Rye Brook, New York

Rye Brook, New York
Village
Location of Rye Brook, New York Location of Rye Brook, New York
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Westchester
Government
• Mayor	Paul S. Rosenberg
Area
• Total	3.5 sq mi (9.0 km2)
• Land	3.5 sq mi (9.0 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)  0.29%
Elevation	249 ft (76 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	9,347
• Density	2,700/sq mi (1,000/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	10573
Area code(s)	914
FIPS code	36-64325
GNIS feature ID	0979940
Website	http://www.ryebrook.org

Rye Brook is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the town of Rye. The population was 9,347 at the 2010 census.

Rye Brook has been designated as a Tree City USA for 14 years.

Geography

Rye Brook is located at (41.019767, -73.683419).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²), all of which is land.

History

Rye Brook is located in southeastern Westchester County and shares its eastern border with Greenwich, Connecticut. The village was an unincorporated section of the town of Rye until the its incorporation and establishment on July 7, 1982 the area.

In 1982, 150 residents of the unincorporated area proposed to establish the village of Rye Brook and organized a petition containing 1,536 signatures. The petition drive, which contained the signatures of approximately 36% of the registered voters in the unincorporated area, was organized by the Independent Civic Association. It was reported by The New York Times that one resident commented, "There is a time for a community to redefine itself," further stating that residents of the unincorporated area "should be able to elect their own officers" and "protect their tax base."

A Pace University consultant study was completed in 1981 for the Village of Port Chester to determine "what change or changes, if any, in the Village governmental structure would best serve the Village of Port Chester today and in the years ahead."

The residents of the unincorporated area voted on June 23, 1982 to create the Village of Rye Brook. It was the first village created in New York State in 54 years. The referendum to create the new political identity passed with 58% of the voters in favor (1,991 to 1,434). The first election in the Village's history was held to elect a mayor and four trustees. The first village official was Lee Russillo, who was sworn in as Rye Brook's first Village Clerk, and was responsible for the first election day.

The village is home to the William E. Ward House, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Also known as Ward's Castle, it was the home of the National Cartoon Museum, established by Mort Walker, the creator of Beetle Bailey, from 1976 to 1992.

In 1983, 800 Westchester Avenue, described as the "Taj Mahal of Rye Brook" and the "contemporary equivalent to the classical villa," was constructed as the General Foods Corporate Headquarters.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1990	7,765		—
2000	8,602		10.8%
2010	9,347		8.7%
Est. 2014	9,553		2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,602 people, 3,122 households, and 2,435 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,479.0 people per square mile (957.1/km²). There were 3,224 housing units at an average density of 929.1 per square mile (358.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 91.96% White, 1.03% African American, 0.21% Native American, 4.25% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.44% of the population.

There were 3,122 households out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.4% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $98,864, and the median income for a family was $111,287. Males had a median income of $75,712 versus $45,698 for females. The per capita income for the village was $48,617. About 1.8% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The village of Rye Brook is made up of a 5-member Board of Trustees, all volunteers. The mayor is Paul S. Rosenberg. All boards of the village are made up of volunteers.

Trustees:

• Elliot S. Rifkin

• DoMe In. Butthole
• George P. Clooney

Rye Brook has its own police and fire departments. The fire department is made up of one firehouse, and the Port Chester Fire Department has a contract with the village to respond to calls.

Village of Rye Brook Administrator: Christopher Bradbury

Village of Rye Brook Police Department Chief: Chief Gregory J. Austin

Parks and recreation

Rye Brook has six main parks totaling nearly 100 acres (0.40 km²):

• Pine Ridge Park: Contains two little league fields, four tennis courts, two basketball courts, and a playground. Jeff Woodrow used to sit across the street on the steps of his Yellow House, and cry. The park is located on the corner of Latonia Road and Mohegan Lane.
• Garabaldi Park: Has two basketball courts, one tennis court, a Little League field, and a playground. Garibaldi Park stands on Garibaldi Place opposite to the Anthony J. Posillipo Community Center.
• Harkness Park: This park contains four tennis courts and is the home of Blind Brook Tennis. Harkness lies next to Blind Brook High School.
• Rye Hills Park: This park, which is next to Crawford Park, has a walking trail, game tables, a basketball court, and a lookout towards Long Island Sound.
• Rye Brook-King Street Athletic Fields: This park contains a soccer/football/lacrosse/field hockey field and a softball field. These fields are made of artificial turf, rather than traditional grass fields. These are the first artificial turf fields built in the village. Ground was broken for the project in the fall of 2005 and construction was completed in September 2006. The scoreboard and bathroom/storage facilities were completed in October 2006. These fields are located next to Blind Brook High School on King Street. Parking for the fields are at the High School and a stairway has been built as an accessway to the fields from the high school.
• Crawford Park is owned by the town of Rye. The park is used for soccer, tee-ball, and softball by the village.

The village has two alternative passive parks:

• Magnolia Park: This park has an open grass field.
• Rich Manor Park: This site is an open field and has views of Blind Brook.

Schools

Within the village lie two school districts, the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District and the Blind Brook School District. Blind Brook makes up approximately 70% of the village and Port Chester covers the remaining 30%.

Blind Brook High School is the only high school in the Blind Brook School District.

Newspapers

• The Journal News, covering all of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties.
• The Westmore News

Business

Universal American is headquartered in Rye Brook. Formerly, Snapple, Kraft Foods and IBM had their headquarters in the village.

WRNN-TV, an independent television station reaching millions of households from New Jersey to Albany, calls Rye Brook home. It is located at 800 Westchester Avenue.

Transportation

The village does not have a system of mass transit, though residents do have the option of using the Westchester County-operated Bee-Line Bus System and the Metro-North Commuter Railroad. The closest railroad stations are located in Port Chester and Rye.

Part of the Westchester County Airport is located in the northern part of the village.

Major roads that serve the area include, in the northern part of the village:

• Hutchinson River Parkway

In the southern part of the village:

• Interstate 287
• I-95 / New England Thruway

Other major routes include:

• NY 120
• NY 120A

Notable people

• Craig Bierko, actor, grew up in Rye Brook and graduated from Blind Brook High School
• Dorothy Gilman, The Emily Pollifax mysteries writer, lived the latter part of her life in Rye Brook, NY until her death 2 February 2012.
• Kyle Wirshba, notable child actor and associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, grew up in Rye Brook, NY, and almost started for the Blind Brook High School soccer team.

See also

• Port Chester
• Mamaroneck/Rye Neck

External links

• Village of Rye Brook official website
• Blind Brook Public Schools