Crown Heights offers quick access to Poughkeepsie's major employers
Crown Heights is much more than a small hamlet south of Poughkeepsie – it’s home to many of that city’s largest employers. “For a lot of IBMers who worked in the Poughkeepsie plant, that was their starting home,” says Patricia Cannizzaro, an associate broker with Century 21 Alliance Realty Group. Patricia and her husband Frank, also an associate broker with Century 21, have sold more than 20 homes in Poughkeepsie. This community of more than 2,800 people is separated from the Hudson River by Poughkeepsie’s major IBM plant and waste management facilities, as well as Tilcon’s Trap Rock quarry. U.S. Route 9 connects Crown Heights’ residents to nearby jobs, a highway-side retail scene and the opportunities of the big city. Opportunities beyond Poughkeepsie are also easily accessible. “The Wappinger Falls train, called New Hamburg, is just below that, and north of that is the Poughkeepsie train station,” Frank says. “It’s in the middle of two train stations – they can go either way.”
Ranch-style homes and townhouses mix along Crown Heights' streets
Though the neighborhood’s hidden-away location on Poughkeepsie’s outskirts may cause it to be overlooked, it also offers a quiet suburban atmosphere. “When you think about Poughkeepsie, the town is very big. Some of the southern part falls into the city of Poughkeepsie, so the most people have said is ‘I want to be in the town,’” Patricia says. “Those are neighborhoods where people start up their lives.” Streets in Crown Heights branch off from U.S. Route 9 and are densely packed with houses. While these residential areas don’t have sidewalks, front yards often bloom with trees, hedges and gardens. Townhouses in the Casperkill Ridge complex sell for $320,000 to $370,000, while ranch-style homes go for $260,000 to $500,000. “They’re mostly single families with three bedrooms and one- or one-and-a-half bathrooms,” Patricia says. “They’re trending exactly with the rest of the neighborhoods, which is stable. Prices are not rising anymore.” Thickets of trees provide sound barriers for homes along the highway. Crown Heights also has a CAP Index Crime Score of 2 out of 10, lower than the national average of 4.
Route 9 offers diverse dining options and big-box retail
Crown Heights’ highway-side location offers easy access to both dining and retail. “There’s so many restaurants alongside Route 9 that you have so many choices,” Patricia says. Tamarind Fine Dining offers an upscale setting for modern Indian cuisine. Slightly up the road, Indian Grocers and Bliss Kitchen sells imported South Asian goods like mangos and parathas and offers catering services. Crew Restaurant & Bar combines a traditional bar atmosphere with a diverse menu of New American dishes like steak frites and organic salmon. Down Route 9, the Poughkeepsie Galleria indoor shopping mall includes department stores like Macy’s and Target as well as the local Regal movie theater. Next door, The Shoppes at South Hills houses the local ShopRite and Lowe’s.
Golf and baseball clubs sit on both sides of the highway
The Crown Heights Clubhouse serves as the center of community life in Crown Heights, hosting family gatherings, a fitness area, outdoor sports and a playground. The Poughkeepsie Cal Ripken Baseball League operates the clubhouse and holds practices every Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Across Route 9, the Casperkill Golf Club – with its 18-hole golf course and softball field – is open to the public. Crown Heights’ Neptune Commerce Center offers spaces for indoor recreation like Crunch Fitness and Gravity Vault, a rock-climbing gym that frequently hosts birthday parties.
Crown Heights students attend A-rated Spackenkill schools
Students can attend schools that each receive A ratings from Niche, from Nassau Elementary School to Orville A. Todd Middle School and Spackenkill High School. The high school has been nationally recognized with a Blue Ribbon Award in 2018, and it touts strong college prep, baseball and volleyball programs.
The highway and railroad connect Crown Heights to urban conveniences
Crown Heights’ location along U.S. Route 9 puts it within a six-mile drive from Poughkeepsie and 75 miles north of Manhattan’s Central Park. Poughkeepsie’s Metro-North Railroad puts commuters in New York City in about an hour and a half. The city’s Nuvance Health Vassar Brothers Medical Center is less than five miles up the highway.
Written By
Jacob Adelhoch
