Briarcliff Manor

Understand

History

While the village of Briarcliff Manor was established in 1902, the area has been home to Wappinger tribes of Native Americans since the precolonial era.

Established on the eastern bank of the Hudson River on the former land of Walter W. Law, the village's name originated from that of the summer home of John David Ogilby, a professor from the nearby General Theological Seminary, who named his summer home Brier Cliff, after the name of his family home in Ireland. When Law bought the land encompassing the village in the late 19th century, he kept the name Briarcliff, and after being jokingly referred to as the "Laird of Briarcliff Manor" by his friend Andrew Carnegie, the name stuck.

Climate

The village has a humid continental climate, with cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers. During the summers (June to September), the daily high averages in the low 80s Fahrenheit (upper 20s Celsius) and lows averaging around 60s Fahrenheit (Upper 10s Celsius). The summers in Briarcliff Manor are humid, usually around 80% during the day.

Winter (December to March) has highs in the low 40s Fahrenheit (lower single digits Celsius) and lows slightly below freezing. While snow is somewhat common during winter months, the above-freezing daytime highs lead to an inconsistent snowpack and regular intervals of rain.

Get in

By plane

Westchester County Airport (HPN) is located 12 miles southeast in the city of White Plains. The airport receives regular service by five airlines and offers direct service to over ten cities on the eastern seaboard in addition to Puerto Rico and Bermuda. The airport offers many rental car options.

• By bus and train: From the airport, take the 12 bus ($3) towards White Plains. At Martine Ave. @ Court St., exit the bus and walk to Main St. @ Court St. and board the 6 bus en route to Pleasantville. At Bedford Rd. @ Wheeler Ave., transfer onto the 19 bus ($3) en route to Ossining. Total travel time is 1.5-2 hours. The Bee-Line Bus allows one free transfer, so two fares will be necessary for the trip.
• By car: From Westchester County Airport, merge onto I-684 south and take the exit onto I-287 west towards White Plains. Then take exit 3 onto the Sprain Brook Parkway North, exiting at exit 6 after the merge onto the Taconic.
• By taxi: To schedule the service of a taxi while at the airport, you can dial one of seven companies licensed by the Westchester County Taxi and Limousine Commission. While taxi service is allowed, taxi companies are unable to cruise around and the hailing of unoccupied taxis is not allowed.

Stewart International Airport (SWF) is 40 miles northwest of Briarcliff Manor in the town of New Windsor. While a nice alternative to the congestion of the three main airports of New York City, public transportation into Briarcliff Manor is scarce, time-consuming and expensive. The airport is served by three airlines, and offers non-stop flights from Reykjavik and cities in Florida and South Carolina. The airport offers several rental car options.

• By car: Nearly the only way to travel into Briarcliff Manor. If renting a car from any of the rental car providers at the airport, make sure to inquire about EZ-Pass, New York's electronic tolling system, as part of the route involves a toll road. The general route is to follow I-84 east for about 19 miles until you reach the Taconic State Parkway at exit 52A, where you can head south for roughly 30 miles until reaching exit 6 for Briarcliff Manor.
• By taxi: Taxi service is available at Stewart International through the Welcome Center in the main terminal, but is not recommended due to the long distance in between the airport and Briarcliff Manor.

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and LaGuardia International Airport (LGA) are the three major international airports in the New York City metro area and offer service to just about anywhere around the world. If you are a visitor to Westchester County, it is most likely that you will fly into one of these three main airports. While the central hub for downstate New York, it can be a real headache to get transport to Briarcliff Manor from these airports.

• By car: All three airports offer a variety of car rental services which will allow to you more easily drive into Briarcliff Manor. The specific routes from each of the three airports can vary greatly depending on the time of day, so plan accordingly.
• By taxi: While taxi service is incredibly easy to get from the three airports, Westchester-based liveries and New York City's iconic yellow cabs cost exorbitant amounts of money for the hour long drive. It is not recommended to take a taxi, however if you wish to do so, you can hail a cab outside the airport.

By car

Briarcliff Manor is bounded on the east by the Saw Mill River Parkway (between the Bronx and Katonah) and the Taconic State Parkway (between North Castle and Albany). These highways are well connected with the Sprain Brook Parkway (at the termination of the Taconic), I-87 (accessed from the Saw Mill River Parkway South, running north to south from the Bronx to the New York-Montreal border), I-287 (accessed from the Sprain Brook Parkway, connecting Edison, New Jersey to Rye), and I-95 (at the termination of I-287, running north to south along the eastern seaboard).

By train

Briarcliff Manor is well-served by the Metro-North Railroad. The village is conveniently located near three Metro-North stations – Scarborough, Ossining, and Pleasantville stations. All three stations provide regular, direct service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, as well as local service to other Metro-North commuter stations.

• Scarborough station and Ossining station are located on the Metro-North's Hudson Line. Express service between either station and Grand Central Terminal is about 50 minutes, although Ossining station provides more midday express service. Local service to Grand Central takes just over an hour. A one-way ticket to Grand Central costs $11.25 off-peak and $14.75 peak. On-board train fares are subject to a stiff surcharge, so buy your tickets online or from the vending machines in the station overpass. Full weekday and weekend Hudson Line schedules are available online. The Scarborough train station has no bus access, but the Ossining station can be reached by Bee-Line Bus routes 14 and 19.
• Pleasantville station is located on the Metro-North's Harlem Line, and is close to the eastern portion of the village. Express service between Pleasantville station and Grand Central Terminal is about an hour. A one-way ticket to Grand Central also costs $11.25 off-peak and $14.75 peak. On-board train fares are subject to a stiff surcharge, so buy your tickets online or from the vending machines on the platform. Full weekday and weekend Harlem Line schedules are available online. The station can be reached by Bee-Line bus route 19.

By bus

Briarcliff Manor, along with the rest of Westchester County, is serviced by the Bee-Line Bus Service. Standard fares are $3 and include one transfer. The following are the bus routes operating through Briarcliff Manor, along with links to timetables and route maps:

• Bee-Line Bus Route 14 ($3) connects White Plains to Peekskill. Heading towards Peekskill, there is one stop in Briarcliff, situated 125 ft (38 m) from the intersection of Pleasantville Rd and Poplar Rd, while the southbound route has three stops along Pleasantville Rd in downtown. The bus operates hourly on weekdays from 7AM to 11PM, on Saturdays from 7AM to 10PM hourly, and on Sundays from 10AM to 7PM every other hour.
• Bee-Line Bus Route 15 ($3) serves as local route operating from White Plains to Peekskill, with one stop 500 ft (150 m) north of the intersection of Pleasantville Rd and North State Rd. The bus operates every other hour on weekdays from 7AM-5PM, with only three scheduled buses between 11AM-6PM on Saturdays.
• Bee-Line Bus Route 19 ($3) is a local route operating from the Ossining Railroad Station to Katonah, with stops along Pleasantville Rd in downtown. The bus operates every hour and a half on weekdays from 6AM-6PM, and every other hour on Saturdays from 7AM-6PM.

By boat

• NY Waterway, +1-800-53-FERRY, runs weekday trips from Haverstraw to nearby Ossining through the Haverstraw–Ossining Ferry from 6AM-9AM and 5-10PM. One-way tickets are $4.50 and can be purchased at the ticket booths or on the NY Waterway mobile app. The ferry is used primarily for commuters in Rockland County as rail connection to New York City is limited west of the Hudson River. The journey takes roughly 15 minutes.

Get around

Getting around Briarcliff Manor and Westchester entirely depends on where you are staying and what you want to see. If you plan on spending most of your time within the village, most downtown sights are within walking distance of each other.

By car

While Briarcliff Manor is a small village, it is recommended that visitors have access to a car. Most areas outside of downtown are without sidewalks, and crossing the road in these areas can be difficult. All parking in downtown is free, including the lots on the west side of Pleasantville Road directly across from the fire station and next to the clock, and nearly all shops and restaurants have parking lots. While neighborhood parks allow street parking, it is not allowed at night time during winter, and police officers regularly fine offenders.

By bus

The use of the Bee-Line Bus Service for intracity travel within Briarcliff Manor is generally not recommended, as most attractions are within walking distance or have no bus service. The one main exception is connection to the North State Road business district, which can be easily accessed via Bee-Line Bus Route 15.

Go next

Briarcliff Manor is in central Westchester County, and has many charming small towns and villages that you would enjoy visiting.

• The historic village of Sleepy Hollow, located ten minutes southwest of town center, is the setting of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and visitors can follow Ichabod Crane's route through the village. The village is also home to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a two-star Michelin Guide restaurant, the only restaurant in Westchester County with a star.
• The town of Ossining, just five minutes north of Briarcliff, is home to the Sing Sing Prison Museum, which up until 2007 housed the execution chamber for the State of New York. The town is also known for its wonderful Peruvian and Mexican cuisine and Hudson Hills Golf Course, widely regarded as the best public golf course in Westchester.
• Enjoyers of film should pay a visit to Pleasantville, five minutes east of Briarcliff, home of Jacob Burns Film Center, the leading independent theater in Westchester County. The village also houses one of the only mountain biking parks in Westchester County.
• The county seat, White Plains has one of the best downtowns in the county and is home to multiple large shopping malls, theaters and a diverse selection of restaurants, and is located 15 minutes south of Briarcliff. Also home to two public golf courses and the county's largest swimming pool.
• The village of Croton, ten minutes north of Briarcliff, has Croton Point Park, a peninsula park and arguably the most scenic in Westchester. During the summer, the views across the Hudson River are beautiful and there is a public beach. Also home to Van Cortlandt Manor, a living history museum showing a window into colonial life in New York and the annual Blaze, which features thousands of hand-carved pumpkins.