Port Washington, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Port Washington is a hamlet and Census Designated Place in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the community population was 15,215.
Port Washington is an unincorporated area within and directly governed by the Town of North Hempstead.
In broader sense, however, Port Washington includes the communities of Baxter Estates, Manorhaven, Port Washington North, Sands Point, Beacon Hill, Beacon Hill Colony, and northern Flower Hill as these areas share the same ZIP code, school and library districts.
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[edit] Geography
Port Washington is located at (40.828948, -73.686688)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 14.6 km² (5.6 mi²). 10.9 km² (4.2 mi²) of it is land and 3.7 km² (1.4 mi²) of it (25.22%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 15,215 people, 5,521 households, and 4,168 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,395.4/km² (3,613.7/mi²). There were 5,662 housing units at an average density of 519.3/km² (1,344.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.97% White, 2.81% African American, 0.11% Native American, 6.07% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.15% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.20% of the population.
There were 5,521 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.9% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $85,837, and the median income for a family was $102,646. Males had a median income of $71,024 versus $49,299 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $43,815. About 3.1% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Notable residents
- Carlos Beltran, New York Mets baseball player
- John Phillip Sousa, famous conductor (deceased)
- John Cassavetes
[edit] Schools
Schools administered by the Port Washington Union Free School District[1]:
[edit] High schools
[edit] Elementary schools
- John Philip Sousa Elementary School
- John J. Daly Elementary School
- Manorhaven Elementary School
- Guggenheim Elementary School
- South Salem Elementary School
[edit] Junior High Schools
- Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School[2]
Note: John Phillip Sousa Elementary School used to be a junior high but is now a public elementary school located just outside of the village of Manorhaven.
[edit] Transportation
Port Washington is the terminus of New York State Route 101, and of the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road built at the beginning of the 20th Century. Shoreline roads connect it to Manhasset and Roslyn, New York. During part of the 1930s, Port Washington was the New York base of Pan American's Yankee Clipper seaplane service, the first scheduled transatlantic passenger air service (the European terminus was in the Shannon estuary near Limerick, Ireland). There is a monument commemorating the seaplane service at the Town Dock on Port Washington's Manhasset Bay waterfront.
[edit] Fire Department
The Port Washington Fire Deptartment (PWFD) is part of Nassau County, New York's 8th battalion. The PWFD response area covers the town of Port Washington, the Village of Flower Hill, the Village of Port Washington North, the Village of Baxter Estates, the Village of Sands Point, and the Village of Manorhaven. The PWFD is comprised of 4 companies and operates out of 7 facilities. Port Washington is New York State EMS certified.
[edit] Structure
The Port Washington Fire Department contracts fire and EMS services to the Town of North Hempstead as well as the other incorperated villages it serves. The PWFD's chain of command is:
Chief of Department → 1st Assistant Chief → 2nd Assistant Chief
- These chief officers respond directly to the scene of a call and are in charge of overall operations.
Each of the four companies operates under their own command structure:
Captain → 1st Lietenant → 2nd Lieutenant → Chief Engineer → and a number of Assistant Engineers (number varies by company).
[edit] Companies
- Atlanitc Hook & Ladder Co. 1
- Organized in 1886
- Port Washington's only truck company
- Operates out of 1 "Main House" and an "Annex" building for quick response
- Protection Engine Co. 1
- Organized in 1892
- One of two engine companies in the PWFD
- Operates out of one "Main House" and an "Annex" building for quick response
- Flower Hill Hose Co. 1
- Organized in 1905
- The second of two engine companies in the PWFD
- Operates out of one centraly located firehouse
- Fire Medic Co. 1
- Organized in 1979
- Is the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arm of the PWFD
- Operates out of one centrally located EMS station
[edit] Appearances in literature, music and motion pictures
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is set in the fictional East Egg and West Egg Villages, which are thinly-disguised versions of, respectively, Port Washington and Great Neck. The novel portrays East Egg (Port Washington) as a posh, wealthy place of old money.
The Mountain Goats song Going to Port Washington is a song relating a journey to Port Washington via the Throgs Neck Bridge. The song was originally released on "The Wedding Record", a four song 7" compilation released on Walt Records in 1995 as an invitation to the wedding of Dan and Danielle Varenka. Dan Varenka runs Walt Records and lives in Port Washington.
John Cassavetes grew up in Port Washington and lived there for a period as an adult. Scenes from his film Husbands were filmed in a local cemetery and in his Port Washington home.
Parts of the 2000 film Meet the Parents were filmed in this town, featuring a local restaurant, Louie's, located on Main Street in downtown Port Washington, and a local drugstore.[1] Though the interior scenes were shot inside the drugstore, the exterior was that of the neighboring supermarket (now closed.)
The house that Natalie Wood runs up to at the end of 'Miracle on 34th Street' still exists in Port Washington.
[edit] Trivia
The Roman Catholic churches in Port Washington, N.Y., and Port Washington, Wis., both happen to be named for Saint Peter of Alcantara.
[edit] References
- ^ Trivia for Meet the Parents, Internet Movie Database, accessed May 25, 2006
[edit] External links
- Port Washington Fire Department
- PWGuide.com - Official Website of Port Washington Chamber of Commerce
- PortWashington.com
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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