Silver Lake Trail footbridge near Main Street, overlooking secret waterfall behind a 200 year-old former mill.The Perry Chalk Art Festival is one of the area’s signature events, with dozens of professional artists, producing temporary works of art over a one-day period each summer on the second Saturday in July.
On November 27, 2019, Perry signed a Friendship Agreement with the Town of Nailsworth, England.
Amenities
As of 2021, Perry has seen a resurgence with a gain of 37 net new businesses in the past 18 years in the downtown alone. Perry Farmers' Market, founded in 2002, draws 400-600 people to downtown each Saturday morning from mid-June through September. Signature events include Perry Chalk Art Festival, Tour de Perry, Shake on the Lake, New York State Puppet Festival, Silver Serpent Triathlon and Silver Lake Sea Serpent Arts and Crafts Show. The Village recently renovated its Public Beach, added a Splash Park to its Village Park, completed a Main Street Improvement Project, and a segment of the Silver Lake Trail from the Beach to Main Street. In 2023, Perry was awarded $10 million through New York State's Downtown Revitalization Initiative to support a variety of public and private sector projects including continued expansion of the Trail, renovation of the Assembly Hall, and new or renovated buildings adding over 60 new housing units over the next several years.
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 3,945 people, 1,560 households, and 1,051 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,744.8 inhabitants per square mile (673.7/km2). There were 1,764 housing units at an average density of 780.2 per square mile (301.2/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 97.41% White, 0.74% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.55% of the population.
There were 1,560 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% 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 2.97.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $35,596, and the median income for a family was $41,090. Males had a median income of $31,845 versus $21,486 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,794. About 6.5% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Perry is governed by a board of trustees composed of a mayor, deputy mayor, and three trustees. The current Board is composed of Mayor Rick Hauser, Deputy Mayor Dariel Draper, and Trustees Arlene Lapiana, Joel Bouchard and Richard Muolo.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.1 km2), of which 2.3 square miles (5.9 km2) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.3 km2) (4.64%) is water.
