Teaneck, New Jersey - Public Services

Public Services

The Teaneck Police Department has 99 uniformed officers as of 2008, out of a total of 106 authorized uniformed positions. Robert Wilson was named Chief as of July 2008, filling the acting chief role previously held by Deputy Chief Fred Ahearn, who had been serving in that position after the departure of Paul Tiernan in 2007. The department hired its first two officers in 1914; Freddie Greene, its first African-American officer, joined the department on September 15, 1962, and its first female on January 4, 1981.

The Teaneck Fire Department is a career fire department that has 93 uniformed members as of January 2010, out of a total 99 authorized uniformed positions. Teaneck's four fire stations are staffed around the clock by paid full-time fire fighters. Teaneck is one of four municipalities in Bergen County with a paid fire department, joining Englewood, Hackensack and Ridgewood. Robert J. Montgomery was named Chief of Department as of June 1, 2006, and retired in March 2010, when he was succeeded by Anthony Verley. The department operates four Engine Companies out of four strategically placed firehouses. Additionally, a Tower Ladder, Rescue Truck and Command vehicle responds out of the main Fire Headquarters on Teaneck Road. Reserve apparatus include two Engines, a Rescue and a Ladder Truck that can be manned as required during high service demands. The department responds to approximately 4,000 calls per year involving structure fires, vehicle fires, electrical emergencies, natural gas releases, carbon monoxide incidents, explosions, rescues, outside fires,vehicle extrications and first responder medical calls.

The Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps (TVAC) was created by just a few men in 1939 to serve the residents of Teaneck, NJ. TVAC has always been Teaneck's only emergency ambulance service, and has since grown to include over 100 members and 4 ambulances in their organization. All of TVAC's members are volunteers, serving the township 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without pay. In 2011, TVAC responded to over 4,300 emergency calls, routinely saving lives and reducing suffering with their rapid response and application of Basic Life Support skills. Throughout the last 70 years, TVAC has never charged a patient nor the patient's family for service. The services of the Corps are entirely free of charge, whether the patients are residents of Teaneck, visitors, or individuals who need medical service while passing through the town. The Corps also renders service in nearby towns as part of a mutual aid system, again without charge.

The Richard Rodda Community Center, located near Route 4 at the south end of Votee Park, is a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) community and recreation center completed in 1998. The facility includes two full sized gyms, a dance studio, a kitchen and several multipurpose rooms of different sizes. The Teaneck Recreation Department offers educational, sports and arts programs throughout the year. The Rodda center is home to the Senior Citizens Service Center, which offers educational and fitness activities for adults ages 55 and up, and serves hot lunch daily, provided by the Bergen County Division of Senior Services.

Holy Name Medical Center is a fully accredited, not-for-profit community hospital. Founded and sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in 1925, the hospital has grown to become a comprehensive 361-bed medical center. Affiliation with NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System further brings the advantages of large urban hospitals to the community, with access to clinical trials and expanded education for its physicians. Furthermore, Holy Name Medical Center has undertaken an ambitious effort to provide comprehensive health care services to underinsured and uninsured Korean patients from a wide area with its growing Korean Medical Program.