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Hazlet:

An Ideal Bedroom Community

A half-century ago, the mornings in Hazlet began with the cock-a-doodle-doo of roosters. The township, named for a doctor (John Hazlett), was mostly farm country. The post office didn't even make deliveries back then, only provided boxes. Keyport Post Office delivered the mail to rural areas. Hazlet even had an airport then.

Today, the mornings still begin early for many in Hazlet. But the first sounds in Hazlet tend to be train whistles, picking up commuters bound for New York. Farmland here is dwindling. There are officially 35 acres of farms remain. The post office now handles 20 million pieces a mail, so large that local leaders want the federal government to build a new one. And you can no longer fly out of Hazlet.

Life began to change in Hazlet when the Garden State Parkway was built here in 1954. Travel time to northern New Jersey and New York were reduced, making Hazlet an ideal bedroom community. Open farmland became prime real estate for soon-to-follow housing developments. With new housing came new commercial development.

You could define Hazlet of today by its shopping malls and stores along Route 35 and 36. On Route 35, strip malls and mega-stores dominate. Cut across a side street to Route 36, and you've entered a different retail world. There are mom-and-pop shops and some fast-food stores. The traffic is slower and quieter on Route 36. Route 36 also home to Airport Plaza, the site of Hazlet's airport. The plaza has tripled its size since it opened in 1975, now occupying 60 retail and office spaces.

Hazlet schools' sporting community is a thriving force. Sports are an integral part of the township's culture and community. The township hosts programs that assist community's needs. The Bayshore Learning Center offers classes from Irish dancing to earning an associate college degree.

Common Facts

Schools

HAZLET TOWNSHIP
Timothy P. Nogueira, Superintendent
Administrative Offices
421 Middle Road, Hazlet 07730
(732) 264-8402