I visited Rye New York in the Summer, and was warmly welcomed by their Town Manager Michael Genito, and Councillors Roz Larr and Jerry Seitz, and Chamber of Commerce President Sally Wright.
Rye New York is celebrating their Centenary this year with many different events – it is 100 years since they were incorporated as a village in 1904!
with Councillor Roz Larr.
There are long-standing links between our 2 towns, and I was there to see whether we could perhaps extend our links beyond the mainly civic ones.
It is a very different town from our Rye. It is obviously a wealthy commuter-town, being less than 1 hour from New York City by train, and benefits from high New York salaries. It is quite spacious, and is on the water (Long Island Sound). It certainly isn’t mediaeval like our Rye, and is more residential in nature, and not really an important visitor destination, as we are.
The Main Street does have some very good shops and restaurants (like our Rye), and we discussed the issues we have in common – keeping the shops as quality, independent ones and, yes, car-parking!
On our tour, we also discussed the problems of affordable homes – in Rye N.Y. they are seeing plots of land being developed with these new huge colonial-type houses, dubbed “McMansions”!
We talked of the possibility of the 2 Golf Clubs organising an exchange golf-match some time in 2005, and I have put them in contact with one another. Hopefully, our Chambers of Commerce will also be able to establish working links – and I should also like to see some exchanges of views between our young people. It was such a positive meeting.
“Rye’s Own” November 2004
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