Rye (city), New York

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This article is about the city. For the town, see Town of Rye, New York.

The Rye, NY City Seal.

Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye (which despite its name, is larger than the city). The population was 14,955 at the 2000 census. Rye houses the home and burial place of John Jay, a Founding Father and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Original milestones, fixed in 1763 by Benjamin Franklin along the Boston Post Road during his term as Postmaster General still mark the 24th, 25th, and 26th miles from New York City. The City of Rye is home to Rye Country Day School, a college preparatory private school. Rye is mentioned on the website of Smirnoff's Tea Partay.

Playland, a historic amusement park and designated National Historic Landmark, is located in Rye. Playland features one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the northeast, the Dragon Coaster.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Noteworthy Current and Past Residents
4 Demographics
5 External links

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.9 km² (20.0 mi²). 15.0 km² (5.8 mi²) of it is land and 36.9 km² (14.2 mi²) of it (71.13%) is water.

[edit] History

The oldest house in the town, the Timothy Knapp House, is owned by the Rye Historical Society and dates in its original version to around 1667.

The site at 210 Boston Post Road where founding father John Jay grew up and where he is buried is now the Jay Historical Center. A later 19th century home on the site is under restoration.

The Historical Society also owns a former inn/tavern built in 1730, the Square House, which it operates as a museum. George Washington stayed at the Square House on two separate occasions, remarking favorably on his stay in his diaries.

Rye is a wealthy suburb of New York City with a Metro-North rail station in its downtown with service taking 40 minutes on an express train to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.

Rye is also known for its famous theme park, Rye Playland. Rye Playland was a very popular destination in the early 20th century, where people were able to take their boats right up to the park. Its famous roller coaster, The Dragon Coaster, was at one point in time a top ten wooden roller coaster in the world.

[edit] Noteworthy Current and Past Residents

Ogden Nash
Iakovos, Archbishop of America,(d.2005)
Buster Crabbe
Amelia Earhart
Barbara Bush
William Moulton Marston
Christopher Atkins
Lex Barker
Eddie Eagan
Jason Bateman, Actor
Justine Bateman, Actress
George P. Putnam, Author
Bud Cort, Actor
Greg Berlanti, TV Writer
Ryan Perello, Mobster
Justin Henry, Actor
Elizabeth Janeway, Author
Kimberly Williams, Actress
Bill Stern, Actor and Sportscaster
John Thain, CEO of NYSE
David Lee (physicist), Physicist
Ralph Branca, MLB Baseball Player
Charles Frederick Lindauer, Tobacconist
James Roosevelt Bayley, Bischop
Eric Nisenson, Author
Raymond E. Baldwin, US Senator
B.J. Surhoff, MLB Baseball Player
Nicholas Patrick, Astronaut, Mission specialist 1 on 2006 Discovery STS-116 mission.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 14,955 people, 5,377 households, and 4,027 families residing in the city. The population density was 999.0/km² (2,588.6/mi²). There were 5,559 housing units at an average density of 371.3/km² (962.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.61% White, 1.27% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 6.49% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.80% of the population.

There were 5,377 households out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.6% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $110,894, and the median income for a family was $133,231. Males had a median income of $96,585 versus $52,052 for females. The per capita income for the city was $76,566. About 1.6% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

In 2005 Forbes magazine named Rye's ZIP code, 10580, as having the most expensive median home prices in Westchester County and the 61st most expensive in the United States.