Pound Ridge, New York

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Pound Ridge is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 4,726 at the 2000 census.

The Town of Pound Ridge is in the eastern corner of the county. It is bordered to the east by New Canaan, Connecticut, to the south, by Stamford, Connecticut, to the west by Bedford, New York, and to the north by Lewisboro. The local school is the Pound Ridge Elementary School, one of five K-5 schools in the Bedford Central School District. Older children take the bus to the Fox Lane Campus in Bedford, NY, where the Middle and High Schools are located.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.5 square miles (60.8 km²). The east and south town lines are along the border with Connecticut. 59.1 km² (22.8 sq mi) of the town is land and 1.8 km² (0.7 sq mi) of it (2.90%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 4,726 people, 1,699 households, and 1,406 families residing in the town. The population density was 207.3 people per square mile (80.0/km²). There were 1,868 housing units at an average density of 81.9/sq mi (31.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.54% White, 1.21% African American, 0.06% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.45% of the population.

There were 1,699 households out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.4% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.2% were non-families. 13.2% 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 2.77 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 32.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $153,208, and the median income for a family was $168,040. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $50,553 for females. The per capita income for the town was $74,914. About 0.9% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.6% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

Gary Warshauer is the current town supervisor. Pound Ridge government offices are located in the historic Pound Ridge Town House on Westchester Avenue.

[edit] Communities and locations in Pound Ridge

[edit] Trivia

• In the 1970s Top 40 radio parody "Nine" [1], this hamlet is used as the city of licence for an AM radio station trying out the "ultimate saleable radio format", in a satire of the gradual reduction of personality in radio.
• Jazz legend Benny Goodman, a former resident, composed a song entitled, "Pound Ridge."
• In the musical RENT by Jonathan Larson, Joanne's mother mentions "Alfred in Pound Ridge" during "Voice Mail #2."
• Parts of the 1997 film, Jungle 2 Jungle, starring Tim Allen, were filmed in Pound Ridge.
• Parts of the 1997 HBO film, In the Gloaming, directed by Christopher Reeve and starring Glenn Close, Bridget Fonda, and Whoopi Goldberg, were filmed in Pound Ridge.
• Historical trivia about the town can be found in the book GOD'S COUNTRY by Jay Harris, which is available through the Pound Ridge Historical Society.
• POUND RIDGE PAST: REMEMBRANCES OF OUR TOWNFOLK by Bonni Brodnick, with photographs by Fran Collin and graphic design by Gina Federico -- Historical and personal reflections span from the rural 1920s to the swinging 1970s and reveal what 20th century life was like in Pound Ridge, New York – a town that is often referred to as “God’s Country”. The book includes interviews with town elders, along with anecdotes from former Pound Ridgers, who share their treasured (often humorous) stories about growing up here. Pound Ridge Past includes tales of ghosts, underground bomb shelters, hunting, fishing, floods, and ice storms; as well as remembrances of basket makers, farmers, teachers, politicians, movie stars, and literary glitterati. For more information, please go to [2]
• Pound Ridge was one of the first locations considered for the building of the United Nations Headquarters. Although Manhattan was eventually selected, one of the headquarters' architects, Max Abramovitz, lived (and died) in Pound Ridge.

[edit] Notable residents, past and present

(in alphabetical order)

• Max Abramovitz, architect and long term resident who died here in 2004
• Eva Amurri, lifelong resident and actor
• David Ballard, direct marketing executive, expert cataloguer
• Tallulah Bankhead, actor (deceased)
• Ellen Barkin, actor who lived in town in the 1990s
• David Bloom, journalist (deceased)
• Gabriel Byrne, actor who resided here in the 1990s
• Zoe Caldwell, long term resident and stage actor
• Howard Cosell, sportscaster (deceased)
• Hume Cronyn, long-term resident and actor, husband of Jessica Tandy (deceased)
• Ari Fleischer, press secretary for U.S. President George W. Bush (2001 to 2003) who grew up here and returned to raise his family here
• Henry Gabriel, writer
• Richard Gere, actor and husband of Carey Lowell^[2]
• Hiram Halle, philanthropist, inventor and businessman who died here in 1944
• Matthew Harb, famous entrepreneur, actor, philanthropist, and humanist.
• Anne Jackson, actor
• Eartha Kitt, long term resident and actress
• Stanley Lomas, television and advertising pioneer, produced first televised college football game (deceased)
• Carey Lowell, actor, wife of Richard Gere^[2]
• Robert Morgan, actor (deceased)
• Ann Ostrow-Gilbert, RCA Victor Recording Artist- resident 1966-1995
• John Ostrow, Computer Animation Artist- resident 1970-1996
• Stuart Ostrow, Broadway Producer- resident 1966-1995
• Mike Myers, actor
• Elizabeth Hand, author who grew up here
• William Rubin, art historian and curator who died here in 2006
• Benny Goodman, musician (deceased)
• Tom Brokaw, journalist and author
• Jane Pauley, journalist and author
• Christopher Reeve, long-time resident and actor who died here in 2004
• Dana Reeve, long-time resident and actor who died here in 2006
• Tim Robbins, long-time resident, Little League sponsor, and actor
• Robert Rubin, 70th United States Treasury Secretary
• Susan Sarandon, long-time resident and actor
• Jessica Tandy, long-time resident and actor, wife of Hume Cronyn (deceased)
• Vuko Tashkovich, architect and builder and long term resident who died here in 1996
• Eli Wallach, actor
• Vera Wang, lifelong resident and fashion designer
• Robert Whitehead, producer (deceased)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ ^{a b} Costaregni, Susie, "'Law & Order' actress spotted in Greenwich", from "The Dish" column in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut and the Greenwich Time daily newspapers, November 12, 2006, page 2 of The Advocate: "Actor and Pound Ridge, N.Y., resident Richard Gere's new project ..."

Ari Fleischer lived in Bedford, NY

[edit] External links

• Town of Pound Ridge
• Pound Ridge Land Conservancy
• Open Space Information
• BEDFORD MAGAZINE, the premier magazine for Bedford, Pound Ridge, Katonah
• Pound Ridge Past: Remembrances of Our Townsfolk / book by Bonni Brodnick, with photographs by Fran Collin & graphic design by Gina Federico
• InTown Westchester Magazine
• The Journal News, the County newspaper
• Pound Ridge Newcomers and Neighbors Club