BY KRISTIN BEUSCHER
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
Local lawmen guessed it might be the work of “hoboes” when three houses in Norwood were burglarized in the early morning hours of Dec. 20, 1905. The crimes were centered around Central Avenue—now Broadway—and Tappan Road.
They entered the home of Mrs. Sophie Specht, a widow living on Central Avenue near the railroad tracks. Mrs. Specht awoke during the night to see a man with a dark lantern standing in her bedroom rummaging in a dresser. She screamed and the man ran out. The 58-year-old native German discovered that $75 was missing from her pocketbook—no small amount for the time.
At the house of Julius Specht, also on Central Avenue, the burglars stole $35 in cash, a watch, and a ring.
By the time the thieves made it around the corner they had apparently worked up an appetite. On Tappan Road, at the house of New York lawyer Livingston Emery, they stole a servant girl’s pocketbook, as well as some crackers and cheese.
The authorities attributed the crimes to “tramps” from along the line of the West Shore Railroad.
Central Avenue was renamed Broadway in 1929. The story behind the change is interesting in itself, and one that few modern-day residents have heard.
In 1927 Gilvan, Inc., a New York real estate firm, had visions of building in eastern Bergen County a community of houses intended for college instructors from Columbia University and people in other professional fields.
It was to be idyllic: an enclave of learned people enjoying both the sylvan nature of Bergen County and easy access to the city via a new bridge that was to be constructed across the Hudson River. (Opened in 1932, it was named the George Washington Bridge.)
This community, named “Yorkview” for its location overlooking New York City, was slated to occupy land in Norwood, Northvale, Closter and Alpine. A total of 40,000 lots were laid out, intended to carry a population of 75,000 to 100,000.
The Norwood Borough Council voted to change the name of Central Avenue to Broadway and cross streets near Piermont Road became Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Seventeenth Streets as a way to give the community more of a “New York feel.” Ninety years later those names are still in use. Central Avenue is still the name of the road once it leaves Norwood and enters Old Tappan.
The Gilvan development came to an abrupt stop after just 11 houses were constructed. The Great Depression hit in October 1929 and caused the firm to go bankrupt.
