Lodi, New Jersey, United States

🇺🇸 Lodi is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Lodi owes its name to the Italian city of Lodi, Lombardy. It was incorporated as a borough on December 22, 1894, from portions of the now-defunct municipalities of Lodi Township (now South Hackensack) and Saddle River Township (now Saddle Brook), at the height of Bergen County's "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.29 square miles (5.93 km²), including 2.27 square miles (5.89 km²) of land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km²) of water (0.74%). Areas of the borough are prone to flooding during heavy rain.

The borough borders the Bergen County municipalities of Garfield, Hackensack, Hasbrouck Heights, Maywood, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook, South Hackensack and Wood-Ridge.

Demographics The population density was 10,657.6 per square mile (4,114.9/km²). There were 10,127 housing units at an average density of 4,471.7 per square mile (1,726.5/km²). The racial makeup was 68.19% (16,459) White, 7.52% (1,816) Black or African American, 0.42% (101) Native American, 8.57% (2,069) Asian, 0.06% (15) Pacific Islander, 11.49% (2,774) from other races, and 3.74% (902) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.49% (7,360) of the population.

Of the 9,471 households, 29.2% had children under the age of 18; 42.4% were married couples living together; 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 35.5% were non-families. Of all households, 30.0% were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.18.

21.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 90.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 86.7 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $55,541 (with a margin of error of ±$3,430) and the median family income was $65,494 (±$4,924). Males had a median income of $49,002 (±$4,353) versus $37,108 (±$5,243) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $25,910 (±$1,786). About 10.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 15.5% of those age 65 or over.

Same-sex couples headed 64 households in 2010, an increase from the 44 counted a decade earlier.

Emergency services The Lodi Police Department operates out of the Borough Hall. The police department has 47 sworn officers. The department is broken into several Divisions including; Patrol Division, Detective Division, Records, Traffic, and Operation/Community Policing. The current Department's Chief of Police is Acting Chief Donald Scorzetti.

The Fire Department is staffed by approximately 81 volunteer firefighters belonging to four different companies located at three different fire houses throughout the borough. Steven Cassiello of Hose Company # 2 is the Chief of Department, Moses Owen of Rescue Truck Company # 1 is 1st Assistant Chief, Nelson Garzon of Hose Company # 1 is the 2nd Assistant Chief, and Micheal Lortz of Fire Company # 1 is 3rd Assistant Chief. The Lodi Fire Department is equipped with six pieces of apparatus (three engines, one ladder, one rescue, one foam truck) at the following locations: • Fire Company # 1, which is located on Westervelt Place, houses Engine 612 and Foam Unit 616 • Fire Headquarters, which houses Hose Company #1 and Rescue Truck Co # 1, located on Graham Lane, houses Engine 615, Ladder 613, and Rescue 611 • Hose Company # 2, which is located on Kennedy Drive, houses Engine 614

Each Firehouse is equipped with a rescue boat for flood and water rescue emergencies.

The Lodi Fire Department responds to about 500+ calls per year, including mutual aid to neighboring municipalities including Garfield, Saddle Brook, Hasbrouck Heights, Rochelle Park, Maywood, Elmwood Park, Wallington and other South Bergen towns when needed.

The Lodi Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Squad was established in 1962. Brianna Perrelli is the captain and Kaetlynn Ayala is the president. LVARS renders aid with three Type III ambulances; EMS 1, 2, and 3, as well as a Fire Rehab Unit (Rehab 4). LVARS responds to roughly 2,000 requests for aid per year.

Education The Lodi Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,237 students and 231.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.0:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Columbus Elementary School with 221 students in grades K–5, Hilltop Elementary School with 347 students in grades Pre-K–5, Roosevelt Elementary School with 173 students in grades Pre-K–5, Washington Elementary School with 366 students in grades Pre-K–5, Wilson Elementary School with 331 students in grades Pre-K–5, Thomas Jefferson Middle School with 719 students in grades 6–8 and Lodi High School with 864 students in grades 9–12.

Bergen Arts and Science Charter School serves public school students from Lodi, as well as those from Garfield and Hackensack.

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 Tech campus in Teterboro or 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.

Immaculate Conception High School was an all-girls college-preparatory high school founded in 1915 by the Felician Sisters that operated under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, until it closed at the end of the 2022-23 school year due to a drop inenrollment and the cost of needed facility improvements. Felician College, an independent Catholic institution, is located in Lodi, and also has a satellite campus in nearby Rutherford that opened in '97.

Transport: Road As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 40.00 miles (64.37 km) of roadways, of which 32.24 miles (51.89 km) were maintained by the municipality, 4.56 miles (7.34 km) by Bergen County and 3.20 miles (5.15 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 17, U.S. Route 46 and Interstate 80 pass through Lodi.

Transport: Public NJ Transit bus routes 144, 161 and 164 offer service between the borough and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, while 709, 712 and 780 provide local service.

In the past Lodi was served by the Lodi Branch Railroad and its successor, the Hackensack and Lodi Railroad, both associated with the Erie Railroad.