Source: Woodbridge Sentinel
[ws.gmnews.com/news/2005/0914/Front_Page/018.html]
On September 14, 2005 the Woodbridge Sentinel reported, "Temple Ohev Shalom in Colonia, once a Jewish place of worship, has been transformed into a Hindu temple that just recently opened. Hundreds of people from around the world gathered at the Shri Swaminarayan temple to mark its official opening on Sept. 4... The temple is part of the Shri Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism. Its followers number in the millions throughout the world... The establishment of the temple... demonstrates the rise of the Indian-American population in New Jersey. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, Middlesex County had almost one-third of all Indians in the state with 54,880, an increase from 19,110 in 1980. The increase was even more dramatic in Woodbridge, which went from 1,959 Indians residing in the township in 1980, to 8,592 in 2000, according to the census... The temple in Woodbridge is now the eighth Swaminarayan temple in the United States, with other temples in Boston, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tampa, Detroit and Weehawken. A temple in Cherry Hill is scheduled to open in September of next year, with others planned for New York, Cleveland and Parsippany."