The Borough of North Arlington, New Jersey

gton, New Jersey N orth Arlington is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, in the northeastern part of the state, some 10 miles west of New York City. The area that became North Arlington was originally inhabited by the Leni- Lenape Native Americans, and during the 17th and early 18th centuries by Dutch immigrants, who christened the area New Barbadoes Neck. The area came under English rule in the early 1700s, and in 1715, the Schuyler Copper Mine, one of the first in North America, opened. Ore was packed in barrels and shipped to England for smelting. In 1755, the first steam engine was assembled at the mine to pump it out after a flood. North Arlington became an official borough in 1896 with a population of about 400 within its two square miles of territory. Over time, the borough was settled by new immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Ireland. Today, North Arlington is a residential borough with a small-town atmosphere and big city neighbors. Daniel H. Pronti, the town’s mayor since 2018, and a three-time member of the Borough Council, says that over the last several years, there has been a concerted effort to redevelop the town with new businesses and concepts in its industrial area, and attract new trendy businesses on its main avenues, especially Ridge Road, a state highway that bisects North Arlington down the middle. “We’re very proud of what we have here in North Arlington,” Pronti states. “We’ve taken a town that was somewhat run down, a little old and cranky, and over the past five or six years, we’ve turned it into what it is today, and we’re continuing SOURCES OF PRIDE