Athens, New York

Athens is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 4,089 at the 2010 census.[3] The town of Athens has a village also called Athens. The town is near the eastern edge of the county.

For the village located within this town, see Athens (village), New York. For other uses, see Athens (disambiguation).
Athens, New York
Town
Location in Greene County and the state of New York.
Location of New York in the United States
Coordinates: 42°16′07″N 73°48′20″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyGreene
Government
 • MayorJoseph Iraci
Area
 • Total28.87 sq mi (74.77 km2)
 • Land26.25 sq mi (67.98 km2)
 • Water2.62 sq mi (6.79 km2)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total4,089
 • Estimate 
(2016)[2]
3,941
 • Density150.16/sq mi (57.98/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
12015
Area code(s)518
FIPS code36-039-02913

History

The town of Athens was formed in 1815 from parts of the towns of Catskill and Coxsackie.

In 1890, the total population was 2,361.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.8 square miles (74.7 km2), of which, 26.2 square miles (67.8 km2) is land and 2.7 square miles (6.9 km2, or 9.22%) is water.

The east town line is defined by the Hudson River and is the border of Columbia County.

U.S. Route 9W and the New York State Thruway (Interstate 87) pass through the town.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18202,030—
18302,42519.5%
18402,387−1.6%
18502,98625.1%
18602,791−6.5%
18702,9425.4%
18803,0654.2%
18902,876−6.2%
19002,8910.5%
19102,720−5.9%
19202,361−13.2%
19302,254−4.5%
19402,3755.4%
19502,372−0.1%
19602,80418.2%
19703,56727.2%
19803,462−2.9%
19903,5612.9%
20003,98812.0%
20104,0892.5%
2016 (est.)3,941[2]−3.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[4]

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 3,991 people, 1,600 households, and 1,110 families residing in the town. The population density was 152.5 people per square mile (58.9/km2). There were 1,972 housing units with an average density of 75.3 per square mile (29.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 95.87% White, 0.98% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.70% of the population.

There were 1,600 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $39,719, and the median income for a family was $43,672. Males had a median income of $33,913 versus $22,316 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,910. About 7.0% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in the Town of Athens
  • Athens – The village of Athens is on the east edge of the town.
  • Athens Station – A location south of West Athens.
  • Hollister Lake – A lake in the northwest part of the town.
  • Lime Street – A hamlet in the northwest part of the town.
  • Middle Ground Flats – An island in the Hudson River.
  • Sleepy Hollow Lake – A lake at the north town line.
  • West Athens – A hamlet in the northeast part of the town, located on Route 28.
  • The Orchards A subdivision in NW corner of Village that gets no village services.

Electric power facilities

New Athens Generating

Pursuant to Article X of the Public Service Law, Athens Generating Company, L.P. (now operating as New Athens Generating Company, LLC) was granted a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for a 1,080-megawatt (MW) combined cycle natural gas powered plant in 2000. It went into service in 2004. There are three combustion turbines whose exhaust creates steam to drive a steam turbine. All of the combustion turbines are manufactured by Siemens. It uses an wet/dry (hybrid) cooling system consisting of three groups of six hybrid cooling units. It is located on a 150-acre area that was zoned as light industrial, to the west of the Village of Athens. In 2017, it injected 3,891 GWh of electric energy into the electric transmission system. This is equivalent to operating at full capacity for approximately 40.4% of the year. For comparison, the capital region consumed 11,823 GWh of electric energy in 2017.[6][7][8]

The plant has reorganized and transferred ownership several times since it was granted a certificate in 2000. As of 2018 it is owned by New Athens Generating Company, LLC, which is owned by New Mach Gen, LLC, which is owned by Mach Gen, LLC, which is owned by Talen Energy Supply, LLC, which is owned by Riverstone Holdings LLC. It was noted in a recent declaratory ruling that Con Edison has a bilateral agreement with New Athens Generating Company whereby Con Edison buys the plant's output and sells it in the NYISO wholesale market.[9] In its 2017-2018 adopted budget, the Village of Athens noted a revenue of about $9,000 from payments in lieu of taxes most of which can be assumed to come from New Athens Generating Company, LLC. For comparison, the Village of Athens noted a total budget of about $2.15 million for 2017-2018.[10]

West Point Partners

A High Voltage Direct Current underground transmission line was proposed in an Article VII filing with the Public Service Commission in 2013. Its northern converter station would have been located adjacent to the New Athens Generating facility. The certification process was placed in limbo after the real estate for its planned southern converter station near the Indian Point Energy Center was sold in private auction from Con Edison to the Town of Cortlandt.[11][12]

A major plot point in War of the Worlds (2005) took place in Athens. In the movie, most of the town is shown being destroyed. These are the scenes where the flaming train passes by the cast and the crowd is going towards the ferry.

References
  1. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 5, 2017.
  2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  3. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Athens town, Greene County, New York". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  4. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  5. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. "OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING CERTIFICATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY AND PUBLIC NEED (case no. 97-F-1563)". NYSPSC. June 15, 2000. p. 5–7,126–127. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  7. "NYISO 2018 Gold Book (pdf)". www.nyiso.com. pp. 13, 57. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  8. "NAES Athens Generating Plant Webpage". Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  9. "DECLARATORY RULING ON A TRANSFER TRANSACTION (case no. 16-E-0401)". NYSPSC. September 19, 2016. pp. 1–4. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  10. "Village of Athens Budget Webpage" (PDF). p. 5,16. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  11. NYSPSC case no. 13-T-0292
  12. "WPP requests suspension of schedule". October 29, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
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