Croton-on-Hudson, New York
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[edit] March 20, 2007 Village Election Results
Mayoral Election (vote for one)
Ann Gallelli (D,CT) 44%
Gregory Schmidt (A) 56%
Trustee Election (vote for two)
Leo Wiegman (D,CT) 25%
Sally Odlandt (D,CT) 23%
Thomas Brennan (A) 26%
Susan Konig (A) 26%
SOURCE: Village of Croton on Hudson Certified Results
Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 7,606 at the 2000 census. As a village, it is located in the Town of Cortlandt. It should not be confused with nearby Crotonville, which is actually part of Ossining, NY. The village was incorporated in 1898. There are several theories about the origin of the town's name. Some say it is named after Croton (modern Crotone), Italy and others point to the name of a prominent Native American chief known to have lived in the area - Knoten.
[edit] Local parks
Notable parks and sites of interest in the community include,
- the New Croton Dam
- Croton Point
- the eighteenth century Van Cortlandt Manor, a National Historic Landmark
- Teatown Lake Reservation
- Senasqua with extending walkways to Croton Point
- Hudson National Golf Club
- Black Rock is located on the Croton River, near Route 129, within a mile or so of the New Croton Dam. It is used mostly for fly fishing and picnics. It also is within 100 yards of a historic bridge which dates from the 1800s on Quaker Hill Road
- Silver Lake has trails to Carrie East Tompkins elementary school (CET) and beyond
- Jane E. Lytle Memorial Arboretumis located on the North side of town and is meant to be a nature preserve even though it borders
Hudson National Golf Course and often is used by off-season hunters for the illegal practice of poaching
- Brinton Brook Sanctuary
Croton-on-Hudson is the original home of the Hudson Institute. Nearby is the Thomas J. Watson Research Center and the GE John F. Welch executive training center. The village's railroad station, Croton-Harmon, is served by Metro North and Amtrak. Metro North's main shops and yards are located here.
[edit] Culture
Croton Point Park hosts Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival, a yearly folk music, art and environmental festival.
Croton-on-Hudson has an annual event called the Summerfest. Every year the central business district (with corners at the Municipal Building, Grand Street Fire House and Croton Harmon High School) is closed to automobile traffic for music, American food, local fund raisers, traveling and local artists.
Croton-on-Hudson is the home of the annual Harry Chapin Run Against Hunger [1], a 10k race and Fun Run.
Temple Israel of Northern Westchester is the local Reform Judaism temple
Croton Jewish Center is the local Conservative Judaism temple
Holy Name of Mary is the local Catholic church.
St. Augustine's is a local Catholic church in Ossining.
St. Augustine's is also a local Episcopal church, in Croton.
Our Savior Lutheran is the local Lutheran church.
Asbury Methodist Church is the local Methodist church.
Croton-on-Hudson is the North East American base of the Emin Society.
Croton-on-Hudson's first Nursery School (started in 1945 and still running) is Croton Community Nursery School.
The Black Cow is Croton-on-Hudson's coffee shop and serves as its local "hang-out" spot for many of the town's and nearby area's youth.
J&J's Sandwich Shop is a popular sandwich shop in Croton-on-Hudson where most kids go out to eat at lunch.
Bunker Hill
[edit] Economy
Croton-on-Hudson's economy has historically thrived on the Metro North train station that up until 1968 served as the point at which northbound trains would exchange their electric engines for other modes of conveyance. During those days, the train station and its super-adjacent area, which currently houses businesses such as Exxon and Jean-Jacques bakery, was known as Harmon. At that time, because the maintenance of diesel and steam engines was very labor-intensive, there were many workers whose needs were served by abundant service businesses, such as restaurants and bars. Because of the separate development of both the Harmon and the Mt. Airy communities, there are two commercial districts, one based around Grand Street, and one based around Harmon that in recent years have connected into one sprawling commercial district. There is also the North Riverside commercial district that serves the communities based around Riverside Drive, Brook Street, Grand Street, and Bank Street.
After the New York Central Railroad folded, Croton-on-Hudson's economy slowly stagnated. Although Croton-Harmon station still served as the main transfer point northbound between local and express trains, the laborers who had earlier fueled a bustling service economy were no longer present in Harmon. The exodus of labor during the early 1970s was compounded by the stagflation that was a result of higher oil prices and sky-rocketing interest rates.
Today, Croton-on-Hudson's economy is still dependent on the services industry, as evidenced by a town of little over 7000 having no fewer than six pizza places, one pizzeria per 1200 or so people. Recently, some high-end services business have opened up in town, including a French bakery, a Turkish grocer and several new and interesting restaurants.
There has been an ongoing effort since the early 1990s to develop the riverfront for recreational use. Among the accomplishments are: a pedestrian bridge spanning Route 9/9A between the lower village and Senasqua Park, the Crossining pedestrian footbridge across the Croton River, the bicycle trail extensions around Half Moon Bay Condominiums, rehabilitation of the 'Picture Tunnel' (repaving and closing it to cars) and acquisition and clearing of the Croton Landing property. According to the Croton Comprehensive Plan, future development will center on "Passive Recreation" to include facilitating the use of Senasqua Park as a recreational facility, expanding the underutilized boat launch and building a band shell for 3,000 people.
Recently, the town has fought an initiative to open a McDonalds, and in the late 1990s, Croton resident Harvey Brill led a successful fight against the construction of a cell-phone tower on top of Hessian Hills Road, the highest point of elevation in Croton-on-Hudson. In 1996, the Hudson National Golf club was opened.
[edit] Government/ Politics
- Mayor Dr. Gregory J. Schmidt, R-I
- Trustee Thomas P. Brennan (Deputy Mayor), R-I
- Trustee Ann Gallelli, D-I
- Trustee Charles A. Kane, D-I
- Trustee Leo A. W. Wiegman, D-I
- LWV Party Key: D (Democrat), R (Republican), I (Local Independent)
External Political Links
- Croton Republicans Chairman: Rob DiFrancesco
- Croton Democrats: Chairman: Paul Rolnick
[edit] Law & Order
Croton-on-Hudson recently purchased a new police boat valued at $29,000 with Croton-on-Hudson paying $8,000 and the town of Cortlandt covering the rest.[1].
[edit] Geography
Croton-on-Hudson is located at (41.204228, -73.886177)GR1 on the shores of the Hudson River. The zip code is 10520.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 28.0 km² (10.8 mi²). 12.3 km² (4.8 mi²) of it is land and 15.7 km² (6.1 mi²) of it (56.06%) is water.
[edit] Transportation
The town is the site of the Croton-Harmon (Amtrak station) for Amtrak's Empire Service. It is also served by local commuter rail service on the Hudson Line.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 7,606 people, 2,798 households, and 2,050 families residing in the village. The population density was 618.3/km² (1,601.7/mi²). There were 2,859 housing units at an average density of 232.4/km² (602.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 91.52% White, 1.87% African American, 0.26% Native American, 2.06% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.58% from other races, and 1.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.93% of the population.
There were 2,798 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the village the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $84,744, and the median income for a family was $100,182. Males had a median income of $65,938 versus $46,029 for females. The per capita income for the village was $39,441. About 1.8% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Famous Natives, Residents and Former Residents
- Howard Major Buckley
- Cornelia Cotton
- Isadora Duncan
- Max Eastman
- Michael Grant
- Joseph Heller
- Karen Hopkins
- Robb Hanrahan
- Herman Kahn
- Roger Kahn
- Edna St Vincent Millay
- Jessye Norman
- Sally Jessy Raphaël
- John Silas Reed
- Geraldo Rivera
- Edward Rondthaler
- J-Lag
[edit] Trivia
Films shot in Croton-on-Hudson
- Daylight- In the opening sequence the trucks that end up destroying the tunnel drive through Croton-on-Hudson as well as several other towns in Westchester, New York
- Red Dawn
- Reds
- Tarzan - Many scenes filmed on Croton-on-Hudson's Croton Resevoir and Silver Lake.
- Tenderness
- Toxic Avenger II
- War of the Worlds - Shot at Croton Point
[edit] External links
- Village of Croton-on-Hudson Web Site
- Historic Hudson Valley: Van Cortlandt Manor
- LoHud: Unbiased local news, commentary, events, arts, schools and sports for Croton-on-Hudson, New York.
- Croton Council on the Arts
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
