New City, New York

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, 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 county seat. 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 New York City 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 founder Adolph Zukor 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 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 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, Westchester County, Manhattan, and the Bronx 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 842.4 /km2. There were 11,161 housing units at an average density of 715.3 /mi2. 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,

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, the Baker Cocoa and Old Dutch Cleanser maids. Over the years, it served as a site for weddings and for concerts. Folk singer Burl Ives once performed there and Eleanor Roosevelt visited the garden. Markers on site. It is now a county park with a beautiful display of flowering bulbs 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 4 acre 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 and State Assemblyman
• Hayden Panettiere, actress
• Henry Varnum Poor (1888–1970), architect, painter, sculptor, muralist, 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

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): New City CDP, New York". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. "Age Groups and Sex: 2010 - State – Place (GCT-P2): New York". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. "Back to History".
5. "A Brief History of New City". The Rockford Group, Inc..
6. Club History - A Man, a Need and a Vision., Paramount Country Club.
7. Trager, James. (1979). "The people's chronology: a year-by-year record of human events from prehistory to the present". Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
9. "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990".
10. "rocklandcounty.org".
11. "American FactFinder - Community Facts".
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14. (June 7, 2016). "Julie Buxbaum".
15. (January 15, 1964). "Sculptor Hugo Robus Of New City Is Dead". The Record.