Bronxville, New York

Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, located about 15 mi north of midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises 1 square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, approximately 20% of the town of Eastchester. As of the 2010 U.S. census, Bronxville had a population of 6,323. In 2016, Bronxville was rated the number one most expensive suburb around America's ten largest cities by CNBC with a median home value of $2.33 million. In 2017, it was ranked 8th in Bloomberg's "America's 100 Richest Places". It was ranked 8th once again in the same Bloomberg ranking in 2018.

History
The region that includes the contemporary village of Bronxville was deeded to British colonists in 1666. However, it was not until the early 18th century that the area was first settled. The two founding inhabitants were the Underhill and Morgan families. The Underhills built a sawmill and a gristmill, which was the first factory in the area, on the Bronx River. There, they also constructed a wooden bridge, which gave rise to the area being known as Underhill's Crossing.

Millionaire real estate and pharmaceutical mogul William Van Duzer Lawrence sparked the development of Bronxville as an affluent suburb of New York City with magnificent homes in a country-like setting. The area, once known as "Underhill's Crossing", became "Bronxville" when the village was formally established. The population grew in the second half of the 19th century when railroads allowed commuters from Westchester County to work in New York City. Lawrence's influence can be seen throughout the community, including the historic Lawrence Park neighborhood, the Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate Corporation, and Lawrence Hospital. John F Kennedy, the President of the United States, also resided here for a time.

The village was home to an arts colony in the early 20th century during which time many noteworthy houses by prominent and casual architects were built. After the Bronx River Parkway was completed in 1925, the Village expanded rapidly with the construction of several apartment buildings and townhouses much of it built by the Lawrence family. As of 1959, they continued to own or manage 97% of the rental market. In both rentals and ownership, the village discouraged and effectively prohibited Jewish residency, earning the name "The Holy Square Mile." James W. Loewen includes it in his book Sundown Towns, quoting the Anti-Defamation League's comment of 1959: The Incorporated Village of Bronxville in Westchester County has earned a reputation for admitting to its precincts as home-owners or -renters only those who profess to be Christian. According to informed observers, this mile-square village, with a population of 6500, does not have any known Jewish families residing within its boundaries.… Even in the apartment buidings located in Bronxville there are no known Jewish tenants.

The Gramatan Hotel on Sunset Hill was a residence hotel in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Gramatan was the name of the chief of the local Siwanoy Indian tribe that was centered in the Gramatan Rock area above Bronxville Station. Chief Gramatan sold the land to the settlers. The hotel was demolished in 1970, and a complex of townhouses was built on the site in 1980.

Elizabeth Clift Bacon, General George Armstrong Custer's widow, lived in Bronxville, and her house still stands to this day.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church, located in the downtown area, was attended by the Kennedys when they were residents from 1929 to about 1938 before moving to London. In 1958 future-senator Ted Kennedy married Joan Bennett in St. Joseph's Church. In 1960, the Village voted 5:1 for Nixon over Kennedy.

The US Post Office–Bronxville was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Other sites on the National Register are the Bronxville Women's Club, Lawrence Park Historic District, and Masterton-Dusenberry House.

Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 6,543 people, 2,312 households and 1,660 families residing in the village. The population density was 6,869.3 per square mile (2,659.2/km2). There were 2,387 housing units at an average density of 2,506.0 per square mile (970.1/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 91.88% White, 1.15% African American, 0.05% Native American, 4.83% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.93% of the population.

There were 2,312 households of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.2% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.27.

Age distribution was 29.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

The median household income was $203,931, the average household income is $334,848, and the median family income was $256,883, making it one of the wealthiest and most affluent places with more than 1000 households, or population of 1000, in the United States. It is currently ranked 16th in highest median income in the country. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $61,184 for females. The per capita income for the village was $116,018. About 1.7% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.6% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over. In 2016 it was named one of the ten most expensive suburbs around America's major cities by Forbes.

Postal code
Bronxville's 10708 ZIP Code covers the village of Bronxville proper, plus Chester Heights and other sections of Eastchester, parts of Tuckahoe, and Lawrence Park West, Cedar Knolls, Armour Villa, and other sections of Yonkers. This brings the ZIP code's population to 22,411 (2000 census), covering an area more than twice as large as the municipality of Bronxville itself and encompassing several notable institutions, such as Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers. In fact, there are more residents of Yonkers using a Bronxville mailing address than living in the village itself. The Bronxville Post Office serves residents of the village.

Education


Bronxville is home to Concordia College, a liberal arts college operated by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Adjacent to the Concordia College campus is the Chapel School—a pre-K-8 school affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The Bronxville Public School is known as The Bronxville School. The school was started as a progressive educational institution in the 1920s.

St. Joseph School opened on September 10, 1951 adjacent to the church at 30 Meadow Avenue and was staffed by the Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary (Adrian Dominican Sisters), while operated by the parish. Francis Cardinal Spellman dedicated the school on October 7 of that year. Msgr. Patrick Sheridan oversaw the start of construction in 1985 of the parish center, which included a gymnasium and additional space for teaching and offices, with the dedication by John Cardinal O'Connor occurring on September 27, 1986. St. Joseph School consists of an upper and lower school of grades kindergarten through eight. It was presented with a National Blue Ribbon Award by the U.S. Department of Education in 2010. The school's facilities are used also for the CCD religious education program for students who attend secular schools. St. Joseph School has an active Mothers' Club and Men's Club. Many students who graduate go on to attend local Catholic high schools in Westchester County and Manhattan. As of 2015, 239 students attended the school.

Parks and recreation


The Village of Bronxville has more than 70 acre of parkland including athletic fields, woodlands, and a very small part of the Bronx River Parkway Reservation. The Reservation, Westchester’s oldest park, was created as an adjunct to the Bronx River Parkway that opened in 1925, and was the first linear park in the United States. The Reservation features ponds, wooden footbridges and hundreds of varieties of native trees and shrubs. The park is owned by Westchester County, and it is a favorite place for bicycling, walking, running, and nature study. It is sometimes referred to by locals as "The Duck Pond."

The Bronxville School's athletic fields contain a football field, three smaller fields used for various sports like field hockey and lacrosse, and a running track (which is only 380 meters in Lane 1 because of space issues). Bacon Woodlands, located on Kensington Road, is a natural rock outcropping which has been left in its natural state, the flatter portion of which is used as an informal play area by children. Scout Field, a Westchester County Park which is located predominantly in Yonkers and Mount Vernon but is controlled by Bronxville, is heavily utilized by the Bronxville schools' soccer, football, baseball and cross-country running programs. In 2006, Chambers Field was replaced with turf, which was funded by the community and parents of athletes in Bronxville.

From April to June and September to October, a 7 mi stretch of the Bronx River Parkway (no part of the roadway of which is in Bronxville) from Scarsdale Road in Yonkers (north of Bronxville) to White Plains closes to automobile traffic each Sunday (except on holiday weekends) between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. During those times, the Westchester County Parks Department runs "Bicycle Sundays" along this stretch of the parkway.

Notable people

 * Frank Abagnale, Jr., security consultant and former impostor/forger, subject of the book Catch Me if You Can and its 2002 film adaptation
 * Roy Chapman Andrews, prominent explorer for the American Museum of Natural History
 * Harriet Hubbard Ayer, pioneer of the women’s cosmetics industry
 * Kenneth Bacon (1944–2009), Department of Defense spokesman who later served as president of Refugees International
 * Harrison Bader, Major League Baseball outfielder for St. Louis Cardinals.
 * Clarence L. Barnhart, lexicographer, noted for the Thorndike-Barnhart school dictionary series.
 * Henry Billings Brown, US Supreme Court justice, died at the Gramatan Hotel in 1913.
 * Mary Cain, a middle distance runner
 * Lawrence Dutton, Grammy winning musician
 * Denison Kitchel, campaign manager for Barry M. Goldwater in 1964, was born in Bronxville in 1908.
 * Felicia Bond, author and illustrator of children's books, notably all of the books in the best-selling If You Give... series.
 * Marvin Bower, former Managing Director of McKinsey & Co. and "the father of modern management consulting"
 * Mika Brzezinski, television journalist on Morning Joe
 * Thomas S. Buechner (1936–2010), founding director of the Corning Museum of Glass and director of the Brooklyn Museum
 * Cathy DeBuono (born 1970), actress/psychotherapist/radio talk show host for LA Talk
 * William J. Burns, founder of the Burns Detective Agency, and director of the FBI’s predecessor organization
 * Janet Cox-Rearick, art historian
 * Elizabeth Custer, The widow of General George Armstrong Custer
 * Don DeLillo, writer
 * Francis William Edmonds (1806–63), genre painter
 * Ford C. Frick, National League President - The third Major League Commissioner of Baseball
 * Timothy Geithner, owned a home in Bronxville prior to appointment as Treasury Secretary in 2009.
 * John Hoyt, actor born in Bronxville
 * Rose Kennedy, Kennedy family matriarch
 * Joseph P. Kennedy, Kennedy family patriarch. Ambassador to Great Britain and 1st Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
 * Robert F. Kennedy, 64th Attorney General and U.S. Senator
 * Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator
 * John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States of America
 * Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist famous for his theories on moral development.
 * Brendan Gill, famed New Yorker writer
 * Michael Gates Gill, the author of How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else
 * Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League
 * Don Herbert (1917-2007), television host known to many as “Mr. Wizard”
 * Joseph Landy, Co-President of Warburg Pincus
 * Steve Liesman, CNBC reporter
 * Jamie Loeb (born 1995), American tennis player
 * Ginna Sulcer Marston, public service advertiser, attended Bronxville high school
 * Ed McMahon, television host
 * Jose Melis. Musician and Band Leader for Jack Paar on "Tonight Show"/>
 * Jack Paar, American radio and television talk show host
 * Frank Patterson Internationally celebrated Irish tenor
 * Mark Patterson, Investor
 * Gretchen Peters, country singer/songwriter
 * Peter Pennoyer, architect
 * Eddie Rickenbacker, famed World War I fighter pilot, and later president of Eastern Airlines
 * Dennis Ritchie, one of the creators of Unix and the C programming language
 * Gary Robinson, software entrepreneur
 * John Q. Kelly, lawyer
 * Chris Baio (born 1984), musician
 * Chuck Scarborough, news anchor
 * William E. Schluter (1927-2018), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly and the New Jersey Senate.


 * Tad Smith, CEO of Sotheby's
 * Frederick D. Sulcer, advertising executive who wrote Put a Tiger in Your Tank for ExxonMobil
 * Ruth Ann Swenson, operatic soprano
 * Philip Torchio, electrical engineer known for his work with Edison Electric Company
 * Charles J. Urstadt, real estate executive

In popular culture

 * The Bronxville School appears in Stepmom starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon and in Firstborn (1984) starring Teri Garr and Peter Weller.
 * The Siwanoy Country Club, located in Eastchester, is featured in Rounders starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton. Siwanoy Country Club is also featured in Six Degrees of Separation starring Will Smith, Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland
 * The film Baby Mama was shot, partly, on Legget Road in Bronxville.
 * The opening scene in the 1990 film Tales from the Darkside was shot in Bronxville.
 * A few scenes from Admission were filmed in Value Drugs and Womwraths in Bronxville