Greece (town), New York

Greece is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town had a total population of 96,095. The town motto is "Discover the Promise."

Town of Greece
Town
Greece Town Hall
Seal
Motto(s):  Discover the Promise
Location in Monroe County and the state of New York.
Location of New York in the United States
Town of Greece Location in Monroe County and the state of New York. Town of Greece Town of Greece (the United States)
Coordinates: 43°12′34″N 77°41′43″W
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Monroe
Established	1822
Government
• Town Supervisor	William D. Reilich (R) First Elected 2013 Town Council Ward 1: Michael Barry, Jr. (R) Ward 2: Brett Granville (R) Ward 3: Andrew J. Conlon (R) Ward 4: Kirk A. Morris (R)
Area [1]
• Total	51.39 sq mi (133.11 km^2)
• Land	47.52 sq mi (123.08 km^2)
• Water	3.87 sq mi (10.03 km^2)
Elevation	424 ft (129 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	96,095
• Estimate  (2019)[2]	95,499
• Density	2,023.80/sq mi (781.39/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	14612, 14615, 14616, 14626
Area code(s)	585
FIPS code	36-055-30290
Website	http://www.greeceny.gov/

The Town of Greece is in the northern part of the county and borders the City of Rochester on the east, the Town of Gates on the south, the towns of Parma and Ogden on the west, and Lake Ontario on the north. The town is a contiguous suburb of Rochester. The area known as Charlotte, on the eastern border, was formerly part of the town until it was annexed by the City of Rochester in 1916.

History

The Town of Greece was established in 1822 from part of the Town of Gates and was previously called Northampton. The name "Greece" was selected because of the contemporary struggle of Greece for independence from the Ottoman Empire.

The region that the town now occupies was inhabited by Native Americans since at least 7000 BCE. By the time of European contact, it was inhabited by the Algonquian and Iroquois.The first European to visit the area was the French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, who visited in 1669.[3] European settlers began to arrive in the area in the 1790s, and French and British soldiers passed through on multiple occasions during this time period as the two colonial powers struggled to control the region.

According to the Morgan Quitno Awards, Greece was rated the ninth-overall-safest city in America and the sixth-safest city with a population of 75,000 to 99,999.[4]

The William Payne House, Greece Memorial Hall, William Covert Cobblestone Farmhouse, and Our Mother of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church Complex are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[5][6]

Town supervisors

Name	Term		Name	Term		Name	Term
John Williams	1822 1830		Peter Larkin	1861–1862 1872 1876		Frank Vance	1902–Feb 14, 1903
Frederick Bushnell	1823–1825		Harry A. Olmsted	1863		Willis N. Britton	Feb 25, 1903
Silas Walker	1826–1829		Nelson Lewis	1864–1869		Frank Truesdale	1904–1909
Elijah Hughitt	1831		Simon Butts	1870–1871		Frank Dobson	1910–1915
Giles H. Holden	1832–1833		David Todd	1874–1875		Herbert J. Paine	1916–1921
Asa Rowe	1834–1835 1842		Alanson P. Britton	1877–1878 1884–1885 1887 1893 April 29, 1901–December 31, 1901		Frank J. Mitchell	1922–1927
Samuel Bradley	1836–1838		John Lowden	1879–1880		William F. Schmitt	1928–1933
Lyman Langworthy	1839–1841 1850		John Kintz	1881		Gordon A. Howe	1934–1960
Abdial Carpenter	1843 1848		Erastus Benedict	1882–1883		Vincent L. Tofany	1960–1964
George C. Salter	1844		Lucien A. Rowe	1886		George W. Badgerow	1965–1969
George C. Latta	1845 1849		John M. Lowdon	1888–1889		Fred J. Eckert	1970–1972
James S. Stone	1846–1847 1853		Thomas Eddy	1890		Donald J. Riley	1973–1989
Levi H. Parrish	1851–1852		Joseph R. Beaty	1891–1892		Roger W. Boily	1989–1997
Elias Avery	1854–1855		James B. Castle	1894–1897		John T. Auberger	1998–2013
Erastus Walker	1856–1857 1873		Edward Frisbee	1898–February 27, 1901		William D. Reilich	2014–present
Joshua Eaton	1858		William T. Whelehan	March 1, 1901 – March 27, 1901
Alamander Wilder	1859		Charles H. Banker	March 27, 1901 – April 24, 1901

Geography

Greece is located at 43^o 14' N latitude, 077^o 42' W longitude.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 51.4 square miles (133 km²), of which 47.4 square miles (123 km²) of it is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km²) of it (7.65%) is water.

Major highways in the town include NY 390 and the Lake Ontario State Parkway. As that suggests, the town borders Lake Ontario.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1830	2,574		—
1840	3,669		42.5%
1850	4,219		15.0%
1860	4,147		−1.7%
1870	4,314		4.0%
1880	4,848		12.4%
1890	5,145		6.1%
1900	5,579		8.4%
1910	7,777		39.4%
1920	3,350		−56.9%
1930	12,113		261.6%
1940	14,925		23.2%
1950	25,508		70.9%
1960	48,670		90.8%
1970	75,136		54.4%
1980	81,367		8.3%
1990	90,106		10.7%
2000	94,141		4.5%
2010	96,095		2.1%
2019 (est.)	95,499	[2]	−0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 94,141 people, 36,995 households, and 25,748 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,985.0 people per square mile (766.4/km²). There were 38,315 housing units at an average density of 807.9 per square mile (311.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.37% White, 2.88% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.87% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.55% of the population.

J & F Fetzner Carriage and Blacksmith shop on West Ridge Road, by Raymond Getzner, 1877

There were 36,995 households, out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. Of all households, 25.6% were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $48,355, and the median income for a family was $57,102. Males had a median income of $41,563 versus $29,864 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,614. About 3.6% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The town is governed by a town board consisting of a supervisor and four council members. The supervisor is elected by all registered voters in the town, while council members are elected by and represent one of four wards. Supervisors are elected for four-year terms, and by town law may not serve for more than twelve years consecutively, after which the individual is ineligible to serve for four years. Councilpersons are elected for two-year terms, and may serve for a maximum of ten consecutive years in that position.[9]

The town board's practice of opening each meeting with a prayer, which started in 1999, was legally challenged in 2008,[10] on the grounds that all prayers offered to open the meetings had, until that point, been Christian ones.[11]

The United States District Court, Western District of New York, ruled in favor of the town in 2010,[12] and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2012,[13] setting the stage for a 2014 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which ruled in favor of the town (see Town of Greece v. Galloway).[14]

The town is also represented in congress by three different representatives, the State Assembly Representative, State Senatorial Representative and the Congressional Representative.

The town's New York State Assembly Representative is Peter Lawrence who was elected to serve the constituents of the 134th Assembly District on November 4, 2014. The districts in which he represents include the towns of Greece, Ogden and Parma in western Monroe County.

The town's New York State Senatorial Representative is Joseph E. Robach who was elected to represent the 56th Senatorial District on November 5, 2002. The 56th Senatorial District encompasses the Towns of Brighton, Clarkson, Gates, Greece, Hamlin, Parma, as well as parts of the City of Rochester, including Charlotte, Historic Maplewood and the University of Rochester.

Greece's United States Congressional Representative is Joseph Morelle who was elected to represent the 25th Congressional District of New York on November 6, 2018. Replacing the late Representative Louise Slaughter, who served as the United States Representative for the 25th Congressional District of New York from 1987 until her death in early 2018. The 25th Congressional District of New York comprises the towns of Irondequoit, Penfield, Webster, and Greece as well as the Monroe and Wayne Counties, and a northern portion of Cayuga County.

Education

There are three school districts serving the Town of Greece: the Greece Central School District, the Hilton Central School District and the Spencerport Central School District.

There are twelve elementary schools, four middle schools, and four high schools in the Greece Central School District, educating approximately 13,000 students. The post-elementary schools have Classical Greek names: Arcadia, Athena (Middle/High,[15] Odyssey Academy, and Olympia. The school district's motto is "One Vision, One Team, One Greece." Among the elementary schools, Brookside, Longridge, Paddy Hill, Pine Brook and West Ridge span K-5.

Communities and locations in Greece

• Barnard—Community near Dewey Ave., Stone Road, and Maiden Lane.
• Braddock Bay—A bay off of Lake Ontario and a state park in the northwest section of the town, north of the Lake Ontario State Parkway on East Manitou Road.
• Braddock Heights—A community near Braddock Bay.
• Elmgrove—Area around Elmgrove Road.
• Grandview Heights—West side of Long Pond, off Lowden Point Road, just south of Edgemere Drive.
• Grand View Beach—Edgemere Drive west of Lowden Point Road, opposite Cranberry Pond.
• North Greece—Near Latta Road (Rt. 18) and North Greece Rd. (Zip Code 14515).
• West Greece—Near West Ridge Road (Rt. 104) and Manitou Road (Rt. 261); destination of the Route 14 bus.

See also

• 1978 Holiday Inn fire

References

1. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 5, 2017.
2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
3. "Town History". All About Greece. The Town of Greece. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
4. 13th Annual America's Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities Archived 2007-01-05 at the Wayback Machine
5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
6. "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 6/18/12 through 6/22/12. National Park Service. 2012-06-29.
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
9. "Code of the Town of Greece, chapter 45". Retrieved September 8, 2013.
10. Mehta, Hemant (2013-08-16). "Everything You Need to Know About Town of Greece v. Galloway, the Supreme Court Case About Government Prayer". Friendly Atheist. Patheos. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
11. Lund, Christopher C. (2013-08-15). "Legislative Prayer Goes Back to the Supreme Court". Slate.com. The Slate Group. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
12. "Galloway v Greece". Google Scholar. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
13. "Decision of Court ofAppeals". Google Scholar. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
14. Liptak, Adam (May 5, 2014). "Town Meetings Can Have Prayer, Justices Decide". The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
15. "Greece CSD". Campus CMG. 2020. Athena Middle/High School

External links

• Town of Greece webpage