Port Chester, New York
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| Port Chester, New York | |
  Port Chester, New York
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Westchester |
| Area | |
| - Total | 2.5 sq mi (6.4 km²) |
| - Land | 2.4 sq mi (6.1 km²) |
| - Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²) |
| Elevation | 43 ft (13 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 27,867 |
| - Density | 11,824.7/sq mi (4,565.5/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 10573 |
| Area code(s) | 914 |
| FIPS code | 36-59223 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0977392 |
Port Chester is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is part of the Town of Rye. According to the 2006 Census estimate, Port Chester had a population of 28,300.
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[edit] Geography
Port Chester is located at (41.005099, -73.668822)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.4 km²), of which, 2.4 square miles (6.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (5.22%) is water.
[edit] History
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This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (October 2007) |
See also: The History of the Town of Rye
[edit] Early settlement
In 1660, three settlers from Greenwidge (now Greenwich, Connecticut), Thomas Stedwell, John Coe, and Peter Disbrow, arranged to buy Manursing Island and the land near the Byram River from the Mohegan Indians. The land that they bought is now Port Chester. The village was originally known as Saw Pit for the saw pits which were in use during the time. Logs were cut in holes in the ground for wood to be used for shipbuilding. The name of Sawpit was used for the first time in 1732. The village eventually outgrew this name and became Port Chester by incorporating as a village in 1868. When Port Chester was first incorporated, it was considered a major seaport.
In 1665, Sawpit was claimed by both New York and Connecticut. However, the land was given back to the New York Colony by Connecticut in 1683. This struggle over the ownership of Sawpit continued for almost 105 years. In 1788, the Legislature of New York ruled that Sawpit was a part of the Town of Rye in New York.
Travel was considered very dangerous in the early years of Sawpit as good roads were hard to find. The Boston Post Road, King Street, and Grace Church Streets are some of the early migration paths in the Sawpit/Town of Rye settlement. Most roads, however, only consisted of rough dirt, which made transportation via water very important. The local waterways, the Byram River and the Long Island Sound were very important to the growth and development of Sawpit/Port Chester. Because of the closeness to these waterways, early residents took part in boat building, farming, and shell fishing.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 27,867 people, 9,531 households, and 6,376 families residing in the city. The population density was 11,824.7 people per square mile (4,559.1/km²). There were 9,772 housing units at an average density of 4,146.5/sq mi (1,598.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.70% White, 6.99% African American, 0.40% Native American, 2.06% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 22.98% from other races, and 6.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.23% of the population.
There were 9,531 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.
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. The per capita income for the village was $ About 10.1% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Economy
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Port Chester has many Latino immigrants, in contrast to surrounding towns, such as Rye, Harrison, Mamaroneck, and especially Greenwich, Connecticut which are known for high-income Caucasian populations. Greenwich, which directly borders Port Chester to the east, is one of the wealthiest municipalities in the United States. Mostly thanks to blue-collar business, Port Chester has become a significant commercial center in recent years. Business grew considerably with the opening of a Costco branch and "The Waterfront", a large shopping center and movie theater on Main Street and Westchester Avenue. The Waterfront Complex has been in the works since 1982, when the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) began planning for the redevelopment of this area. The IDA was formed in the early 1970s by then Mayor, Joseph Dzaluk. Unfortunately for Port Chester's economy, the development of the downtown area would not take place for almost another 20 years.
[edit] Education
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Within the city's borders, there is one public school district, the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District.
Enrollment:
- Port Chester Senior High School 1,090
- Port Chester Middle School 790
- Thomas Edison Elementary School 487
- King Street Elementary School 485
- Park Avenue Elementary School 480
- John F. Kennedy Magnet School 470
[edit] Legal challenges to Port Chester's electoral system
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To enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the United States Department of Justice brought a lawsuit in 2006 to compel the village government to change from its present racially discriminatory at-large electoral system to one that is district-based. 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 alleges that, "the current at-large system for electing members of the Port Chester Board of Trustees results in Hispanic citizens 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." (United States v. Village of Port Chester 6 Civil 15173) Local Latino activist Cesar Ruiz, NYS Assemblyman Peter Rivera and Angelo Falcón, President of the National Institute for Latino Policy held a news conference on Martin 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 saying that they don't agree with the Department of Justice's decision that they must reform the election system, claiming that the problem was not discrimination but rather the "apathy" in the Hispanic community. Federal authorities believe that the Village's "at large" voting system denies 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 46 percent of Port Chester's population, no Latinos have ever been elected to their Board of Trustees or local school board.
On March 2, 2007, a federal court judge ruled in favor of the Department of Justice and placed an injunction on the March trustee elections scheduled to take place. This ruling does not affect the mayoral election, though will result in Port Chester being broken down into election districts.
[edit] Notable residents
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- Jon Alpert, reporter and documentary filmmaker
- Nick Bianco, Amateur Motocross Racer
- Elliot del Borgo, American composer
- Edson Buddle, MLS player
- Arnold Diaz, journalist for Fox 5 News
- Meaghan Francella, LPGA player
- George Gallo, Screenwriter and filmmaker
- Anthony Hill, Semi-pro bicyclist
- Andre Roy, NHL player
- Ed Sullivan, entertainer; attended Port Chester High School and frequently had the PCHS Football team as guests in his audience
- Peter J. Vita, holder of the world record for the longest working career as a barber
[edit] Trivia
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- The Lifesavers Company operated a factory in Port Chester from 1920 until 1984. The building is one of Port Chester's most prominent landmarks.[1]
- Port Chester was home to the first Caldor department store.[2]
- Port Chester is home to the world famous Pat's Hubba Hubba restaurant.
- Port Chester is home to Marianacci's Restaurant on Sherman Street. It was opened in 1950 by the Marianacci family and has served the community and many notables over the years.[3]
- Port Chester is home to the Port Chester High School Band featured in the movie Spider-Man 3 and the 1994 version of Miracle on 34th Street.
- Port Chester is the home town of Ed Sullivan. He went to Port Chester High School and raised his family here.
- Port Chester's Capitol Theatre is a national landmark, which was a 1920s movie theatre and hosted live music for decades, including the Grateful Dead, Phish, Kiss, The Rolling Stones, Jane's Addiction, Ice T's Body Count, Pink Floyd, Parliament/Funkadelic, Edgar Winter, David Bowie, The Allman Brothers, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Chicago, Black Sabbath, Megadeth, and the first NY performance by The Dictators.
- Port Chester's name comes from it being the eastern port of Westchester. Some of its other names included Saw Pit/Saw Pit Landing/Sawpits (for its lumber operations) and Haseco, the original Native American name for the village, which meant "grown too long and gotten woody."
- The Abendroth Brothers foundry was one of the largest industries in latter day Port Chester. It was large enough to have its own locomotive. Port Chester in its past, had many industrial companies.
- Port Chester is the home of Marvel Mystery Oil. Although the brand was sold in the 1990s to DAP/RPM, it was based in Port Chester until that time. Their building still stands, with the Marvel signs intact.
- Techno musician Moby got his start in Port Chester and neighboring Greenwich, CT. He played frequently at the Adee Street club "The Beat".
- Port Chester was the terminus on one branch of the original Westchester railroad, the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway, from 1906-1946.
- US Route 1 (aka The Boston Post Road) runs directly though Port Chester in the form of Main Street. It is also parallel to I-95 and I-287 ends in Port Chester. Westchester Avenue also ends in Port Chester.
- Port Chester's port history appears in some interesting places. Near the corner of Main Street and Westchester Avenue, you can find embedded in the sidewalk are brass hand-set letters which read "Steamship Tickets."
- In 1970, Joseph Dzaluk was elected mayor by the largest plurality through that date. He founded the Port Chester Industrial Development Authority in 1972 that brought 1,800 jobs to Port Chester.
[edit] References
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Port Chester official website
- Port Chester Rye Brook Chamber of Commerce website
- InTown Westchester Magazine
- The Journal News, the local newspaper
- Your Port Chester Snapshot, a website for the citizens of Port Chester
- Port Chester, New York is at coordinates Coordinates:
- Port Chester Library Local History Room
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