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.
Briarcliff Manor Public Library
On January 19, 1959, the library moved to its fifth location and first permanent home, the former Briarcliff Manor station originally on the New York City & Northern Railroad (later the New York and Putnam Railroad). The station had been built in 1906 by village founder Walter W. Law in the Tudor Revival style, as a replacement for a smaller station, which was moved to nearby Millwood. In its later operation as a station, the building was rarely used, and only four trains stopped there each day. Due to the railroad's tracks ending in the Bronx and requiring a transfer to continue on to Manhattan, many Briarcliff Manor residents would drive to Pleasantville or Scarborough, which had stations along lines ending in Manhattan, and more trains ran along those lines. The passenger railroad, then known as the Putnam Division of the New York Central Railroad, discontinued service in 1958, freeing up use of the building for the library.