Stony Brook, New York

For other uses of Stony Brook, see Stony Brook (disambiguation).

Stony Brook, New York
—  CDP  —
Stony Brook's Post Office
Stony Brook, New York
Coordinates: 40°54′23″N 73°7′42″W
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Suffolk
Area
• Total	6.2 sq mi (16.0 km2)
• Land	5.7 sq mi (14.9 km2)
• Water	0.4 sq mi (1.1 km2)
Elevation	89 ft (27 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	13,727
• Density	2,390.5/sq mi (923.0/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	11790, 11794
Area code(s)	631
FIPS code	36-71608
GNIS feature ID	0966524

Stony Brook is a hamlet (unincorporated community and census-designated place) located in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, which is on the North Shore of Long Island. The population was 13,727 at the 2000 census.

General information

Hercules figurehead of the USS Ohio, kept in Old Stony Brook

Located on the picturesque North Shore of Long Island, the area is home to, among other things, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, The Stony Brook School, and "Stony Brook Village." The history of the unincorporated "village" has been closely linked to that of Ward Melville, a local businessman who at one point owned much of what is still sometimes called the "Three Villages" (consisting of Stony Brook, the hamlet of Setauket, and the incorporated village of Old Field). The Melville-created Three Village Central School District today serves all three communities. See the Ward Melville Heritage Organization for some history.

Beginning in 1939 with the creation of his Stony Brook Community Fund, Melville began the transformation of the hamlet into his idea of an idyllic New England village, with white clapboard and quaint stores. This effect has been largely achieved in the population center, which consists of a green and a crescent of stores. In further pursuit of this goal, Melville donated the land and funds for the creation of the State University of New York at Stony Brook to the State of New York, as well as for the local school district.

The area has virtually no industrial or commercial base due to current zoning, and the rapid growth of residential development in the past decade has begun to place serious strain on schools trying to accommodate the increasing class size. However, the Three Village schools are generally ranked much above average.

The hamlet's tourist attractions include the Stony Brook Grist Mill and The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages, a large complex of buildings originally known as the Stony Brook Carriage House and Suffolk Museum. Other Stony Brook attractions are the 19th-century William Sydney Mount House, the elegant St. James Chapel, and the West Meadow Beach Historic District.

Geography

Stony Brook is located at 40°54′23″N 73°7′42″W (40.906399, -73.128443).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16 km²), of which, 5.7 square miles (15 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (6.97%) is water.

Demographics

Village Center

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,727 people, 4,758 households, and 3,787 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,390.5 per square mile (923.3/km²). There were 4,970 housing units at an average density of 865.5/sq mi (334.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.82% White, 1.23% African American, 0.04% Native American, 5.70% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.43% of the population.

There were 4,758 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $90,009, and the median income for a family was $95,567. Males had a median income of $68,400 versus $41,770 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $35,247. About 1.9% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Local Media

• Stony Brook Statesman, the oldest newspaper at Stony Brook University
• SBU TV -- Stony Brook University Television
• Stony Brook Independent, a new publication at Stony Brook University
• Stony Brook Press, a newspaper at SUNY-Stony Brook
• Three Village Patch -- a daily online news source for Stony Brook and East Setauket, New York
• The Village Times Herald, a newspaper located in Setauket, New York
• WUSB (FM) -- Stony Brook University Radio at 90.1 FM

Famous residents and natives

• Harold Beverage (inventor)
• George Booth (New Yorker cartoonist)
• Sarah Drew (actress)
• Brooke Ellison (First quadriplegic graduate from Harvard University)
• Marci Geller (independent singer-songwriter)
• John Hampson (lead singer, guitarist for band, Nine Days)
• Kevin James (comedian, actor)
• Karsh Kale (producer, composer, musician)
• Michael Kimmel (sociologist, scholar)
• Stan Lee (creator of Marvel Comics)
• John Petrucci (guitarist for band, Dream Theater)
• R.A. The Rugged Man (hip-hop artist)
• Cliff Robertson (actor)
• Dee Snider (singer for band, Twisted Sister)
• Gary Valentine (comedian, actor)
• Alyson Chadwick (comedian, writer)
• Three of My Priorities (Band)
• David Lee (student)

• 

  The bay of Stony Brook Harbor

• 

  The grist mill

• 

  The mill pond

Stony Brook was also the home of Bobby Pendragon from the Pendragon series

See also

• New York State Route 25A -- a.k.a. North Country Road
• Stony Brook University Hospital
• West Meadow Beach

External links

• Stony Brook University
• Stony Brook Information
• Newsday article on Stony Brook, New York

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