Brookdale is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP)State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 1, 2022. located in Bloomfield Township, located within Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, August 2012, p. III-3. Accessed November 6, 2012." It is generally considered to be the part of Bloomfield north of Bay Avenue. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's total population was 9,854, an increase of 615 (+6.7%) from the 9,239 counted in the 2010 census.DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Brookdale CDP, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 6, 2012.

History The original English name of Brookdale was Stone House Plains. "Stone House" referred to a rock formation known as the stone house or great rock, supposedly once suitable as a shelter, just north of the present-day intersection of Bellevue Avenue and Newell Drive.Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, p. 175. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed June 14, 2016. The rock was still present in 1802 but was removed not long afterward.Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, pp. 167-168. Local resident Lewis Cockefair, born 1826, was used extensively as a source, and he evidently did not have first-hand knowledge of it. "Plains" referred to the plains of the segment of the Yantecaw River which passes through the area.Google Maps, accessed Jun 13, 2016.

Within a decade or so of the turn of the 18th century, settlers, possibly including Abraham Van Giesen, had begun to populate the area along Bellevue Avenue. By about 1750, two brothers, Garrabrant and Teunis Garrabrant, born in 1723 and 1726, respectively, to Cornelius and Jannetje (Pier) Gerbrandsen in Bergen (now Jersey City), owned sizeable tracts in the vicinity of Brookdale Park, Bellevue Avenue, and Broad Street.Folsom, Joseph F., Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p 177-178. Circa 1730, Alexander Cockefair, born about 1696 in Bushwick, purchased a "plantation" roughly bounded by the Yantacaw Brook, and modern-day Broad Street and Watchung Avenue.Folsom, Joseph F., Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p 171-174. The Sigler and Coeyman families also had very early farms in Stone House Plains.Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p. 177-179. Descendants of these families operated farms, mills, and other businesses in the area for over two centuries.Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p. 165-166.

Dutch was the primary language for many residents through the 18th century. In 1795, the Dutch Reformed Church of Stone House Plains (now Brookdale Reformed Church) was formed, creating a spiritual and social focal point for the community. The original church edifice was built in 1802; it burned and was rebuilt about 1857.Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p. 122. The Morris family, which operated mills just south of Brookdale, made a mill pond on the Yantacaw Brook.Sidney, J. C. Map of Essex County, New Jersey: with the names of property holders (Newark N.J.: H.A. Belding, 1850), Library of Congress. Accessed June 14, 2016. In the mid-1800s, residents established the first school. In 1873, on the eve of US mail delivery service, the community voted to change the name to Brookdale.Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p. 162.

After World War I, much of the farmland was developed into residential housing. The Clark Thread Company bought the Morris Pond (now Clark's Pond) and built an adjoining thread-coloring factory, later occupied by the Scientific Glass Company."The New Town Crier" newsletter, Historical Society of Bloomfield, May 2013, p. 2. Portions of the Cockefair farm were converted into a golf course and a junior high school (now Bloomfield Middle School). Essex County acquired and built Brookdale Park. In 1968, the petrochemical engineering firm Lummus Company set up in northern Brookdale."A Brief History of Bloomfield" , Township of Bloomfield, New Jersey, December 8, 2014. Accessed June 14, 2016.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 1.607 square miles (4.163 km2), including 1.603 square miles (4.152 km2) of land and 0.004 square miles (0.011 km2) of water (0.26%).Gazetteer of New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 21, 2016.US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.

Demographics

Brookdale first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census formed from part of the deleted whole-township Bloomfield CDP.

Racial and ethnic composition +Brookdale CDP, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)6,4155,63869.43%57.22%Black or African American alone (NH)4096434.43%6.53%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)470.04%0.07%Asian alone (NH)1,1211,24012.13%12.58%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)200.02%0.00%Other race alone (NH)321130.35%1.15%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)1713971.85%4.03%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,0851,81611.74%18.43%Total9,2399,854 100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Brookdale had a population of 9,854. The median age was 40.9 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.7% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,546 households, of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 61.7% were married-couple households, 10.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 3,635 housing units, of which 2.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.5%.

2010 census The 2010 United States census counted 9,239 people, 3,445 households, and 2,580 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 3,583 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 76.46% (7,064) White, 4.96% (458) Black or African American, 0.11% (10) Native American, 12.25% (1,132) Asian, 0.02% (2) Pacific Islander, 3.00% (277) from other races, and 3.20% (296) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.74% (1,085) of the population.

Of the 3,445 households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18; 62.1% were married couples living together; 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.1% were non-families. Of all households, 20.1% were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.13.

21.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.6 years. For every 100 females, the population had 89.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.0 males.

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