RYE 

Rye is in a highly coveted location, just a short 35 minute Metro-North train ride to mid-town Manhattan. Auto commuters will find quick access to the New York State Thruway, the Saw Mill River Parkway, Route 9A and the Sprain Brook Parkway. 

Located in the southern section of Westchester on the Long Island Sound, Rye has long maintained a reputation for it’s old-fashioned approach to city life. New York City is about 27 miles south. Port Chester is about 2 miles up the coast and Harrison is about 2 miles down. Rye Brook is around 3.5 miles inland. 

The Westchester County Bee-Line Bus Service runs routes through Rye, linking it to Harrison, White Plains, and Yonkers, with connecting service to cities and towns across the county. Metro North runs a train service from White Plains south into Manhattan (the Harlem Line), and from Harrison south to Grand Central Station (the New Haven Line). 

Founded in 1660, this well-known, richly historic community is almost completely residential in character and rests within an area of notable affluence. A wide variety of architectural styles provide an interesting diversity of living choices in Rye. The charming "downtown", with its quaint shops and elegant boutiques, imparts the flavor of a classic "New England village" to this haven for professionals and executives, many of whom commute to nearby New York City.  

There are no major department stores to be found; instead the town's retail base is made up of small boutiques, restaurants, art houses and museums. This “mom and pop” attitude gives the city the warm reputation it is known for.  

Rye offers a very popular variety of recreational activities. The city operates four recreational facilities and the exclusive Rye Golf Club includes a meticulously-maintained 18-hole golf course. Rye Golf Club is just one of several private country clubs in the area.  

The city's ideal location includes a two-mile stretch of shoreline along the Long Island Sound, which provides a myriad of activities for residents. The Rye Marina is always a popular attraction and the environment-minded community provides acres of undeveloped land. 

The Rye City School District is home to three elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and one alternative high school. All three of Rye's elementary schools are New York State Schools of Excellence and National Ribbon Schools of Excellence.

There are several secular and religious private schools in Rye, including the prominent Rye Country Day School (K through Grade 12), a college prep facility which uses traditional and innovative teaching methods to develop the academic abilities of its students to the maximum. Lively arts and athletics programs balance the student.  

There are several excellent colleges in surrounding towns, including Berkley College in White Plains; the College of New Rochelle and Iona College, both in New Rochelle; Sarah Lawrence and Concordia Colleges in Bronxville; Manhattanville College and Purchase College-SUNY in Purchase; Marymount College in Tarrytown, and Mercy College at Dobbs Ferry. The Westchester Community College is in nearby Valhalla. 

RYE BROOK  

Long the home of the Mohegan (Mohican) Indians, the Rye Brook area was first colonized by outsiders in 1660, when a small group from Greenwich (CT) successfully negotiated a treaty with Shenarockwell, a Mohican chief, for all the land along Long Island Sound between the Mamaroneck and Byram rivers.  

The early English settlers cleared lands and established farms. Some of these became large estates. Rye Brook remained a secluded farming village until after WWI, when new train lines and parkways to the Rye region bought suburbanites and holidaymakers to the area.  

Rye Brooke remained a small village surrounded by large estates, farmland and open countryside until the 1950s, when population swelled from 2,661 at the beginning of the decade to more than 6,000 by its end. By the 1980s, Rye Brooke’s population had reached 8,000 and incorporation became an issue. The largely upper middle class population wanted to determine how their tax dollars would be spent and ensure that much remained at home. Rye Brook incorporated in July 1982.  

Rye Brook is a lovely historic village with tree lined streets, large tree filled parks, and outstanding schools. This predominantly middle to upper class area has beautiful family homes and great recreational programs for its citizens. Crawford Park is the beautiful site of a historic mansion from an early estate and the adjacent Rye Hills Park has ball courts, walking trails through lovely old woods, and a belvedere overlooking Long Island Sound. Oakland Beach provides access to water sports. 

Rye Brook is served by two school districts: the Port Chester Union-Free School District, and the Blind Brook—Rye Union Free School District. The Port Chester district encompasses five elementary schools, a middle school and a high school; the Blind Brook administers one elementary school and a combined middle and high school. This district is small and students benefit; both the schools are nationally recognized Schools of Excellence and both are accredited by the Middle States Association. Almost all students complete school with the choice to enroll in a four year college or university. 

Rye is close to many excellent colleges and universities, including SUNY College at Purchase (about 3 miles away), SUNY Westchester Community College (about 8 miles away in Valhalla), Iona College and The College Of New Rochelle (both about 11 miles away in New Rochelle), Pace University-Pleasantville Briarcliff (about 11 miles away in Pleasantville), Mercy College at Dobbs Ferry (about 13 miles away), and
the Long Island University in Brookville (about 15 miles away). 

Rye Brook’s schooling is of the highest caliber. Highly awarded schools include The Ridge Street Elementary School, a recipient of the National Education Excellence award and Blind Brook High School, which has also received national recognition as a School of Excellence. Advanced degrees are held by 99% of the schools' faculties. With a student body of 850 and a teacher ratio of 10:1, class sizes are small and the curriculum is richly enhanced with superior programs. Indeed, 99% of the seniors proceed immediately to higher education. Conveniently located in nearby Purchase are the State University at Purchase and Manhattanville College a liberal arts college which also serves adult students.  

Many forms of recreation, including tennis and organized sports, are readily available within Rye Brook's Crawford Park, the center for the Recreation Department. Rye Town Park's lovely beach offers the salt water pleasures of Long Island Sound while the Port Chester Yacht Club will appeal to boating enthusiasts. Other area attractions are Playland Amusement Park and The Castle Center for the Arts which provide Rye Brook residents with classes for all ages and participation in the enjoyment of musical theatre.  

HARRISON 

LOCATION
Harrison is located on the Long Island Sound in southern Westchester County, New York, adjacent to Rye. White Plains is about 4 miles inland and Rye Brooke about 3 miles. Port Chester is next to Rye. New York City is only about 25 miles south.

The Harrison area was the original home of the Siwanoy Indians and there are several stories as to how it passed into the hands of white settlers. They may all be true, as Indians could have sold the land more than once, not understanding the concept of land “ownership”, but only that of “stewardship”. 

What is known for sure is that the land was sold to several men between 1662 and 1695, the final being John Harrison, the town’s namesake.  

Harrison was the only one to file with the government of New York, and thus the only one with legal ownership. Harrison sold the land to Quakers around 1724. An early French Quaker, Msr Havreland started up the famous Haviland China manufacturing business there. Harrison was also a small farming center. Residents also found work in the village’s weaving shops, saw mills and grist mills. One grist mill from 1700 still stands, on the banks of the Mamaroneck River at West Street, adjacent to the Hutchinson River Parkway. 

Harrison was important in the Revolutionary War, and several historic sites still remain around the town, including the hills in the west part of Harrison, which were full of hiding places for ammunition. Locals have found plenty of buttons, bullets, and cannonballs on the hills. 

In the late 1890’s, West Harrison’s landowners developed it into a resort with a hotel, a casino and an internationally known ski jump. Harrison’s present downtown was built after the coming of the railroad in 1848. In 1870 the railway station was built and wealthy business people started to travel up for holidays; eventually many of these men bought land and developed large country estates. The railroad also brought immigrants from the opposite end of the scale; hardworking Italians who bought small farming plots in Brentwood and Silver Lake. Today the Italian neighborhoods of Harrison and West Harrison are full of their descendents. 

Harrison has two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school, administered by the Harrison Central School District; nearby colleges include Manhattanville College and Purchase College-SUNY in Purchase; Marymount College in Tarrytown, Berkley College in White Plains; the College of New Rochelle and Iona College, both in New Rochelle; Sarah Lawrence and Concordia Colleges in Bronxville, and Mercy College at Dobbs Ferry. The Westchester Community College is in nearby Valhalla. 

Bronxville  

Reminiscent of a quaint English hamlet, the neighborhoods of Bronxville capture an Old World ambiance that continues to charm new comers and residents alike. Ranked 49th in Worth Magazine’s list of the top 250 Richest Towns in America, Bronxville is one of the premier neighborhoods in the country. This affluent suburb has a dignified beauty and refined lifestyle that is reflected in the shady tree-lined streets, sophisticated and unique shops, and profusion of lovely gardens that have come to characterize this historic area. Nestled within the curve of the Bronx River and less than thirty minutes from Grand Central Station, Bronxville has been insolated due partly to its geographic location and partly to the its origins as a self-contained community. This proclivity toward independence has helped to sustain the charm of a bygone era and bypass the pitfalls of massive urbanization.  

The area that has come to be known as Bronxville was originally home to the Mohegan Indians. In 1639, Jonas Bronck, a successful merchant newly arrived from Denmark, purchased a significant block of land and became the region’s first white settler. The new settlement gained further momentum with the arrival of John Underhill, an ambitious businessman who established several grist and saw mills along the Bronx River in the early 1700’s. Underhill’s Crossing, as it came to be known, grew into a prosperous farming community over the next several decades. With the arrival of the railroad in the early 1840’s, the settlement became formally established under the new name Bronxville in honor of Mr. Bronck. By the early 1900’s, millionaire William Van Duser Lawrence concentrated the bulk of his vast fortune in construction, and built sumptuous homes to sell to his friends and business associates. Charmed by the beautiful countryside and conscious of the economic potential of an area within such close proximity to Manhattan, Mr. Lawrence became instrumental in Bronxville’s development. In 1928, as a tribute to his wife, Sarah, Mr. Lawrence founded Sarah Lawrence College. During the 19th Century, Bronxville became a center for the avant-garde community as artists spilled over from the big city into this quiet riverside town.  

Eastchester

Eastchester New York began as a cooperative venture initiated and sustained by the original settlement of thirty-six families. In 1664 several families migrating westward from Connecticut were enticed by stories of a nearby land, rich with beauty and natural resources. Upon arrival in New York, Thomas Pell, the owner of the territory, allowed the small group of travelers safe haven and an opportunity to settle and work the land. By the following year the group had created a document that formalized community issues such as property care, child education and support of religious institutions. Known as the “Eastchester Covenant,” this document is one of the first of its kind to represent a collective agreement between citizens. Eastchester became famous in the early 1800’s for a beautiful quality of marble quarried in the area. “Tuckahoe Marble,” as it was named, was in high demand for the next hundred years, the production of which helped galvanize the city’s economy.  

As far back as the Eastchester Covenant, the citizens of Eastchester have placed a premium on education. More than 91% of the adult population are high school graduates, more than 52% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, and an impressive 25% have earned a graduate or professional degree. Eastchester’s historically outstanding school system continues to reflect significant student improvement, especially in the past several years. On the primary level, the fourth graders in particular have gained recognition throughout the state in standardized test scores. Middle school students have distinguished themselves in the areas of math and physics, and Eastchester High Schools is ranked 108th in the nation out of 14,000 other high schools in Advanced Placement Exams. This consistent success reflects strong academic programs and a staff of dedicated, skilled teachers. More than 98% of the graduates of Eastchester pursue further education. 

LARCHMONT
Located on the Long Island Sound, the Village of Larchmont is one square mile and has more than 6,500 residents. The village is served by the Chatsworth Avenue School, which was built at the beginning of the 20th Century. The village is also home to the French American school, which has upper grades at a location in Mamaroneck.

There are two private waterfront clubs in the village, the Larchmont Yacht Club and the Larchmont Shore Club. Both these clubs offer sailing programs for children whose families are members. The Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club is located in the beautiful and privately owned Manor Park, owned by residents who live within the area. The Yacht Club is open to all residents who apply. There are moorings outside the harbor and launch service for the members.  

The Village is home to a movie theatre, many restaurants, antique stores, local merchants, several small local markets and shops as well as one national clothing store.  

There are five nursery schools in the village. On pleasant days residents can walk to shops and to the Sound, pushing strollers or jogging along the relatively flat streets.  

Larchmont Village has its own police and fire departments and the local government consists of a mayor and four trustees who are elected every two years. Across from the Village Hall is a well used and recently renovated Library with a children's room and meeting rooms. Art work is constantly on view in the art gallery.  

Check out Larchmont's online newspaper at www.larchmontgazette.com. The Village website has a lot of information, as well. Check out www.ci.larchmont.ny.us. News about the Larchmont Library can also be found on www.LarchmontLibrary.org.  

THE TOWN OF MAMARONECK  

The Larchmont area also encompasses the unincorporated Town of Mamaroneck, which has its own fire and police departments. The Town government overseas the Village of Larchmont and part of the Village of Mamaroneck, which lie within its boundaries. The area has an elected Town Supervisor and Town Councilmen as well as a Town Administrator. The Town has three golf clubs; Winged Foot Golf Club, Hampshire Country Club, and Bonnie Briar Country Club as well as two beach clubs, Orienta Beach Club and Beach Point Club which encompasses Beach Point Yacht Club. Hampshire, Orienta, and Beach Point are in the Village of Mamaroneck portion of the Town.  

The Town has three elementary schools. The Murray Avenue School is located above the thruway, I 95, and welcomes children who may live as far north as the Scarsdale/New Rochelle border. The Central School, the newest of the four elementary schools in the Mamaroneck Free School District, is located off Palmer Avenue and serves children from the Larchmont Village border along Palmer Avenue and then south through the Orienta part of the Village of Mamaroneck. The Mamaroneck Avenue School services children from the rest of the Village of Mamaroneck as well as those who live above I 95 and east of the Murray Avenue boundaries. The Town has a middle school, which services children from sixth through eighth grades. Hommocks Middle School is located on Hommocks Road south of the Boston Post Road. Mamaroneck High School is located between Boston Post Road and Palmer Avenue and is a combination of two former school buildings plus additions. The Hommocks school campus has an ice rink and an Olympic size pool, which are used by the community as well as the school population.  

The Town of Mamaroneck has three national stores, the Gap, Blockbuster Video, and Pier One, located along the Boston Post Road. There are three CVS stores serving the area as well as two supermarkets, Shopwell and the A & P located in the Village of Mamaroneck.  

Visit the Town website at www.townofmamaroneck.org. The Larchmont Gazette, www.larchmontgazette.com, also covers news of the Town of Mamaroneck and the Village of Mamaroneck. The Mamaroneck Public Library is www.mamaronecklibrary.org  

VILLAGE OF MAMARONECK  

The Village of Mamaroneck is located along Long Island Sound and fronts on Mamaroneck Harbor. It has several shipyards, which have slips and moorings for various sized boats. The Village has its own fire and police departments as well as a local government headed by a mayor and four village trustees. The Village is located in both the Town of Mamaroneck and Town of Rye.  

The Town of Rye portion of the Village has its own school system, the Rye Neck schools. These schools include two elementary schools, Daniel Warren and Bellows, a middle school serving grades six through eight and high school, which are located on the same campus. The Village portion of the Town of Rye has a waterfront area called Shore Acres. This area has a local club, the Shore Acres Club, which is for residents of the neighborhood, and a commercial club, Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club.  

THE CITY OF NEW ROCHELLE  

New Rochelle was settled by French Huguenots in the 1680s. They named the city after the French port city of La Rochelle. The city was incorporated in 1899. The present population is approximately 73,000. The shoreline, with its many irregularities and off shore islands, measures 9.3 miles.  

New Rochelle is known for its many large homes with lush lawns. However, new development includes many condominiums and rental apartment buildings in the downtown area. There are two hotels in the Main Street area as well as a multiplex theatre with an IMAX theatre. Many new restaurants and small food stores cater to a wide variety of shoppers and residents.  

The city is known for it's short commute to Manhattan, not as long as it was when the song "Only Forty Five Minutes from Broadway" was written. The new city garage and transit center was recently completed, making the trip even easier. Many Amtrak trains stop here on their way to Boston, Washington, and the eastern seaboard. New Rochelle has been home to many present and former performers because of its proximity to the city and the quality of its beautiful neighborhoods. 

The city has a new website at www.newrochelleny.com. Its library information can be accessed at www.nrpl.org. The city, which is 10.7 square miles, is home to three colleges, Iona College on North Avenue, the College of New Rochelle located in a neighborhood close to Long Island Sound, and Monroe College located on Main Street.  

PORT CHESTER  

Port Chester is located on the Long Island Sound in New York State, in southern Westchester County, just northeast of the towns of Rye and Harrison. White Plains is about 7 miles inland and New York City is about 30 miles south. Rye Brook is right next door, about 2 miles inland; Rye is just over 2 miles down the coast.  

Along with Rye, Rye Brook and Harrison, Port Chester was part of the area originally purchased from local Mohegan (Mohican) Indians from early settlers in 1660. Port Chester began as a small saw mill for boat builders at the mouth of the Byram River. In those days the tiny settlement was aptly named “Saw Pit” and was gradually settled, mostly by boat builders and their families. As farms were established inland, the little port became an ideal outlet for farm produce, which was shipped from there to towns further south. 

With the start of the Revolutionary War, Saw Pit became a strategic military outpost, with both armies fighting to posses it. At the end of the hostilities, most of the village had to be rebuilt and the shipping industry prospered once more. Steamboats began to arrive from New York City, bringing tourists, goods and mail, and taking away produce. Saw Pit became known as the “Port of Westchester”, which was shortened to “Port Chester in 1837. On May 4, 1868, Port Chester was incorporated as a village within the Town of Rye. 

The arrival of the railroads in the mid-1800s hurt Port Chester, as rail transport undercut the need to ship goods by steamboat. Slowly the village changed its economic base from trading port to manufacturing hub, and by 1950 Port Chester was one of the Hudson Valley’s foremost factory towns. Workers spent their hard earned dollars downtown, meeting up with friends from neighboring settlements in the village’s many stores and restaurants. 

Port Chester has worked hard to upgrade itself from a manufacturing town to an exciting retail and cultural center. Local residents and business owners cooperate to beautify their community with trees, urban cleanups, public artworks and more. More than 50 acres of parkland break up the residential areas, and residents enjoy strolling, jogging, or biking on the green walkway that runs along the Byram River. 

Port Chester is fast becoming Westchester County’s restaurant capital, with many award winning restaurants offering a delicious range of cuisines. Visitors also flock to the town’s well planned downtown port development, which has movie theaters, restaurants and great stores beside the waters of Long Island Sound. 

Port Chester has two school districts: the Port Chester-Rye Union School District and the Port Chester Union-Free School District. The former oversees 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, a high school and a magnet school; the latter 5 elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. Both school systems are well thought of and students rank highly in academic standards. The New York Times recently described the Port Chester-Rye Union district as a “High Profile, High Performing School District in Westchester County.” 

Higher education options abound. Nearby colleges include Berkley College in White Plains; the College of New Rochelle and Iona College, both in New Rochelle; Sarah Lawrence and Concordia Colleges in Bronxville; Manhattanville College and Purchase College-SUNY in Purchase; Marymount College in Tarrytown, and Mercy College at Dobbs Ferry. The Westchester Community College is in nearby Valhalla. 

White Plains 

White Plains is truly the anchor of Westchester County. Home to more than 50,000 residents, White Plains provides a mixture of city and suburban life that serves as a conceptual bridge between New York City and Westchester. Measured 10 miles square and featuring an assortment of living opportunities from apartments to estates, White Plains offers something for every taste and style. The versatility makes the city the perfect place for singles, couples, families and empty nesters. The city’s multiple ties to renowned retail establishments makes White Plains one of the most sought out shopping districts in the Hudson Valley.  

The variety extends to the city’s business landscape, where the country’s biggest companies can be found down the block from quaint boutiques. There are four indoor shopping malls and more than 1,000 retail establishments.  

The city’s wide-range public transportation system is the gateway to both metropolitan and upstate New York, New England and other major northeast markets. White Plains is located an hour’s drive from four major metropolitan airports and sits a mere 25 miles from midtown Manhattan.  

The White Plains Public Schools are among the most respected in the region, recently rated one of the top ten districts in the country for corporate relocation in a recent survey by Expansion Management magazine. Both the Middle and High schools have been honored as Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence by the New York State Education Department and the U.S. Department of Education. Church Street Elementary School was selected as one of the State's 14 Schools of Excellence in 1999.  

White Plains hosts the County Seat and is the county hub for business, retail and Federal, State and County courts and offices. 

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