As one of New Jersey’s best-kept secret, New Providence is a small town with much to be proud of. Not only was it ranked the #9 high school by NJ Monthly magazine in 2018, it also has two train station stops to NYC and available parking at the train stations.
When first time home buyers are eager to find a quaint community with good schools and easy access to New York City, it is a pleasure to introduce them to all New Providence has to offer.
New Providence School Information
The New Providence School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are Allen W. Roberts Elementary School (grades PreK-6), Salt Brook Elementary School (PreK-6), New Providence Middle School (7&8) and New Providence High School (9-12). The middle school and high school share the same building and some of the same facilities (art rooms, auditorium, east wing, west wing, gyms, music rooms, TV production room, cafeteria). Recently a new gym was added to the building.
New Providence Commuting Information
Service on the New Jersey Transit Gladstone Branch of the Morris & Essex Lines is available at the New Providence and Murray Hill stations, offering service to Hoboken Terminal and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. Two Gladstone Branch trains each weekday morning offer one-seat rides to Manhattan, and two evening trains leave New York and stop at both of New Providence’s stations on the way to Gladstone. All other rail service is to or from Hoboken. These trains connect at Summit or Newark Broad Street with Manhattan-bound trains.
New Jersey Transit offers local bus service on the 986 route.
Lakeland Bus Lines offers weekday rush hour service from stops along Springfield Avenue to New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal.
New Providence is also a quick drive to Manhattan — approximately 40 minutes without traffic. Conveniently located right of off Route I-78, there is easy access to Route 24, I-287, The New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, and Route 280. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is only a 25-minute drive away.
New Providence Park and Downtown Information
New Providence is bordered to the north by Chatham Township, across the Passaic River, Berkeley Heights lies to the southwest and south, and Summit to the east. Much of the unincorporated area of Murray Hill lies in New Providence, with the remainder in Berkeley Heights.
The borough lies on the western slope of Second Watchung Mountain. There are several creek beds carved into the landscape, most of which are forks and branches of Salt Brook. These creeks join together near the center of town then flow into the Passaic River. Over nine percent of New Providence’s land area is permanently protected publicly owned parkland. Most of this land is wooded floodplain adjacent to the Passaic. Union County owns much of the riverfront parkland and New Providence owns the remainder. There are several Borough-owned parks that bracket Salt Brook, including Veterans Memorial Park on South Street, Lyons Park on Livingston Avenue, and Clearwater Park near the end of Central Avenue.
