Town of Ramapo
237 Route 59, Suffern, NY 10901
Phone: (845) 357-5100 – Fax: (845) 357-3877
Office Hours: Monday-Frday 9:00AM-5:00PM
Website: http://www.ramapo.org

Ramapo (Ramapough – meaning “sweet water”), formerly known as New Hempstead and then Hampstead, is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States located north of New Jersey; southeast[citation needed] of Orange County, New York; south of the Town of Haverstraw and west of the Town of Clarkstown and the Town of Orangetown.

The Town of Ramapo is in the southwest corner of Rockland County, consisting of about one-third of the county’s land area. The name is of Native American origin, meaning either “sweet water” or “sloping rocks”.

In 2006 Money magazine ranked Ramapo as the 49th best place in the United States and the best place in New York State to live. Arts and leisure, business, housing, low crime rates and open spaces/parkland determined the towns ranking. In the category of park space, percentage of land set aside for gardens and parks, the town finished first. The town received the highest rating and one of the best in the country for its open spaces and parkland.

In April 24, 2006 the Town of Ramapo was awarded the Outstanding Facility Award for communities with a population more than 75,000 for its community, health and sports center located in the village of Hillburn.

For the year 2007, CNN named the Town of Ramapo as having the lowest crime rate in the United States of America, citing its 688 total crimes and zero reported killings for the year.

In 2008 Ramapo was named the safest city in the United States in The 15th annual “2008 – 2009 City Crime Rankings” published by CQ Press.