Two New Jerseyans mark the unofficial geographical center of the state.

Steve Chernoski was just like any other kid growing up in south Jersey.
He thought.
“I grew up in Ewing, Mercer County,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “I was a Phillies and Eagles fan.”
Some of the kids in his area were Yankee and Giants fans. And Chernoski’s hockey allegiance was to his state’s team—the Jersey Devils.
“As a kid, I wore my Jersey Devils shirt to a Phillies game,” he said. “The reception I got made me realize that I lived in three different worlds.”
Mercer County begins about 12 geographic miles northwest of Philadelphia, so it’s not difficult to understand why the young Chernoski would root for Philadelphia baseball and football teams, since his state had no pro teams in those sports (except for the New Jersey Football Giants, but that’s a whole other controversy).
But why, he wondered, did some of his colleagues root for teams more closely identified with New York City than those identified with Philadelphia?
There was, he realized, a North Jersey and a South Jersey; not just a New Jersey. It’s a theme that has intrigued him so much, that now, at age 31, he has made a documentary film that tries to at least label, if not explain this geographic-cultural apportionment.
His documentary short—“New Jersey: The Movie”—will screen at The Reel Jersey Film Festival, Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m. in Rutherford, and also at the Wildwood Film Festival on Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. (Time and date tentative for Wildwood.)
In making the film, Chernoski traversed the state, interviewing residents from Hoboken, just across the Hudson from New York City; to Cowtown, just across the Delaware from Wilmington. His goal was to find the dividing line between north and south: the Jersey Mason-Dixon Line, if you will.
What he discovered were differences often more cultural than geographic—all presented with the murky clarity that only New Jerseyans (north or south) can truly appreciate.
“I had dabbled with film in college,” he explained, “but I knew that I needed some professional, full-time movie people for this project.”
Chernoski, with the assistance of three Temple University film schools grads—Alena Kruchkova, Andrei Litvinov, and Sulaiman Ali—pulled it off, and if you are a North Jerseyan, a South Jerseyan, or a Central Jerseyan (truly rare breed), you’ll find an opinion or three in this film that you embrace, and just as many that you’ll refute.
“Sports loyalties are predominant,” he noted. “From Ocean County north there is an allegiance to the New York teams.”
Politically, Chernoski mentioned, in the recent Senate election, the north went for Lautenberg while the south voted for Andrews.
And a benny in North Jersey is a shoobie in South Jersey, while a hoagie in South Jersey is a sub in North Jersey.
Chernoski also found many who believe that Ocean County is the southern most point of the New York metro area, even though it begins less than 25 miles from Philadelphia.
“The mayor of Lavallette (latitude of Philadelphia) said he’s in North Jersey, while others in that town claimed the south,” Chernoski said.

In the film, you’ll no doubt come in contact with some cherished notions that are new to you, although sacrosanct to others.
For instance, many of the North Jerseyites interviewed named the Driscoll Bridge as the unofficial dividing line between north and south. Many South Jerseyites (myself included) never heard of this, the world’s widest bridge (according to tollroadnews.com) that crosses the Raritan River up near Perth Amboy—a decidedly northern part of the state.
You’ll hear more than enough (two states’ worth) opinions in this short, instructive, and entertaining film, so it’s no wonder that Chernoski hopes to raise the funds to expand the film to one hour, with, “a lot of extras to be included with a DVD.”
One segment excluded from the short is a driving contest between a North Jersey girl and a South Jersey girl. Negotiating the South Jersey circles is a feature of that piece, so I do hope Chernoski gets the funding to expand the documentary, letting us eventually see all the north vs. south footage.
Right now, “New Jersey: The Movie” is airing at The Rutherford Festival and the Wildwood Festival, with scheduling some other well-known venues, like Sundance and Tribecca.
No consensus is arrived at regarding the north and south line, but the cultural differences are profound.
And that line—wherever it is now—is in a state of flux, according to Chernoski.
“What I found is that people from New York, Staten Island, and North Jersey are pushing south and west,” he said. “Due mostly to the housing boom. Ocean County has seen the largest growth, with most coming from New York.”
But it doesn’t really matter how many New Yorkers come down into the Garden State; some boundaries are still concrete. So until they move out of the Meadowlands, they’re still the New Jersey Football Giants.