Briarcliff Manor, New York
Briarcliff Manor was historically known for its wealthy estate-owning families, including the Vanderbilts, Astors, and Rockefellers. It still remains primarily residential and its population is still considered affluent by U.S. standards. It has about of recreational facilities and parks, all accessible to the public. The village has seven Christian churches for various denominations and two synagogues. The oldest church is Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, built in 1851. Briarcliff Manor has an elected local government, with departments including police, fire, recreation, and public works. It has a low crime rate: a 2012 study found it had the second-lowest in the state. In the New York State Legislature it is split between the New York State Assembly's 95th and 92nd districts, and the New York Senate's 38th and 40th districts. In Congress the village is in New York's 17th District.
History of Briarcliff Manor
Law developed the village, establishing schools, churches, parks and the Briarcliff Lodge. He established the School of Practical Agriculture in 1900 on Pleasantville Road on , and had invested $2.5 million ($ in ) in the village by 1902. His employees at Briarcliff Farms moved into the village, and Law held some of their mortgages. At the time, New York State required a population density of at least 300 per square mile as the first step towards incorporation as a village. A proposition was presented to the supervisors of Mount Pleasant and Ossining on October 8, 1902 that the area of with a population of 331 be incorporated as the Village of Briarcliff Manor, and the village was incorporated on November 21. At the time, Law owned all but two small parcels of the square mile village, and employed 100 of its residents.
At its 1902 opening, the Briarcliff Lodge was a premier resort hotel. The Tudor Revival-style building was surrounded by dairy barns and greenhouses (built by Law), and hosted numerous distinguished guests, including Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. The hotel declined during the 1930s but the lodge remained in use, housing the Edgewood Park School (1936–1954) and The King's College (1955–1994). The original 1902 Briarcliff Lodge building burned to the ground on September 20, 2003, and contemporary portions of the lodge and other campus buildings were later demolished.