Port Chester, New YorkCountryStateCountyTownGovernment • Mayor • Board of TrusteesArea[1] • Total • Land • WaterElevationPopulation(2010) • Total • Estimate (2019)[2] • DensityDemonym(s)Time zone • Summer (DST)ZIP codeArea code(s)FIPS codeGNIS feature IDWebsite
Port Chesteris avillagein theU.S. stateofNew Yorkand the largest part of the town ofRyeinWestchester Countyby population. At the2010 U.S. census, the village of Port Chester had a population of 28,967 and was thefifth-most populous villagein New York State.[3]In 2019, its population grew to a census-estimated 29,342 residents.[4]Located in southeast Westchester, Port Chester forms part of theNew York City metropolitan statistical area. Port Chester borders the state ofConnecticutand the town ofGreenwichto the east. Port Chester is one of only 12 villages in New York still incorporated under acharter; other villages either incorporated or reincorporated under the provisions of Village Law.[5]
The land on which the village was founded was originally known as Haseco by the Wappinger people, meaning "marshy land" or "marshy hassock".[6]Upon colonial settlement, the area became known as Saw Pit for thesaw pitsin use during the time. Logs were cut in holes in the ground for wood to be used for shipbuilding. The name Saw Pit was used for the first time in 1732. The village eventually outgrew this name and became Port Chester byincorporatingas a village in 1868.[7][8][9]
In 1660, three settlers from Greenwidge (nowGreenwich, Connecticut)—Thomas Studwell, John Coe, and Peter Disbrow—arranged to buy Manursing Island and the land near theByram Riverfrom theMoheganIndians. The land that they bought is now Port Chester. In 1665, the settlement (first known as Saw Pit) was claimed by bothNew Yorkand Connecticut, but Connecticut gave the land to theNew York Colonyin 1683. The struggle over the ownership of Saw Pit continued for almost 105 years. In 1788, theLegislature of New Yorkruled that Saw Pit was a part of the town of Rye, New York.
Travel was considered dangerous in Saw Pit's early years as good roads were hard to find. TheBoston Post Road,King Street, and Grace Church streets are some of the early migration paths in the Saw Pit/Rye settlement. Other roads were usually dirt, making water transportation important.[10]The local waterways (theByram RiverandLong Island Sound) were a key part of the growth and development of Saw Pit/Port Chester. Early residents took part in boat building, farming, and shell fishing. When the village of Saw Pit was incorporated as Port Chester, it was considered a majorseaport.
Steamshipsregularly sailed from Port Chester to New York City from 1870 until theFirst World War. The last two decades of the nineteenth century saw public services expand, and roads were widened and paved in the 1920s.[8]From the first and second world wars, over 5,000 men from Port Chester served. After theSecond World War, numerous corporations established headquarters or production centers in Port Chester. Examples includeLife Savers, whose former factory is now a residential building, which is evidence of Port Chester's progression from an industrial center to a suburban residential municipality.
On June 30, 1974 an infamous nightclub fire killed 24 young men and women. Thefire at Gulliver's was the deadliest dance club fire in the United States in more than a generation (theCocoanut Grove firein Boston, on November 28, 1942, had killed 491, and theHappy Land firein the Bronx, on March 25, 1990, was to kill 87), and it called attention to the dangers of herding young people into windowless underground rooms without smoke alarms, sprinklers, fire-resistant walls, or limits onoccupancy.
Despite the tragedy of Gulliver's, comprehensiveNew York State Fire Codereform would not be seen until the 1980s.[11]Fire code enforcement continues to be a top priority in Port Chester to this day.[12]
In 1999, the village of Port Chester established a "redevelopment area" and relegated regulatory authority within that area to private developer Gregory Wasser (from G&S Port Chester, LLC), including power to condemn private property.[13][14]The decision has spawned several lawsuits, includingBrody v. Village of Port Chester,[15]andDidden v. Village of Port Chester.[16][17][18]
Since the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, Port Chester has undergone several redevelopment proposals and projects.[19][20][21]The Port Chester Historical Society is a dedicated group of community members dedicated to learning and teaching the public about Port Chester local history.[22]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2), of which 2.33 square miles (6.0 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2), is covered by water.
Port Chester has ahumid subtropical climate(Cfa). Due to its location on the coast, temperatures don't get extremely cold or warm and precipitation is plentiful for the entire year. Winters are usually cool and powerfulnor'easterscan occur, sometimes dropping large amounts of rain and snow on the village. Average annual snowfall is 29.8 inches,[23]which is significantly more than New York City's 25.3 average inches.[24]Snow cover is sporadic as the sea moderates temperatures, which melt snow. During the summer, Port Chester is typically warm, however is far cooler than towns even a few miles inland due to the moderating influence of the sea.
hideClimate data for Port Chester, New YorkMonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYearAverage high °F (°C)Average low °F (°C)
Port Chester has at least six parks, together totaling nearly 50 acres (0.20 km2):[citation needed]
Abendroth Park:a 10.1 acre park which includes a newly renovated section for dogs.[25]
Columbus Park:a 9.4 acre park located east of Ryan Avenue, west of I-95, and north of Fox Island. This park has one basketball and two volleyball courts, one large and one small playground, one picnic pavilion with picnic grills, a seasonal water spray playground, and an artificial turf soccer field. Bathroom facilities are available on-site.
Crawford Park:owned by the town of Rye. The park is used for soccer, tee-ball, and softball by the village.
Edgewood Park:a 3.2 acre park with one youth baseball field and small playground structure.
Joseph Curtis Recreation Park:a 7.5 acre park located north of the Village’s downtown, not far from Lyon Park. The park is bounded by Putnam Drive on the west, Locust Avenue on the east, and Willett Avenue from the south. The park has a small playground structure, one adult size baseball field and batting cage, one roller skating rink, and bocce courts with fencing and lighting. Bathroom facilities are available on-site.
Lyon Park:a 20.3 acre park that contains two Little League fields, a playground, and the historicBush-Lyon Homestead. The park is bounded by Putnam Avenue, King Street, and Parkway Drive.
At thecensusof 2010,[28]there were 28,967 people, 9,240 households, and 6,348 families residing in the village. Thepopulation densitywas 11,722.5 people per square mile (4,526.1/km2). There were 10,046 housing units at an average density of 4,185.8 per square mile (1,646.9/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 31.6%White, 5.3%African American, 0.2%Native American, 2.0%Asian, 0.0%Pacific Islander, 0.7%some other race, and 0.9% from two or more races.HispanicorLatinoof any race were 59.4% of the population.[3]
There were 9,240 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were headed bymarried couplesliving together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.08 and the average family size was 3.54.[3]
In the village the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.4 males.[3]
At the2000 U.S. census, the median income for a household in the village was $45,381, and the median income for a family was $51,025. Males had a median income of $32,848 versus $32,461 for females. About 10.1% of families and 13.0% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over. In 2019, the median income for a household in Port Chester was $74,920 and the mean income was $99,001.[29]
Port Chester contains a more diverse, working-class population than many of its surrounding communities.[30]The population of Port Chester is also a relatively religious suburban community inDownstate New York.[31]The largest religious group in the village and area isChristianity, dominated by theRoman Catholic Church(47%). Of the Christian community, the second largest group operating in the village is theUnited Methodist Church(1.8%) and the third largest wereBaptists(1.7%). The second largest religion in Port Chester wasJudaismas of 2021 (5.2%), andIslamwas the third largest single religious group (1.5%).
TheLife SaversCandy Company operated a factory in Port Chester from 1920 until 1984. The factory building, which now contains apartments, is one of Port Chester's prominent landmarks.[32]National Collector's Mintis headquartered in Port Chester, and Port Chester is the home of the chili restaurantPat's Hubba Hubba(also known as "Hubba's").
The Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library is an association library funded by and for the villages of Port Chester andRye Brook. The library was founded in 1876 by the Honorable Jared V. Peck and was dedicated at its present location in 1926 at the intersection of Haseco and Westchester Avenues. Three major renovations have taken place over the years: 1967, 2007 and 2012. The latest renovation included the creation of a teen room, a multipurpose meeting room, the addition of new furniture and carpets, and the relocation of the children's room and the implementation of an elevator. Although the renovation did not add square footage to the original three-story, 18,900 square foot building, it did provide a more open design with better use of space and light to promote parent and child reading activities. The 2012 renovations which cost $1M dollars were paid with the kind bequest of the late Douglas and Elise Lefferts. According to 2011 records; 19,900 people hold library cards, and 10,221 people attended programs including GED and community interest classes. The summer reading program typically draws 13,000 children.[36]
Port Chester's government comprises a mayor and seven trustees. The board and mayor also employ a professional village manager.[37]The current mayor of Port Chester is Luis Marino (D).
Stuart Rabin serves as interim village manager for Port Chester.
Local elections in Port Chester occur in March. As part of a 2009U.S. Justice Departmentconsent decree,[when?]Port Chester employedcumulative votingfor trustee positions. The decree expired in 2016 and after exploring voting options for elections scheduled for March 2019, it adopted cumulative Vvting in its charter by popular referendum in October 2018. The mayor continues to be elected at large.[38]
To enforce theVoting Rights Actof 1965, theUnited States Department of Justicebrought a lawsuit in 2006 to compel the village government to change from an allegedly racially discriminatoryat-largeelectoral system to one that wasdistrict-based.[39]This lawsuit would halt the scheduled March 2007 elections until the village develops an acceptable plan. In its December 15, 2006 complaint the Justice Department alleged that, "the current at-large system for electing members of the Port Chester Board of Trustees results inHispaniccitizens having less opportunity than white citizens to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice to the Port Chester Board of Trustees."[40](United States v. Village of Port Chester 6 Civil 15173) Local Latino activist Cesar Ruiz, NYS AssemblymanPeter RiveraandAngelo Falcón, President of theNational Institute for Latino Policyheld a news conference onMartin Luther King Jr.'s birthday (January 15, 2007) to display support for the Justice Department's lawsuit and the need to reform the village's electoral system.
The Village Board of Trustees passed a resolution on December 4, 2006, expressing its disagreement with the U.S. Department of Justice's decision that the village must reform its election system, claiming that the problem was not discrimination but rather "apathy" in the Hispanic community. Federal authorities believed that the village's "at large" voting system denied Hispanics representation on the board of trustees and the board of education. According to Reuters, "All voters in town elect each board member, whereas dividing the town into six electoral districts would give Hispanics a majority in at least one of them because they are largely concentrated in one area of town, the suit said." Although Latinos make up a significant portion of Port Chester's population, no Latinos had ever been elected to their Board of Trustees or local school board.
On March 2, 2007, federal court judgeStephen C. Robinsonruled in favor of the U.S. Department of Justice and placed an injunction on the March trustee elections scheduled to take place. This ruling did not affect the mayoral election, but it was expected to result in Port Chester being broken down into election districts. Instead, village officials came up with an alternative plan to address the problem by usingcumulative voting. This plan was approved by the federal judge on November 6, 2009.[41]
It is a one-story symmetrical building faced with brick and trimmed inlimestoneandgranitein theColonial Revivalstyle. The front facade features a projecting central pavilion with a shallowporticocomposed of two pairs of limestoneCorinthiancolumns echoed by Corinthian pilasters.
The lobby features an array of four largeNew Dealmuralsand nine slightly smallerlunettes, designed by Domenico Mortellito withTreasury Relief Art Project(TRAP) funding, and installed in 1936. They depict a wide range of human activities from fire fighting and ship building, to baking, iron working, medicine, music, and teaching.
TheBee-Line Bus Systemprovides bus service to Port Chester on routes 13 and 61.
Connecticut Transit StamfordDivision provides bus service to Port Chester on routes 11A and 11B. The 13 was combined with the southern portion of the 76 on December 31, 2011.[42]
^"ウエストチェスター校"[Archive: Japanese Weekend School of New York].Japanese Weekend School New York. Archived fromthe originalon January 18, 2014. RetrievedJuly 8,2013.
^Akiko, Matsuda (August 16, 2006)."Learning their mother tongue".The Journal News. p. A1. RetrievedJuly 8,2013.Atsushi Kaizuka, assistant principal of the Japanese Weekend School of New York, which serves about 800 Japanese or Japanese American students at its Westchester and Long Island schools, said Matthews' attempt seemed to be an uphill battle.
