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North Tonawanda, New York

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The Buffalo Norsemen played in the old North American Hockey League (NAHL) during the 1975–76 season, playing their home games in North Tonawanda, New York , a suburb of Buffalo 12 miles to the north, at the Tonawanda Sports Center.

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78-686: North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County , New York , United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is named after Tonawanda Creek , its south border. Tonawanda in the Seneca language means "Swift Running Water". Tonawanda Creek, which flows into the Niagara River, once had large stretches of rapids (see Rapids, New York ) until it

156-506: A county administrator, who acts on behalf of the legislature, the legislature must maintain ultimate control over the actions of the administrator. Many, but not all, charter counties have an elected executive who is independent of the legislature; the exact form of government is defined in the County Charter. In New York, each city is a highly autonomous incorporated area that, with the exceptions of New York City and Geneva ,

234-470: A female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

312-642: A land-use classification for private land under its Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan (APLUDP). The APLUDP extends the boundaries for its classification of hamlets "well beyond established settlements" to allow for growth. In New York, a village is an incorporated area. About 85% of villages fall within a single town. Villages in the State of New York are classified by the Census Bureau as incorporated places . Like all municipal corporations, villages have clearly defined legal boundaries. A village

390-417: A mayor and (usually) four trustees. The board is responsible for approving mayoral appointments, managing village finances and property, and approving a budget. The mayor, who is generally the chief executive of the village, may vote in all business before the board and must vote to break a tie. The mayor generally does not possess veto power, unless this is provided for by local law. Administrative duties of

468-577: A number of Norsemen fans had hurled racial epithets at the player, and some held up derogatory signs, including one stating that blacks should be playing basketball, not hockey. After the brawl in Johnstown had been broken up by the officials, the Norsemen players and coaches returned to the dressing room and refused to come out to start the game. According to the Johnstown Jets' Dave Hanson, who

546-547: A prolonged career in the NHL, and enforcer Val James , the NHL's first black American. Both James and McKegney, the latter of whom was quite popular with Sabres fans, played their home games in front of many of the same fans who had attended Buffalo Norsemen games. McKegney had no complaints about his treatment in Buffalo, stating that Western New York's fans treated him "royally." The following Buffalo Norsemen players also played in

624-602: A town; 35.9% were living in a town but outside a village. Whereas cities and villages can cross county boundaries, each town in New York is completely contained within a single county. New York towns are classified by statute as being a town of the first class or a town of the second class . Additionally, a town of the first class can further be classified as a suburban town upon meeting certain criteria. Originally, towns of different classes possessed different powers. Since 1964, all towns, regardless of classification, have had

702-481: A uniform statewide Village Law (twelve villages still operate under charters issued by the state legislature prior to a revision of the State Constitution in 1874 that forbade chartering villages). Also, villages are part of a town (or towns; some villages cross town borders), with residents who pay taxes to and receive services from the town. Cities are neither part of nor subordinate to towns except for

780-510: A village becomes a city, the Legislature requires clear evidence, usually in the form of a locally drafted charter, that the community in question seeks to incorporate as a city. The forms of government cities can have are council–manager, strong mayor–council, weak mayor–council or commission. Forty-six cities, the majority, use the mayor–council form. The City of New York is a special case. The state legislature reorganized government in

858-494: A village or town but will perform some of the functions of the other form. Villages remain part of the towns in which they are located; village residents pay both town and village taxes, and vote in both town and village elections. Towns can contain several hamlets and communities. If the United States Postal Service (USPS) has a post office in a hamlet it often will use the name of that hamlet, as will

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936-423: Is Sherrill, New York , with just 3,071 inhabitants in 2010. The smallest city by area is Mechanicville, New York , which covers 0.91 sq mi (2.4 km ) (of which 0.08 sq mi (0.2 km ) is water). Some places containing the word "city" in their name are not cities. Examples include Johnson City , Garden City , and New City . Several cities, such as Albany, are divided into wards for

1014-571: Is a community theater in a century-old church. The former Carnegie Library is home to the Carnegie Art Center. An E. B. Green designed building houses the Buffalo Suzuki Strings Musical Arts Center. An active arts community has developed in the downtown area as well. The North Tonawanda History Museum no longer occupies the former G. C. Murphy Co. store building on Webster Street in the heart of

1092-408: Is a municipality that provides services to the residents, services that may or may not include garbage collection, management of cemeteries, street and highway maintenance, street lighting, and building codes. Some villages provide their own police and other municipal services. Villages have less autonomy than cities. While cities are not subject to a town's jurisdiction, villages legally remain part of

1170-402: Is commonplace to change boundaries and define new CDPs for each census. The Census Bureau formerly referred to CDPs as "unincorporated places" from 1950 through the 1970 decennial censuses. The term CDP was first used for the 1980 census , and minimum population criteria for CDPs were dropped with the 2000 census . Though the term "hamlet" is not defined under New York law, many people in

1248-456: Is contained within one county. Cities in New York are classified by the U.S. Census Bureau as incorporated places. They provide almost all services to their residents and have the highest degree of home rule and taxing jurisdiction over their residents. The main difference between a city and a village is that cities are organized and governed according to their charters , which can differ widely among cities, while most villages are subject to

1326-558: Is in three towns and two counties. Five towns are coterminous with their single village and have a coterminous town-village form of government. Despite their names, Greenwich Village , the East Village , and Queens Village are not villages, but neighborhoods of the City of New York . A borough is one of the five major administrative divisions of the consolidated City of New York . Boroughs do not currently exist elsewhere in

1404-588: Is its southern border. North Tonawanda is the second largest city in Niagara County, after Niagara Falls, New York . North Tonawanda is known as "The Lumber City," because it was from the mid-19th century through the 1970s, a lumber transportation and forwarding center of significance because of the ready availability of lumber. It was the birthplace of the Herschell-Spillman Company/Allan Herschell Co. , one of

1482-667: Is now leased to various light industrial, high technology, and commercial businesses. The following are the historic sites in North Tonawanda of such significance as to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places . As of the census of 2000, there were 33,262 people, 13,671 households, and 8,981 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,293.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,271.5/km). There were 14,425 housing units at an average density of 1,428.2 per square mile (551.4/km). The racial makeup of

1560-425: Is then voted upon by the qualified voters living in the proposed village only. Some villages have fewer than 500 residents, having incorporated before the present population requirement or fallen below the old 500-resident threshold after incorporation. A village may also be dissolved, returning all government control to the town level. The process of dissolution can be initiated by the village board itself, or upon

1638-406: Is water. The town of Webb ( Herkimer County ) has the greatest land area, at 451 sq mi (1,170 km ). The smallest town, Green Island ( Albany County ), covers 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km ). The town of Hempstead ( Nassau County ) has about 760,000 people (2010 census), making it more populous than any city in the state except New York City . Red House ( Cattaraugus County ),

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1716-606: The Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York . Articles VIII (titled "Local Finances") and IX (titled "Local Government", but commonly referred to as the "Home Rule" article) of the state constitution establish the rights and responsibilities of the municipal governments. The New York State Constitution provides for democratically elected legislative bodies for counties, cities, towns and villages. These legislative bodies are granted

1794-519: The United States Census Bureau as "a statistical entity defined for each decennial census according to Census Bureau guidelines, comprising a densely settled concentration of population" that is not part of a city or a village "but is locally identified by a name." CDPs may cross town and county borders. CDPs are defined collaboratively by state and local officials and the Census Bureau. They are defined for each census, and it

1872-624: The Downtown Historic District. Parks in North Tonawanda include Veteran's Park, which has a monument to U.S. Seabees, one to the U.S. Marines, and is working on one to Vietnam War Veterans; Gateway Harbor Park, along the Erie Canal, the site of the annual Canal Fest in July and free concerts and other activities; the 53-acre (210,000 m) Gratwick-Riverside Park along the Niagara River; and Pine Woods Park, Mayor's Park, and

1950-467: The Jets leading the playoff series 3 games to 2. Steve, Jeff and Jack Carlson, three brothers who Slapshot's Hanson brothers were based on, started a brawl with the Norsemen during the pre-game skate in retaliation for Norsemen fans bigoted actions towards an African-American player on the Johnstown roster at the previous three games in the series, which had been played in North Tonawanda. In an ugly incident,

2028-732: The NAHL playoffs. The Norsemen uniform design and colours appear in the film as the Hyannisport Presidents, and the Patriots have similar uniforms to the Syracuse Blazers of the NAHL. The film used similar uniforms as the teams in the NAHL but rearranged the storylines. In the film, the Hanson Brothers start a brawl with the Patriots during the pre-game skate. The real-life incident occurred in Johnstown with

2106-558: The Niagara Frontier occupies a 1923 Erie Railroad station on Oliver Street. The Riviera Theater and Performing Arts Center on Webster Street, in a restored Italian Renaissance-style building, features plays, concerts, movies and other events, and its 1926 "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ is featured in monthly organ concerts. The theater is one of only a handful in the United States with projectors capable of showing nitrate film prints in common use before about 1951. The Ghostlight Theatre

2184-490: The North Tonawanda Botanical Gardens with a boat launch. The Buffalo Norsemen played their home games in North Tonawanda during their existence. North Tonawanda is located at 43°2′28″N 78°52′8″W  /  43.04111°N 78.86889°W  / 43.04111; -78.86889 (43.041006, -78.868920). The Erie Canal defines the southern and the majority of the eastern borders of

2262-602: The Slap Shot character of Dave "Killer" Carlson was based on, "they (the Norsemen) skated off the ice and went into the locker room and refused to come out to play the game, and we won the game and the series by forfeit." In a twist of fate, in the subsequent years Buffalo's NHL franchise, the Buffalo Sabres , would make two historic black player signings: winger Tony McKegney , one of the first black players to have

2340-573: The Town of Wheatfield, but as part of Martinsville, New York ), North Tonawanda was incorporated as a City on April 24, 1897. North Tonawanda is on the north side of the Erie Canal/Tonawanda Creek, across from Erie County, New York and the communities of the City of Tonawanda and the Town of Amherst. The Town of Wheatfield borders North Tonawanda on the north and east; the Niagara River serves as its western border, as Tonawanda Creek

2418-542: The U.S. Census Bureau as minor civil divisions . Like New Jersey and southern New England , all of New York is incorporated; all residents who do not live in a city or on an Indian reservation live in a town. Towns provide or arrange for the primary functions of local government. While some provide most municipal services for all town residents and selected services for residents of villages, some provide little more than road maintenance. There were 933 towns in New York. As of 2000 , 45.8% of state residents were living in

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2496-451: The area in the 1890s in an effort to consolidate. Other cities, villages, and towns were annexed to become the " City of Greater New York ", (an unofficial term, the new city retained the name of New York), a process basically completed in 1898. At the time of consolidation, Queens County was split. Its western towns joined the city, leaving three towns that were never part of the consolidation plan as part of Queens County but not part of

2574-495: The area of the proposed village must have at least 1,500 inhabitants and not be part of an existing city or village. Additionally, the proposed village can be no more than 5 square miles (13 km ) in area unless its boundaries are to be coterminous with a school, fire, improvement or other district, or the entire town. The process of incorporation begins with a petition by either 20% of residents or owners of 50% of assessed real property. If deemed legally sufficient, incorporation

2652-427: The cities of New York and Albany city charters, which were recognized by the first State Constitution in 1777. All other cities have been established by act of the state legislature and have been granted a charter. Cities have been granted the power to revise their charters or adopt new ones. There are no minimum population or area requirements in order to become a city. While there is no defined process for how and when

2730-465: The city as "The Jewel of Niagara County" due to its geographical setting between the Niagara River and Erie Canal. Street signs on the borders of town welcome visitors to "The Home Of The Carousel". After the first settlers arrived in 1809, North Tonawanda became part of the town of Wheatfield, New York in Niagara County, from May 1836. An abortive attempt at a village containing portions in two counties and two towns from January 1854 until April 1857, it

2808-729: The city is defined by the Niagara River and a line that runs just west of and parallel to Witmer Road. Also, at the southwest corner of the city is Tonawanda Island, which is separated from the mainland by the Little River (Part of the East Branch of the Niagara River) and is part of the city. The edge of North Tonawanda is sometimes hard to find, because the southern parts of both the Towns of Wheatfield and Pendleton use

2886-541: The city of Sherrill , which for some purposes is treated as if it were a village of the town of Vernon . Some cities are completely surrounded by a town, typically of the same name. There are sixty-two cities in the state. As of 2000 , 54.1% of state residents were living in a city; 42.2% were living in New York City; 11.9% were living in one of the other 61 cities. In 1686, the English colonial governor granted

2964-403: The city was 97.86% White , 0.29% African American , 0.34% Native American , 0.53% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.29% from other races , and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population. There were 13,671 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 11.1% had

3042-447: The city, with the rest of the eastern border made up of Sweeney Street and Old Falls Boulevard. Niagara Falls Boulevard ( US Route 62 ) defines the northeastern border of the city. The majority of the northern border of the city is a line that runs east-west just above Forbes Terrace, mostly paralleling Ruie Road, with the rest of the northern border being a short northwesterly line that runs from Ward Road to Witmer Road. The western edge of

3120-610: The consolidated city. Each borough individually elects a borough president and used to elect two at-large city council members, in addition to those elected based on each borough's population. The borough presidents once wielded considerable power as members of the New York City Board of Estimate , but the position is now largely ceremonial and advisory. Boroughs function as counties for certain purposes, but have no county government. The five New York City district attorneys , however, are still elected by county (for example,

3198-614: The county also publish maps that conflict both in the number of hamlets and their boundaries. Nevertheless, all land not within a village is administered by the town. Most of the rest of New York's hamlets, however, have less well-defined boundaries, and most towns have areas that are not considered to be a part of any hamlet. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) puts hamlet names on rectangular green signs with white lettering at roadside locations of its choosing. The NYSDOT and local governments also provide community identification signs on some scenic byways to be placed at

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3276-595: The county boundaries—each have a Borough Board made up of the Borough President, the borough's district council members, and the chairpersons of the borough's community boards. A mayor serves as the city's chief executive officer. The most populous and largest city in the state is New York City , with a population of over 8.5 million inhabitants and comprising just over 300 sq mi (777.00 km ) of land (468.87 sq mi (1,214.368 km ) total area, which includes water). The least populous city

3354-717: The district attorney for Brooklyn is called the Kings County District Attorney). Buffalo Norsemen An incident at a Norsemen playoff game that season was portrayed in the movie Slap Shot . A regular season game in the film between the Charlestown Chiefs and the Peterborough Patriots is based on a real game between the Norsemen and the Johnstown Jets , the team that the Charlestown Chiefs were based on, during

3432-712: The executive branch. All town justices were originally part of a town's board. Today, justices belong to a separate judicial branch known as Town Court or Justice Court, part of New York's Justice Court system. A town may contain one or more villages. Many towns have no villages. Five towns are coterminous with their single village and share the same name: Green Island in Albany County ; East Rochester in Monroe County ; and Scarsdale , Harrison , and Mount Kisco in Westchester County . A sixth,

3510-752: The form of government selected by the residents and approved by the New York State Legislature. Each type of local government is granted specific home rule powers by the New York State Constitution. There are still occasional changes as a village becomes a city, or a village dissolves (stops existing), each of which requires legislative action. New York also has various corporate entities that provide local services and have their own administrative structures (governments), such as school and fire districts. These are not found in all counties. Almost every piece of land in

3588-541: The general provisions of the County Law. Although all counties have a certain latitude to govern themselves, "charter counties" are afforded greater home rule powers. The charter counties are Albany , Broome , Chautauqua , Chemung , Dutchess , Erie , Herkimer , Monroe , Nassau , Oneida , Onondaga , Orange , Putnam , Rensselaer , Rockland , Schenectady , Suffolk , Tompkins , Ulster , and Westchester . Sixteen counties are governed through an assembly with

3666-507: The largest musical instrument manufacturing plants in the world. The Ray H. Bennett Lumber Co., one of more than 150 lumber companies to have called North Tonawanda home, produced kit homes sold around the nation and Canada for 70 years. Richardson Boat, Buffalo Bolt, Durez Chemical, National Grinding Wheel, Taylor Devices, International Paper, Tonawanda Iron & Steel, Riverside Chemical, and hundreds of other successful manufacturing businesses called North Tonawanda home. The Railroad Museum of

3744-731: The leading manufacturers of carousels in America and is now the home of the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum. In 1888, Herschell attracted expatriate Belgian Eugene de Kleist to North Tonawanda, who started the North Tonawanda Barrel Organ Factory to produce band organs. Taken over in 1909 by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company after De Kleist became mayor of North Tonawanda in 1906, Wurlitzer became one of

3822-465: The least populous, has 38 permanent residents (2010 census). The use of "town" in a community's name is irrespective of municipal status. Elizabethtown , Germantown and Stephentown are towns. Cooperstown , home of the Baseball Hall of Fame , is a village, Jamestown and Middletown are cities, and Levittown is an unincorporated hamlet. A census-designated place (CDP) is defined by

3900-593: The limits. Based on the ZIP Code, the United States Postal Service (USPS) identifies the correct location for mail delivery. The New York State Gazetteer , published by the New York State Department of Health in 1995, includes a list of hamlets in the state. The criteria used for inclusion in the Gazetteer are not stated. The Adirondack Park Agency also uses the term "hamlet", though as

3978-516: The local fire department or elementary school. Businesses may also use the name of a hamlet as part of their name. The United States Census Bureau will, with consideration from the town, designate a census-designated place (CDP) that may use the name of one or more hamlets, though boundaries may differ from what is used by the ZIP code, local fire department, etc. Towns in New York may be further subdivided into wards, although as of 2017 , only fifteen of

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4056-473: The mayor include enforcing laws and supervising employees. A village may also have a full-time village manager who performs these administrative duties instead of the mayor. In 2007, sixty-seven villages had such a manager. Some villages have their own village justice, while others utilize the justice of the town or towns in which they are located. While most villages are subject to a uniform statewide Village Law, twelve villages operate under charters issued by

4134-620: The mid-19th century; the New York City Council is currently elected from special districts, which are allowed to cross borough lines. New York City has a unique system of divisions, some of which possess governmental power, see Divisions unique to New York City . In New York, a town is a municipal corporation, and is the major division of each county (excluding the five boroughs that comprise New York City ), very similar to townships in other states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Towns in New York are classified by

4212-401: The new Borough of Queens. (A small portion of the Town of Hempstead was itself annexed, also.) The next year (1899), the three eastern towns of Queens County separated to become Nassau County . The city today consists of the entire area of five counties (named New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, and Richmond). While these counties have no county government, boroughs—with boundaries coterminous with

4290-416: The only body that can create governmental units is the state. All of them have their own governments, sometimes with no paid employees, that provide local services. Centers of population that are not incorporated and have no government or local services are designated hamlets . Whether a municipality is defined as a borough, city, town, or village is determined not by population or land area, but rather on

4368-547: The poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.1% are under the age of 18 and 6.1% are 65 or older. The public schools of North Tonawanda are the North Tonawanda High School, North Tonawanda Middle School, Drake Elementary School, North Tonawanda Intermediate School, Spruce Elementary School, and Ohio Elementary School. City (New York) See also: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The administrative divisions of New York are

4446-432: The power and fiscal capacity to provide an array of local government services. Such services generally include law enforcement and public safety, social and health services (such as Medicaid ), and education (special needs and community colleges). Every county outside of New York City has a county seat , which is the location of county government. Nineteen counties operate under county charters, while 38 operate under

4524-480: The power of a board of supervisors , composed of the supervisors of its constituent towns and cities. In most of these counties, each supervisor's vote is weighted in accordance with the town's population in order to abide by the U.S. Supreme Court mandate of " one person, one vote ". Other counties have legislative districts of equal population, which may cross municipal borders; these counties may also have an elected County Executive. Most counties in New York do not use

4602-493: The power to enact local laws as needed in order to provide services to their citizens and fulfill their various obligations. The county is the primary administrative division of New York. There are sixty-two counties in the state. Five of the counties are boroughs of the City of New York and do not have functioning county governments. While originally created as subdivisions of the state meant to carry out state functions, counties are now considered municipal corporations with

4680-472: The purposes of municipal representation. Each ward elects one member to the city's legislative body, and the wards are redistricted roughly every ten years. These divisions can go by other names by city; in Buffalo they are known as districts . These divisions can either be numbered or named. New York City was divided into wards at various times in its history between 1683 and 1938, although they were gradually replaced by Assembly and Senate districts starting in

4758-749: The roadside boundaries of hamlets, as decided by the sign provider. Many towns have special zoning or planning districts and planning strategies for their hamlets, and many places welcome signs at the gateways to the hamlets. Some hamlets are former villages that have dissolved their incorporation ( Old Forge in Herkimer County ; Rosendale , in Ulster County ; and Andes in Delaware County , for example). Notwithstanding hamlets are not cities or towns, many of them are called out in formal addresses for those residents residing within

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4836-450: The same legal powers as were once available only to suburban towns. Even so, towns of different classifications continue to have organizational differences and certain conditions that must be met before a town's classification changes. The town board serves as the legislative branch. The board is composed of one elected town supervisor (or chief executive officer in suburban towns) and a specific number of elected council persons; towns of

4914-466: The same zip code as North Tonawanda, 14120. It is home to many historic mansions and an historic cemetery. The North Tonawanda City Market, established in 1908, is the oldest farmer's market in Niagara County. It is open three days a week year round but busiest in the summer and early fall, when more than 70 area farmers sell there. The city has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places . The old Wurlitzer Organ Factory which

4992-575: The second class generally have two but may have four council persons, whereas towns of the first class generally have four but can have two or six. The supervisor presides over the board, voting on all matters but not possessing veto or tie-breaking power. Certain towns operate under a town manager form of government, creating an executive branch in the town government, as permitted by legislation enacted in 1976. As such, some supervisors have additional authority or executive powers, whereas some towns have town managers or chief executive officers who serve as

5070-456: The state has more than 3,400 active local governments and more than 4,200 taxing jurisdictions. Counties and incorporated municipal governments (also known as "general purpose units of local government"; i.e., cities, towns and villages) in the State of New York have been granted broad home rule powers enabling them to provide services to their residents and to regulate the quality of life within their jurisdictions. They do so while adhering to

5148-404: The state is part of a city or town, which is part of one county. The exceptions are the city of Geneva ; New York City ; and ten Indian reservations . As of 2009 , New York has 62 counties (including New York City's five boroughs ), which are subdivided into 933 towns and 61 cities (including Geneva in both Ontario and Seneca counties, but excluding New York City and Sherrill ). In total,

5226-641: The state legislature prior to 1874. Before a revision to the State Constitution in that year, villages were formed by the state legislature through granting of charters. Many villages reincorporated, dumping their charters in favor of the Village Law. The villages that retain their charters are Alexander , Carthage , Catskill , Cooperstown , Deposit , Fredonia , Ilion , Mohawk , Ossining , Owego , Port Chester , and Waterford . These villages must still comply with those aspects of Village Law that are not inconsistent with their charters. To be incorporated,

5304-580: The state use the term hamlet to refer to a community within a town that is not incorporated as a village but is identified by a name, i.e. an unincorporated community . A hamlet often has a name corresponding to the name of a local school district , post office , or fire district. Because a hamlet has no government of its own, it depends upon the town or towns that contain it for municipal services and government. Because they do not have governments, hamlets have no clear boundaries . Suffolk County publishes maps that give hamlet boundaries, but towns within

5382-423: The state's 932 towns used this system. In towns operating under the ward system, citizens vote for councilmen who represent a specific area (ward) of the town, as opposed to the at-large councilmen elected in the majority of the state's towns. Towns vary in size and population. The largest town by area is Brookhaven ( Suffolk County ), which covers 531.5 sq mi (1,377 km ), but more than half of that

5460-478: The state. Each of the five boroughs of the city is coextensive with a county of the state of New York. Under New York State's General Municipal Law , a borough results when the towns, villages and cities in a county merge with the county itself. This occurred in 1898 when New York City merged with surrounding counties, cities and towns to form its present configuration. The five boroughs are: The boroughs were originally intended to retain some local governance in

5538-508: The submission of a proper petition to the board. The village board must produce a "dissolution plan" that settles specific matters, such as the village's debts, its employees and property, and the financial impact dissolution would have on village and non-village town residents. This plan is voted upon by village voters only. About 15% of villages cross other municipal boundaries. More than 70 villages are located in two or more towns. Seven villages are in two counties. The village of Saranac Lake

5616-405: The term "Board of Supervisors." 34 counties have a County Legislature, six counties have a Board of Legislators, and one county has a Board of Representatives. The five counties, or boroughs, of New York City are governed by a 51-member City Council. In non-charter counties, the legislative body exercises executive power as well. Although the legislature can delegate certain functions and duties to

5694-503: The town of Palm Tree in Orange County was incorporated in 2019 and is coterminous with the village of Kiryas Joel , having acquired land from the town of Monroe . When such an entity is formed, officials from either unit of government may serve in both village and town governments simultaneously. A referendum is held to decide whether residents prefer a village-style or town-style government, which will then function primarily as

5772-419: The town or towns in which they are located. Village residents pay both town and village taxes, and vote in town and village elections. Those services not provided by the village are provided by the town or towns containing the village. As of the 2000 census, 9.9% of the state's population was living in one of the 556 villages in New York. The legislature of a village is the board of trustees, composed of

5850-636: The various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York . The state is divided into boroughs , counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the five boroughs of New York City, have the same boundaries as their respective counties.) They are municipal corporations , chartered (created) by the New York State Legislature , as under the New York State Constitution

5928-400: Was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 39,154, and the median income for a family was $ 50,219. Males had a median income of $ 36,551 versus $ 25,129 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 19,264. 7.2% of the population and 5.4% of families were below

6006-547: Was part of the Niagara County/Town of Wheatfield component, with the other portion in Erie County and the Town of Tonawanda. The experiment was abandoned after New York State removed the village's North Tonawanda component. Oral history claims a dispute between merchants was the cause, but the combination of communities in two counties and two towns was unwieldy. After becoming a village on May 8, 1865 (still in

6084-519: Was tamed with the construction of the Erie Canal . The city also calls itself "The Lumber City," due to its past primary industry and once was the largest port on the Great Lakes during the height of the Erie Canal. Along Goundry Street are mansions built for the lumber barons, including 208 Goundry Street, called "Kent Place", designed by Stanford White . Many of the local residents refer to

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