Croton-on-Hudson

Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 7,606 at the 2000 census. As a village, it is located in the Town of Cortlandt, in New York City's Northern suburbs. The village was incorporated in 1898.

Croton-on-Hudson is the original home of the Hudson Institute, a key Cold War think tank where the justification for nuclear war was developed.

From the 1910s to the 1960s, Croton was a popular location for the summer homes of American communists, socialists and other radicals and many important artists and writers.

The village is home to one of at least four operating "dummy-lights" in the United States, located downtown at the intersection of Old Post Road South and Grand Street. It is a traffic signal on a pedestal which sits in the middle of an intersection, dating back to the 1920s. Two others are also located in New York State, in Beacon and Canajoharie, and another can be found in Albion (Manville, Lincoln), Rhode Island.

Notable parks and sites of interest in the community

Croton Dam (although known as the Croton Dam because it dams the Croton River, it is outside the village limits and is actually in the Town of Cortlandt)
Croton Point Park, site of a former county and regional landfill for well over seven decades, was closed and capped thanks to grassroots activists (this means there is no smell in the park), Riverkeeper, state, county and local officials
Paradise Island Park
Van Cortlandt Manor, a National Historic Landmark, which is located in the park
Teatown Lake Reservation
Senasqua Park with extending walkways to Croton Point
Black Rock is located on the Croton River, near Route 129, within a mile or so of the New Croton Dam. It is used mostly for fly fishing and picnics. It also is within 100 yards of a historic bridge which dates from the 1800s on Quaker Hill Road
Silver Lake is a beach along the Croton River, and has trails to Carrie E. Tompkins elementary school (CET) and the north tip of Cleveland Dr
Jane E. Lytle Memorial Arboretum
Brinton Brook Sanctuary
Croton landing is a park along the Hudson River
Mayo's Landing is a park along the Croton River

Culture

Croton Point Park hosts Clearwater's Great Hudson River Revival, a yearly folk music, art and environmental festival.

Croton-on-Hudson has an annual event called the Summerfest. Every year the central business district (with corners at the Municipal Building, Grand Street Fire House and Croton-Harmon High School) is closed to automobile traffic for music, American food, local fund raisers, traveling, and local artists.

Croton-on-Hudson is the home of the annual Harry Chapin Run Against Hunger, a 10k race and Fun Run.

Croton-on-Hudson is home to a number of local, independent businesses, such as 3rd Universe Comics, Computer Configurations, the Blue Pig, and The Black Cow Coffee Company, which opened December 1995, Westchester's first micro-roastery-coffeehouse.

Transportation

The town is a stop for Amtrak's Empire Service and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro North Hudson Line service, both at the Croton-Harmon station. Metro North's main shops and yards are also located here.

Croton-on-Hudson is served by US 9, NY 9A, and NY 129.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,606 people, 2,798 households, and 2,050 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,601.7 people per square mile (618.3/km²). There were 2,859 housing units at an average density of 602.1 per square mile (232.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 71.52% White, 20.87% African American, 0.26% Native American, 2.06% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.58% from other races, and 1.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.93% of the population.

There were 2,798 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $84,744, and the median income for a family was $100,182. Males had a median income of $65,938 versus $46,029 for females. The per capita income for the village was $39,441. About 1.8% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.