Check Out My Town! 

North Brunswick Township 

Teh township of North Brunswick offers its residents a high standard of recreation in a community-oriented environment located between New York and Philadelphia on the New Jersey Turnpike. 

The Township is predominantly a residential community with single-family homes and condominiums in an excellent school district. 

It is a continually growing community with residents taking an active role in government. 

The town has a very involved police department that is always available to assist residents. The government also offers a variety of local activities to residents. 

The township serves as a home for copanies like DeVry Institute and Bristol-Myers Squibb. 

The Youth Sports Festival, Heritage Day, Memorial Day events, and the Carnevale Italiano represents some of the many events that make North Brunswick an attraction for both residents and welcomed visitors. 

City of New Brunswick 

Not only is this city of nearly 50,000 the most diverse municpality in New Jersey, it is the fifth most diverse in the state. 

The Hispanic community doubled in the 1990s and now comprises 39 percent of the cities population. There are also layers of diversity--Dominicans and Mexicans have added recently to a large Puerto Rican community that ha existed in the city for decades. With the influx of new immigrants, older immigrant populations--like the Hungarian community mostly located on Somerset Street near Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital--are fading away.  

Not only is the city's face evolving, but also its façade. The cities skyline will be changing with $100 million project to replace the landmark Monument Park Hotel with the proposed 15-story Heldrich Plaza, housing a hotel, conference center, retail space and the John J. Heldrich Center for workforce development.  

New Brunswick also distinguished itself on the education front two years ago with the opening of the New Brunswick Health Sciences and Technology High School, the only school of its kind in New Jersey, where students experience real-life settings in hospital labs and use state of the art science equipment Middlesex County, with is government seat in New Brunswick, and the cities hospitals-Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and St.Peters University Hospital-help the city's population roughly triple during the day, as workers to their jobs.  

The 10-acre Boyd Park along the Raritan River serves as a popular spot for festivals and other events. The city will offer another recreation area with a new Youth Sports Complex along Joyce Kilmer Avenue.  

Existing recreation activities are already popular: The 30,000 students at Rutgers Universities New Brunswick campus add youth and vitality to the city. The students, as well as young professionals and other city residents, create the demand for the city's varied entertainment scene that ranges from live music clubs to state theatres. The center of the entertainment world is found at the George Street and Livingston Avenue, where the city's Cultural center consortium if the State theatre, George Street Playhouse and Crossroads theatres sit.  

Borough of Milltown 

While Milltown may be less than 2 square miles in size, it is a borough rich in tradition and pride. In 1844, Meyer Rubber co. settled on Ford Avenue. In 1907, the Michelin Tire Co. took over and erected the building that still stands today at the bridge. Many of buildings on the site have remained vacant since the factory closedain the 1930s, but a new redevelopment agency has the goal of revitalizing the 18-acre stretch of land. 

In recent years, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on commercial development, with new businesses such as those along Ryders Lane, as well as the preservation of open space -- The Middlesex County-owned 14 acres on Washington Avenue, for example. There is also an ongoing effort to improve Mill Pond Park, which is used for variety of colorful community events, from Halloween Haunted River Walks to the Winter Wonderland. 

Borough officials are discussing creative ways of improving the downtown business district, poossibly with grant money that could result from a historic district designation. The expressed goal is to improve buildings, streets and sidewalks in such a way that would help retain the town's historic charm. 

Franklin Township--Somerset County 

If you are new to Franklin, the first thing you will notice is the contrast. 

Franklin is a tale of three towns. There's the city-like northern section of the township, contrasted by the suburban development and endless fields of farmland further south.  

There's plenty of shopping to be found and a number of parks to get away form it all. And with three courses to choose form, Franklin is a golfers dream. 

But getting to it all, by car, is a growing problem for residents and township officials.  

Traffic congestion is a major concern, especially for those who live in Midllebush Bypass road. The bypass would alleviate traffic in Middlebush by providing a route from South Middlebush Road of Bennets Lane, westward behind houses on Smith Road, across Amwell road near Cedar Grove and Elizabeth Avenue, before connecting to the south end of Davidson Avenue. 

And the township is turning to other modes of transportation, including a bikeway master plan that would create bike path throughout the township, especially to and from the scenic Delaware and Raritan Canal where the path would link up with the statewide system. 

Got kids? Because of growing enrollment, the Board of Ed hopes to build a new $58 million high school and make $9 million worth of improvements to the districts elementary schools. 

Redevelopment is also in the cards for Franklin. 

The run-down section of the township should see new life with the Renaissance 2000 redevelopment vision, a 10-year plan for the Route 27 corridor between Franklin and New Brunswick. 

It begins in Franklin with the gateway project. 

Gateway would cover little more than 15 acres along both sides of the Franklin Boulevard, Somerset, Booker, Ellen and Fuller streets, with tens of thousands of feet of new retail and office space, residential development, a day care center and a family style, anchor restaurant. 

In the more rural sections of the town, officials are working hard to leave untouched. 

With $6 million in state grants, Franklin will preserve more than 800 acres of farmland surrounding the Six Mile Run Reservoir. 

The township is also looking to preserve 200 acres for open space this year. In the future residents may be spending ore time at the Middlebush Park and the Municipal Complex off Demott Lane. 

Inside the 80-acre park, development options include everything from hiking trails to a skateboarding facility. Officials plan to recreate a town center on municipal grounds including a war veteran's memorial. The memorial my also include fallen police officers and fire fighters. 

Along with its heroes, the township looks out or its less fortunate resident at the Franklin Township Food Bank, located on Millstone Road. The food bank served more than 3,035 families last year. 

With time, residents can discover the rich history of Franklin, including Rockingham, one of George Washington's headquarters. The township is in the process of moving the building form Rt 518 to the canal.  

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