Lakewood, NJ

Lakewood is a township located in Ocean County in central New Jersey, roughly 40 miles east of Trenton. Lakewood has a significant Orthodox Jewish population, amounting to almost half of its 60,000 residents. The township is home to one of the largest yeshivas in the world, Beth Medrash Govoha.

Founded in 1892, Lakewood was known at the turn of the 20th century as an upscale winter resort. Lakewood's historic downtown business district is comprised partially of refurbished buildings from that era. Lakewood is also home of one of the largest industrial parks in the New Jersey.

The average household income in Lakewood is almost 40 percent less than the state average. The average value of a house or condo has risen by 250 percent over the course of the past decade.

Along with the Orthodox Jewish population, other major ethnic groups living in Lakewood include Hispanics and African-Americans. The city has a high student population, and the median age of Lakewood residents (23.1 years) is substantially lower than the state average of 36.7 years.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

Education is Lakewood's most prominent industry, accounting for 20 percent of local employment. Other prominent industries in the town are healthcare and what is classified as "professional, scientific and technical services." These fields comprise a larger percentage of Lakewood's job sector than the state average.

Lakewood's industrial parks occupy more than 2,200 acres, and are home to over 200 local, national and international companies. Additionally, in what is seen by residents as a nod to the town's resort past; Hilton opened a hotel in Lakewood in 2008. Some statistics show that almost 30 percent of Lakewood residents live below the poverty line, more than three times the state average.

Some of the top employers of the city are St Barnabas Health Care System, DPT Lakewood, Inc. (a pharmaceutical and health care packaging company), Gusmer Corporation (a supplier of spraying equipment) and Manley Performance Products (an automotive parts manufacturer).

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

The Central Business District of Lakewood is a five-block section along Clifton Avenue. The Georgian Court University lies just to the west of the downtown area and to the east is the large Ocean County Park, with three lakes. The southeast quadrant of the city is dominated by the Lakewood Airport and surrounding industrial parks.

EDUCATION

• Georgian Court University is a private Roman Catholic school with an emphasis on liberal arts. Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy as a women's college, the school remains a predominantly female institution, with women accounting for 88 percent of the student body.
• Beth Medrash Govoha is a world-renowned yeshiva, or school for Rabbinical and Talmudic studies. Founded by Rabbi Aaron Kotler in 1943, the school enrolls more than 5,300 full- and part-time students today, making it the largest yeshiva in North America. Part of Lakewood's large Orthodox Jewish population is partially attributable to the school's presence in the town.

GETTING AROUND

N.J. Transit buses connect Lakewood to many major urban areas, including Jersey City, Newark, New York City and Atlantic City. Conversely, there are no active train stations in the township. Until the 1940s, Lakewood was a stop on New Jersey's famous "Blue Comet" trainline.

Lakewood is also served by publicy owned Lakewood Airport, located three miles southeast of downtown.

For drivers, Lakewood is most closely served by Interstate 195, which originates in Trenton, or the Garden State Parkway. U.S. Route 9 runs through the center of town and acts as one of its main streets.

BEST BETS

• Strand Theater, is one of the main attractions in Lakewood, designed by world-renowned theater architect Thomas Lamb in 1922. Built when Lakewood was still a popular tourist destination, The Strand was built for producers to use as a "dress rehearsal" theater before moving their shows to Broadway. After a long, slow decline, the theater was saved through community effort in the early 1980s, and is now home to live theater, comedy and live classical music. The Strand is well-known for its acoustics.
• Ocean County Park, the former estate of John D. Rockefeller, has three lakes, including one for swimming and one for fishing. Lake Carasaljo is a popular destination for recreational activities and is surrounded by a 4.5-mile bike path. There is also paddleboat and rowboat rental during the summer.
• The Georgian Court University campus, built on the former winter retreat of millionaire George Jay Gould, is also a point of civic pride for Lakewood. The three gardens that compose the grounds of Gould's mansion-the Italian Garden, the Sunken Garden and the Formal Garden-survive on the campus today, as does much of the original architecture. The campus is also the site of the Sister Mary Grace Burns Arboretum. GCU is also the only American school, and one of the few places remaining in the world, that has a "real" tennis court on its grounds, a predecessor to the current game.

SPORTS TEAMS

The Lakewood BlueClaws:

• The city gained its only professional sports franchise, a single-A baseball team, in 2001.
• The team's home, FirstEnergy Park, opened the same year.
• In 2004, Ryan Howard, currently with Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies and one-time National League MVP, became the first BlueClaw to play in the major leagues.