East Rochester is a coterminous town and village located southeast of the City of Rochester in Monroe County, New York. The village, home to about 6,700 people, is bounded by Pittsford to the west and south and Perinton to the north and east. The southern boundary is delimited by New York State Route 31F, which runs parallel to but never enters East Rochester. The village line in the remaining three directions are less distinct.

Geography

East Rochester is located at (43.112413, -77.487).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²).None of the area is covered with water; however, Irondequoit Creek runs along the eastern edge of the village.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,650 people, 2,774 households, and 1,625 families residing in the village. The population density was 4,915.4 people per square mile (1,901.9/km²). There were 2,916 housing units at an average density of 2,155.4/sq mi (834.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.92% White, 1.38% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. 2.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,774 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $39,221, and the median income for a family was $48,553. Males had a median income of $32,094 versus $26,953 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,875. About 6.2% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

East Rochester has been considered by the public as Rochester's "Little Italy," as over a half of the town's residents have Italian ancestry, and Italian can even be heard in offices and homes. It has also been home to some of the finest Italian restaurants in the Rochester area including The Northside Inn, Perlo's and for many years, Giuseppe's. Surace's Pizza, located along Commercial Street, adds to this reputation and is a lunch time institution in the community.

Due to the success of its high school sports teams, (despite the small size of the village and school in relation to surrounding towns) East Rochester has been affectionately referred to as "The Home of Champions." Its high school men's basketball, football and wrestling teams each won numerous sectional championships from the 1960s until the early 1990s. The majority of these football and wrestling squads found their success under the direction of local legend Don Quinn. In recent years, the school's women's sports teams have carried on this tradition as field hockey and lacrosse have enjoyed dominance on both the regional and state-wide level. Interestingly enough, it is Quinn's daughter who coaches these teams.Also one of the most successful teams in East Rochester is the varsity cheerleading squad. With 6 national champion titles and 9 section five champion titles, as well as various titles from local competitions, this team has become a legend.

Baseball has always been an integral part of village life. In 1966, the East Rochester Little League's Senior Division Baseball allstar team became world champions, winning the World Series, which was held in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Bombers were the first High School in the Rochester area to play its outdoor sports upon a FieldTurf artificial playing surface, with one being installed in 2001. Until the early 1990s, the Bomber football team played an annual game with their rivals from Fairport; the Red Raiders. The winner of this game took home the coveted Little Brown Jug and was played until the enrollment of Fairport High grew much too large to make such a contest feasible. The rivalry, however, is still somewhat understood between the two neighbors as it is often referred to in other capacities outside of athletics.

Transportation

Three state highways enter the vicinity of East Rochester: the aforementioned NY 31F, better known locally as Fairport Road, New York State Route 153 (Washington Street), and unsigned New York State Route 940U (West Commercial Street). NY 153 has the highest average annual daily traffic of any street serving East Rochester proper, carrying 11,000 vehicles per day between NY 31F and Commercial and 18,000 vehicles daily from Commercial to Linden Avenue as of 2004. NY 31F carries over 27,000 vehicles per day but does not enter the village. NY 153 is also the only north-south street in the village that runs from one end of the village to the other and continues into neighboring towns. Linden Avenue is the only east-west street accomplishing this feat.

The double-tracked CSX Transportation Rochester Subdivision rail line runs east-west through East Rochester, dividing the town in half. No grade crossings exist within the East Rochester limits. Two streets, NY 153 and South Lincoln Road, pass under the mainline by way of underpasses roughly 0.5 miles apart.

History

Beginnings

The Village of East Rochester was originally known as the Village of Despatch when the community was incorporated in 1897. Despatch was laid out as a planned community designed around the New York Central Railroad mainline that ran through the center of the village. Much of the original land which became the village came from Fairport businessman Walter Parce. This land was used to develop housing for employees of the earliest employers: The Merchants Despatch Corporation and the Aeolian Piano Corporation. The original buildings of the Aeolian Piano Corporation are still in use today as a shopping center and office complex called Piano Works Mall.

To better showcase the village's proximity to the city of Rochester, the village was incorporated as the Village of East Rochester in 1906.

The boundaries of the village were divided between the towns of Perinton, Pittsford, and Penfield.

Coterminous status

In 1982, the residents of the village voted to become a coterminous town and village.

Disasters

Two notable disasters have occurred in East Rochester, both involving derailments on the double-track mainline running through town. The first occurred on 29 October 1969 when a 30-car Penn Central freight train carrying produce derailed onto West Maple Avenue (which, along with East Maple Avenue, runs parallel to the tracks between NY 153 and South Lincoln Road), crushing numerous automobiles and toppling telephone poles. Remarkably, no one was injured.

On 16 January 2007, a 13-car CSX intermodal train traveling 60 miles per hour and carrying retail goods partially derailed at the South Lincoln underpass, spilling at least five containers and two intermodal wells onto the road below. The wreckage extended west from South Lincoln along East Maple Avenue to Madison Street as derailed cars crushed a number of vehicles parked alongside the tracks and dumped intermodal containers into the front yards of residents on Maple. Overall, eight wells and 15 to 20 containers came off the rails. As in 1969, no one was injured in the accident. The presence of mangled intermodal cars in the southbound lanes of Lincoln Road, as well as one teetering on the edge of the bridge, forced the closure of the road. It reopened January 18 following two days of cleanup. The 200 block of East Maple Avenue, however, remained closed for repair work for several days afterward.

Emergency Response in East Rochester

Access to emergency services is obtain by dialing 9-1-1 which connects the caller to the City of Rochester's Emergency Communications Department Center). The East Rochester Police Department provides primary law enforcement for the town residents.

The East Rochester Fire Department is staffed by volunteers and provides emergency fire, rescue and non-transport emergency medical services within the town.

The East Rochester Volunteer Ambulance Corps (ERVAC) provides primary emergency medical response, including Basic Life Support, with trained Emergency Medical Technicians. Advanced Life Support services are provided by the Southeast Quadrant Mobile Critical Care Unit (SEQ MCCU).

Notable residents

• Robert Trent Jones, golf course architect

References

External links

• Village of East Rochester, NY webpage