South Floral Park (formerly known as Jamaica Square) is a

village 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 ...

in the

Town of Hempstead The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on t ...

in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 1,741 at the 2020 census. At , the Incorporated Village of South Floral Park is the smallest village in the State of New York by total area.

History

The Village of South Floral Park was incorporated in November 1925 as the Village of Jamaica Square. This name had been used since the area was first developed ca. 1905; the name was originally chosen so as to reflect the fact that it was down the road from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

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 ...

and next to Franklin Square. However its name was changed to South Floral Park in 1931 due to confusion with said neighborhood in Queens; the new name was chosen based on the fact that the village is located immediately south of and adjacent to

Floral Park Floral Park is an Administrative divisions of New York State#Village, incorporated village in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States, on Long Island. The population as of the US Census of 2010 is 15,863. ...

. Residents decided to incorporate their community because they felt that the Town of Hempstead was unable to adequately fulfill the needs of their community, and believed that a more localized government would be able to govern it better. South Floral Park was one of the earliest racially integrated villages on Long Island.

Geography

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 t ...

, the village has a total area of , all land. South Floral Park is the smallest village in the State of New York by total area.

Climate

The Village of South Floral Park features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

,. As such, the village experiences hot, humid summers and cold winters, and experiences precipitation throughout the entirety of the year.

Economy

The Village of South Floral Park is considered to be a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

of the

City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The village itself is residential in character, consisting of a single residential zoning district which covers South Floral Park in its entirety. As such, there are no areas zoned for commercial or industrial uses anywhere within South Floral Park. The majority of lots in the village consist of single-family residential homes, with the only major exception being the village hall and fire station complex.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 Census

At the 2000 census there were 1,578 people, 456 households, and 383 families in the village. The population density was 15,776.3 people per square mile (6,092.7/km). There were 462 housing units at an average density of 4,618.9 per square mile (1,783.8/km). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the village was 22.18% White, 59.06% African American, 0.25% Native American, 3.80% Asian, 6.15% from other races, and 8.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.56%. Of the 456 households 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 22.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.0% were non-families. 12.3% of households were one person and 5.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.46 and the average family size was 3.72. The age distribution was 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. The median household income was $64,205 and the median family income was $68,000. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $37,292 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,091. About 0.8% of families and 2.8% 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 none of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

As of August 2022, the Mayor of South Floral Park is Nyakya T. Brown, the Deputy Mayor is Jennifer Bellamy, and the Village Trustees are Jennifer Bellamy, LeRoy Graham, Jr., Randy Jaques, and Porscha Lyons. The South Floral Park Village Hall is located in the heart of the village, at 383 Roquette Ave.

Education

South Floral Park, in its entirety, is located within the boundaries of (and is thus served by) the Elmont Union Free School District for

elementary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or fir ...

and the

Sewanhaka Central High School District The Sewanhaka Central High School District is a central high school district located in western Nassau County on Long Island, in New York State. The district is currently composed of five high schools: Sewanhaka High School, Elmont Memorial High ...

for

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

. As such, all children who reside within the village and attend public schools go to school in one of these two districts, depending on what grade they are in.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Hempstead, New York Villages in New York (state) Villages in Nassau County, New York