Darien

Darien (dair-ee-AN) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any non-college town in Connecticut, a high rate of marriage, and high number of average children per household. Darien is one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S.Situated on Long Island Sound between the cities of Stamford and Norwalk, the town has relatively few office buildings. Many residents commute to Manhattan, with two Metro-North railroad stations - Noroton Heights and Darien - linking the town to Grand Central Terminal. The town boasts eleven parks, two public beaches, the private Tokeneke beach club, three country clubs including the first organized golf club in Connecticut. Its northern border is just south of the historic Merritt Parkway, where Exits 36 and 37 are closest to the town. It also has a 38 to 39-mile commute for commuter trains into New York City, with a station on the New Branch railroad station. The Loyalist-Patriot conflict in Darien, the setting for the novel Tory Hole, is the first book by children's author Louise Hall Tharp. In the early 20th century, Darien had a narrower racial and religious culture. There were events involving anti-Black racism and anti-Semitism in the 1930s and 1940s, with Darien being a prototypical sundown town.

History

Darien is a town in the town of Stamford, Connecticut. It was named after a sailor who traveled to Isthmus of Darien, then part of the Spanish Empire. Darien was mostly white Protestant through the middle of the twentieth century. In the twenty-first century, it is a multi-ethnic town with residents of many religions and backgrounds, although still overwhelmingly white. One of seven households report speaking a language other than English at home. The Loyalist-Patriot conflict in Darien is the setting for the novel Tory Hole, the first book by children's author Louise Hall Tharp. The town's exclusionary policies in the early 20th century were similar to many segregated suburbs at that time, including Beverly Hills, California and Tuxedo Park, New York. There were events involving anti-Black racism and anti-Semitism in the 1930s and 1940s, with Darien being a prototypical sundown town. It is one of the few municipalities in Connecticut that comply with the State's mandate to report the racial and ethnic makeup of people stopped by the police. 82% of the people stopped are white, 12% are Black, and 15% are Hispanic. The town name is pronounced (like "Dairy-Ann"), with stress on the last syllable, and has been referred to as such at least as far back as 1913. "You can always tell when someone is not from here, because they do pronounce it the way it's spelled," Louise Berry, director of the town library said in a 2006 interview.

Geography

Darien is part of the "panhandle" of Connecticut jutting into New York state. It is bordered on the west by Stamford, on the north by New Canaan, and on the east by Norwalk. On the south it faces Long Island Sound and the North Shore of Long Island. The town has 16.5 miles (26.6 km) of coastline and five harbors. The name Noroton originates from the Native American "Norporiton". Long Neck includes Long Neck Point, which provides westerly views of Manhattan. In 1902 during the Gilded Age, Anson Phelps Stokes of the Stokes family built an elegant Georgian manor on the point, dubbed "Brick House" which was later occupied by Andrew Carnegie. The property on the tip was divided in two and neither home can rise above 20 feet. A key part of Connecticut's Gold Coast, Long Neck point is consistently ranked one of the best places to live in America. The large island on the eastern seaboard of Long Neck is listed for $175,000 per square foot, with the most expensive plot for $M175-a-square-foot being the late William Ziegler's estate at the eastern end of the peninsula. The city of Darien is located in the northern section of the state, and is home to the New York State Psychiatric Center, a psychiatric hospital, and a number of other psychiatric facilities. It also has two Metro-North railroad stations, with a 38 to 39 miles (61 to 63 km) commute of 4650 minutes from Noroton Heights.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,607 people, 6,592 households, and 5,385 families residing in the town. In 2019, the median household income was $232,523 and the per capita income for the town was $116,564. Darien has been ranked the #1 safest "city" in Connecticut for 2018 by Safewise, and the 54th safest city in the United States. The town is located on the Connecticut Turnpike, which runs through the town of Darien. It is the only town in the state to be on the turnpike. The turnpikes were built on the site of a former rail yard in the early 1900s. The Turnpikes are still used by railroads and other railroads today. They are also used by the U.S. Postal Service to transport mail and other mail to and from other parts of the country, and by the state of Connecticut to send mail to other states. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.5% under the age of 18, 3.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 24.0%, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there are 96.2 males. For each 100 females age 18 and over,there are 89.7 males. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.31.

Economy

JetBlue Airways once had its finance and scheduling operations at 19 Old Kings Highway South in Darien. In mid-2012 JetBlue combined the Darien and Forest Hills, Queens, New York City headquarters into its headquarters in Long Island City, Queens. JetBlue has since moved its finance operations to a new office in New York's SoHo neighborhood. The company has also moved its scheduling operations from Darien to New Jersey. The move is expected to save JetBlue money in the long-term, a source of concern for the airline's management. The airline's finance operations are now based in New Jersey, not New York, the source of concerns for JetBlue's management has been revealed. The new office will be located in Long island City, the former home of the company's finance offices in Queens. The former finance office was located in the Forest Hills area of Queens. It has since been moved to the New Jersey side of the city, where it is located in Queens' Sojourner Truth Hospital. The hospital was once located in Forest Hills; it is now in the Queens suburb of Forest Hills. The airport's finance office is based in Queens, where JetBlue also has its scheduling offices. The two locations are now located in different parts of Queens, including Long Island and New Jersey's Queensboro, and Queensboro. The flight hub is in Queens; it was once in Queens and Queens County, New Jersey; and it was in Queens County until the merger in 2012.

Arts and culture

The Darien Library is the most heavily utilized library in Connecticut. The Mather Homestead, a National Historic Landmark, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Frederick J. Smith House, designed by architect Richard Meier, is considered one of the finest examples of 18th century architecture. The Darien Historical Society is the oldest historical society in the United States, dating back to the 17th century. The town is home to the Darien Nature Center, which is a focal point for many community events. The library has existed in Darien as an institution since 1894, primarily in locations on the Post Rd (four sites including the current site) and on Leroy Avenue. The current building was funded over a three-year capital campaign, with town residents backing the initiative. The Library is built to the LEED Gold certified standard. The Convent of St. Birgitta is a notable work of modern architecture in town, with a wood frame structure and two stories plus a basement and attic. It was designed by Richard Meier and is considered to be one of his finest works of architecture. It has been featured in numerous books, including "The Art of Architecture" and "Sculpture of the City of Darien" The library was named a Five Star library by Library Journal in 2012, which used four objective measures: visits, circulation, program attendance and internet computer use per capita to compare the level of services libraries provide to their communities.

Parks and recreation

Darien is home to the local YMCA and Holly Pond Nursery School. The town also has its own ice rink and a cinema. The remaining shoreline estate of the late William Ziegler was approved for purchase by the town in June 2022 for $103M. Darien is also home to Great Island, which has beaches and a deepwater dock along its mile-long coastline. It is also the location of the Darien Land Trust's 3 acre Cherry Lawn property, which is available for winter ice skating with conditions monitored by town Parks & Recreation department. It also features an equestrian facility (built by Rafael Guastavino) that features vaulted, tiled ceilings reminiscent of one of his better-known projects, Grand Central Terminal, a granite stable with 18 stalls and an indoor riding arena. There are also several parks and beaches in the town, including Weed Beach, Cherry Lawn Park, Highland Farm, and Bexaker Park. There is also an undeveloped area of land that could be used for a skating rink or venues for festivals or events. It has also been suggested that the town should use the land to host a museum or other public event, such as a concert or festival. It was also suggested that Darien should have its own version of the New York City Marathon, which would have been the first time the city has had a track and field race in the city in more than 50 years. It would also be the second time the town had had a marathon in the same year.

Government and Politics

Darien is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It is part of Connecticut's 4th congressional district and is currently represented by Democrat Jim Himes. Darien has the lowest property taxes of the Fairfield. County suburbs of its size, with a mill rate of 15.35 being consistently lower than New Canaan at 15.985 and Westport at 18.09 (rates as of 2016) Darien was one of only five towns in Connecticut that backed former Ohio Governor John Kasich over Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. In the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton won 832 votes (69.51%) in Darien, far ahead of self-described democratic socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont with 363 votes (30.33%) Darien is part. of "Sustainable Fairfield county"a cooperative organization made up of ten Fairfield counties that have joined forces to help advance environmental sustainability and responsibility county-wide. The other municipalities include Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Trumbull, Weston, Westport and Wilton. The town has several elective offices as well: the town clerk, probate judge, registrar of voters, tax collector and treasurer. The Board of Finance approves financial measures, including the town budget; the Board of Education controls the town's public schools; the Representative Town Meeting is the main legislative body of the town. In 2016, in spite of the Republican climate nationwide, Democrat Hillary Clinton became the first Democrat to win inDarien since 1888 when Grover Cleveland beat Benjamin Harrison.

Education

Darien has five elementary schools: Hindley School, Holmes School, Ox Ridge School, Royle School, and Tokeneke School. Darien High School was ranked No. 1 in the "U.S. News Best High Schools in Connecticut" in 2019. In June 2012, 24/7 Wall St. ranked Darien as the 10th wealthiest school district in the United States.Pear Tree Point School, originally named Plumfield School, was a private school on Long Neck, educating students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 5. The school was closed in summer 2018. The town's sports teams go by the name of the "Blue Wave" Darien is home to the Darien Red Sox baseball team, who play in the New England Red Sox International Series. The Red Sox also play the New York Red Sox in the World Series of Baseball, which starts on October 1, 2014. The team is known as the "Red Sox" and is based in Stamford, Connecticut. The city's mayor is Ned Lamont, who was elected to a second term in 2010. The mayor is a former member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, and served as mayor of Darien from 1998 to 2007. The current mayor is Dannel P. Malloy, who served from 2007 to 2009. The district is one of the most affluent in the state. The state Department of Education has ranked the district in its highest-rated District Reference Group, A (formerly the Educational Reference Group A), which consists of the nine most affluent school districts in Connecticut.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Darien, Fairfield County, Connecticut = 7.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 32. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 30. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Darien = 3.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 21,499 individuals with a median age of 38.3 age the population grows by 3.59% in Darien, Fairfield County, Connecticut population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,666.6 residents per square mile of area (643.5/km²). There are average 3 people per household in the 6,701 households with an average household income of $192,001 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 6.30% of the available work force and has dropped -3.25% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 27.20%. The number of physicians in Darien per 100,000 population = 301.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Darien = 48 inches and the annual snowfall = 36.9 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 101. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 176. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 20 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 44, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Darien, Fairfield County, Connecticut which are owned by the occupant = 84.48%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 54 years with median home cost = $1,044,750 and home appreciation of -9.34%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $13.56 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $9,561 per student. There are 13.7 students for each teacher in the school, 248 students for each Librarian and 408 students for each Counselor. 4.24% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 39.98% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 30.33% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).