Montebello, New York
Encyclopedia
Montebello is a village in the town of Ramapo
Rockland County
, New York
, United States
. It is located north of Suffern
, east of Hillburn
, south of Wesley Hills
and west of Airmont
. The population was 3,688 at the 2000 census.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the village has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²), all of it land.
The road system within the Village totals 20.98 miles (33.8 km). Of this, 1.97 miles (3.2 km) are State roads, 6.23 miles (10 km) of County Roads and 12.78 miles (20.6 km) of Village Roads. The major arteries include State Route 202, the NYS Thruway (Exit 14B is within the Village) and County roads including Airmont, Hemion, Montebello (portion), Spook Rock and Viola Roads, and Grandview Avenue and Dunnigan Drive.
of 2000, there were 3,688 people, 1,163 households, and 1,023 families residing in the village. The population density
was 845.1 people per square mile (326.6/km²). There were 1,182 housing units at an average density of 270.9 per square mile (104.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 92.79% White, 2.74% African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.68% Asian, 0.81% from other races
, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.96% of the population.
There were 1,163 households out of which 49.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.7% were married couples
living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.0% were non-families. 9.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the village the population was spread out with 32.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $116,600, and the median income for a family was $114,890. Males had a median income of $87,058 versus $41,250 for females. The per capita income
for the village was $44,098. About 2.4% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
. New Yorkers, in search of cool, quite retreat to relieve the stress of their urban lifestyles, filled the passenger trains bounds in summer for the surrounding rural regions. Relatively isolated prior to the 1860s, Suffern served as a welcome mat for the upstate Erie traveler. Twenty trains a day, loaded with seasonal tourists, stopped at the impressive Victorian
depot. Wordsoon spread among the travelers that "romantic scenery, fascinating beauty and rich land" could be found at the "pleasant summer resort". Suffern played host to the traveling public, whether accepting the hospitality offered by the resort hotels and boarding houses or just switching trains. The list of guests, visitors and part-time residents who were attracted to Suffern's rural charm included the names of many families from New York's affluent "upper crust". Some came as seasonal vacationers, closing to rent an estate, while others bought property from the abundant amount of undeveloped land. Picturesque rolling hills and vast wooded lands guarded by the Ramapo Mountains provided a rustic setting for the development of elegant country estates.
, in August 1887, the Ryans purchased the former Groesbeck mansion which was built in the 1860s. From the hilltop, the estate has a commanding view of the Ramapo Mountains. The Ryans called their estate "Montebello". Within three years, they had the elegant frame dwelling torn down and replaced with a large brick and stone mansion at the cost of $600,000. The new summer home contained such amenities as a two-lane bowling alley, an electric elevator, a private chapel
, greenhouse
, 13 fireplaces and in all, over forty-four rooms. The estate comprises 1000 acres (4 km²) and has a working farm. (Not including the 5 smaller "mansions" the Ryans built for their sons in the area, some of which are still standing today).
Aside from a fashionable home on Fifth Avenue, the Ryans maintained homes in Washington, D.C.
and a second home in Livingston, Virginia
, all reflecting the wealth of one of America's most prosperous and devoutly religious Irish Catholic
families. Thomas Fortune Ryan's riches were in vast contrast with his humble beginnings in rural Nelson County, Virginia
. Orphaned at age nine, Ryan would eventually become the tenth wealthiest man in the nation. After leaving his native state is 1868, he traveled to Baltimore, Maryland and found a job in the dry goods business of John S. Barry
, a highly successful entrepreneur. It was at this time that Ryan met Ida M. Barry, the boss's daughter, whom he later married. Using his wife's wealth as a foundation on which to build his own. Ryan launched his business career. Upon moving to New York, he engaged in the stock market
trade and at age 23 became the youngest man ever to purchase a seat on the New York Stock Exchange
. From there he amassed millions in urban transit, railroads, tobacco
, insurance
, banking, rubber
, diamonds, and even the Thompson submachine gun
.
The Ryans were as generous to philanthropies as they were rich. It has been estimated that Mrs. Ryan gave $20 million dollars to various charities and endowments across the country. Most of these were affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church
; however, there were also sizable donations to nonsectarian institutions as well. By 1905 it was reported that Mrs. Ryan's munificence covered the building of "at least one hundred new chapels, schools, churches, hospitals, homes for Sisters of Charity
and homes for the aged and infirmed". Mrs. Ryan displayed a special fondness for her new neighbors by contributing equipment to the newly formed Suffern Fire Department. She also built a new church and established a girl's school and a seminary in Suffern, among other things. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, she turned her attention to the health needs of the community and started Good Samaritan Hospital
.
After Mrs. Ryan's death in 1917, the family divided up the estate and sold the main mansion in 1921 to Edward Swann
, New York City
District Attorney
. After a brief period of ownership (several months), Swann sold the property to the Archdiocese of New York. They established a retreat site for St. Joseph's College and Seminary at the mansion. In 1944, Montebello was sold to Suffern resident Gustav Mayer. Among some of the plans the Mayer family had for the property, one idea was to develop a country club. That never materialized and the vacant mansion fell victim to vandals. The cooper mining giant Phelps Dodge
Corp. bought the dilapidated mansion in 1951 and used it as a corporate records headquarters for the next 31 years. After a relocation move, Phelps Dodge Corp sold the mansion for $1.6 million to Gary Goldberg, president of the investment/financial planning firm which bears his name. After a year of extensive renovation, Montebello became an office park.
Beyond the initial appearance, lay the successful homestead project, the brainchild of Ralph Borsodi
, nationally known author, economist
and philosopher. It was his vision to develop a domestic lifestyle that was productive, independent and economically practical for the New York City commuter. Borsodi, a wiry, shock-haired little man who wore horn-rimmed glasses
and paid "little attention to his clothes", began his new style of country living, later labeled as "agrarianism
for commuters" in 1919. He along with his wife and two sons moved from New York City and rented a small unimproved farmhouse
near Suffern. While Borsodi commuted to work in the city, they began their initial family experiments. Within a 15 year period, he and his family, tested their theories and dreams of self-subsistence and economic freedom
while enjoying the beauty of nature.
Authoring several books on economics, Borsodi's work, This Ugly Civilization, published in 1929, brought him national attention. Four years later, his best selling book, Flight from the City appeared as the country was mired in the depths of the Depression
. Firing the imagination of struggling families, many with low paying inner city jobs and an aimless future, the book described a way to seek out a good agrarian lifestyle and graphically detailed his own family's experiences and accomplishments at homesteading in Suffern. In 1935, Borsodi launched Bayard Lane, a small experimental cooperative community on a rolling unimproved tract of 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) at the foot of the Ramapo Mountains.
The property was acquired by the Independence Foundation Inc., a nonprofit cooperative and self-governing group of which Borsodi was a trustee. The other members were Samuel D. Dodge, Clarence E. Pickett, Dr. Harold Rugg, Beveridge C. Dunlop, W. Van Alan Clark, Mrs. Elizabeth Macdonald, Mrs. William Sargent Ladd and Dr. Warren Wilson
. They divided the estate into one and 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) homesteads occupied by individual families. The homes were owned individually, the land cooperatively. The Foundation indentured the land to the homeowner through a corporation representing them. Fourteen families who knew Borsodi or who had heard of his project were willing to try the experiment after those interested in the idea had been "philosophically initiated the previous January" the New York Times reported.
Ground was broken for the first house (Marquart residence, #14 Bayard Lane) on June 23, 1935. Using the Ernest Flagg
method of construction, they built attractive, economical, sturdy homes of native fieldstone. Each house had all the modern conveniences of the day. It was said, they "will be standing at least a hundred years after they are paid for." Homes could be constructed by various building craft guilds under a special arrangement with the Independence Foundation. A professional staff would provide architects, estimates, record keeping and construction
. The benefits to the homeowners were considerable. They could do as much of the work themselves, calling in help whenever needed. The Foundation would also offer loan contracts. To prevent substandard, unattractive buildings, construction plans were reviewed by a committee.
The School of Living, was literally and figuratively the centerpiece of Borsodi's experiment in homesteading, headquartered at #21 Bayard Lane in 1938. Dedicated on Independence Day
to the "economic independence of the American people, the School of Living was to develop research and promote the Borsodi philosophy of balanced and healthy living in which the home and the land were productive instruments. The school taught the essentials of do-it-yourself agrarianism
, including caning
, poultry
raising, animal husbandry
, masonry
, carpentry
, use of tools and household equipment.
Borsodi's "Bayard Lane Utopia" appeared to be a great idea on paper, and initially it appeared to be successful and was prominently featured in a variety of national publications. But as the United States
entered the Second World War, the economy shifted and society began to change. A new wave of patriotism swept the country, leading Bayard Lane residents to distance themselves from Borsodi's self-sufficient principles and cooperative living. Eventually, Borsodi resigned from the Foundation, and in time, many of the original families living in this small enclave moved away.
In 1992, two historical markers were erected to recount the legacy left by the nearly forgotten experimental community whose new style of country living received national attention in the 1930s, and gave hope and inspiration to struggling families of the Depression.
In 1907, Mr. Meyer carefully chose 200 acre (0.809372 km²) from the abundant, rural Ramapo landscape, for the creation of an elegant county estate and working farm. Among the rolling hills, century-old trees, beautiful mountain vistas, he carved "one of the model showplaces in Rockland County", as reported by New York Times. Part of this extensive property today is dotted with private homes as well as the site of Suffern High School
. The farm's centerpiece was a cobblestone barn
/carriage house
, built with the stones cleared from the fields, hence the name Cobblestone Farm. Handsome stone walls outlined the estate's boundaries. Additional outbuildings were constructed to form an attractive ensemble of farm buildings, including a massive timberframe diary barn with caretaker's cottage. Several ponds were formed and one-third of the acreage was put under cultivation. Thousands of vegetables and flowering plants were raised and donated to local charities and hospitals.
The estate's owner was a descendant of an old Colonial family from Long Island. His cousin, George von L. Meyer, was Secretary of the Navy under President
Theodore Roosevelt
and served as an ambassador to several countries. Henry von L. Meyer was a prominent businessman and after a number of years in the paper manu-facturing business, he entered the drug manufacturing field and became vice president of Health Products Company in New York City. He later founded White Laboratories in Newark, NJ which manufactured many nationally known drug products such as Feenamint, Aspergum
and a number of cod liver oil concentrates.
After moving to the Suffern area, Mr. Meyer became connected locally with a number of leading business institutions. He was a chief stockholder in the Lafayette Theatre
, the Ramapo Valley Independent newspaper, Ramapo Cider & Vinegar Company, and a vice president in the Suffern National Bank. Henry Meyer and his wife Laura Hard Meyer had two children, Henry von L. Meyer Jr. and Sarah Meyer. The family was well known for their philanthropic interest in the county. For many years they were involved in the State Charities Aid Association, Rockland Volunteer Aid Society, the Boy Scouts of America
and were founding members of the Rockland County Conservation Association.
But perhaps their greatest charity work was associated with the Rockland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
. Ardent supporters to the society, the Meyers donated thousands of dollars annually and worked actively for the organization, including erecting a branch shelter at their farm to care for homeless animals.
The Board of Trustees has the power to manage all village property and finances. This power extends to setting tax rates and fee schedules that generate revenue for the Village as well as authorizing expenditures for all municipal purposes. The Board of Trustees is also empowered to enact local laws for the safety, health, comfort and general welfare of the residents of the Village and for the preservation and protection of public works such as roads, street lighting and public buildings.
Under its current leadership, the Village has instituted a unique traffic safety program which allows citizens to directly petition the Board of Trustees for the creation of calming speed humps on their roads in order to slow traffic. Such speed humps have been successfully implemented on Mayer Drive. Montebello is one of the few municipalities in the United States that has formally set up a plan for citizens to participate in this process. The Village has also enacted one of the "greenest" tree preservation laws in New York. This law limits the number of trees that can be removed from any parcel in a given year and mandates compensatory planting for excessive tree removal.
In 2011, the Village of Montebello will celebrate its 25th anniversary of incorporation.
* Mayor- Jeffrey S. Oppenheim
Located on Spook Rock Road, the Spook Rock Golf Course, an 18 hole course, is ranked among the finest public courses in the country. It is situated on property that was originally the site of a Boys Scout Camp
Located in the Montebello Pines community and named for the first Mayor of the Village, this 25 acre park has many ponds and walking trails. The Village received a Federal stimulus grant in 2010 to help pay for the development of the park.
A 12 acre natural park on Spook Rock Road which is maintained as open space. Named for the first Village Attorney, this park was originally part of the Fant Farm, but was dedicated to the Village to preserve the magnificent vista of the original farmland.
The Village also has a playground facility on the Village Hall grounds, an outdoor gazebo, and a 9/11 Memorial Garden. In January, 2011, the Village received a 250 lb steel relic from the World Trade Center to place in the Memorial Garden.
A 376 acre park adjacent to Harriman State Park. It is part of the Harris patent, one of the original land patents from the King of England. Also known as Kakiat Farm, the home of the Blauvelt family who owned and farmed the land for over two hundred years growing apples, peaches and cherries. Also the site of the Blauvelt mill, the foundation of which still remains. The National Recreation Association in 1961 recommended its purchase to the County Board of Supervisors. As a result a formally appointed Park Commission was installed and the process of acquiring land for park purposes began. The property officially became county parkland in 1972.
Hiking (the Kakiat Trail starting from the parking area crosses through the park into Harriman State Park ending up in Dater Mountain County Park), horseback riding, picnicking, and scenic lookouts. An off-leash dog area is located near the parking lot. A log cabin constructed in 1922 stands as a mute reminder of the simple life of 100 years ago. A footbridge crosses the river, which is stocked annually with trout; a pavilion can be found near the river.
Numerous winter activities exist along with active wildlife and forestry conservation projects. Guided tours available by the Park Rangers. There is a diverse topography, from flat wetlands to rolling hills, to steep mountainside. The Mahwah River flows southwesterly the length of the park approximately 2500 feet. The Ramapo fault runs through the park. Trees include Willow, Apple, Poplar, White Pine, Hemlock, Beech, Maple, White Ash, Oaks, and Dogwood.
Ramapo, New York
Ramapo , formerly known as New Hempstead and then Hampstead, is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States located north of New Jersey; southeast of Orange County, New York; south of the Town of Haverstraw and west of the Town of Clarkstown and the Town of Orangetown...
Rockland County
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located north of Suffern
Suffern, New York
Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont...
, east of Hillburn
Hillburn, New York
Hillburn is a village in the Town of Ramapo Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Suffern; east of Orange County, New York; south of Viola and west of Montebello. It is considered to be one of the more rural communities in Rockland County...
, south of Wesley Hills
Wesley Hills, New York
Wesley Hills is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Viola; east of Harriman State Park; south of Pomona and west of New Hempstead...
and west of Airmont
Airmont, New York
Airmont is a village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the state of New Jersey; east of Suffern; south of Montebello and west of Chestnut Ridge. The population was 7,799 at the 2000 census....
. The population was 3,688 at the 2000 census.
Geography
Montebello is located at 41°7′39"N 74°7′9"W (41.127595, -74.119196).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the village has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²), all of it land.
The road system within the Village totals 20.98 miles (33.8 km). Of this, 1.97 miles (3.2 km) are State roads, 6.23 miles (10 km) of County Roads and 12.78 miles (20.6 km) of Village Roads. The major arteries include State Route 202, the NYS Thruway (Exit 14B is within the Village) and County roads including Airmont, Hemion, Montebello (portion), Spook Rock and Viola Roads, and Grandview Avenue and Dunnigan Drive.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,688 people, 1,163 households, and 1,023 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 845.1 people per square mile (326.6/km²). There were 1,182 housing units at an average density of 270.9 per square mile (104.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 92.79% White, 2.74% African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.68% Asian, 0.81% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.96% of the population.
There were 1,163 households out of which 49.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.0% were non-families. 9.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the village the population was spread out with 32.1% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $116,600, and the median income for a family was $114,890. Males had a median income of $87,058 versus $41,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the village was $44,098. About 2.4% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Early history
Montebello far exceeds the formal boundaries of the incorporated Village today. The rolling hills and fertile soil in the Ramapo Valley provided a quite unassuming way of life for the early pioneering families. A small collection of farms and mills dotted the countryside and were connected by dirt paths and rugged roadways. That was all about to change with the coming of the iron rails and the trains that would ride them. In neighboring Suffern, the Erie Railroad began operating in 1841, and with it, exposed the area to sights and sounds never imagined.Erie Railroad
Suffern became an important and busy station on the main line of the Erie RailroadErie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
. New Yorkers, in search of cool, quite retreat to relieve the stress of their urban lifestyles, filled the passenger trains bounds in summer for the surrounding rural regions. Relatively isolated prior to the 1860s, Suffern served as a welcome mat for the upstate Erie traveler. Twenty trains a day, loaded with seasonal tourists, stopped at the impressive Victorian
Victorian America
The Victorian Era is a name for the period from 1837 to 1901, the length of the rule of Britain's Queen Victoria. American Victorianism was an offshoot of this period and lifestyle that occurred in the United States, chiefly in heavily populated regions such as New England and the Deep South...
depot. Wordsoon spread among the travelers that "romantic scenery, fascinating beauty and rich land" could be found at the "pleasant summer resort". Suffern played host to the traveling public, whether accepting the hospitality offered by the resort hotels and boarding houses or just switching trains. The list of guests, visitors and part-time residents who were attracted to Suffern's rural charm included the names of many families from New York's affluent "upper crust". Some came as seasonal vacationers, closing to rent an estate, while others bought property from the abundant amount of undeveloped land. Picturesque rolling hills and vast wooded lands guarded by the Ramapo Mountains provided a rustic setting for the development of elegant country estates.
Montebello Estate
One such estate was that of wealthy New York financier Thomas Fortune RyanThomas Fortune Ryan
Thomas Fortune Ryan was a U.S. tobacco and transport magnate. Part of his fortune paid for the construction of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia.-Early days:...
, in August 1887, the Ryans purchased the former Groesbeck mansion which was built in the 1860s. From the hilltop, the estate has a commanding view of the Ramapo Mountains. The Ryans called their estate "Montebello". Within three years, they had the elegant frame dwelling torn down and replaced with a large brick and stone mansion at the cost of $600,000. The new summer home contained such amenities as a two-lane bowling alley, an electric elevator, a private chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
, 13 fireplaces and in all, over forty-four rooms. The estate comprises 1000 acres (4 km²) and has a working farm. (Not including the 5 smaller "mansions" the Ryans built for their sons in the area, some of which are still standing today).
Aside from a fashionable home on Fifth Avenue, the Ryans maintained homes in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and a second home in Livingston, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, all reflecting the wealth of one of America's most prosperous and devoutly religious Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
families. Thomas Fortune Ryan's riches were in vast contrast with his humble beginnings in rural Nelson County, Virginia
Nelson County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,445 people, 5,887 households, and 4,144 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile . There were 8,554 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile...
. Orphaned at age nine, Ryan would eventually become the tenth wealthiest man in the nation. After leaving his native state is 1868, he traveled to Baltimore, Maryland and found a job in the dry goods business of John S. Barry
John S. Barry
For the American businessman John S. Barry, see John Barry .John Stewart Barry was the fourth and eighth Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. He was Michigan's only three-term governor in the 19th century...
, a highly successful entrepreneur. It was at this time that Ryan met Ida M. Barry, the boss's daughter, whom he later married. Using his wife's wealth as a foundation on which to build his own. Ryan launched his business career. Upon moving to New York, he engaged in the stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
trade and at age 23 became the youngest man ever to purchase a seat on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
. From there he amassed millions in urban transit, railroads, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
, banking, rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
, diamonds, and even the Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
.
The Ryans were as generous to philanthropies as they were rich. It has been estimated that Mrs. Ryan gave $20 million dollars to various charities and endowments across the country. Most of these were affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
; however, there were also sizable donations to nonsectarian institutions as well. By 1905 it was reported that Mrs. Ryan's munificence covered the building of "at least one hundred new chapels, schools, churches, hospitals, homes for Sisters of Charity
Sisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name. The rule of Saint Vincent for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious orders around the world in the subsequent centuries....
and homes for the aged and infirmed". Mrs. Ryan displayed a special fondness for her new neighbors by contributing equipment to the newly formed Suffern Fire Department. She also built a new church and established a girl's school and a seminary in Suffern, among other things. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, she turned her attention to the health needs of the community and started Good Samaritan Hospital
Good Samaritan Hospital (Suffern)
Good Samaritan Hospital is a non-profit, 370-bed hospital providing services to residents of Rockland County and southern Orange County in New York and northern Bergen County, New Jersey. The hospital also serves these communities as an Area Level II Trauma Center. Good Samaritan Hospital is a...
.
After Mrs. Ryan's death in 1917, the family divided up the estate and sold the main mansion in 1921 to Edward Swann
Edward Swann
Edward Swann was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
. After a brief period of ownership (several months), Swann sold the property to the Archdiocese of New York. They established a retreat site for St. Joseph's College and Seminary at the mansion. In 1944, Montebello was sold to Suffern resident Gustav Mayer. Among some of the plans the Mayer family had for the property, one idea was to develop a country club. That never materialized and the vacant mansion fell victim to vandals. The cooper mining giant Phelps Dodge
Phelps Dodge
Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 by Anson Greene Phelps and William Earle Dodge, Sr.. On March 19, 2007, it was acquired by Freeport-McMoRan and now operates under the name Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.-History:...
Corp. bought the dilapidated mansion in 1951 and used it as a corporate records headquarters for the next 31 years. After a relocation move, Phelps Dodge Corp sold the mansion for $1.6 million to Gary Goldberg, president of the investment/financial planning firm which bears his name. After a year of extensive renovation, Montebello became an office park.
Historical markers
- Bayard Lane, Route 202. "Turning off the Haverstraw Rd, almost opposite the house of SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Royal S. CopelandRoyal S. CopelandRoyal Samuel Copeland was an American academic, homeopathic physician, and politician who held elected offices in both Michigan and New York . He represented New York in the United States Senate from 1923 until 1938.-Early life and medical career:Born in Dexter, Michigan to parents Roscoe P....
, into a dirt avenue, one is faced by a waste-land of scrub oak and sassafras with a lonely shack near the entrance." This is how a visitor described the Bayard Lane community, a small "Utopia" home-stead project, made up of a plucky group of self-sufficient, self-sustaining colonists in 1936.
Beyond the initial appearance, lay the successful homestead project, the brainchild of Ralph Borsodi
Ralph Borsodi
Ralph Borsodi was an agrarian theorist and practical experimenter interested in ways of living useful to the modern family desiring greater self-reliance...
, nationally known author, economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and philosopher. It was his vision to develop a domestic lifestyle that was productive, independent and economically practical for the New York City commuter. Borsodi, a wiry, shock-haired little man who wore horn-rimmed glasses
Horn-rimmed glasses
Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of eyeglasses. Originally made out of either horn or tortoise shell, for most of their history they have actually been constructed out of thick plastics designed to imitate those materials...
and paid "little attention to his clothes", began his new style of country living, later labeled as "agrarianism
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
for commuters" in 1919. He along with his wife and two sons moved from New York City and rented a small unimproved farmhouse
Farmhouse
Farmhouse is a general term for the main house of a farm. It is a type of building or house which serves a residential purpose in a rural or agricultural setting. Most often, the surrounding environment will be a farm. Many farm houses are shaped like a T...
near Suffern. While Borsodi commuted to work in the city, they began their initial family experiments. Within a 15 year period, he and his family, tested their theories and dreams of self-subsistence and economic freedom
Economic freedom
Economic freedom is a term used in economic and policy debates. As with freedom generally, there are various definitions, but no universally accepted concept of economic freedom...
while enjoying the beauty of nature.
Authoring several books on economics, Borsodi's work, This Ugly Civilization, published in 1929, brought him national attention. Four years later, his best selling book, Flight from the City appeared as the country was mired in the depths of the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Firing the imagination of struggling families, many with low paying inner city jobs and an aimless future, the book described a way to seek out a good agrarian lifestyle and graphically detailed his own family's experiences and accomplishments at homesteading in Suffern. In 1935, Borsodi launched Bayard Lane, a small experimental cooperative community on a rolling unimproved tract of 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) at the foot of the Ramapo Mountains.
The property was acquired by the Independence Foundation Inc., a nonprofit cooperative and self-governing group of which Borsodi was a trustee. The other members were Samuel D. Dodge, Clarence E. Pickett, Dr. Harold Rugg, Beveridge C. Dunlop, W. Van Alan Clark, Mrs. Elizabeth Macdonald, Mrs. William Sargent Ladd and Dr. Warren Wilson
Warren Wilson
Warren Wilson may refer to:* Warren Wilson , American actor; film producer; and film and television screenwriter* Warren Wilson Beach House* Warren Wilson College...
. They divided the estate into one and 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) homesteads occupied by individual families. The homes were owned individually, the land cooperatively. The Foundation indentured the land to the homeowner through a corporation representing them. Fourteen families who knew Borsodi or who had heard of his project were willing to try the experiment after those interested in the idea had been "philosophically initiated the previous January" the New York Times reported.
Ground was broken for the first house (Marquart residence, #14 Bayard Lane) on June 23, 1935. Using the Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg was a noted American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility.-Biography:...
method of construction, they built attractive, economical, sturdy homes of native fieldstone. Each house had all the modern conveniences of the day. It was said, they "will be standing at least a hundred years after they are paid for." Homes could be constructed by various building craft guilds under a special arrangement with the Independence Foundation. A professional staff would provide architects, estimates, record keeping and construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
. The benefits to the homeowners were considerable. They could do as much of the work themselves, calling in help whenever needed. The Foundation would also offer loan contracts. To prevent substandard, unattractive buildings, construction plans were reviewed by a committee.
The School of Living, was literally and figuratively the centerpiece of Borsodi's experiment in homesteading, headquartered at #21 Bayard Lane in 1938. Dedicated on Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
to the "economic independence of the American people, the School of Living was to develop research and promote the Borsodi philosophy of balanced and healthy living in which the home and the land were productive instruments. The school taught the essentials of do-it-yourself agrarianism
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
, including caning
Caning
Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks or hand . Application of a cane to the knuckles or the shoulders has been much less common...
, poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
raising, animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
, masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
, carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, use of tools and household equipment.
Borsodi's "Bayard Lane Utopia" appeared to be a great idea on paper, and initially it appeared to be successful and was prominently featured in a variety of national publications. But as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entered the Second World War, the economy shifted and society began to change. A new wave of patriotism swept the country, leading Bayard Lane residents to distance themselves from Borsodi's self-sufficient principles and cooperative living. Eventually, Borsodi resigned from the Foundation, and in time, many of the original families living in this small enclave moved away.
In 1992, two historical markers were erected to recount the legacy left by the nearly forgotten experimental community whose new style of country living received national attention in the 1930s, and gave hope and inspiration to struggling families of the Depression.
- Cobblestone Farm, Viola Road & Cobblestone Farm Court. A notable landmark in the Village of Montebello is Cobblestone Farm. The setting for this magnificent estate is an attractive 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) of well groomed land on Viola Road. It was once the home of White Laboratories founder and vice president Henry von L. Meyer Sr.
In 1907, Mr. Meyer carefully chose 200 acre (0.809372 km²) from the abundant, rural Ramapo landscape, for the creation of an elegant county estate and working farm. Among the rolling hills, century-old trees, beautiful mountain vistas, he carved "one of the model showplaces in Rockland County", as reported by New York Times. Part of this extensive property today is dotted with private homes as well as the site of Suffern High School
Suffern High School
Suffern High School is located in the Ramapo Central School District in Suffern, New York. Students participate in classes from 7:30 – 14:05 EST. The school's mascot is a Mountain Lion and its newspaper is the Mountain Echo. Its news program is SHS News...
. The farm's centerpiece was a cobblestone barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
/carriage house
Carriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
, built with the stones cleared from the fields, hence the name Cobblestone Farm. Handsome stone walls outlined the estate's boundaries. Additional outbuildings were constructed to form an attractive ensemble of farm buildings, including a massive timberframe diary barn with caretaker's cottage. Several ponds were formed and one-third of the acreage was put under cultivation. Thousands of vegetables and flowering plants were raised and donated to local charities and hospitals.
The estate's owner was a descendant of an old Colonial family from Long Island. His cousin, George von L. Meyer, was Secretary of the Navy under President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and served as an ambassador to several countries. Henry von L. Meyer was a prominent businessman and after a number of years in the paper manu-facturing business, he entered the drug manufacturing field and became vice president of Health Products Company in New York City. He later founded White Laboratories in Newark, NJ which manufactured many nationally known drug products such as Feenamint, Aspergum
Aspergum
Aspergum is the United States trademark name for an analgesic chewing gum, whose active ingredient is aspirin.Aspergum contains 227 mg of aspirin, and is available in cherry and orange flavors. This product is generally used for the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-pyretic properties of...
and a number of cod liver oil concentrates.
After moving to the Suffern area, Mr. Meyer became connected locally with a number of leading business institutions. He was a chief stockholder in the Lafayette Theatre
Lafayette Theatre (Suffern)
The Lafayette Theatre is a nationally acclaimed, 1923 movie palace located in downtown Suffern, New York in the United States of America. Its primary function is first run movies, but also houses special events: the most popular are the Big Screen Classics classic film shows on Saturday mornings...
, the Ramapo Valley Independent newspaper, Ramapo Cider & Vinegar Company, and a vice president in the Suffern National Bank. Henry Meyer and his wife Laura Hard Meyer had two children, Henry von L. Meyer Jr. and Sarah Meyer. The family was well known for their philanthropic interest in the county. For many years they were involved in the State Charities Aid Association, Rockland Volunteer Aid Society, the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and were founding members of the Rockland County Conservation Association.
But perhaps their greatest charity work was associated with the Rockland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit animal welfare organization originally founded in England in 1824 to pass laws protecting carriage horses from abuse. SPCA groups are now found in many nations, where they campaign for animal welfare, assist in cruelty to animals...
. Ardent supporters to the society, the Meyers donated thousands of dollars annually and worked actively for the organization, including erecting a branch shelter at their farm to care for homeless animals.
- Indian Rock - comments offered by P. Jay Fleisher following observations on Sunday, December 7, 2008
- Rock type - GraniteGraniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
gneissGneissGneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
; a gneiss is a metamorphic rockMetamorphic rockMetamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
formed under high temperatures and pressures within the root systems of growing mountain ranges (but not hot enough to cause melting), with primary minerals of feldspar (orthoclase and plagioclase), quartz, and lesser amounts of micaMicaThe mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
(biotiteBiotiteBiotite is a common phyllosilicate mineral within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . More generally, it refers to the dark mica series, primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more aluminous endmembers...
and muscoviteMuscoviteMuscovite is a phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl22, or 236. It has a highly-perfect basal cleavage yielding remarkably-thin laminæ which are often highly elastic...
) and hornblendeHornblendeHornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals .It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole....
(all common components of granite; ergo granite gneiss). These minerals have a preferred orientation that aligns them in discrete bands known as foliationFoliationIn mathematics, a foliation is a geometric device used to study manifolds, consisting of an integrable subbundle of the tangent bundle. A foliation looks locally like a decomposition of the manifold as a union of parallel submanifolds of smaller dimension....
. Foliation gives the rock a linear fabric - looks brushed. - Age of formation - ProterozoicProterozoicThe Proterozoic is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The name Proterozoic comes from the Greek "earlier life"...
(PrecambrianPrecambrianThe Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
), 1.2 billion to 800 million years old (isotopic age based on trace minerals) depending on specific source area. - Source area - Ramapo MountainsRamapo MountainsThe Ramapo Mountains are a forested chain of the Appalachian mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York in the United States...
-Hudson HighlandsHudson HighlandsThe Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York, between Newburgh Bay and Haverstraw Bay, which form the northern region of the New York - New Jersey Highlands....
; difficult to know for certain exactly where it was picked up by the glacier, but most likely not more than 5 to 10 kilometers from current location - Occurrence - surficial boulder resting upon overburden of glacial origin (including glacial meltwaterMeltwaterMeltwater is the water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice and ice shelfs over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing...
gravel (a.k.a. outwash) mantling TriassicTriassicThe Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
Sedimentary Redbeds (sandstone and shale) of the Newark BasinNewark BasinThe Newark Basin is a sediment-filled rift basin located mainly in northern New Jersey but also stretching into south-eastern Pennsylvania and southern New York. It is part of the system of Eastern North America Rift Basins.-Geology:...
(circa 145 million years old), including most of Rockland County. These rocks formed from sediment washed by streams into a trough-like basin (40 miles wide E-W and more than 100 miles (160.9 km) N-S), one of many such basins distributed on a common trend from The Bay of Fundy to the Durham Basin of North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, including the Connecticut River Valley. - How did Indian Rock get here? During the last glacial maximum, circa 21,000 years ago, the terminus of the Laurentide Ice SheetLaurentide ice sheetThe Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered hundreds of thousands of square miles, including most of Canada and a large portion of the northern United States, multiple times during Quaternary glacial epochs. It last covered most of northern North America between c. 95,000 and...
rested along the backbone of Long Island to form the RonkonkomaRonkonkoma, New YorkRonkonkoma is a census-designated place on Long Island in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 20,029 at the 2000 census...
MoraineMoraineA moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
that crossed the Hudson at the Narrows. Having attained and occupied this position for hundreds of years, internal flow within the ice sheet caused the base of the glacier to scour the bedrock terrain across which it moved, thus plucking large and small blocks of rock from their position in the Ramapo Mountains and Hudson Highlands. Indian Rock got as far as Rockland County before being liberated by the ice and deposited along with gravels shifted by glacial meltwater. As such, Indian Rock is a Glacial erraticGlacial erraticA glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. "Erratics" take their name from the Latin word errare, and are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres...
, due to its lack of similarity with the bedrock where it is found. It is estimated at ~17,300 tons, which may seem large, but a glacial "boulder" the size of a football stadium in AlbertaAlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
can be traced back to its source a few tens of kilometers in the upglacier direction. - Although Indian Rock may appear to be several rocks piled together, it actually originated as a single boulder (~18' x 9' x 15'). Weaknesses within the rock caused by foliation and naturally occurring fractures serve as avenues for moisture infiltration. With repeated freeze-thaw cycles, this moisture expands to exert forces up to 20,000 lbs/inch2 along the planes of weakness, thus wedging the rock apart. Furthermore, glacial polishGlacial polishGlacial polish is a characteristic of rock surfaces where glaciers have passed over bedrock, typically granite or other hard igneous or metamorphic rock. Moving ice will carry pebbles and sand grains removed from upper levels which in turn grind a smooth or grooved surface upon the underlying rock...
, striations and grooves commonly found on erratics of this size have for the most part been effaced by the normal process of decomposition called weathering. Only one faint remnant of a glacial striation
- Rock type - Granite
- Montebello, 75 Montebello Road
- Johnson Farmhouse, Viola Road
- Montebello Park, 253 Spook Rock Road,
- School of Living - 21 Bayard Lane
Landmarks and places of interest
- Montebello Park, 253 Spook Rock Road
- Montebello Village Hall, 1 Montebello Road, (east end of Montebello Road)
- Residence, Tudor Revival (c.1923), 1 Lake Road, (west end of Montebello Road)
Government
The duties of the Mayor are defined in the NYS Village Law and similar to those of a chief executive. The Mayor has the power to provide for the enforcement of all local laws. The Mayor presides over the meetings of the Board of Trustees. The Mayor has the power to appoint all Village employees and non-elected board and commission members, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. The Mayor also executes all contracts in the name of the Village.The Board of Trustees has the power to manage all village property and finances. This power extends to setting tax rates and fee schedules that generate revenue for the Village as well as authorizing expenditures for all municipal purposes. The Board of Trustees is also empowered to enact local laws for the safety, health, comfort and general welfare of the residents of the Village and for the preservation and protection of public works such as roads, street lighting and public buildings.
Under its current leadership, the Village has instituted a unique traffic safety program which allows citizens to directly petition the Board of Trustees for the creation of calming speed humps on their roads in order to slow traffic. Such speed humps have been successfully implemented on Mayer Drive. Montebello is one of the few municipalities in the United States that has formally set up a plan for citizens to participate in this process. The Village has also enacted one of the "greenest" tree preservation laws in New York. This law limits the number of trees that can be removed from any parcel in a given year and mandates compensatory planting for excessive tree removal.
In 2011, the Village of Montebello will celebrate its 25th anniversary of incorporation.
* Mayor- Jeffrey S. Oppenheim
Jeffrey Oppenheim
Jeffrey S. Oppenheim is a neurosurgeon in New York and is the second Mayor of the Village of Montebello, New York. He is President of the Rockland County Board of Health.-Education:...
- Deputy Mayor- Lance Millman
- Trustees- Steven A. Sorrillo, Stacy Carridi, Marc Citrin
Recreational facilities
- Spook Rock Golf Course
Located on Spook Rock Road, the Spook Rock Golf Course, an 18 hole course, is ranked among the finest public courses in the country. It is situated on property that was originally the site of a Boys Scout Camp
- Spook Rock Pool
- Kathryn Gorman Ponds Park
Located in the Montebello Pines community and named for the first Mayor of the Village, this 25 acre park has many ponds and walking trails. The Village received a Federal stimulus grant in 2010 to help pay for the development of the park.
- Warren E. Berbit Park
A 12 acre natural park on Spook Rock Road which is maintained as open space. Named for the first Village Attorney, this park was originally part of the Fant Farm, but was dedicated to the Village to preserve the magnificent vista of the original farmland.
- Tot lot and 9/11 Memorial
The Village also has a playground facility on the Village Hall grounds, an outdoor gazebo, and a 9/11 Memorial Garden. In January, 2011, the Village received a 250 lb steel relic from the World Trade Center to place in the Memorial Garden.
- Kakiat Park
A 376 acre park adjacent to Harriman State Park. It is part of the Harris patent, one of the original land patents from the King of England. Also known as Kakiat Farm, the home of the Blauvelt family who owned and farmed the land for over two hundred years growing apples, peaches and cherries. Also the site of the Blauvelt mill, the foundation of which still remains. The National Recreation Association in 1961 recommended its purchase to the County Board of Supervisors. As a result a formally appointed Park Commission was installed and the process of acquiring land for park purposes began. The property officially became county parkland in 1972.
Hiking (the Kakiat Trail starting from the parking area crosses through the park into Harriman State Park ending up in Dater Mountain County Park), horseback riding, picnicking, and scenic lookouts. An off-leash dog area is located near the parking lot. A log cabin constructed in 1922 stands as a mute reminder of the simple life of 100 years ago. A footbridge crosses the river, which is stocked annually with trout; a pavilion can be found near the river.
Numerous winter activities exist along with active wildlife and forestry conservation projects. Guided tours available by the Park Rangers. There is a diverse topography, from flat wetlands to rolling hills, to steep mountainside. The Mahwah River flows southwesterly the length of the park approximately 2500 feet. The Ramapo fault runs through the park. Trees include Willow, Apple, Poplar, White Pine, Hemlock, Beech, Maple, White Ash, Oaks, and Dogwood.
Special distinctions
- Montebello is the first village in Rockland County to have a solar photovoltaic system to help power its Village Hall.
- It is also the first "Climate Smart Community" and the first "Tree City" in Rockland County.
- Montebello has the first "Certified Local Government" for historic preservation in Rockland.