New Paltz is a village located in Ulster County, New York 90 miles North of New York City, exit 18 on the New York State Thruway. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 6,034.
History
The Village of New Paltz was established in 1678. The first European residents were Huguenot refugees from France. Huguenot Street has stone houses built by these refugees. This street is known as the oldest street in America with its original houses.
Starting in the late twentieth century, New Paltz increasingly became an outer commuter suburb of New York City. Residents either commute daily, commute part time, or telecommute daily. This trend accelerated as a result of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This suburbanization increasingly uses agricultural lands for housing and commercial development. Much of the agricultural lands in the New Paltz area were apple orchards.
Nature
Just outside of New Paltz is the Shawangunk mountain range which includes the Mohonk Preserve.
Mohonk Preserve Shawangunk Ridge
This mountain range is considered to have some of the best rock climbing sites in America.
This mountain range also has the national historic landmark Mohonk Mountain House built in 1869.
Culture
Scenes in the film The Road to Wellville were shot at the Mohonk Mountain House.
A scene in the film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was shot at the intersection of state routes 299 and 32 in New Paltz.
A State University of New York campus is located in this village.
Mayor Jason West was elected on the Green Party ticket. On February 26, 2004, he announced that the village would start performing same-sex civil weddings. Although the village did not attempt to issue licences for these types of weddings, couples in New York State have six months from the date of a wedding to seek a licence.[1] See Same-sex marriage in the United States. On June 8 2004, a New York State judge ruled that West lacked the legal authority to perform any further marriages.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.6 km² (1.8 mi²). 4.5 km² (1.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.70% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 6,034 people, 1,898 households, and 586 families residing in the village. The population density is 1,346.7/km² (3,482.5/mi²). There are 1,957 housing units at an average density of 436.8/km² (1,129.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 73.42% White, 7.79% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 7.01% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 8.35% from other races, and 3.07% from two or more races. 11.93% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,898 households out of which 12.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.1% are married couples living together, 7.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 69.1% are non-families. 41.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.03 and the average family size is 2.66.
In the village the population is spread out with 6.9% under the age of 18, 58.7% from 18 to 24, 19.0% from 25 to 44, 10.1% from 45 to 64, and 5.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. For every 100 females there are 80.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 78.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village is $21,747, and the median income for a family is $51,186. Males have a median income of $33,103 versus $22,935 for females. The per capita income for the village is $11,644. 36.9% of the population and 11.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 18.6% of those under the age of 18 and 12.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.