BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
KATHY CHANG At its April 19 meeting, the Zoning Board approved Thomas Vahalla’s application to change his one-story house at 204 University Ave. to two stories. METUCHEN – What is the Radio section?
“The name ‘Radio’ section is derived from the name of the owner who subdivided the property back in February 1927,” according to Ann Sardone, a title searcher and deed research expert.
The property was farmland when a company named Radio Associates bought it, subdivided it into 40-by-100-foot lots, laid out the streets and in most cases built the small Cape Cods, colonials and what would be considered bungalows, she said.
Streets in the Radio section are named after universities, including University Avenue, Harvard Avenue, Columbia Avenue, Midland Avenue, Rutgers Street, Princeton Street and Lafayette Street.
“The neighborhood demographics have changed over the years,” said Sardone.
“In the 1950s and 1960s, it had mostly blue-collar families, many of which had many children.”
Sardone has lived in the Radio section since 1977 and her husband has lived in the section since the late 1950s.
“Many of the older people left in the neighborhood have lived in the section since the 1950s and 1960s,” said Sardone. “There has been an influx of professional people since the 1970s.”