Last year CNNMONEY.COM rated Greenburgh #80 in their best place to live issue. Today, CNN.MONEY.COM rated Greenburgh as #12 in their list of 6 figure towns—the nations best places with high income residents. This is what they say about our town…
PAUL FEINER
GREENBURGH TOWN SUPERVISOR
America's Best Places to Live
Yes, strong local economies still exist. These small towns have 'em - plus great schools, affordable homes, low crime, and more. 6-figure towns
12. Greenburgh, NY
Population: 90,178
Median family income (per year): $131,619
Median home price: $575,000
This town takes the "Green" in "Greenburgh" very seriously. The town hall features solar panels, the new library is powered by geothermal heating and cooling systems and municipal employees drive electric cars.
There's one more thing that makes this wealthy community different. Members of the town board, including the town supervisor make a "house call" to any resident who has concerns or complaints.
Tudor houses and large estate abound in Greenburgh which is also the corporate home of yogurt giant Dannon. Celebrity residents once included jazz legend Cab Calloway.
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33 comments:
The way you and the board are running this town we will be on one of the poorest list.
Have you forgotten how many of us have lost our jobs or had to take
a big cut in salary?
Have you taken the hike in fares to travel on bridges or roadways.
Let's face it we could be number one or 100 we still have to pay the high taxes because of your poor management.
Tell these people to contact some of the residents to get the truth as to how we are struggling to stay alive.
Let them get the information from us and not from you or any board member.
Keep screwing around with Edgemont and we'll see how many of these lists are in your future. Edgemonters will form our own village and we'll make all the fashionable lists!
we need to make 6 figures so we can pay for our high cost police and fire dept salaries,I wonder how many of them live in OUR TOWN.
Town employees still do not have a contract because of your poor
management.
lets cut some of those high paid salary positions.
How about passing a law that all police and firemen have to live in Westchester perferab;e Greejnburgh. You will get the same answer all the time.
"we can't afford living there BUT they can collect a good salary and above all a good pension. .
With all the wealth within the boundaries of Greenburgh, there is a large segment of the population who live in one of six subsidized housing projects within an ear shot of town hall and the Dannon corporate office. It's interesting how this is over-looked when reporting the wealth of residents in Greenburgh. Watch out all you six figure people living in your twelfth on the list Town, there are so many citizens of this so-called wealthy town who are deemed invisible because because they do not make a six figure salary. With this economic decline, you too may become part of the invisible crowd which Mr. Feiner seems to dismiss.
Oh brother. We've finally moved beyond the "80th Bestest Place In The Entire Universe To Live" and here we are with this. 6 figure town yet so poor we spend 4 million plus to alleviate poverty.
What a crock of poo-poo.
Where would TOV rank? It wouldn't even get on the radar.
PS. 2 incorrect website address given by Paul. This one here for CNN and the one for OSI.
Greenburgh! The #1 most bedazzling place on the planet! Yippee!
No doubt there's a simple answer but...
How does CNN.MONEY.COM know the median income?
Per Wikipedia :
"According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $100,656, and the median income for a family was $118,360.[2] Males had a median income of $64,186 versus $46,658 for females. The per capita income for the town was $43,778. About 2.0% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over."
Where the 2008/2009 #' came from is anyone guess.
Answer to Samis....
Thye probably ask you.....
do some bloggers wish for bad news? what's bad about good news?
What's bad about good news, you ask? For one, the Town has to pay for these types of designations...how much did we pay to be designated 80th greatest place to live and how much for the most recent "good news". It's great that CNN thinks we're so wealthy. Most of us are struggling to pay our taxes, not to mention keeping a roof over our heads. How about analyzing another statistic; how many of our children can afford to say in this "wealthy" Town - not many.
Dear 9:18,
How does Wikipedia or Money know this for 2007 or for any year?
And common sense and a reading of the financial pages since 2006 would indicate a decline in 2008 over 2007.
The point here is that we already know that CNN.MONEY.COM is, to put it mildly" sloppy in gathering facts i.e. "this town takes the 'Green in Greenburgh' very seriously. The town hall features solar panels..." and last year they compared Greenburgh to other cities etc.
Clearly someone at CNN/MONEY has a soft spot for the Supervisor's relentless barrage of publicity.
Clearly CNN/MONEY "forgot to ask" the most relevant question to these kind of lists: what about taxes? Unless, of course, this is really a list of towns that paid the most in taxes per capita -- a measure that I suspect is the explanation of how we got to #12 albeit a distinction that is not something to brag about.
So if this list is defined by choosing those towns with highest median income (half above, half below), the very first assumption that need be explained is how did they come to know "every" resident's income -- or the acceptable statistically valid base?
Without a suitable explanation, the whole list and ranking process falls apart from its own lack of weight.
Don't play the game of taking this seriously until you know the rules.
I did a little research on my own and contacted the US Census bureau. The latest data that they publish indicates the median family income for Greenburgh for 2007 at $113,762 with a margin of error of +/- $4,379, so for those not up on their statistics, the "actual" based upon 100% (and obviously this data is based upon some kind of limited, but presumably valid sample could be in the range of $118,141 to $109,393.
To access the Census data, the following link (http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en) will get you to a page where you can enter "Greenburgh" and "New York" and then see the results.
As to the "accuracy" of this source, I agree with Hal Samis, that they (CNN Money) are very suspect. For example, in the data that they used to rank Greenburgh as the 80th best place, they significantly understated the local sales tax rate and maybe if they just used the correct data, who knows where Greenburgh would have wound up.
Dear 11:49,
Someone comes to your door, even otherwise unemployed college student, and says "hi, I'm from the Census Bureau, what do you earn?" and you say, "come on in, sit down, take a load off and let me just get you my bank statements, my payroll stub and my 401k."
Ore, (as in panning for gold)
"Let me just make sure I have your correct address, that's 10583, Scarsdale..."
Or, reversing the money flow, "let's see, I have you down for living in White Plains..."
Dear Mr. Samis:
Obviously the Census Bureau gets some kind of aggregated information about income from the IRS, just without any specifics, i.e. names, SSN's, etc. but probably by zip code and they extrapolate from there.
No, I have not been interviewed by any summer college students. The data is subject to certain limitations of statistics and at best is an approximation, but it's probably better than nothing.
Sincerely,
7/14 2009 11:49 AM
This sounds like more of the hype that I believed when I made the foolish decision back in 2003 to buy a house in Hartsdale.
Dear 11:49,
So, do you think that the data, such as it is, supports the conclusion "Greenburgh as 12 in six figure towns"
Or, across the nation, of all the towns visited by the Census Bureau and with the cooperation of the IRS, that Greenburgh is #12 of all those with high median incomes.
Do you think that high median income is a function of "strong local economies still exist" or that these incomes were generated in nearby NYC.
Do you think that Greenburgh got a 12 rating because of Town Board house calls?
Do you think that Greenburgh got a 12 rating because Cab Calloway once lived here?
If anything, the post has taught readers to never again buy Money Magazine or take CNN seriously.
Dear Mr. Samis:
Since I don't know how to highlight my responses in italics, I will use capital letters, but I am not shouting.
So, do you think that the data, such as it is, supports the conclusion "Greenburgh as 12 in six figure towns" OF COURSE NOT. IN FACT, SINCE THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT APPEAR TO HAVE ENTERED THIS "RANKING" JUST USING THE CORRECT INCOME MIGHT HAVE KNOCKED GREENBURGH OUT OF THE TOP WHATEVER.
Or, across the nation, of all the towns visited by the Census Bureau and with the cooperation of the IRS, that Greenburgh is #12 of all those with high median incomes. AGAIN, OF COURSE NOT.
Do you think that high median income is a function of "strong local economies still exist" or that these incomes were generated in nearby NYC. I WOULD SAY THAT ONE SHOULD INCLUDE BOTH NYC AND LOWER FAIRFIELD CT IN THE "LOCAL' ECONOMY. MANY LARGE AND GOOD PAYING JOBS ARE BASED THERE AND MANY FROM THIS PART OF WESTCHESTER COMMUTE DAILY - JUST TRY RIDING NORTH ON I 95 AND THE MERIT PARKWAY IN THE MORNING.
Do you think that Greenburgh got a 12 rating because of Town Board house calls? DEFINITELY NOT.
Do you think that Greenburgh got a 12 rating because Cab Calloway once lived here? ABSOLUTELY NOT. MAYBE BECAUSE TOM CARVEL ONCE LIVED IN GREENBURGH.
If anything, the post has taught readers to never again buy Money Magazine or take CNN seriously. I AGREE.
1:59
Some other unsuspecting goofball will buy your house from you. This is the vicious cycle in Hartsdale.
WOW - No one listening! THE TOWN PAYS FOR THESE DESIGNATIONS - THEY (THE TOWN) FILL OUT QUESTIONNAIRES AND SUBMIT THEM WITH PAYMENT FOR THESE CNN AND MONEY MAGAZINE DESIGNATIONS...WE'RE THE FOOLS FOR BUYING THEM!
Forget about 80TH "Best Place To Live!"
Forget about 12th "Highest Median Six Figure Income!!"
How about #2. Yes,Yes, Yes!!! Greenburgh is #2"In Speeders Exceeding 130 Miles Per Hour!!!!" And, you know what else? We've also "nailed"down the #3 spot.
I'm overjoyed, but incredulous as to why Paul doesn't promote #'s 2 & # 3 as aggessively as "ho hum," 80th and 12th.
I also wonder how many houses in Greenburgh sold at "above-the-market-prices" since the 80Th "Best," info hit the press/airways.
Not being a compulsive gambler, I'll only bet "half the ranch" the answer is miniscule, tending toward NONE.
Ditto, the "12th". How many folks with "median" incomes of $100+ thousand moved into Greenburgh since that "gem" became a "Universal Verite?" I'll bet the other half of the ranch.
By the way, does the distinction between TOV and incorporated villages enter into any of these datum?
If all of this weren't so risible one could cry. We live in a town run by, among other things financially challenged individuals.Through no "fault of their own," they continue to be re-elected.And, despite the fact our taxes are eating us up alive, we keep voting them into office...some for 9 consecutive terms.
So dear readers, I propose a #1 for Greenburgh. For the combination of TOV and incorporated villages.
GREENBURGH IS #ONE IN MASOCHISTIC VOTERS!!!!!
To my mind there is not even a remotely close #TWO
CNN did not count my money or did they check my income but above all they did not check what I owe out.
How many of us are in the same boat and sinking.
CNN should check the management of this town then and only then they can see that we are not number 12 but close to zero figure town
The Town employees should at lease live in Westchester if not Greenburgh. Some of them come from outside the County.
Had to come down from $500,000 to $400,000 to sell my house Nobody wanted to pay these crazy taxes. It was on the market for two years.
I caught part of a work session for today the 16th where the town board will allow residents to pay their taxes maybe twice a yesr or maybe on installments.
What happens to those they pay as we have done up to today do we receive a discount.
are some of you jealous?
Look at the tax rate within different areas.
Here in Greenville we pay plenty of taxes to come out to a road where a trailer is parked for days.
I.m sure that many have complained about the eyesore but nothing has been done to help those residents.
Have CNN check with residents of Greenburg what they like and what they dislike about this town.
Maybe they will give us a better rating or maybe they will have pity on us.
I was thinking about putting a trailer in my drivway to rent it out.
Since it is legal to have a trailer on ones property or close to the property line I do think this will be a good source of revnue.
It will help me out tremendously.
Well now I know why I can't afford to live in a decent apartment. I don't make half of the median salary. And Greenburgh is not one of the best places to live. The roads are becoming a hazard, the taxes seem to be going into the wrong pockets, and the residents, unless they have good connections, are ignored.
Yes one has to have good friends working at town hall but in important positions.
One can also make a small contribution to whatever and all will be taken care of.
Proud and pleased to be a townie in Greenburgh!
To 7/17/2009 8:54 PM:
"Proud to be a townie in Greenburgh", but not proud enough to identify yourself.
Oh well.
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