The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
s in
Nassau County (alongside
North Hempstead
North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hemps ...
and
Oyster Bay) in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on the western half of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. Twenty-two incorporated
villages
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
(one of which is named
Hempstead) are completely or partially within the town. The town's combined population was 759,757 at the
2010 census, which is the majority of the population of the county and by far the largest of any town in New York. In 2019, its combined population increased to an estimated 759,793 according to the American Community Survey.
If Hempstead were to be incorporated as a city, it would be the second-largest city in New York, behind
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
; it is about three times the size of
Buffalo, which has long been the state's second-largest city. It would be the 18th-
largest city in the country, behind
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, and ahead of
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
. Hempstead is thus the most populous municipality in the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
outside New York City.
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
's main campus is located in the Town of Hempstead.
History
The town was first settled around 1644 following the establishment of a treaty between English colonists, John Carman and Robert Fordham, and the
Lenape Indians
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
in 1643. Although the settlers were from the English colony of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, a patent was issued by the government of
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...
after the settlers had purchased land from the local natives. This transaction is depicted in a mural in the Hempstead Village Hall, reproduced from a poster commemorating the 300th anniversary of Hempstead Village.
In local Dutch-language documents of the 1640s and later, the town was invariably called ''
Heemstede
Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the fourth richest municipality of the Netherlands.
History
Heemstede formed around the Castle ''Heemstede'' that was built overlooking the ...
,'' and several of Hempstead's original 50 patentees were Dutch, suggesting that Hempstead was named after the Dutch town and/or
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
Heemstede, which are near the cities of
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. However, the authorities possibly had Dutchified a name given by co-founder John Carman, who was born in 1606 in
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...
,
Hertfordshire, England
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, on land owned by his ancestors since the 13th century.
In 1664, the settlement under the new
Province of New York
The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...
adopted the
Duke's Laws, austere statutes that became the basis upon which the laws of many colonies were to be founded. For a time, Hempstead became known as "Old Blue", as a result of the "
Blue Laws
Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons ...
".
During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, the
Loyalists
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
in the south and the American sympathizers in the north caused a split in 1784 into "
North Hempstead
North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hemps ...
" and "South Hempstead". With the 1898 incorporation of the Borough of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
as part of the city of New York, and the 1899 split of Queens County to create Nassau County, some southwestern portions of the Town of Hempstead seceded from the town and became part of the Borough of Queens.
Richard Hewlett, who was born in Hempstead, served as a Lieutenant Colonel with the British Army under General
Oliver De Lancey in the American Revolution. Afterward, Hewlett departed the United States with other Loyalists and settled in the newly created Province of
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
in what later became Canada. A settlement there was named Hampstead, in Queen's County next to Long Island in the
Saint John River.
Geography
![Jones Beach WantaghPkwy Approach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Jones_Beach_WantaghPkwy_Approach.jpg)
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of 191.3 square miles (495.5 km
2), of which 120.0 square miles (310.7 km
2) is land and 71.4 square miles (184.8 km
2) (37.30%) is water.
The western town line is the border of
Queens County in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Its northern border, with the
town of North Hempstead
North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hem ...
and the
town of Oyster Bay
The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three towns which make up Nassau County, New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is the only town in Nassau County to extend from the North Shore to the South Shore o ...
, is along the main line of the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
and along
Old Country Road
Old Country Road is a major east–west thoroughfare through central Nassau County and extending into western Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. It serves many of the major shopping centers in central Nassau County including Roosevelt ...
in Garden City heading east towards the
Wantagh Parkway
The Wantagh State Parkway is a long state parkway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It links the Ocean Parkway in Jones Beach State Park with the Northern State Parkway in Westbury. The parkway is located approximately east of Man ...
. Its eastern border, also with the town of Oyster Bay, runs parallel to (and several hundred feet west of) Route 107. To the south is the Atlantic Ocean, off of Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach, Point Lookout, and
Jones Beach, as well as the
city of Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the list of United States cities by population, 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the List of citie ...
.
The most popular beach on the east coast of the United States, Jones Beach State Park, is located in Hempstead. The beach is a popular destination for Long Islanders and residents of New York. The beach itself receives approximately six million visitors per year.
Communities
The town of Hempstead contains 22
villages
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
and 38
hamlets
A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...
:
Villages
*
Atlantic Beach
*
Bellerose
*
Cedarhurst
*
East Rockaway
East Rockaway is a village in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 9,818 at the 2010 census.
The Incorporated Village of East Rockaway is at the edge of Rockaway Peninsula Proper in th ...
*
Floral Park
Floral Park is an incorporated village in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island. The population as of the US Census of 2010 is 15,863.
The Incorporated Village of Floral Park is at the western border of Nassau County, and is ...
''(small part in
North Hempstead
North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hemps ...
)''
*
Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to:
Places United States
*Freeport, California
*Freeport, Florida
*Freeport, Illinois
*Freeport, Indiana
*Freeport, Iowa
*Freeport, Kansas
*Freeport, Maine, a New England town
**Freeport (CDP), Maine, the ...
*
Garden City ''(small part in North Hempstead)''
*
Hempstead (village)
*
Hewlett Bay Park
*
Hewlett Harbor
Hewlett Harbor is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 1,263 as of the 2010 census.
The Village of Hewlett Harbor is located within the Town of Hempstead. This area, like Back/Old Lawrence is ...
*
Hewlett Neck
*
Island Park
*
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
*
Lynbrook
*
Malverne
Malverne is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area o ...
*
Mineola ''(almost all in North Hempstead)''
*
New Hyde Park
New Hyde Park is a village in the Towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is the anchor community of the Greater New Hyde Park area. The population was 9,712 at the 2010 census.
...
''(part; with North Hempstead)''
*
Rockville Centre
Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census.
Histor ...
*
South Floral Park
*
Stewart Manor
*
Valley Stream
Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census.
The incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of Hempstead, a ...
*
Woodsburgh
Hamlets
*
Baldwin
*
Baldwin Harbor
*
Barnum Island
Barnum Island is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 2,590 at the 2020 census. It occupies the eastern portion of an ...
*
Bay Park
*
Bellerose Terrace
*
Bellmore
*
Bethpage ''(almost all in
Oyster Bay)''
*
East Atlantic Beach
*
East Garden City
East Garden City is a hamlet and former census-designated place (CDP) in the northeast part of the Town of Hempstead, in the central part of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States, along the Hempstead/North Hempstead town line. ...
*
East Meadow
East Meadow is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population was 38,132 at the 2010 census.
Many residents commute to Manhattan, which is away.
History
In ...
*
Elmont
*
Franklin Square
*
Garden City South
Garden City South is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,119 at the 2020 census.
History
Garden City South's name reflects upon ...
*
Harbor Isle
*
Hewlett
*
Inwood
*
Lakeview
*
Levittown
Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and their ...
*
Lido Beach
*
Malverne Park Oaks
Malverne Park Oaks is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 505 at the 2010 census.
History
The CDP was first created for the 2000 cens ...
*
Merrick
*
Munson
*
North Bellmore
North Bellmore is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,941 at the 2010 census.
North Bellmore, along with Bellmore, are referred to collecti ...
*
North Lynbrook
*
North Merrick
North Merrick is a hamlet and census-designated place the Town of Hempstead, in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 12,272 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States ...
*
North Valley Stream
North Valley Stream is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 16,628 at the 2010 census.
History
North Valley Stream's name reflects ...
*
North Wantagh
*
North Woodmere
*
Oceanside
*
Point Lookout
*
Roosevelt
Roosevelt may refer to:
*Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president
*Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president
Businesses and organisations
* Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation)
* Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank
* Roosevel ...
*
Salisbury (South Westbury)
*
Seaford
*
South Hempstead
South Hempstead is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,243 at the 2010 census.
History
South Hempstead's name reflects its geogra ...
*
South Valley Stream
*
Uniondale
*
Wantagh
Wantagh ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 18,871 at the time of the 2010 census.
Wantagh is known as "The Gateway to Jones Be ...
*
West Hempstead
West Hempstead is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,835 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempst ...
*
Woodmere
In addition, there are a few areas that are not part of any incorporated village or census-designated place:
*
Jones Beach Island
Jones Beach Island is one of the outer barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York.
Etymology
It is named for Major Thomas Jones, who first came to Long Island in 1692, where he proceeded to build the ...
and nearby uninhabited islands in
* A small area between Lynbrook and Rockville Centre that contains only
Rockville Cemetery
Rockville Cemetery and Bristol and Mexico Monument is a historic cemetery located at Lynbrook in Nassau County, New York. The cemetery started as a small local burial ground in 1799. It subsequently came to be the final resting place of many ea ...
Demographics
The 2019
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
determined the population of the town of Hempstead was 759,793.
The racial and ethnic makeup of the town was 54.0%
non-Hispanic white
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
, 17.4% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 6.2% Asian, 3.7% multiracial, and 20.9% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.
Of the population, there were 244,203 households and there was an owner-occupied housing rate of 80.8%. The average household size was 3.10 and the population was made of 22.7% foreign-born residents. In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $455,700 and the median gross rent of rented units at $1,678. Residents of the town had a combined median household income of $111,072 and per capita of $44,958. Of the population in 2019, 6.0% lived at or below the poverty line.
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 759,757 people, 246,828 households, and 193,513 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 6,301.3 inhabitants per square mile (2,433.0/km
2). There were 252,286 housing units at an average density of 2,103.0 per square mile (812.0/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 59.9%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 16.5% Black, 0.3%
Native American, 5.2%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.03%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 4.5% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latin Americans of any race were 17.4% of the population.
There were 246,828 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.41.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $84,362, and the median income for a family was $96,080. Males had a median income of $50,818 versus $36,334 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $28,153. About 4.0% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
United States had its headquarters in
East Meadow
East Meadow is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population was 38,132 at the 2010 census.
Many residents commute to Manhattan, which is away.
History
In ...
, beginning in the 1970s, after it moved from
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, in order to save money. In 2019, the office had 206 employees; that year the headquarters moved to
Uniondale.
At one time
Swiss International Air Lines
Swiss International Air Lines AG, colloquially known as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland, operating scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its sole hub and Geneva ...
operated its United States office at 776 RexCorp Plaza in the EAB Plaza in Uniondale. The airline moved from 41 Pinelawn Road in
Melville, Suffolk County around 2002.
Snapple
Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and based in Plano, Texas, United States. The company (and brand), which was originally known as Unadulterated Food Products, was founded in 1972. The brand achieved som ...
was previously headquartered in East Meadow, prior to moving their corporate office. The office space is now currently occupied by the Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island.
Government and politics
The town is headed by Donald X. Clavin, Jr. (R) of Garden City. The responsibilities of the office include presiding over meetings of the Town Council and directing the legislative and administrative function of that body. The position also entails creating and implementing the town's budget. One famous former supervisor was
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Alfonse D'Amato
Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American politician born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He served as United States Senator for New York between 1981 and 1999. He subsequently founded a lobbying firm, Park Strategies.
...
, who later represented New York in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
from 1981 to 1999.
Prior to 1994, the town also had a Presiding Supervisor, who along with the Supervisor, sat on what was then Nassau County's main governmental body, the Board of Supervisors, along with the Supervisors of the towns of
North Hempstead
North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hemps ...
and
Oyster Bay and the independent cities of
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
—formerly a part of Hempstead Town until its incorporation as a separate municipality in 1922—and
Glen Cove, which had been carved out of Oyster Bay Town in 1917. Typically, the Presiding Supervisor, besides chairing the weekly county Board of Supervisors meetings, acted as the senior official in the town government with the Supervisor in a more junior, subordinate role; a number of Supervisors moved up to Presiding Supervisor whenever that office became vacant, including, in succession during the 1970s,
Ralph G. Caso and
Francis T. Purcell, both of whom later went on to become the
county executive
A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county.
The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...
, and then Al D'Amato, before he moved up to the Senate. Having the Presiding Supervisor on the county board along with the Supervisor gave Hempstead—by far the most populous of the county's three towns and two cities—the most clout on that body. However, in 1993–94, a federal judge ruled that the board's makeup violated the one-person, one-vote constitutional principle and also gave no representation to the country's growing minority population. As a result of that ruling, the Board of Supervisors was replaced by a 19-member county legislature. Gregory P. Peterson served as the last Presiding Supervisor, as the position was abolished with the demise of the county board.
The Current Tax Collector is Jeanine Driscoll.
The Town Council comprises six voting members, elected from a councilmanic district. Their primary function is to adopt the annual budget, adopting and amending the town code and the building zone ordinances, adopting all traffic regulations, and hearing applications for changes of zone and special exceptions to
zoning
Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...
codes.
As of 2022, the council members are:
# Dorothy L. Goosby (D-Hempstead Village)
# Thomas E. Muscarella (R-Garden City)
# Melissa Miller (R-
Atlantic Beach)
# Anthony P. D'Esposito (R-Island Park)(Elected to US House of Representatives NY-04, beginning in January 2023)
# Chris Carini (R-Seaford)
# Dennis Dunne, Sr. (R-Levittown)
Other elected officials in the town include the clerk and the receiver of taxes. The clerk is responsible for issuing birth, marriage, and
death certificate
A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
s and is considered the town's record keeper. The clerk is currently Kate Murray (R). The Receiver of Taxes is Jeanine C. Driscoll (R). The Town of Hempstead formerly elected the offices of Constable, Overseer of the Poor, Town Assessor, Town Treasurer, Town Auditors, Superintendent of Highways, Overseer of the Public Cemetery, and Justices of the Peace. Most of these functions have been included in other governments or made non-elected.
State and federal representation
Hempstead is part of New York's 2nd, 4th and 5th Congressional Districts.
District 2, represented by
Andrew Garbarino
Andrew Reed Garbarino (born September 27, 1984) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 2nd congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the New York State ...
(R-
Sayville
Sayville is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on the South Shore of Long Island in the Township of Islip, the population of the CDP was 16,853 at the time of the 2010 census.
History
The ea ...
), is the southern and eastern portions of the town, while
District 4, formerly represented for nine terms by
Carolyn McCarthy
Carolyn McCarthy ( Cook; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2015. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Par ...
(D-Mineola) and since the beginning of 2015 by
Kathleen Rice
Kathleen Maura Rice (born February 15, 1965) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the United States representative for New York's 4th congressional district. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before serving in Congress, Rice se ...
(D-Garden City), covers the northern and western portions of the town.
Gregory Meeks
Gregory Weldon Meeks (born September 25, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from New York since 1998. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs since ...
represents
District 5 District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to:
Europe
* District 5 (Zürich)
* District 5, Düsseldorf
* V District, Turku
* District 5, an electoral district of Malta
* District 5, a police district of Malta
* Palma-Palmilla, also known a ...
which includes minority majority areas in the western portion of the Town like Elmont and North Valley Stream.
{{Update, section, date=January 2022
Hempstead is in parts of New York's 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Senatorial Districts. They are currently represented by Kevin Thomas (D),
Anna Kaplan
Anna Kaplan (née Monahemi) (born August 23, 1965) is an American politician from Great Neck, New York. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, she was a member of the New York State Senate, representing New York's 7th State Senate district ...
(D), John Brooks (D), and
Todd Kaminsky
Todd Kaminsky is an American attorney and politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, he was a member of the New York State Senate representing the 9th district, which is based on the South Shore of Long Island.
Early life and career
...
(D), respectively.
Nine assembly districts are either within or partly within the town. They are Districts 12, 14–15, and 17–22. The assembly members are
Joseph Saladino
Joseph S. Saladino (born March 28, 1961) is an American politician. He is the current Supervisor of the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. Saladino previously served as a member of the New York Assembly. He is a Republican.
Earl ...
(R),
Brian F. Curran
Brian F. Curran (born November 1, 1968) is an American politician from Lynbrook, New York. Curran was elected to the New York State Assembly in 2010. His district includes parts of Lynbrook, Valley Stream, Rockville Centre, South Hempstead and p ...
(R),
Michael Montesano
Michael A. Montesano (born October 16, 1954) is member of the New York State Assembly representing the 15th district, which includes portions of the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County on Long Island. A Repub ...
(R),
Thomas McKevitt
Thomas McKevitt (born April 28, 1971) is an American politician who represented District 17 in the New York Assembly from 2006 to 2017, which includes large portions of Nassau County, New York.
McKevitt was born in East Meadow, New York and is a ...
(R),
Earlene Hill Hooper
Earlene Hill Hooper is an American politician who represented District 18 in the New York State Assembly from 1988 to 2018. Hooper's district included large portions of Nassau County. Hooper served as the first female Deputy Speaker of the Assem ...
(D), David G. McDonough (R), Melissa "Missy" Miller;(R),
Edward Ra (R), and
Michaelle Solages
Michaelle C. Solages (born May 27, 1985) is an American politician serving as a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 22nd district which includes portions of the town of Hempstead in Nassau County on Long Island. A Democrat ...
(D), respectively.
County legislators
Hempstead has 12 county legislative districts either within or in part of the town. They are districts 1–8, 13–15, and 19. The legislators who represent those districts are:
# Kevan Abrahams
# Siela Bynoe
# Carrie Solages
# Denise Ford
# Debra Mule
# C. William Gaylor, III
# Howard Kopel
# Vincent Muscarella
# Thomas McKevitt
# Laura Schaefer
# John Ferretti, Jr.
# Steven D. Rhoads
Sister city
On September 12, 2016, the Town of Hempstead signed a Declaration of Cooperation with the
Shomron Regional Council
The Shomron Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית שומרון, ''Mo'atza Azorit Shomron'', English ''Samaria Regional Council'') is an Israeli regional council in the northern portion of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Thirty-five Isra ...
in the Israeli-controlled
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
. This council represents 35
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s in that region. Signing the pact was its proponent Councilmen
Bruce Blakeman
Bruce Arthur Blakeman (born October 2, 1955) is an American attorney and politician currently serving as the 10th County Executive of Nassau County, New York. He was elected in the 2021 election, defeating Democratic incumbent Laura Curran. He ...
and Anthony D'Esposito and Supervisor Santino and Shomron leader
Yossi Dagan
Yossi Dagan ( he, יוסי דגן) is an Israeli activist and politician who has been the head of the Shomron Regional Council since August 2015.
Dagan grew up in the Israeli towns of Bnei Brak and Pardes Katz. When he was in the tenth grade, h ...
.
["In anti-BDS stand, Hempstead New York signs sister city pact with settler council" '']Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'' http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/In-anti-BDS-stand-Hempstead-New-York-signs-sister-city-pact-with-settler-council-467880
Politics
{{see also, Nassau_County,_New_York#Law_and_government, l1=Law and Government of Nassau County
Though the town government is still controlled by the
Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
(and has been for almost the entire history of the party), town voters in recent years leaned
Democratic in elections on the state and federal level. In presidential elections since 1996, the Democrat has won in Hempstead (
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
received 56% in 1996,
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
received 58% in 2000 and
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
got 53% in 2004). Democratic Senator
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
won Hempstead by a large margin in 2004, and Democratic County Executive
Thomas Suozzi
Thomas Richard Suozzi (; born August 31, 1962) is an American politician, attorney and accountant who served as the U.S. Representative for from 2017 to 2023. His district included part of the North Shore of Long Island.
A member of the Democrat ...
won in 2001 and 2005. Democratic candidate
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
won 49 percent of voters in 2016, while President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
won 42 percent of voters. In 2021
Bruce Blakeman
Bruce Arthur Blakeman (born October 2, 1955) is an American attorney and politician currently serving as the 10th County Executive of Nassau County, New York. He was elected in the 2021 election, defeating Democratic incumbent Laura Curran. He ...
, a Republican Town Councilman, was elected Nassau County Executive in a surprising defeat of Democratic incumbent
Laura Curran
Laura Curran (born December 31, 1967) is a Canadian-born American politician who served as the county executive of Nassau County from 2018 to 2021. She was the ninth county executive in Nassau County history and the first woman to hold the offi ...
.
Transportation
Railroad lines
The
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
's
Main Line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
runs through the northwestern part of the town with stations from
Bellerose through
Merillon Avenue in
Garden City. The
Hempstead Branch
The Hempstead Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at the Main Line at Queens Interlocking, just east of Queens Village station. It para ...
breaks away from the Main Line in
Floral Park
Floral Park is an incorporated village in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island. The population as of the US Census of 2010 is 15,863.
The Incorporated Village of Floral Park is at the western border of Nassau County, and is ...
, and uses stations from Bellerose into
Hempstead. The
West Hempstead Branch
The West Hempstead Branch is an electrified rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in the U.S. state of New York. It runs between Valley Stream, New York, and West Hempstead, New York.
Route description
The branch sepa ...
runs from
Valley Stream
Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census.
The incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of Hempstead, a ...
northeast to
West Hempstead
West Hempstead is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,835 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempst ...
. Further south in the town, the
Babylon Branch
The Babylon Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The term refers to the trains serving Montauk Branch stations from Valley Stream east to Babylon; in other words, the Babylon Branch is ...
runs from the New York City Line into southern portions of the Town of Oyster Bay with stations between
Valley Stream
Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census.
The incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of Hempstead, a ...
and
Seaford. Also the
Far Rockaway Branch
The Far Rockaway Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station. From Valley Stream, th ...
branches off from Valley Stream and curves to the southwest from that station through
Inwood before finally re-entering the city in the Rockaways. Just east of there, the
Long Beach Branch
The Long Beach Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station, where it merges with the ...
breaks away at
Lynbrook and runs southeast into
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
.
Bus service
The Town of Hempstead is served primarily by
Nassau Inter-County Express
The Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) is the local bus system serving Nassau County, New York. It also serves parts of western Suffolk County, New York as well as eastern portions of the New York City borough of Queens. It was formerly operated ...
bus routes, though some
MTA Bus Routes enter Nassau County from Queens. The City of Long Beach also has a separate bus service.
Major roads
{{See also, List of county routes in Nassau County, New York
*
Meadowbrook State Parkway
The Meadowbrook State Parkway (also known as the Meadowbrook, the Meadowbrook Parkway or the MSP) is a parkway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. Its southern terminus is at a full cloverleaf interchange with the Bay and Ocean par ...
*
Wantagh State Parkway
The Wantagh State Parkway is a long state parkway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It links the Ocean Parkway in Jones Beach State Park with the Northern State Parkway in Westbury. The parkway is located approximately east of ...
*
Southern State Parkway
The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway; abbreviated as SO on Road signs in the United States, signage) is a limited-access highway on Long Island, New York (state), New York, in the United States. The pa ...
*
Bay Parkway
*
Loop Parkway
The Loop Parkway (also known as the Loop) is a parkway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It serves the barrier islands south of Long Island itself, beginning on Long Beach Barrier Island at an intersection with Lido Boulevard in ...
*
Ocean Parkway
*
New York State Route 25
New York State Route 25 (NY 25) is an east–west state highway in downstate New York in the United States. The route extends for just over from east midtown Manhattan in New York City to the Cross Sound Ferry terminal at Orient Poin ...
*
Glen Cove Road
Glen Cove Road (also known as Guinea Woods Road) is a , major north–south thoroughfare running through north-central Nassau County on Long Island, New York, in the United States.
It is the main road leading to the communities on the east ...
*
Peninsula Boulevard
Peninsula Boulevard is a major arterial road through southwestern Nassau County, New York. It runs southwest-to-northeast between Cedarhurst connecting the Five Towns area to the Village of Hempstead, and indirectly serves The Rockaways as wel ...
*
New York State Route 24
New York State Route 24 (NY 24) is a east–west state highway on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The highway is split into two segments, with the longest and westernmost of the two extending from an interchange with In ...
*
New York State Route 27
New York State Route 27 (NY 27) is a long state highway that runs east–west from Interstate 278 (I-278) in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Montauk Point State Park on Long Island, New York. Its two most prominent c ...
*
Merrick Road
Merrick Road is an east–west urban arterial in Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties in New York, United States. It is known as Merrick Boulevard or Floyd H. Flake Boulevard in Queens, within New York City.
Merrick Road runs east from the Queens ...
*
New York State Route 102
New York State Route 102 (NY 102) is an east–west state highway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It is little more than an alternate route of NY 24 through the town of Hempstead. NY 102 leaves NY 24 in ...
*
New York State Route 105
New York State Route 105 (NY 105) is a state highway located within Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It begins in the town of Hempstead at an intersection with NY 106 in North Bellmore that also serves as that route ...
*
New York State Route 106
New York State Route 106 (NY 106) is a state highway located in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It begins in the town of Hempstead at an intersection with NY 105 in North Bellmore and heads to the north, crossing th ...
*
New York State Route 107
New York State Route 107 (NY 107) is a state highway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. The route begins at an intersection with Merrick Road ( unsigned County Route 27 or CR 27; formerly NY 27A) in Massapequa, ...
*
New York State Route 135
New York State Route 135 (NY 135) is a state highway in eastern Nassau County, New York, in the United States. The route is a limited-access highway that connects Seaford with Syosset. The highway runs from Merrick Road (unsigned Co ...
*
New York State Route 878
New York State Route 878 (NY 878) is a state highway on Long Island and in New York City. The route exists in two sections, which both form the Nassau Expressway. NY 878's western terminus is the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue ( ...
State parks
*
Hempstead Lake State Park
Hempstead Lake State Park is a state park located in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York in the United States. The park is located in West Hempstead, New York, West Hempstead and is one of three state parks within t ...
*
Valley Stream State Park
Valley Stream State Park is a state park located in the village of Valley Stream in Nassau County, New York. The park is one of three state parks located in the Town of Hempstead on Long Island. Like Hempstead Lake State Park, Valley Stream State ...
*
Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park (colloquially "Jones Beach") is a state park in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, New York, Nassau County on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by ...
{{Portal, New York (state)
References
{{reflist
External links
{{Commons category, Town of Hempstead, New York
Town of Hempstead official website
{{HempsteadNY
{{NassauCountyNY
{{Former towns of New York City
{{authority control
Towns in Nassau County, New York
Towns in the New York metropolitan area
Towns on Long Island
1644 establishments in the Dutch Empire