Oneonta, New York

The City of Oneonta is located within the Town of Oneonta in Otsego County, New York. The city was established in 1908 and as of the 2000 U.S. Census, had a population of 13,292. Oneonta is home to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, State University of New York at Oneonta, Hartwick College, and the Oneonta Tigers baseball club of the New York-Penn League.

Geography

Oneonta is located at (42.456003, -75.062302). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.3 km² (4.4 mi²). None of the area is covered with water. The city is in the northern foothills of the Catskill Mountains between Binghamton and Albany, New York.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,292 people, 4,253 households, and 1,913 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,171.7/km² (3,032.6/mi²). There were 4,574 housing units at an average density of 403.2 persons/km² (1,043.6 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.81% White, 3.87% African American, 0.21% Native American, 1.38% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. 3.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,253 households out of which 22.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.4% were married couples living together, 10.5% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 55.0% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 13.6% under the age of 18, 43.1% from 18 to 24, 17.6% from 25 to 44, 13.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,671, and the median income for a family was $40,833. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $25,338 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,640. 30.3% of the population and 13.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 20.8% are under the age of 18 and 12.6% are 65 or older.

Notable

Oneonta received national attention for a controversial, racially charged incident that occurred in 1992. A 77-year-old white woman was attacked in a burglary. She didn't see her assailant's face, but identified him as a young black man (according to the court's decision, she could tell he was young because he moved quickly). She said he had cut his hand during a struggle. A police canine unit indicated that the assailant had fled toward the SUNY-Oneonta campus.

Given the information regarding the cut on the hand, and the relative paucity of African-American students at SUNY-Oneonta (SUCO), police asked for, and received from SUCO, a list of all black male students at the college. Police sought to interview every student on the list; when this failed to produce any suspects, they conducted random searches of nonwhites spotted in town.

Blacks both from the SUCO list and who had been randomly questioned sued on equal protection, civil rights, and Fourth Amendment grounds. In Brown v. City of Oneonta, the New York Court of Appeals (the state's highest court) ruled that the interviews, even though predicated on race, did not violate equal protection or civil rights laws because the police did not have the intent to discriminate on the basis of race. The court ordered lower courts to reconsider the Fourth Amendment claims (disagreeing with lower courts that had ruled that the searches had not been compulsory and hence did not raise Fourth Amendment claims). The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling.

Trivia

Oneonta was once home to the largest locomotive roundhouse in the world.

Oneonta held the record for the most bars per capita in the state of New York for many years.

External links

Otsego County, New York | Cities in New York

Oneonta

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Oneonta, New York

Geography

Demographics

Notable

Trivia

External links