Brighton, Monroe County, New York

:"Brighton is also a town in Franklin County, New York, USA".Geobox Settlement
name = Brighton
native_name =
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category = Town


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flag_size =
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country = United States
state = New York
region_type = County
region = Monroe
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area_imperial = 15.6
area_land_imperial = 15.5
area_water_imperial = 0.17
area_water_percentage = auto
area_percentage_round = 1
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location =
lat_d = 43
lat_m = 07
lat_s = 24
lat_NS = N
long_d = 77
long_m = 34
long_s = 05
long_EW = W
elevation_imperial = 493
elevation_round = 1
population_as_of = 2000
population = 35,588
population_density_imperial = 2281
population_density_round = 1
established_type = Established
established = 1814
leader = Sandra Frankel "(first Elected 1991)"
leader_type = Supervisor
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
postal_code = 14610-14618
postal_code_type = ZIP code
area_code = 585
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map_caption =
map1 = New York Locator Map.png map1_caption = Location of Brighton in New York
map1_locator = New York
map2 = Map of USA NY.svg
map2_caption = Location of New York in the United States
website = http://www.townofbrighton.org/

Brighton is a town in Monroe County, New York, USA. The population was 35,588 at the 2000 census.

History

The Town of Brighton, located on the southeast border of the city of Rochester, was originally settled approximately 1790, and formally established in 1814—earning it recognition as one of the oldest towns in Monroe County. Named for Brighton, England, it remained a farming and brick-making community until the 20th century, when the town began its evolution into an upscale suburban residential area, occupying some convert|15|sqmi|km2. In 1999, the town purchased 64 acres (259,000 m²) with the intention of developing a central park.

Education

The area is served by the Brighton Central School District, which frequently earns high positions in Newsweek national rankings (5th in 1998). As of right now the ratings have gone down possibly because some of the school teachers in Brighton have retired or because of increased emphasis on APs in other schools. In 2007, Brighton placed higher (87th) than its cross-town rival, Pittsford Mendon High School (94th) for the first time in several years. [ [http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380 America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com ] ]

Brighton was recently ranked #56 out of over 18,000 in the inaugural "US News & World Report" ranking of U.S. high schools (2007), which is generally regarded as having more breadth of analysis than the Newsweek rankings. (The former rankings are formed based upon numerous quantifiable factors, whereas the Newsweek rankings solely examine the raw number of students enrolled in AP classes per capita.) No other school in Monroe County placed in the top 1,000. .

Government

Brighton is governed by an elected town council, consisting of a supervisor and four town council members. The supervisor is elected to a two-year term. The council members serve four-year terms. Voters also elect two town justices and a town clerk. Town justices serve a four-year term, and the clerk is elected to a two-year term. In 2005, the voters elected Sandra Frankel to her eighth term as supervisor. As of February, 2004, the town board consisted of James R. Vogel, Raymond Tierney III, Jill Vigdor Feldman and Sherry Krause. Unlike most other suburbs of Rochester, Brighton tends to elect mostly Democrats to town government positions.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.6 square miles (40.5 km²), of which, 15.5 square miles (40.0 km²) of it is land and 0.17 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (1.1%) is water.

In terms of latitude and longitude, Brighton is located at coor dms|43|7|24|N|77|34|5|W|city

Brighton has lacked a central village since the city of Rochester annexed the area around East Avenue and Winton Road, formerly the village of Brighton, in 1905. The central entertainment and commercial hub is the 12 Corners, so named because three intersecting roads, Winton Road, Monroe Avenue and Elmwood Avenue, define 12 distinct corners. Also, both the High School (Brighton High School) and the Middle School (Twelve Corners Middle School) are located at 12 corners. Brighton is bordered by the city of Rochester to the northwest, the town of Henrietta to the south, the Genesee River to the west, and the towns of Pittsford and Penfield to the east. Brighton is located some convert|60|mi|km from Buffalo, and convert|90|mi|km from Syracuse. The Erie Canal courses through Brighton, accompanied by the acclaimed Erie Canal Heritage Trail, one of the longest continuous stretches of maintained off-road trail in the United States.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 35,588 people, 15,854 households, and 8,687 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,302.5 people per square mile (888.8/km²). There were 16,705 housing units at an average density of 417.2 persons/km² (1,080.8 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 86.09% White, 3.70% African American, 0.10% Native American, 8.13% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.34% of the population.

There were 15,854 households out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 6.8% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 45.2% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,066, and the median income for a family was $70,436. Males had a median income of $46,292 versus $35,171 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,642. 6.1% of the population and 3.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 4.9% are under the age of 18 and 5.2% are 65 or older.

"See also": Brighton (CDP), New York

Notable residents

*Al Cervi, Basketball Hall of Famer
*David Diamond, composer of classical music
*Frederick Douglass, Underground railroad leader
*Marion B. Folsom (1893-1976), former cabinet Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Eisenhower Administration.
*Dana Fox, Hollywood screenwriter, "The Wedding Date"
*Walter Hagen (1892-1969), "Golf's Greatest Showman", World Golf Hall-of-Famer, won 11 Majors.
*Shirley Jackson(1916-1965), author of "The Lottery"
*David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times reporter
*David T. Kearns, former Xerox CEO, former Deputy Secretary of Education
*Linda Sue Park, Newbery award winning author
*Abraham Rothberg, author
*Heidi "Hudson" Leick, " actress, played "Callisto"
*Kristen Wiig, "Saturday Night Live" performer

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.townofbrighton.org/ Brighton town website]
* [http://www.nycanal.com/recreation/heritagetrail.html Erie Canal Heritage Trail]
* [http://www.walterhagenhome.org/ Walter Hagen Home Historic Site]
* [http://www.mpnewspapers.com/brightonpittsford.php Brighton-Pittsford Post] —local newspaper
* [http://www.bcsd.org Brighton Public School System] —rated 11th best in the US by Newsweek
* [http://www.town-court.com/getTownCourt.php?courtID=104 Brighton Town Court]