New City is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States, part of the

New York Metropolitan Area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. A suburb of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the hamlet is located north of the city at its closest point, Riverdale, Bronx. Within Rockland County, New City is located north of Bardonia, northeast of Nanuet, east of New Square and New Hempstead, south of Garnerville and the village of Haverstraw, and west of Congers (across Lake DeForest). New City's population was 35,101 at the 2020 census, making it the 14th most populous CDP/hamlet in the state of New York. New City is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, seat of the town of Clarkstown and the location of the Clarkstown Police Department, Rockland County Sheriff's office and corrections facility. The downtown area is one of the main business districts in the county. The ZIP code of New City is 10956.

History

Before the Revolutionary War, the land that would later become known as New City was inhabited mostly by Lenni Lenape American Indians. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in the area. Orange County was established in 1683 as one of the first 12 counties in

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

, which included present day Rockland County. In 1780, Major John André and Josh Hett Smith stopped at Coe's Tavern, located on what is now the corner of New Hempstead Road and Route 45. New City was formed in 1798, when Rockland County was incorporated as a separate county from the south-easternmost portion of Orange County. With the formation of a new county, there were needs for a new

. The central location of New City was a convenient location for a county seat, since travel in 1798 was difficult, and the existing main towns in the county were not centrally located. At the time, the Squadron Cavalry of

had a summer encampment of what is now the busy streets of Squadron Boulevard and Cavalry Drive, hence how these streets were named. The community got its name because the founding fathers envisioned a "new" city when forming the new county seat. Other than county and town government, the early downtown area consisted mainly of small retail shops in what was mainly an agricultural area. There was also a county fairgrounds and racetrack located on the Route 304 and Congers Road intersection. In 1918,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

founder

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; ; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...

moved to New City where he bought 300 acres of land from Lawrence Abraham which already had a large house, a swimming pool, and a 9-hole golf course on the property. Two years later, in 1920, Zukor bought 500 more acres from Abraham and built multiple additions including a night house, guest house, greenhouses, garages, and more. He also hired A.W. Tillinghast to build an 18-hole championship golf course on the property. The land is now currently known as Paramount Country Club. Zukor Park, located just south of the country club, is also named after the producer. Zukor's property attracted a large number of artistic people to the area; including Maxwell Anderson, Henry Varnum Poor, Norman Lloyd, Kurt Weill, Martha MacGuffie, Lotte Lenya, John Houseman and more who all lived on South Mountain Road and formed an

artist colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, Art school, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typica ...

there. Dutch Gardens, the oldest remaining park in the county, was built in 1934 by Italian artisans, known for its unique patterned brickwork. It was designed by West Nyack native Mary Mowbray-Clark. It was honored as the 1934 Garden of the Year by ''Better Homes and Gardens'' Magazine. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1991. Located just south of the courthouse in the downtown area, it is still one of the most commonly visited parks in Rockland County today. New City remained rural in character until the 1950s, when the idea of post-World War II suburbia, as well as the opening of the Tappan Zee Bridge and Palisades Interstate Parkway, made traveling between New York City and Rockland County faster, and easier. Many former New York City residents migrated to Rockland, which transformed New City from a quiet rural community to a busy populated suburb of New York City. Along with residential development, business development increased rapidly as well. The downtown area became home to many banks, retail, and real-estate companies; as well as restaurants, shops, a movie theater, bars, and many other forms of entertainment. Certain parts of the town, such as South Mountain Road and Lake Lucille, have been preserved, and remain quiet, wooded, historic old-wealth neighborhoods.

Geography

New City is accessible from major Rockland arteries providing rapid access to

Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Westchester County,

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

in New York City. Neighborhoods include New City Condominiums and South Mountain Road.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 34,038 people, 11,030 households, and 9,496 families residing in the CDP. New City is 15.6 mi² in area. The population density was . There were 11,161 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.09% White, 4.67% African American, 0.08% Native American, 6.99% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.87% of the population. There were 11,030 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.1% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.9% were non-families. 11.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.27. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males. As of a 2007 estimate, the racial makeup for the town was now 78.4% Non-Hispanic White, 4.7% African American or Black, <1% Native American, 9.1% Asian, <1% Pacific Islander, 1.4% other races, and 0.5% multi-racial. Hispanic or Latino of any race was now 7.4% of the population. The median income for a household in the CDP was $117,734 and the median income for a family was $128,200. Males had a median income of $62,234 versus $43,028 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $37,519. About 2.2% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line in 2007.

Arts and culture

Historical markers

* Collyer Farm Pond and New City Park * H. R. Stevens House * Blauvelt House * Rockland County Courthouse and Dutch Gardens * Martinus Hogenkamp Cemetery * One Germonds

Landmarks and places of interest

* Dutch Garden – Designed by Mary Horgan Mowbray-Clarke, a West Nyack native, in 1933–34 as memorial to the county's early settlers, it won "Garden of the Year" from '' Better Home and Gardens'' magazine in 1935. Master craftsman Biaglo Gugliuzzo of Garnerville created walks and latticed walls of Haverstraw brick. Still standing is the Tea House, with carvings of mountains, windmills and other serene symbols representing aspects of Dutch-American history, others of motifs popular in the 1930s –

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Old Dutch Cleanser maids. Over the years, it served as a site for weddings and for concerts. Folk singer

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

once performed there and

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

visited the garden. Markers on site. It is now a county park with a beautiful display of flowering

bulb In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

s in spring. The life size statue of Thurgood Marshall Human Rights Monument is located at the garden outside the Rockland County courthouse. ( NRHP) * H. R. Stevens House – 234 Congers Road (NRHP) * High Tor Mountain. The highest peak of the Palisades Range. The Southern base is in New City. The peak is in Haverstraw. * Jacob Blauvelt Farmhouse, 20 Zukor Road – A farmhouse of Dutch colonial style built 1882. Contains an open fireplace for cooking demonstrations. The site also has a museum, herb garden and nature trail. (NRHP) * New City Free Library – 220 North Main Street * Peter DePew House – 101 Old Route 304 (NRHP) * South Mountain Road – A winding, two-lane historic road. * Pojn Hill - A nickname based on a local legend for Trout Court.

Notable people

* Keith Bulluck, American football player * Tracy Wolfson, sportscaster * Adam Schein, sportscaster * Adam Rodriguez, actor, screenwriter and director * Skylar Astin, actor * Corey Baker (born 1989), baseball pitcher * Julie Buxbaum, author * John Masters, author * Thomas Morahan (1931–2010), New York

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

and State Assemblyman * Hayden Panettiere, actress * Henry Varnum Poor (1888–1970), architect, painter, sculptor,

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

ist, and potter. Designed the Henry Varnum Poor House in New City. * Hugo Robus, sculptor * Sam Rosen, sportscaster * Phil Rosenthal, TV writer and producer. Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond * Jordan Rudess, keyboard player for Dream Theater * William Sloane, publisher and writer of fantasy and science fiction literature

References

External links

{{authority control Census-designated places in New York (state) County seats in New York (state) Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in Rockland County, New York Hamlets in Rockland County, New York