Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow is a village in the Town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about 30 miles north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line.

Originally known as North Tarrytown, it was given its current name in 1996 when residents voted to have it changed to honor the Washington Irving story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." To the south of Sleepy Hollow is the village of Tarrytown, and to the north and east are unincorporated parts of Mount Pleasant. The population of the village at the 2000 census was 9,212, and the estimated population in 2006 was 10,124.

Overview

The village is the location of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where Washington Irving, the writer of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is buried, along with Andrew Carnegie, Walter P. Chrysler, Brooke Astor, Elizabeth Arden, Thomas J. Watson of IBM and many others. Philipsburg Manor House and the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow are located in the village as well.

Until 1996 the village was the location of a General Motors Chevrolet assembly plant. The closing of the plant caused serious disruption to the economy of the area. The site is now being redeveloped for residential and retail use,although the neighboring village of Tarrytown has sued over concerns about the traffic, parking and environmental impact of the project.

Demographics

As of theof 2000, there were 9,212 people, 3,181 households, and 2,239 families residing in the village. The population density was 4,054.7 people per square mile (1,566.9/km²). There were 3,253 housing units at an average density of 1,431.8 per square mile (553.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 67.64% Caucasian, 5.23% African American, 0.84% Native American, 1.87% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 18.82% from other races, and 5.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 45.08% of the population, many of whom are Ecuadorian, Dominican, Chileans, and Puerto Rican.

There were 3,181 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% 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 3.37.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 36.7% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $54,201, and the median income for a family was $63,889. Males had a median income of $39,923 versus $32,146 for females. The per capita income for the village was $28,325. About 5.7% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Possible merger

Sleepy Hollow Mayor Philip Zegarelli in March 2007 met with Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell and district superintendent Dr. Howard Smith to discuss forming a blue ribbon panel that would explore the pros and cons of an intermunicipal agreement.

The two villages have shared a school district for 55 years. The villages already shared some services, but the greatest reductions in school and property taxes would come from merging the two villages.

The problem, Zegarelli said, is that each village has its own assessment roll. “People complain about taxes overall. In particular, they’re talking about school taxes,” he said. “By definition it’s not equal. It’s very important to have a standardized assessment roll.” Zegarelli, who led an unsuccessful attempt in the mid-1970s to disaffiliate Sleepy Hollow from the town of Mount Pleasant, continues to advocate for secession — Sleepy Hollow from Mount Pleasant and Tarrytown from Greenburgh — as another way to save money. “If the idea is to save money, why have two levels of government?” he asked. The town of Mount Pleasant blocked Sleepy Hollow’s effort to secede, largely because it did not want to lose tax revenue from General Motors, Zegarelli said.