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Poughkeepsie, New York

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Poughkeepsie redirects here. See also Town of Poughkeepsie, New York and Poughkeepsie, Arkansas.
City of Poughkeepsie
Nickname: 
The Queen City of the Hudson
Location of Poughkeepsie in New York
Location of Poughkeepsie in New York
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyDutchess County
Government
 • MayorNancy J. Cozean
Population
 (2000)
 • Total29,871 (city proper)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)

Poughkeepsie (pronounced /pə'kɪp.si/) is a city in New York, USA and serves as the county seat of Dutchess County, located in the Hudson River Valley roughly midway between New York City and Albany. As of the 2000 census, the city of Poughkeepsie had a population of 29,871. The name derives from a Native American word (roughly U-puku-ipi-sing), meaning "reed hut by the water" or "campsite by small water," referring to a spring or stream feeding into the Hudson River. Poughkeepsie has been called "The Queen City of the Hudson."

The City of Poughkeepsie is located in the western part of Dutchess County and is bordered on the west by the Hudson River and in all other directions by the Town of Poughkeepsie. Both the City of Poughkeepsie and the Town of Poughkeepsie are commonly referred to as Poughkeepsie.

IBM has a large campus in Poughkeepsie (a facility still referred to by many as IBM's "Main Plant"). This facility is actually located in the Town of Poughkeepsie. A factory on site once built the IBM Stretch Computer as well as later machines such as the IBM System/360 model 195.

History

Poughkeepsie was founded in 1687. The community was set off from the Town of Poughkeepsie when it became an incorporated village in 1799. The City of Poughkeepsie was chartered in 1854.

The city was the capital of New York for a brief period in 1777, and was the site of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by New York in 1788.

In 1900, the population of the City of Poughkeepsie was 24,029.

Geography

The City of Poughkeepsie is bordered by the Hudson River on the west and by the Town of Poughkeepsie on the north, east and south. Outside of municipal designations, the City and Town of Poughkeepsie are generally viewed as a single place.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.8 km² (5.7 mi²). 13.3 km² (5.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.4 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (9.65%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 29,871 people, 12,014 households, and 6,559 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,243.8/km² (5,806.2/mi²). There were 13,153 housing units at an average density of 988.0/km² (2,556.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 52.84% White, 35.71% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 1.62% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.29% from other races, and 4.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.64% of the population.

There were 12,014 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.8% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.4% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,389, and the median income for a family was $35,779. Males had a median income of $31,956 versus $25,711 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,759. About 18.4% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.3% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

The population of the Town of Poughkeepsie is in excess of 42,000 people and constitutes the largest municipality in Dutchess County.

Educational institutions

The area is home to several colleges: Vassar (one of the Seven Sisters), Marist, and Dutchess Community, all of which are in the Town of Poughkeepsie. In nearby Hyde Park, to the north, is the Culinary Institute of America.

A branch of Adelphi University is also located in the city.

The Poughkeepsie City School District is the public K-12 school system serving approximately 5,000 students.

The town of Poughkeepsie is also home to the Spackenkill Union Free school district and a large part of the Arlington School District

Transportation

Poughkeepsie Bridge

Poughkeepsie sits at the junction of the north-south US 9 and east-west US 44 and NY 55 highways.

Commuter service to New York City is available by train, served by the MTA Metro-North Railroad, the city being the northern terminus of Metro-North's Hudson Line. Amtrak also services the Poughkeepsie station, along the Hudson River south to New York City's Pennsylvania Station and north along the river to Albany-Rensselaer station and points further north and west; Amtrak trains serving Poughkeepsie are the Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express and Maple Leaf.

The Mid-Hudson Bridge, opened in 1930, carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to Highland. The Poughkeepsie Bridge opened in 1888 to carry railroad traffic across the Hudson, but has remained unused since a 1974 fire damaged its decking. [1]

In nearby Wappingers Falls, the Dutchess County Airport services local commuter flights. The nearest major airport to Poughkeepsie is Stewart International Airport about 18 miles south in Newburgh, with the three major metropolitan airports for New York City - John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, and LaGuardia Airport - approximately 75 miles to the south, and Albany International Airport approximately 65 miles north.

Within Poughkeepsie, there are two transit bus services:

Both services have a quasi-hub at the intersection of Main and Market streets, adjacent to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center and at the west end of the former pedestrian-only Main Mall; the Mall was removed in 2001, with those blocks being restored back to traffic and to the name Main Street. Other buses serving this area include Adirondack Trailways, Coach USA, commuter runs to White Plains, and a shuttle to New Paltz.

Entertainment

The Bardavon 1869 Opera House located near Main and Market is a theater which has an array of music, drama, dance and film events. It is also the home of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.

The Mid-Hudson Civic Center located down the street from the Bardavon 1869 Opera House hosts concerts, wrestling, trade shows, and has an ice rink next door for hockey events.

The Chance, located on 6 Crannell Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, hosts live rock concerts with local as well as major artists.

Popular FM radio stations in the area are WPDH (album-oriented rock), WRWD (country), WSPK (top 40), WHUD (adult contemporary), and WPKF (rhythmic top 40).

Notable Residents

Billy Name at Poughkeepsie Bridge, which he fought to preserve.

Trivia

  • Until 1972 Poughkeepsie was home to the Smith Brothers cough drop factory. The Smith Brothers' grave site is in Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery.
  • The city is twice referred to by "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) in William Friedkin's feature film The French Connection (1971 20th Century Fox). It is called out as a stop along the route of a train about to depart the station in Superman: The Movie, and in one episode of the television show Friends Ross falls asleep on the train on his way to visit a girlfriend who lives in Poughkeepsie, and who attempts to wake him up by shouting at him from the platform when the train arrives. In the film Night at the Museum (2006), the Teddy Roosevelt character (Robin Williams) states that he is just "a mannequin made in Poughkeepsie."
  • In the 2004 film Dodgeball: a True Underdog Story, the team that loses to Average Joe's Gym in the semi-finals is called the "Poughkeepsie State Flying Cougars."
  • Various references to someone's "maiden aunt from Poughkeepsie" exist in literature, film and TV. The city has been referred to on countless occasions in MAD magazine, to the point where a citizen wrote a letter questioning them about their ongoing ridicule of the city. [citation needed]
  • The word "Poughkeepsie" is used in the TV series Ally McBeal by one of the ]]two founding partners, John Cage (Peter MacNicol), of the law firm that Ally works for. He started using the city's name to control his stuttering and the link is laid to the city in the first season of the series in the episode "Alone Again"; this is Ally's explanation when Cage tried to use "Poughkeepsie" but settled on "New York": "He used to have a stutter, but he corrected it, or well I should say he controlled it but with a song, da da ta da da, and then he picked Poughkeepsie to preempt the da da ta da, but Poughkeepsie is actually a town in upstate New York so he seized upon New York instead of Poughkeepsie because it's phonetically less jarring." The FAQ that deals with this can be found here
  • Poughkeepsie is featured twice in the online cartoon series Homestar Runner.
  • Poughkeepsie is mentioned in the Kurupt song "I Call Shots" and the Capone-N-Noreaga song "Thug's Paradise". Over the Rhine has a song titled "Poughkeepsie".
  • In the novel, "Ready or Not" by Meg Cabot, the main character refers to the town of Poughkeepsie.
  • In the film Delovely starring Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd, Kline, who is playing the song writer Cole Porter mentions Poughkeepsie when someone asks him where he comes up with his ideas for songs and responds "I get them from from a little Chinese man in Poughkeepsie."

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