Rye Brook is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States, within the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

. The population was 9,347 at the 2010 census. Rye Brook has been designated as a Tree City USA for 14 years.

History

Rye Brook is located in southeastern Westchester County and shares its eastern border with

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

. The village was an unincorporated section of the town of Rye until its incorporation as a village on July 7, 1982. In 1982, 150 residents of the unincorporated area proposed to establish the village of Rye Brook and organized a petition containing 1,536 signatures. The petition drive, which contained the signatures of approximately 36% of the registered voters in the unincorporated area, was organized by the Independent Civic Association. It was reported by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' that one resident commented, "There is a time for a community to redefine itself," further stating that residents of the unincorporated area "should be able to elect their own officers" and "protect their tax base." The residents of the unincorporated area voted on June 23, 1982, to create the Village of Rye Brook. It was the first village created in New York State in 54 years. The referendum to create the new political identity passed with 58% of the voters in favor (1,991 to 1,434). The first election in the Village's history was held to elect a mayor and four trustees. The first village official was Lee Russillo, who was sworn in as Rye Brook's first Village Clerk, and was responsible for the first election day. The village is home to the

William E. Ward House The William E. Ward House, known locally as Ward's Castle, is located on Magnolia Drive, on the state line between Rye Brook, New York, Rye Brook, New York (state), New York and Greenwich, Connecticut, Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. It is ...

, which was added to 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 1976. Also known as Ward's Castle, it was the home of the National Cartoon Museum, established by

Mort Walker Addison Morton Walker (September 3, 1923 – January 27, 2018) was an American comic strip writer, best known for creating the newspaper comic strips ''Beetle Bailey'' in 1950 and ''Hi and Lois'' in 1954. He signed Addison to some of his strips. ...

, the creator of Beetle Bailey, from 1976 to 1992. In 1983, 800 Westchester Avenue, described as the "Taj Mahal of Rye Brook" and the "contemporary equivalent to the classical villa," was constructed as the

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by C. W. Post, Charles William (C. W.) Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, a ...

Corporate Headquarters.

Geography

Rye Brook is located at (41.019767, -73.683419). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 8,602 people, 3,122 households, and 2,435 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 3,224 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.96%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.03%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.21% Native American, 4.25% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.36% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 5.44% of the population. There were 3,122 households, out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.09. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

Parks and recreation

Rye Brook residents have access to the historic Rye Town Park-Bathing Complex and Oakland Beach through the town of Rye, although the complex is located in the city of Rye, a separate municipality. Rye Brook has six main parks totaling nearly : *Pine Ridge Park: Contains two little league fields, four tennis courts, two basketball courts, and a playground. The park is located on the corner of Latonia Road and Mohegan Lane. *Garabaldi Park: Has two basketball courts, one tennis court, a Little League field, and a playground. Garibaldi Park stands on Garibaldi Place opposite to the Anthony J. Posillipo Community Center. *Harkness Park: This park contains four tennis courts and is the home of Blind Brook Tennis. Harkness lies next to Blind Brook High School. *Rye Hills Park: This park, which is next to Crawford Park, has a walking trail, game tables, a basketball court, and a lookout towards

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. *Rye Brook-King Street Athletic Fields: This park contains a soccer/football/lacrosse/field hockey field and a softball field. These fields are made of

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

, rather than traditional grass fields. These are the first artificial turf fields built in the village. Ground was broken for the project in the fall of 2005 and construction was completed in September 2006. The scoreboard and bathroom/storage facilities were completed in October 2006. These fields are located next to Blind Brook High School on King Street. Parking for the fields are at the High School and a stairway has been built as an accessway to the fields from the high school. *Crawford Park is owned by the Town of Rye. The park is used for soccer, tee-ball, and softball by the village. There is a walking path along the perimeter of the park which is very popular among dog walkers and joggers alike. The village has two alternative passive parks: *Magnolia Park: This park has an open grass field. *Rich Manor Park: This site is an open field and has views of Blind Brook.

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the village was $98,864, and the median income for a family was $111,287. Males had a median income of $75,712 versus $45,698 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $48,617. About 1.8% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Universal American is headquartered in Rye Brook. Formerly, Snapple,

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

and

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

had their headquarters in the village.

WRNN-TV WRNN-TV (channel 48) is a television station licensed to New Rochelle, New York, United States, serving the New York City area as an affiliate of Shop LC. It serves as the flagship station and namesake of Rye Brook–based WRNN-TV Associates; ...

is an independent television station with its headquarters located at 800 Westchester Avenue.

Government

The village of Rye Brook is governed by a mayor and a five-member Board of Trustees, all volunteers. Jason Klein is the current mayor.Members of the Village Board
Village of Rye Brook. The board appoints a village administrator who runs day-to-day operations in the city. Rye Brook has its own police and fire departments. The police department, led by a

chief of police A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...

, consists of 28 officers and one support staffer. The fire department operates one firehouse, and the

Port Chester Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populati ...

Fire Department has a contract with the village to respond to calls. Port Chester's fire chief also oversees the Rye Brook police department. On the federal level, Rye Brook is located in the

New York's 17th congressional district New York's 17th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in Southern New York (state), New York. It includes all of Rockland County, New York, Rockland County and Putnam County, N ...

. On the state level, Rye Brook is located in the 36th

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

district and the 85th State Assembly district. On the county level, Rye Brook is located with the 6th Westchester County Board of Legislators district.

Education

Within the village lie two school districts, the Port Chester-Rye Union Free School District and the Blind Brook School District. Blind Brook makes up approximately 70% of the village and Port Chester covers the remaining 30%. * Blind Brook High School is the only high school in the Blind Brook School District. * Port Chester High School is the only high school in the Port Chester–Rye Union Free School District.

Media

*''

The Journal News ''The Journal News'' is a newspaper in New York State serving the New York counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, a region known as the Lower Hudson Valley. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Journal News'' was created through a ...

'', covering all of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties. *''The Westmore News'', covering Rye Brook & Port Chester (closed in December 2024)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Commuters have the option of using the

–operated

Bee-Line Bus System The Westchester County Bee-Line System, branded on the buses in lowercase as ''the bee-line system'', is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation. Histor ...

. Part of the

Westchester County Airport Westchester County Airport is a county-owned airport in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, northeast of downtown White Plains, New York, White Plains, with territory in the Town (New Y ...

is located in the northern part of the village. Major roads that serve the area include, in the northern part of the village: * Hutchinson River Pkwy Shield

Hutchinson River Parkway The Hutchinson River Parkway (known colloquially as the Hutch) is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access Parkways in New York, parkway in southern New York (state), New York in the United States. It extends for from the Bruckner Interc ...

In the southern part of the village: * I-287

Interstate 287 Interstate 287 (I-287) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving northern New Jersey and the counties of Rockland County, New York ...

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

/ New England Thruway Other major routes include: * NY-120

NY 120 *

NY 120A

Flood control

The Bowman Avenue Dam, a project to mitigate flooding in the area, is located within the village.

Notable people

* Craig Bierko (b. 1964) — American actor and singer * Ralph Branca (1926–2016) —

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

pitcher, 1944–1953, 1956 * William Carlucci (b. 1967) — American rower * Donald Fehr (b. 1948) — former executive director of the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is the labor union representing all current Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held ...

and the

National Hockey League Players' Association The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA, ) is the trade union, labour union for the group of professional List of NHL players, hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey ...

* Dorothy Gilman (1923–2012) — writer, best known for the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries * Joshua Harmon (b. 1983) — playwright, grew up in Rye Brook *

Dan McDonnell Dan McDonnell is an American college baseball coach who has been the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals since the start of the 2007 season. As of the end of the 2017 season, Louisville has a 646-266 (.708 winning percentage) in 15 seasons ...

— head baseball coach at Louisville * Aaron Sabato (b. 1999) — first baseman in the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

* David Zaslav (b. 1960) — CEO of

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...

References

External links

Village of Rye Brook official websiteBlind Brook Public Schools
{{authority control Rye, New York Villages in New York (state) Villages in Westchester County, New York