Fair Lawn is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a bedroom suburb located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of New York City.

[22] Fair Lawn was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 6, 1924, as "Fairlawn", from portions of Saddle River Township.

[23] The name was taken from Fairlawn, David Acker's estate home, that was built in 1865 and later became the Fair Lawn Municipal Building.

The new colonists turned the region, part of the New Barbadoes Township, into five large farm lots, conjoined by two main roads—Paramus and Saddle River—and named it "slooterdam" (after a V-shaped sluice-like fishing weir built in the Passaic River by the Lenni Lenape).

Eighty houses were built by 1861, and the renamed Small Lots, now a part of the Saddle River Township and home to multiple vegetable and fruit farms and dairies, became an agricultural community.

The development of this section was catalyzed by the "establishment of a post office, a railroad station, and a trolley to the Hudson River" (Images of America, Page 8).

Two of the five youths charged with the crime were convicted of manslaughter for their roles in the incident and were given five-year sentences in a state correctional facility.

[1][2] The borough borders Paterson (in Passaic County, across the Passaic River) to the west; Hawthorne across Lincoln Avenue to the West; Glen Rock across Harristown Road, Maple Avenue, the northern border of the former Nabisco plant and its extension north of Garwood Road and Naugle Drive to the north; Ridgewood across the Saddle River to the northeast; Paramus across the Saddle River to the east; Rochelle Park across another point in the Saddle River to the southeast; with Saddle Brook across the two longer portions of South Broadway and their extensions through Rosario Court to the south; and Elmwood Park across the Bergen County Line, New Jersey Route 4 (Broadway), Cyril Avenue and Willow Street to the south.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include:[40] Other neighborhoods in the borough include "Fair Lawn Commons" (The Commons) off Route 208, located within the Radburn Historical District, yet which has a separate, more affluent feel and modern look and subculture; Radburn's El Dorado Village, which is known for its Eastern European immigrant residents; and just to its west, the "Chandler Houses".

Fair Lawn's newest neighborhood is Fair Lawn Promenade (The Promenade), a mixed-use development extending northward from The Commons along Highway 208 North, consisting of apartments, shops, offices, and restaurants, with the motto to be able to "live, shop, work, and play" in one locale.

Continuing steady immigration from Eurasia, Asia, Europe, and Latin America has transformed Fair Lawn into an international melting pot, and over 50 languages and dialects are spoken in the borough.

[44] On November 22, 2015, the Jewish Historical Society of North Jersey celebrated the grand opening of a permanent home at 17-10 River Road in Fair Lawn, after being housed at various locations, mostly in neighboring Paterson, for decades.

Fair Lawn's reputable school district, safe and well-policed neighborhoods, and the borough's convenient access to commercial centers and hospitals, a complex network of highways, transit lines, New York City, and Newark Liberty International Airport, have all made Fair Lawn a magnet for new immigrants from several regions around the world.

[52][53][54] Between the 2010 Census and the 2013–2017 American Community Survey, Fair Lawn's Filipino population was estimated to have increased by more than 50% (from 626 in 2010 to 952 in 2013–2017).

[70] Thermal energy storage company CALMAC of Fair Lawn had performed about 4,000 commercial air-cooling installations in 37 countries by 2014.

[54] Kuiken Brothers, a major supplier of residential and commercial building materials in the New York City metropolitan area, is headquartered in Fair Lawn.

[75] Fair Lawn Promenade is a mixed-use retail / residential / business complex that opened on April 1, 2014.

The Fair Lawn Flyers competed in the first national street hockey championships in 1976 in Leominster, Massachusetts.

A borough manager is appointed by the council to serve as the municipal chief executive and administrative official.

[95] Fair Lawn's government extends beyond the council and departments in the form of the following boards and commissions, which are generally staffed by volunteers appointed by the mayor and council:[96] Fair Lawn is located in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District[113] and is part of New Jersey's 38th state legislative district.

[114] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff).

[117] For the 2024-2025 session, the 38th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Lagana (D, Paramus) and in the General Assembly by Lisa Swain (D, Fair Lawn) and Chris Tully (D, Bergenfield).

As of 2025[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[119] Bergen County's Commissioners are: Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),[120] Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),[121] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),[122] Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),[123] Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),[124] Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2027)[125] and Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2027).

[126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133] Bergen County's constitutional officials are: Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),[134][135] Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2027)[136][137] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).

This service is equipped with four state of the art ambulances stocked with all necessary supplies to handle any medical emergency.

The squad provides heavy rescue and hazardous materials (HAZMAT) services to the residents and businesses of the borough.

[189] Numerous commercial establishments and office buildings line Route 208 along the northwestern half of this limited access highway's trajectory through Fair Lawn.

Exceptions to this numbering system generally exist on the Glen Rock, Hawthorne, and Saddle Brook sides of Fair Lawn and within the Radburn development.

[190] Fair Lawn is served by the Radburn[191] and Broadway[192] train stations on the NJ Transit Bergen County Line, which offers service to Lower Manhattan via the Hoboken Terminal, and connections at Secaucus Junction to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and to most other NJ Transit train lines.