached 123,500 feet (37,600 m) with his Strato Jump II balloon on February 2, 1966.
• John Sadak (born 1979, class of 1996), television announcer for the Cincinnati Reds, radio/TV sports announcer with Westwood One radio, CBS Sports Network, the ESPN family of networks, Fox Sports 1 and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
• Betsy Sholl (born 1945), poet who was poet laureate of Maine from 2006 to 2011
• George Tardiff (1936–2012), football head coach at Benedictine College and Washburn University
• Art Thoms (born 1947), NFL defensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders (1969–1975) and Philadelphia Eagles (1977).
• Scott Thomsen (born 1993), soccer player who plays as a defender for the Richmond Kickers in the United Soccer League.
• George Wirth, singer-songwriter.
• Warren Wolf (1927–2019), long-time football coach for Brick Township High School who served on the Brick council as freeholder and in the state assembly.
• David W. Wolfe (born 1942), politician who represented the 10th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1992 until 2020.

See also

In Spanish: Municipio de Brick (Nueva Jersey) para niños