Florida is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 2,757 at the 2007 census estimates. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. The village is primarily in the Town of Warwick, but a small part of the northern end of the village is in the Town of Goshen. Florida is at the convergence of Routes 17A, 25, and 94.

Florida has its own school district consisting of Golden Hill Elementary School and S.S. Seward Institute. The mascot for S.S. Seward Institute is a spartan.

The current mayor is James R. Pawliczek, Sr., who was first elected in March, 2002.

History

Florida is known for its vast onion fields (it calls itself Onion Capital of the World) in the nearby Black Dirt Region, as well as being the birthplace of William H. Seward, the Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln who is remembered for his crusade to purchase Alaska from Russia. Florida is also home to the famous "Polka King"Jimmy Sturr.

WTBQ, Orange County's only independent radio station, was located in Florida from 1984 to 2007; the station's new studios in the Town of Warwick opened in November 2007.

The village was founded in 1760 and incorporated in 1946.

Geography

The village is west ofGlenmere lake and east of Warwick, New York

Florida is located at (41.331217, -74.359167) .

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,571 people, 951 households, and 704 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,361.8 people per square mile (525.2/km²). There were 974 housing units at an average density of 515.9/sq mi (199.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 93.04% White, 2.53% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 1.87% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.50% of the population.

There were 951 households out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.0% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the village the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $54,893, and the median income for a family was $61,406. Males had a median income of $45,577 versus $32,232 for females. The per capita income for the village was $22,138. About 5.5% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

The community was settled by Polish immigrants during the 18th and 19th centuries, and remains predominantly Polish-American.

Pop Culture

The town of Florida has made appearances on the hit TV show Law & Order

References

June 21, 2006 MID-HUDSON POPULATION TRENDS, Times Herald-Record.

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External links

• The Warwick Advertiser, community newspaper