Township Sees Influx of Asian Professionals, Business Owners in Past Decade

Asian-Americans have kept Parsippany thriving through a period when it might otherwise have lost residents and business activity.

show the township added 2,589 residents past decade, hitting 53,238 total. The 5.1 percent growth was fractionally more than Morris County, 4.7 percent, and New Jersey, 4.5 percent.

But the prosaic numbers contain significant trends. The township's Asian population jumped by more than two-thirds, gaining 6,342 people for a total of 15,487.

That was more than enough to offset a decline in the number of whites.
Casey Parikh had a front-row seat on the changes in the township. When Parikh, who is chairman of the planning board,  came to Parsippany-Troy Hills the mid-1980s, it was only because his employer had relocated offices from New York City.

At the time, he did not know much about the area, and found "very few Indian people," he said. Even after moving out to the suburbs, "we used to go to New York City to buy things, Jackson Heights, because that was the center of Indian shops and businesses."

In May, the state will release a breakdown of nationalities. But Parsippany, like other suburbs in New Jersey, draws residents from both Northern Asian countries, like China, and South Asian countries, like India. 

"New Jersey is a distinct destination for a lot of immigrants," according to James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Public Affairs at Rutgers University.

In particular, the state hosts headquarters or major offices for companies based in or doing significant business in Asian markets, Hughes said. So while immigrant populations run the gamut, many Asians are professionals who land because of business, he said.

Earlier Asian immigrants looking for relatively low-cost housing settled in places like Jersey City and Edison, Hughes said. Particularly in Edison, Indians helped buoy an otherwise drifting housing market, revitalizing that community, he said.

In contrast, suburbs in a wider ring have flourished through the combination of employment opportunities and the appeal of their settings, according to Hughes. Places like Parsippany or Montgomery in Somerset County, with its growing Chinese-American community, create a typical tug on immigrants moving up and out from older towns, he said.

Their population growth, "to a large extent represents people who have already been living in New Jersey, but are finding more choices as they move up the economic ladder," Hughes said.

"Education is very important to Asians, so the quality of schools is very, very important when choosing where to live," Hughes said.

Now the chairman of Parsippany's planning board, Parikh agrees with some of that assessment. Good schools are a major asset, and the township is an attractive, tolerant place, he said.

"There are no big (bias) incidents," he said. "Parsippany is a pretty safe town."

But Parikh sees Indian communities in Edison and elsewhere remaining stable as others move into Parsippany. The Asians and Asian-Americans who followed him here generally are moving from elsewhere in the country or abroad, he said. 

"Parsippany is one of the largest towns in the state of New Jersey," and so someplace to consider for anyone moving into the region, Parikh said. 

As recently as the 1980 Census, white residents comprised 93.6 percent of Parsippany's population. But the number of people calling the township home was dropping from the high of 55,112 recorded a decade earlier. 

The decline continued through the 1990 Census, but began to reverse with the turn of the century. The 2010 figures represent a strong break from the previous trend, but now whites account for 62.4 percent and Asians 29 percent of a municipality that is again growing.

Rupal Patel was on the cutting edge of the trend, but like Parikh she found Parsippany by happenstance. The Georgian was working as a computer consultant in Boston when she decided to follow her dream and become an Indian dance instructor.

"I didn't know too much about New Jersey," Patel said, but the presence of Indian neighborhoods nearby led her to Kearny. She was based there when she got a call from an outlying area. A Parsippany resident and her friends wanted to learn how to do a traditional dance.

That first class went so well that Patel started getting more calls from other locals, looking for lessons for themselves or their children. She was soon getting enough business to justify opening a dance studio in Parsippany in 2000.

"There were already a lot of Indian people here, but they didn't have that sort of activity 10 years ago, art, music, culture," Patel said.

Of course, now anyone who is paying attention can have at least a touch of Indian culture, through the influence of Bollywood on movies, television and music not just in India but around the world.

Patel's attracts more than just Indian and Indian-American students, and has blossomed from its local base into a phenomenon offering classes in 341 locations in 33 states.

For years, though, the school led a gypsy existence in its hometown, as Patel and her staff conducted classes in available spaces. Now, she is wrapping up work on a shopping center on Route 46. Not only does it provide dance studios, but there are 10 retail stores, seven already rented.

The corridor has become a center for Asian-oriented businesses, particularly Indian markets and stores. The development is understandable, Hughes said, because many are following their customers. Such stores come to town "when a market is big enough," he said.

"The competition is a good thing," Parikh said, adding that his trips to Jackson Heights stopped when he found shopping opportunities in the Edison area. Now, "it's been a long time since I've been to Edison, except maybe to go to a restaurant," he said.

But he pointed to the number of temples established in recent years as evidence that the opening and expansion of commercial ventures is just one step in the process of becoming a real part of the community.

Hughes agreed with Parikh, as both men called the changes in Parsippany "a typical immigrant story."As early trailblazers find a home, more people follow, lure businesses after them and create mature neighborhoods.

Parikh is pleased to see fellow Asians involved in community life, and hopes to "see more of this in terms of political participation." At the moment, he is the highest ranking Asian-American in local government, but expects that to change soon.

In the meantime, the local Rotary Club just honored him as this year's outstanding citizen. That honor came only months after Patel's local dance troupe

"I've really enjoyed living here," she said. "I guess it's what you could call a family-oriented town."