Carmel, New York
Carmel is a town located in Putnam County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 36,465.
There are no incorporated villages in the town, although the hamlets of Carmel and Mahopac each have populations sizable enough to be thought of as villages.
The Town of Carmel is on the south border of the county. The town hall is in Mahopac.
Guideposts Magazine, founded by Norman Vincent Peale, is headquartered in Carmel.
History
The town was first settled around 1740 by George Hughson. On the night of April 26, 1777, after learning the news that the British had begun burning nearby Danbury, Connecticut, sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington rode her horse, Star, the entire night through the hamlets of Carmel, Mahopac, Kent Cliffs and Farmers Mills warning those along the way that the British were coming before returning home at dawn. A statue memorializing the female Paul Revere sits alongside Lake Gleneida.
Carmel was established by splitting from of the Town of Frederickstown, in 1795. (Patterson also split from Frederickstown the same year, the remnant of Frederickstown became known as Kent). Carmel was designated the county seat in 1812. In 1861, a small part of Carmel was taken to be added to the Town of Putnam Valley.
Putnam County Courthouse
The historic Putnam County Courthouse is located on Gleneida Avenue in Carmel. It was built in 1814 and the jail was added in 1855. The building has a classical front facade. There was one hanging in 1844 and it is today the second oldest working courthouse in New York State. The new Putnam County Courthouse was completed in early 2008, and is located on Gleneida Ave nearby the historic courthouse.
Carmel High School
Constructed in 1929, Carmel High School, which serves 1,843 students, is located on Fair Street across the street from the post office in the heart of town. The school has had three extensions, one in 1969, and another in 1980. A fourth extension has been finished being built and was slated to be completed during the summer of 2007, the new wing fully opened in September 2007. The new wing holds brand new science classrooms and a new library.
The high school girls' track team, the Carmel Rams, made history when it became just the fourth team in the nation to ever break nine minutes in the 3200 meter relay and were crowned National Champions at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in March 2007. The relay consisted of Kristin Reese, Caity Tully, Catherine DeSarle, and Ashley Maurer.[1]
News & Events
- July 29, 1971 - a category 2 tornado 1.9 miles (3.1 km) away from the city center caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.
- Sept.1982-June 1983 - Carmel High School Boys Track "star", Mike Stahr, is ranked first in the USA for the mile. Losing only 1 high school track race during his Junior and Senior year. He set state records and was the Millrose mile winner two years in a row.
- July 10, 1989 - a category 2 (max. wind speeds 113-157 mph) tornado 0.7 miles (1.1 km) away from the Carmel city center traveled east across Fair Street near the King's Grant condos, injured five people and caused between $5,000,000 and $50,000,000 in damages.
- August 22, 2000 - a 2.5 magnitude earthquake was felt. The epicenter was located approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northeast of the town of Carmel. People were awakened mainly because of the loud noise as if their oil burner had exploded or there was a truck collision on a road near their house.
- September 11, 2001 - eight Carmel residents were lost: Police Officer Stephen Patrick Driscoll, Firefighter Daniel Harlin, Firefighter Thomas Joseph Kuveikis, Firefighter Robert Minara, George Paris of Cantor Fitzgerald, Firefighter Christopher Blackwell, David Fodor of Fiduciary Trust, and Firefighter George Cain. The town has a memorial dedicated at Spain-Cornerstone Park on the corner of Fair Street and Route 52.
- 2002 - a scene for the Adam Sandler movie "Mr. Deeds" was filmed at the Wendy's in the Putnam Plaza. Although most of the scene was edited from the film, they do show the helicopter sitting in the parking lot in the movie. Since then Wendy's burned to the ground in December 2006. It was recently rebuilt and reopened in September 2007.
- 2006 - Carmel High School became the subject of news when there were altercations over football rivalries between students of Carmel and Mahopac. The events led to a few game cancellations, as many disagreements became bloody, and began to include adults as well as students.
- April 27–28, 2007 - the town of Carmel hosted a two-day militia encampment along Lake Gleneida. The event celebrated the 230th anniversary of the heroism of Putnam County's teenage Paul Revere, Sybil Ludington.
- September 13, 2008 - in downtown Carmel near the high school was a large fight between students of Carmel and Mahopac High School following a sporting event. Three people were injured.
- November–December 2009 - Following a spike in violent fights and drug use, Carmel High School increased security measures and policies regarding in-school violence and illegal activity, noting that in addition to suspension/expulsion, students would also be subject to arrest.
- June 14, 2010 - An unconfirmed threat of violence caused Carmel High School to be evacuated. The evacuation was in response to a possible threat of a student in possession of a weapon within the school. Authorities searched the school and all students exiting the building, no weapon was found.[1]
- March 30, 2011 - A 40 year old Mahopac resident, later identified as convicted bank robber John McCaffrey, was found dead by students in the Carmel High School baseball field dugout. McCaffrey had commited suicide by hanging, and had no connections to anyone in the school.[2]
- June 17, 2011 - An audit by the state Comptroller revealed that the staff of Carmel High School wasted over $60,000 of estimated salary values viewing non-work related websites including multiple instances of pornography on school computers. Consequently, the district could lose date and confidential records.[3]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.7 square miles (105 km2), of which, 36.1 square miles (93 km2) of it is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km2) of it is water. The total area is 11.26% water.
The south town line is the border of Westchester County, New York. The town is located approximately fifty miles north of New York City (measured from Central Park) and approximately ten miles west of Danbury, Connecticut.
Demographics
- Total Population: 33,196
- Males, 49.0%; Females - 51.0%
- Median Age: 40.1 years
- By Race
- White, 90.5%;
- Hispanic, 8.0%,
- Asian, 3.0%;
- Black or African American, 1.0%;
- Other Race, 2.7%
- Average Household Size: 2.99
- Median Household Income: $91,394 (2007[4])
- Per Capita Income: $38,372 (2009)
- High School Graduation Rate: 94.1%
- College Graduation Rate: 42.1%
Source: US Census [2]
Notable people from Carmel
- Professional Wrestler/Manager, Lou Albano "Captain Lou"
- Trading Spouses Contestants, The Farrell Family
- The Amazing Race Contestants, The Paolo Family[5]
- Former Good Day New York Anchor, Jim Ryan
- Former Wrestler "Chrissy Dissy"
- Sabrina Vega, USA Gymnastics Junior National Team member
- Pierre Garçon, wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League, was born in Carmel.
- Leo Burmester, stage and television actor, played the Innkeeper in the Broadway debut of Les Misérables
- Jeff Augen, famous investor and writer, co-founding executive of IBM’s Life Sciences Computing
Political leaders
- Governor Andrew Cuomo elected 2011
- US Senator Charles Schumer elected 1999
- US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand elected 2009
- Congressman Nan Hayworth 2011 elected 2011
- State Senator Gregory R. Ball elected 2011
- Assemblyman Steve Katz elected 2011
- County Executive Mary Ellen Odell elected 2011
- County Legislator Daniel G. Birmingham, 2004-:[6]
- County Legislator Carl L. Albano:[7]
- County Legislator Dini Lobue, 2009 -:[8]
- County Legislator Anthony DiCarlo, 2011:[9]
- Town Supervisor Kenneth Schmitt 2008
- Town Councilman Robert J. Ravallo, 1988 -
- Town Councilman Frank D. Lombardi, 2010 -
- Town Councilwoman Suzanne McDonough, 2010 -
Notable sites and organizations
- Arms Acres is a 129-bed residential alcoholism and substance abuse treatment facility situated on a 54-acre (220,000 m2) site also on Seminary Hill Road.
- Carmel High School is the town's high school, part of the Carmel Central School District
- Centennial Golf Club is a 27 hole championship course on 340 acres (1.4 km2), located on John Simpson Road.
- Gilead Cemetery has marked gravestones dating back to 1766, and was a principal burying ground to the community throughout the nineteenth century, including that of Enoch Crosby, a Revolutionary War soldier
- Putnam County Park, a 200-acre (0.81 km2) haven with hiking trails, camp grounds and a lake for swimming and ice skating.
- Carmel Fitness and Racquet Club is the town's go to place for sports and fitness related activity. This is one of the largest fitness centers in the Northeast and boasts four tennis courts, a pool,fitness center, racquetball courts, and a member lounge.
- Putnam Hospital Center, which opened in 1964, is a 164-bed not-for-profit acute care hospital on Stoneleigh Avenue.
- Reed Memorial Library was dedicated in 1914 and was built by Arrietta Crane Reed in memory of her late husband, William Belden Reed. It sits at the intersection of Routes 6 and 52.
- Smalley's Inn & Restaurant, originally built in 1852 by Colonel Thomas Taylor, is located on Route 52 (Gleneida Avenue).
- Town of Carmel Police Department, is the town's local Police force, located on Mcalpin Ave. in Mahopac
- SLS Residential (SLS), a residential behavioral health treatment program based in Nearby Brewster, has one of their residences located in Carmel.[3]
Communities and locations in Carmel
- Baldwin Place – A hamlet in the southwest corner of the town.
- Carmel – The hamlet of Carmel is in the northeast corner of the town.
- Carmel Hills – A hamlet south of Carmel village.
- Crafts – once a hamlet of Carmel with its own Post Office, off of Drewville Road, south of Route 6, named after the Craft Family, descendants of Pilgrims.
- Field Corners –
- Hopkins Corners –
- Houseman Corners –
- Mahopac – A hamlet where the town government is located.
- Mahopac Falls – A hamlet in the southwest corner of the town.
- Mahopac Mines –
- Mahopac Point –
- McLaughlin Acres –
- Rock Hill Camp – A Girl Scout camp opened in 1922, located in Mahopac on Long Pond.[10]
- The Sedgewood Club – (Previously the Carmel Country Club) A private community with golf and tennis facilities near the Hamlet of Carmel,
- Secor Corners –
- Stillwater – A hamlet in the southwest corner of the town.
- Tilly Foster – A hamlet southeast of Carmel village near the east town line
- West Mahopac – A hamlet near the west town line.
- Most of the other towns in Putnam County send their students to the Carmel High School
Pronunciation
The name of the hamlet/town is almost always pronounced "CAR-m'l", unlike many other Carmels in the United States, such as Carmel, California, which is "car-MEL". The hamlet of Mahopac is notoriously divided between "MAY-oh-pak" and "muh-HO-pak".
References
- ^ http://www.lohud.com/article/201006150230/NEWS04/6150322
- ^ http://www.newstimes.com/policereports/article/Carmel-dugout-death-ruled-suicide-1317168.php
- ^ "Error: no
|title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.lohud.com/article/20110617/NEWS04/106170330/Carmel-schools-faulted-computer-use-porn-visit-state-audit.
- ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=06000US3403524900&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US34%7C05000US34035%7C06000US3403524900&_street=&_county=carmel&_cityTown=carmel&_state=04000US36&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=060&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
- ^ "January and February AIM Newsletter". http://www.busadm.mu.edu/_emailtemplates/aim_catch_0209.html. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.putnamcountyny.com/legislature/dist/dist7.html}
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.putnamcountyny.com/legislature/dist/dist5.html}
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.putnamcountyny.com/legislature/dist/dist8.html}
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.putnamcountyny.com/legislature/dist/dist9.html}
- ^ Rock Hill Camp webpage
External links