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
The librarians sought a larger and more centrally-located space than the Briarcliff Farms building. On March 18, 1930, after invitation from the Briarcliff school district's Board of Education, the library was relocated again. It moved to a large room on the main floor of Briarcliff High School's extension to its Law Park school building. In August 1949, the school required more classroom space, so the Board of Education asked the library to relocate. The village board then provided the library with two rooms on the second floor of its recreation building near the village downtown on Old Route 100 (then part of NY Route 100). From the beginning, the recreation center rooms were too small to hold the library's collection (only holding about 7,000 of its 8,500 books), had insufficient room for tables and chairs, and no space for exhibits or displays. As well, the area was busy with traffic, due to its location at the intersection of two highways. It was also far from the village's public school buildings and had no sidewalks nearby, making it poorly-accessible and hazardous for children to visit.