IF YOU’RE THINKING OF LIVING IN

IF YOU’RE THINKING OF LIVING IN; OAKLAND

By RACHELLE DePALMA
Published: December 8, 1985

NESTLED along the banks of the Ramapo River with the profile of the Ramapo Mountains etched sharply against the sky, the Borough of Oakland stands as a rustic outpost in the northwestern corner of New Jersey.

This Bergen County community owes to the sparsely populated mountains a mix of light, contour and color that visitors have called breathtaking for more than 300 years. Its nine square miles are dotted with lakes, ponds and streams that flow near restored farmhouses, frame bungalows and modern ranches and Cape Cods. Many of its 13,000 residents say they feel cut off from the rest of the world.

But the feeling of isolation is just a comfortable illusion. For the roads are adequate to carry residents across the Ramapos to Wanaque and Springwood to the west, Mahwah to the north, Franklin Lakes to the east and Wayne and Pompton Lakes to the south.

Route 208 crosses the center of Oakland, where it joins Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202), a pre-Revolutionary thoroughfare that extends northward into New York State. Travelling south, drivers may link up with Route 4, which leads to the George Washington Bridge and Manhattan as well as to Route 17, Interstate 80 and the Garden State Parkway.

Heavy traffic along Ramapo Valley Road, the borough’s main commercial strip, is a problem. It is hoped that construction of Interstate 287 through Oakland, scheduled to begin next spring, will decrease congestion by 60 percent and provide the borough with a major north-south transportation link.

For commuters, Leisure Line Tours runs daily buses to the Port Authority bus terminal in midtown Manhattan every 20 minutes during rush hours, picking up passengers at four central locations. A one-way ticket for the 55-minute ride costs $6.05, a 40-trip book $130.25.

When Ryerson Vervact penned a history of Oakland in 1952, he entitled his book, ”The Valley of Homes.” More than three decades later, the borough’s single-family residences remain its major attraction. Of the 4,344 parcels of land in the borough, 3,904 are used for residences.

At any given time, Century 21 Marcia Lynch Realty lists about 20 houses that sell within two weeks for prices ranging from $135,000 to more than $450,000. Lakefront houses and stately homes on Chuckanutt Drive and Andrew Street command even higher prices. Lot sizes range from 60 feet by 150 feet to more than an acre.

The older dwellings along the river are former summer cottages that have been converted into year-round use. Even though they are periodically plagued by floods, these tiny one- and two-bedroom houses with 20-foot frontages sell for $60,000 to $90,000.

Almost all residents own their houses and Oakland has few rental apartments. Rent for a one-bedroom unit, when one can be found, begins at $600, according to Marcia Lynch, proprietor of the Century 21 agency.

The only condominium development in the borough is Oak Crest, a collection of 61 units resting against the mountainside behind the Grand Union shopping center on Oak Street. Prices for the two-bedroom dwellings start at $160,000.

Because there is little industry, homeowners pay most of the taxes. ”The tax rate is one of the highest in Bergen County – second only to neighboring Franklin Lakes,” Mrs. Lynch said. A house that sold recently for $450,000 pays annual taxes of $5,389, she added, and another that sold for $135,000 pays $2,000 a year.

But most residents feel that the small-town flavor, the scenic beauty and tranquil style of life offered in Oakland are worth the high tax rate. ”People come here because they want to live in a residential area, free from the invasion of business and industry,” said Alexander Potash, a former mayor who has lived in Oakland for 58 years.

Oakland has three elementary schools, one middle school and one regional high school – Indian Hills, which also serves students living in parts of Franklin Lakes. Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which is Roman Catholic, is the borough’s only parochial grade school.

Lawrence Ksanznak, superintendent of schools in Oakland, said the public system’s diverse curriculum includes computer study, innovative writing and spelling courses, special programs for the gifted and remedial reading and math classes. Recently, the system, which is supported by strong parent-teacher associations, struck up a partnership with local businesses that donate time, equipment and services to students and staff.

Almost all of the borough’s secondary school-age youngsters attend the local high school, where there is an average of 17 students per class. This year Indian Hills had 12 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, the sixth largest total among New Jersey public high schools. Seventy-five percent of the graduates go on to some form of higher education.

Most of the community’s social and self-help organizations are associated with the schools or the borough’s six churches, the oldest of which – the Dutch Reformed Church of the Ponds – was estabished in 1710.

”Residents of Oakland are extremely sensitive to the needs of their neighbors,” Mayor William Winterhalter said. ”Six weeks ago, they took the initiative in raising $10,000 to help a man who needed a respirator to stay alive and whose wife and son were both legally blind.”

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The 1980 census put Oakland’s median age at 31.1, with almost two-thirds of the population between the ages of 18 to 64, and the median family income at $30,813. Residents are mostly business, professional and skilled-trades people.

”O

AKLAND is like a port of call where the sailors elect to stay,” said Jeannine Hickey, the Borough Clerk, who has lived there for 27 years. ”It is home to, among others, people with Italian, Irish, German and Polish backgrounds.”

There is a lingering sense of the past in Oakland that is reflected in the vintage stone houses that line its streets. The borough has five landmark structures, including the late 18th century Henry Van Allen House, at the juncture of Ramapo Valley and Franklin Roads, which the town bought in 1966 and turned into a museum. It is now the headquarters of the Oakland Historical Society, which runs tours open to the public.

Originally populated by the Minsi Indians, what is now Oakland was a farming community from the time of its Dutch settlement in the 17th century until well into the l9th century. In 1869, tracks for the New Jersey Midland Railroad – now the New York Susquehana and Western Railroad – were laid and water-powered industries began springing up along the Ramapo River. In 1902, the community, then known as Bushville, was incorporated as a borough.

By the mid-1920’s, farms and industries had all but disappeared and Oakland became a resort area offering swimming, boating and fishing. Those activities still are available to today’s residents.

There are two public recreation areas in the borough – FRG and Pleasureland – both with facilities for swimming and picnicking. Local residents also enjoy the pleasures of their own Crystal Lake or Ramapo Park – part of the Ramapo Mountain State Forest, covering 2,300 acres, 105 of which lie in Oakland – where nature trails have been laid out so hikers may explore the area’s woodlands.

Cal’s Boat Rental, a local landmark on West Oakland Avenue and River Street, offers canoe rides along the Ramapo River, which is also stocked with trout for fishing. In addition, the borough has six tennis courts, an athletic field, and provides organized sports and other activities for youngsters and the elderly.

Oakland’s heart is Ramapo Valley Road, where a patchwork of minimalls, fast-food outlets and popular restaurants such as Scanio’s, serving northern Italian food, and Molly’s Fishmarket stand on what was once farmland.

Mary Jo Donahue, a nine-year resident who works at the Oakland 5 and 10 Cent Store, feels that despite the changes that have taken place in the borough, it is still a quiet, friendly place to live. ”The people,” she said, ”work together to keep it a close-knit community.” I-287 IS AWAITED WITH MIXED FEELINGS rrOakland residents are somewhat ambivalent about what Interstate 287, running north-south through the borough and scheduled for completion in 1990, may do to their quiet community.

The highway will alleviate traffic on Ramapo Valley Road and encourage the growth of industry in the ratable-hungry borough. Only 4 percent of its area of 5,825 acres now is occupied by stores and factories. But many residents feel that much of the undeveloped land will be lost to corporations, condominiums and commercial structures, creating sewage and drainage problems for the residential neighborhoods.

”Progress is good, as long as it doesn’t change the quality of life we now have,” said Michael Held, a nine-year resident.

In fact, Oakland is catching the eyes of developers, and four requests are pending before the Bergen County Planning Board. Among them are proposals for a 40-unit condominium on Lawlor Drive and a six-story hotel on Ramapo Valley Road, both of which drew heated objections from some in the community.

Mayor William Winterhalter says that steps will be taken to safeguard the town’s future but, he adds, ”there has to be some development.”

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