Ramapo, New York
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Ramapo, New York | ||
---|---|---|
Town | ||
, a village in Ramapo | ||
FIPS code 36-60510 | | |
GNIS ID | 0979406 | |
Website | ramapo.org |
Ramapo is a
The town's name, recorded variously as Ramopuck, Ramapock, or Ramapough, is of Lenape origin, meaning either "sweet water" or "slanting rocks". Early maps referred to Ramapo as Ramepog (1695), Ramepogh (1711), and Ramapog (1775).[3]
The town is located south of
History
The present-day town was originally inhabited by the
During the
The Town of New Hampstead was formed from part of the Town of Haverstraw in 1791, eight years after the end of the Revolution; the name was changed to Hempstead in 1797, and to Ramapo in 1828.[2]
The first
Ramapo Iron Works, located near present-day
In 1916, what would become State Route 59, which reached from Nyack to Spring Valley in 1915, was extended to Suffern and Hillburn.
Ramapo was one of the first cities to use Adequate Public Facilities acts to tier growth and infrastructure together.[4] The 1971 court case Golden v. Planning Board of Ramapo is the basis for the subsequent expansion of growth management practices, including the use of development impact fees.
In 2006
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 61.9 square miles (160 km2), of which 61.2 square miles (159 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2), or 1.11%, is water.
The southern town line is the border of
Torne Mountain (1,130 ft or 340 m; shown on topographic maps as "High Torne"), in Harriman State Park, overlooks the Ramapo Pass and remnants of the once-thriving Ramapo Iron Works. During the American Revolution, the Torne served as a lookout for British ship movements on the Hudson. Legend tells that Gen. George Washington lost his watch on the mountain, and it may still be heard ticking up there in a crevice of rock.
The highest point in Ramapo is Squirrel Swamp Mountain near the northern border of the town, with an elevation of 1,252 feet (382 m).[6]
Communities
- The hamlet of Antrim, near the southern town line
- The village of Airmont
- The village of Chestnut Ridge
- The village of Hillburn, in the southwestern part of the town
- The hamlet of Hillcrest
- The village of Kaser
- The hamlet of Monsey
- The village of New Hempstead
- The village of New Square
- The village of Montebello
- The hamlet of Ramapo, in the southwest part of the town. The hamlet of Ramapo and the town of Ramapo are often confused on many internet-based maps.
- The hamlet of Sandyfield
- The village of Sloatsburg
- The village of Spring Valley
- The hamlet of Sterlington, near Sloatsburg
- The village of Suffern
- The hamlet of Suffern Park, near Suffern
- The hamlet of Tallman, in the southern part of the town
- The hamlet of Viola, in the eastern part of the town
- The village of Wesley Hills, in the northeastern part of the town
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1820 | 2,072 | — | |
1830 | 2,837 | 36.9% | |
1840 | 3,222 | 13.6% | |
1850 | 3,197 | −0.8% | |
1860 | 3,435 | 7.4% | |
1870 | 4,649 | 35.3% | |
1880 | 4,954 | 6.6% | |
1890 | 5,910 | 19.3% | |
1900 | 7,502 | 26.9% | |
1910 | 11,537 | 53.8% | |
1920 | 11,709 | 1.5% | |
1930 | 16,321 | 39.4% | |
1940 | 18,007 | 10.3% | |
1950 | 20,584 | 14.3% | |
1960 | 35,064 | 70.3% | |
1970 | 76,702 | 118.7% | |
1980 | 89,060 | 16.1% | |
1990 | 93,861 | 5.4% | |
2000 | 108,905 | 16.0% | |
2010 | 126,595 | 16.2% | |
2020 | 148,919 | 17.6% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[7] |
As of the
There were 31,561 households, out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.3% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were non-families. 17.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.37 and the average family size was 3.82.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 33.6% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $60,352, and the median income for a family was $67,004. Males had a median income of $46,286 versus $34,632 for females. The
As of the 2020 Census, there were 148,919 people residing in the Town of Ramapo.[9]
Landmarks
The
In August 1887, the Ryan family purchased the former Groesbeck mansion, which was built in the 1860s. The estate was called "Montebello" (which gave its name to the village in which it now lies). It now lies across from Suffern Middle School, which was built in 1942, nearly 80 years after the estate.
Torne Brook Farm, on the National Register of Historic Places, is located in the town.
Recreation
The Joseph T. St. Lawrence Community, Health, and Sports Complex (aka "Torne Valley Recreation Center & Fields") was dedicated and opened on November 19, 2006. The facility features a turf multi-purpose field with stands to accommodate 1800 spectators, a separate climate-controlled dome, a 60 x 40 yard, and a turf practice area. It also features three multi-purpose indoor courts, a running track, cardio equipment, weight training machines, two racquetball courts, a computer room, and a dance/aerobic studio. Sports include football, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, and field hockey, as well as year-round sports programs that were not previously available to Ramapo residents. Although the residents of Ramapo have the exclusive right to join the Joseph T. St. Lawrence Community and Health Center, paid memberships are available to others.
The Ramapo Amateur Basketball Association (RABA) offers youth leagues for those 7–15 years old and adult leagues (18+). The Joseph T. St. Lawrence Center also hosts adult racquetball leagues.
The New York Boulders are a professional baseball team based just outside the village of Pomona and a member of the Frontier League. Christopher St. Lawrence pushed through the financing of the park even after residents voted it down. A state audit found that taxpayers could be liable for up to $60 million for Provident Bank Park in Ramapo.[10]
Government
Ramapo is run by a
On November 7, 2017, Democrat Michael Specht was elected to become Ramapo's next town supervisor. Specht was sworn in on January 1, 2018.
Ramapo is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Mike Lawler. In state government it is represented by Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, and assembly members Mike Lawler and Kenneth P. Zebrowski.
Education
Colleges
.The Sunbridge Institute in Chestnut Ridge is a Waldorf-based adult learning center that specializes in training teachers. It offers Masters degrees in education in collaboration with the State University of New York (SUNY).
Public schools
The town is served by two school districts. The western part of the town (Suffern, Montebello, Airmont, Sloatsburg. Hillburn) is primarily served by the Suffern Central School District, and the eastern part of the town (Spring Valley, Monsey, Pomona, Chestnut Ridge, New Hempstead) by the East Ramapo Central School District.
Suffern Central School District
The western half of Ramapo is served by the
East Ramapo Central Central School District
The eastern half of Ramapo is served by the East Ramapo Central School District. The district operates four elementary schools that go from grades 1–3, Grandview, Summit Park, Fleetwood, and Margetts; and five elementaries that go from grades 4–6, Lime Kiln, Kakiat, Hempstead, Eldorado, and Elmwood; totaling nine elementary schools. It also operates two middle schools that go from grades 7–8, Pomona and Chestnut Ridge; and two high schools, Ramapo and Spring Valley. Spring Valley High's mascot is a tiger, and Ramapo High's is a griffin.
As of 2022, the district's public schools educate some 9,500 children, while about 30,000 children who live in the district and attend private schools, mostly yeshivas that serve a growing Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish community.[18]
In 2005 the Orthodox Jewish population of the district received majority control of the school board.[19] This new board began reducing the budget and lowering taxes. The communities using the public schools opposed these actions. In July 2010 the School Board of the East Ramapo Central School District voted to sell Hillcrest Elementary School — closed due to budget cuts — to the Hasidic Jewish Congregation Yeshiva Avir Yakov of New Square.[20]
In 2010, the school board also voted to sell Merrill L. Colton Elementary School to Monsey-based Bais Malka Congregation and the Hebrew Academy for Special Children, a Brooklyn-based religious school for children with special needs. Transactions involving the two buildings were the focus of an ongoing state attorney general's investigation. Separately, hundreds of parent plaintiffs have also challenged them as part of their federal lawsuit against the district. The sale was finalized in 2014.[21]
On June 30, 2011, former president of the East Ramapo Central School District Nathan Rothschild pleaded guilty to a mail fraud scheme which had been an attempt to eliminate his own private debt. The scheme involved selling public land to his creditors, then buying the land back at a higher price. He engaged in these activities as Fire Commissioner in Monsey. Questions arose as to whether the attempt to sell Hillcrest Elementary School was engineered for similar pursuits, as the sale of the 12-acre public school campus was engineered during his time in office as the school board president at East Ramapo Central School District.[22]
In 2022, New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced that East Ramapo Central was the most "fiscally stressed" public school district in the state.[18]
Private schools
Most private schools in Ramapo are
The sole Roman Catholic private school in the town is St. Joseph's School; Sacred Heart School closed in 2020.[23] In addition, some Catholic county residents send their high school-aged sons to Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, New Jersey.
There are four non-religious private schools in Ramapo: the Goddard School, the Skill Building Center, the Green Meadow Waldorf School, and the Rockland County Learning Center.
Sister cities
In recognition of Ramapo's substantial cultural diversity, former Town Supervisor Herbert Reisman, along with many volunteers from the various communities in Ramapo, started the
There are currently seven active twinning committees in Ramapo:
- African Twinning Committee (Ghana)
- Chinese Twinning Committee (China)
- Indian Twinning Committee (India)
- Irish Twinning Committee (Doneraile, Ireland)
- Israeli Twinning Committee (Beit Shemesh, Israel)
- Italian Twinning Committee (Andretta, Italy)
- Philippine-American Twinning Committee (Makati, the Philippines)
References
- ^ "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9780815608080. p. 1284.
- ^ Penfold, Saxby Vouler (1955). Romantic Suffern: The History of Suffern, New York, from the Earliest Times to the Incorporation of the Village in 1896. Tallman, NY: Rockland Historical Society. Chapter 7.
- ^ Robert H. Freilich; Robert J. Sitkowski; Seth D. Mennillo. From Sprawl to Sustainability: Smart Growth, New Urbanism, Green Development. p. 123.
- ^ "Money Best Places to Retire". CNN. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 minute topographic map series; Acme Mapper
- ^ U.S. Decennial Census; census.gov
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ Ramapo town, Rockland County, New York
- ^ DiNapoli Takes on Stadium, Work Habits of Ramapo Town; Rockland County Times[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Ramapo Town Supervisor And Former Executive Director Of Ramapo Local Development Corporation Charged With Securities Fraud In Connection With Ramapo Municipal Bonds". U.S. Department of Justice. April 14, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ^ Taliaferro, Lanning (May 2, 2016). "Town Officials Face Charges in Fiscal Fraud Case". New City Patch. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ^ "Indictment. United States of America v. Christopher St. Lawrence, and N. Aaron Troodler". U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ^ "Former Executive Director of the Ramapo Local Development Corporation Pleads Guilty To Securities Fraud And Conspiracy Charges". U.S. Department of Justice. March 7, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ^ Lieberman, Steve (April 18, 2017). "Christopher St. Lawrence arrives at court as federal corruption trial opens". Lohud. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ "St. Lawrence trial: Ramapo supervisor found guilty of fraud, conspiracy".
- ^ "Ramapo Town Supervisor, Christopher St. Lawrence, Found Guilty After Trial of Conspiracy, Securities Fraud, and Wirefraud in Municipal Bond Securities Fraud Case". May 19, 2017.
- ^ a b "State comptroller calls East Ramapo the most 'fiscally stressed' school district in NY".
- ^ "East Ramapo timeline: 2005-present".
- ^ "East Ramapo sells Hillcrest for use as yeshiva again".
- ^ "East Ramapo completes school sale to yeshiva tenants".
- ^ "Ex-president of e. Ramapo School Board pleads guilty to mail fraud".
- ^ "Farewell Sacred Heart School".
Further reading
- Zimmermann, Linda, Rockland County Scrapbook. Eagle Press, 2004.
- Penford, Saxby Voulaer., "Romantic Suffern - The History of Suffern, New York, from the Earliest Times to the Incorporation of the Village in 1896", Tallman, N.Y., 1955, (1st Edition)