Nassau County, New York

There is also a Town of Nassau in Rensselaer County.

Nassau County, New York
Seal
Location in the state of New York
New York's location in the U.S.
Founded	1899
Seat	Mineola
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	453 sq mi (1,173 km²) 287 sq mi (743 km²) 166 sq mi (430 km²), 36.72%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	1,334,544 4,652/sq mi (1,796/km²)
Website	www.nassaucountyny.gov

Theodore Roosevelt home at Sagamore Hill

The elegant, ivy-framed arched windows of the Belmont Park grandstand in this 1999 photo. The current grandstand, Thoroughbred racing's largest, was completed in 1968 after five years of renovations to the Belmont complex.

Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,334,544. The name of the county comes from an old name for Long Island, which was at one time named Nassau, after Dutch William of Nassau, Prince of Orange (who later also ruled as King William III of England.) The county colors, orange and blue, are also the colors of the House of Orange. Nassau's county seat is Mineola.^[1][2]

Nassau, together with Suffolk County to its immediate east, are generally referred to as "Long Island" by area residents — as distinct from the New York City boroughs of Queens (Queens County) and Brooklyn (Kings County), which are physically on the island's westernmost end. Two cities, three towns, 64 incorporated villages, and numerous unincorporated hamlets are within the county.

As of 2008, Nassau County is the second richest county per capita in the State of New York and the 10th richest in the nation, with a median household income of $85,994.^[3] In 2005, Forbes magazine named Nassau County, along with Suffolk County, New York, as the safest region in the United States, with the lowest crime rate.^[4]

History

Nassau County was originally the eastern 70% of Queens County, when New York was divided into 12 counties in 1683. The area was originally contained in two towns: Hempstead and Oyster Bay. In 1784, following the American Revolutionary War, the Town of Hempstead was split into two, when Patriots in the northern part formed the new Town of North Hempstead, leaving Loyalist majorities in the Town of Hempstead. Following the 1898 formation of the City of Greater New York, the part of Queens County that was not annexed to New York City, consisting of the two towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay and most of the Town of Hempstead (excluded was the Rockaway Peninsula, which did join Greater New York), was constituted as the new Nassau County, but not until 1899, one year later.

Several other names had been considered, including Matinecock (a village within the county currently has that name), Norfolk (presumably because of the proximity to Suffolk County), Bryant, and Sagamore. However, Nassau had the historical advantage of having at one time been the name of Long Island itself, and was the name most mentioned when the new county was proposed as early as 1876.

Voters selected Mineola (in the Town of North Hempstead) to be the county seat for the new county of Nassau in November 1898^[5] (before Mineola incorporated as a village in 1906 and set its boundaries), winning out over Hicksville and Hempstead.^[6] The Garden City Company (founded in 1893 by the heirs of Alexander Turney Stewart)^[7] donated four acres of land for the county buildings just south of the Mineola train station and the present day Village of Mineola, in the Town of Hempstead.^[8][9] The land and the buildings have a Mineola postal address, but are within the present day Village of Garden City,^[10] which did not incorporate, nor set its boundaries, until 1919.

In 1917,^[11] the village of Glen Cove was granted a city charter, making it independent from the Town of Oyster Bay. In 1918, the village of Long Beach was incorporated in the Town of Hempstead. In 1922, it became a city, making it independent of the town. These are the only two cities in Nassau County.

The United Nations Security Council was temporarily located in Nassau County from 1946 to 1951. Council meetings were held at the Sperry Gyroscope headquarters in the village of Lake Success near the border with Queens County. It was here on June 27, 1950 that the Security Council voted to back U.S. President Harry S Truman and send a coalition of forces to the Korean Peninsula, leading to the Korean War.

During the latter part of the 20th Century, Nassau County saw an influx of migrants from the five boroughs of New York City, especially Brooklyn and Queens, who left their urban dwellings for a more suburban setting. This led to a massive boom in population in the county, especially on the south shore. In 1947, William Levitt built his first planned community in Nassau County, in the Island Trees section (later renamed Levittown). (This should not be confused with the county's first planned community, in general, which is Garden City). In later decades, communities such as Wantagh, East Meadow, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, and Franklin Square began to grow.

In 1994, Federal Judge Arthur Spatt declared the Nassau County Board of Supervisors unconstitutional and directed that a 19-member legislature be formed.^[12] Elections were held and Republicans won 13 seats and elected Bruce Blakeman as its first Presiding Officer (Speaker).^[13] Among the first class were current legislators Peter J. Schmitt, Judith Jacobs, John Ciotti, Dennis Dunne Sr., Francis X. Becker, Vincent T. Muscarella and Current County Executive, Ed Mangano.

In the 1990s, Nassau County saw huge budget problems, forcing the county to near bankruptcy. The county government increased taxes to prevent a takeover by the state of New York. This has led to the county having notoriously high property taxes, leaving some migrants from New York City who are seeking suburban life to move to Suffolk County, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, Connecticut or Pennsylvania.

The economy has been booming and according to the United States Census Bureau, residents of Nassau County have among the highest per capita wealth in the country. Nassau County has also experienced heavy urbanization in many areas, such as Hempstead, Freeport, Mineola, and Westbury, leading some to say that some parts of the county resemble the outer boroughs of New York City rather than a suburb of it, though the Five Towns region tends to be more affluent than western Queens. The northern "Gold Coast" region tends to more closely resemble nearby Westchester County.

Law and government

The head of the County Governmental structure is the County Executive, a post created in Nassau County in 1938. The current county executive is Ed Mangano, a Republican who was elected in an upset victory over the prior County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi in 2009. The District Attorney is Democrat Kathleen Rice, who in November, 2005 defeated 30-year incumbent Republican Denis Dillon in an upset victory. The county comptroller is George Maragos, a Republican, the county clerk is Republican Maureen O'Connell, and the county assessor is an appointed position who serves at the pleasure of the County Executive.

The county legislature has 19 members. There are eleven Republicans, eight Democrats.

Law enforcement

County police services are provided by the Nassau County Police Department. The cities of Glen Cove and Long Beach, as well as a number of villages are not members of the county police district and maintain their own police forces. The following village police departments exist in Nassau County: Centre Island, Floral Park, Freeport, Garden City, Great Neck Estates, Hempstead, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Lynbrook, Malverne, Old Brookville,^[14] Old Westbury, Oyster Bay Cove, Rockville Centre and Sands Point. The Port Washington Police Department is not a village department but is authorized by a special district, the only such district in New York State . These smaller forces, however, make use of such specialized county police services as the police academy and the aviation unit. Also, all homicides in the county are investigated by the county police, regardless of whether or not they occur within the police district.

In 2006, Village leaders in the county seat of Mineola expressed dissatisfaction with the level of police coverage provided by the county force and actively explored seceding from the police district and having the village form its own police force. A referendum on December 5, 2006, however, decisively defeated the proposal.^[15]

Since the Long Island State Parkway Police was disbanded in 1980, all of Nassau County's state parkways have been patrolled by Troop L of the New York State Police. State parks in Nassau are patrolled by the New York State Park Police. In 1996, the Long Island Rail Road Police Department was consolidated into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police. The MTA Police patrol Long Island Rail Road tracks, stations and properties. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police provides enforcement of state environmental laws and regulations. The State University of New York Police provides enforcement for SUNY Old Westbury.

The Nassau County Police Department posts the mug shots of DWI offenders as press releases on their website. This practice has come under the scrutiny of residents, media, and those pictured in these press releases. This practice has been criticized as being able to cause potential employees, students, or public figures their positions.^[16]

County correctional services and enforcement of court orders are provided by the Nassau County Sheriff's Department. New York State Court Officers provide security for courthouses.

Politics

Like neighboring Suffolk County, Nassau County residents primarily supported the Republican Party in national elections until the 1990s. That decade, it began to shift toward the Democratic Party. Democrat Bill Clinton carried the county in the presidential elections of 1992 and 1996. Later Nassau voters gave a large margin of victory to Al Gore in 2000 (19.4%), but John Kerry's winning margin in 2004 was considerably slimmer (5.6%). In that election, Kerry won the towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead, but lost the Town of Oyster Bay.

Democratic strength is chiefly concentrated in the central, certain southern areas, and northern part of the county. This includes the south eastern Village of Freeport which is roughly sixty-eight percent Democrat, central areas near the Village of Hempstead and Uniondale, where there are large middle-class populations as well as the affluent northern half of the county. This includes Great Neck, Glen Cove and Roslyn. There are also pockets of staunch Democrats in the equally affluent Five Towns area in the southwest part of the county and in Long Beach.

Republican voters are chiefly concentrated in the more suburban areas of the county. The middle class southeastern portion of the county is heavily Republican, and communities such as Massapequa, Seaford, Wantagh, Levittown, Bethpage, and Farmingdale are the political base of Congressman Peter T. King. In the western portion of the county, wealthy Garden City is solidly Republican, as is the more middle-class community of Floral Park.

Areas of the county containing large numbers of swing voters are in East Meadow, Mineola, Oceanside and Rockville Centre.

Long Island's only Republican member of Congress, Representative Peter T. King, is from Nassau County. His 3rd District includes heavily populated suburban neighborhoods like Long Beach, Massapequa, Levittown, Hicksville, Seaford, Wantagh, and Farmingdale. But Nassau County is also home to the popular gun-control advocate, Democrat Carolyn McCarthy, whose 4th District includes Garden City, Carle Place, Hempstead, Uniondale, East Meadow, Valley Stream, Franklin Square, West Hempstead and portions of the Village of Freeport and Rockville Centre. McCarthy defeated Republican congressman Dan Frisa in 1996 and has held the seat since.

Nassau County's other two congressmen are both Democrats. Representative Gary Ackerman, represents the 5th District, which includes the northwestern part of the county, including Great Neck, Sands Point, and Port Washington, and stretches into northeastern Queens. Steve Israel's 2nd District is mainly in Suffolk County, but also includes parts of Plainview, Old Bethpage, Jericho, Syosset, and Woodbury in Nassau County.

All of Nassau County's state senators were Republicans until February 2007 when Nassau County Legislator Craig Johnson was elected to the State Senate in a special election in the 7th district. The Democrats added another seat during the 2008 election, so the Republicans now have a 7-2 advantage in the State Senate on Long Island. The districts are drawn so as not to overlap Queens, which supports the Democratic Party more strongly.

Geography

Nassau County occupies a portion of Long Island immediately east of the New York City borough of Queens. It is divided into two cities and three towns, the latter of which contain 64 villages and numerous hamlets.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 453 square miles (1,173 km²) of which 287 square miles (743 km²) of it is land and 166 square miles (431 km²) of it (36.72%) is water.

	Westchester County Bronx County (Bronx) Long Island Sound	Fairfield County, Connecticut Long Island Sound	New Haven County, Connecticut Long Island Sound
	Queens County (Queens)		Suffolk County
		Nassau County, New York
	Atlantic Ocean Monmouth County, New Jersey	Atlantic Ocean	Atlantic Ocean

Adjacent counties

• Queens County, New York - west
• Suffolk County, New York - east
• Bronx County, New York west-northwest, water boundary only, across Long Island Sound
• Westchester County, New York - northwest, water boundary only, across Long Island Sound
• Fairfield County, Connecticut - north, water boundary only, across Long Island Sound

National protected areas

• Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge
• Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Demographics

As of the census^[17] of 2000, there were 1,334,544 people, 447,387 households, and 347,172 families residing in the county. The population density was 4,655 people per square mile (1,797/km²). There were 458,151 housing units at an average density of 1,598 per square mile (617/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.30% White (73.95% White Non-Hispanic), 10.01% African American, 0.16% Native American, 4.73% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.57% from other races, and 2.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.09% of the population.

About 15.5% of the population of Nassau County is Jewish by religion^[18], (as compared to 2.0% of the total U.S. population). Italian Americans make up a large portion of Nassau. The large Sikh population in Nassau County has built numerous Sikh Gurdwaras or temples; the two main ones are in Plainview and Glen Cove. The top 5 ancestries are 23% Italian, 14% Irish, 7% German, 5% American and 4% Polish. According to the Census Bureau, the population of the county has slightly decreased to 1,351,625 people in 2008, although it had increased to 1,356,867 in 2004.^[19] The county population was at its greatest for the 1970 Census.

There were 447,387 households, out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.10% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.40% were non-families. 18.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.34.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $72,030, and the median income for a family was $81,246 (these figures had risen to $87,658 and $101,661 respectively as of a 2007 estimate^[20]). Males had a median income of $52,340 versus $37,446 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,151. About 3.50% of families and 5.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.80% of those under age 18 and 5.60% of those age 65 or over.

Colleges and universities

Nassau County is home to numerous colleges and universities, including Adelphi University, Molloy College, Briarcliffe College, New York Institute of Technology, SUNY Old Westbury, Nassau Community College, Hofstra University, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, United States Merchant Marine Academy, and Webb Institute.

Sports

Nassau County is home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, who play at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale.

It is also the home of F.C. New York of the United Soccer Leagues, and the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse.

County symbols

• County bird: Osprey
• County flower: Birdsfoot Violet (Viola pedata)

See also

• Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority (MSBA) MTA Long Island Bus
• Nassau County Police Department
• Nassau County Sports Commission
• List of Long Islanders

References

External links

Part of the article series on
Main article
Topics Geography History Economy Transportation Politics Music People Popular culture Recreation Law enforcement
Regions Nassau County Suffolk County (Brooklyn, Queens) Municipalities North Shore · South Shore North Fork · South Fork Long Island Sound · Barrier islands

• Nassau County official website
• Nassau County Photo Gallery
• Nassau Cadet Squadron 8 - Civil Air Patrol
• PDF map showing LI school district boundaries and wealth comparisons
• Nassau County travel guide from Wikitravel

Municipalities and communities of Nassau County, New York County seat: Mineola Cities Glen Cove | Long Beach Towns Hempstead| North Hempstead | Oyster Bay Villages Atlantic Beach | Baxter Estates | Bayville | Bellerose | Brookville | Cedarhurst | Centre Island | Cove Neck | East Hills | East Rockaway | East Williston | Farmingdale | Floral Park | Flower Hill | Freeport | Garden City | Great Neck | Great Neck Estates | Great Neck Plaza | Hempstead | Hewlett Bay Park | Hewlett Harbor | Hewlett Neck | Island Park | Kensington | Kings Point | Lake Success | Lattingtown | Laurel Hollow | Lawrence | Lynbrook | Malverne | Manorhaven | Massapequa Park | Matinecock | Mill Neck | Mineola | Munsey Park | Muttontown | New Hyde Park | North Hills | Old Brookville | Old Westbury | Oyster Bay Cove | Plandome | Plandome Heights | Plandome Manor | Port Washington North | Rockville Centre | Roslyn | Roslyn Estates | Roslyn Harbor | Russell Gardens | Saddle Rock | Sands Point | Sea Cliff | South Floral Park | Stewart Manor | Thomaston | Upper Brookville | Valley Stream | Westbury | Williston Park | Woodsburgh Hamlets Albertson | Baldwin | Baldwin Harbor | Barnum Island | Bay Park | Bellerose Terrace | Bellmore | Bethpage | Carle Place | East Atlantic Beach | East Garden City | East Massapequa | East Meadow | East Norwich | Elmont | Floral Park Centre | Franklin Square | Garden City Park | Garden City South | Glen Head | Glenwood Landing | Great Neck Gardens | Greenvale | Harbor Hills | Harbor Isle | Herricks | Hewlett | Hicksville | Inwood | Jericho | Lakeview | Lakeville Estates | Levittown | Lido Beach | Locust Valley | Malverne Park/Malverne Oaks | Manhasset | Manhasset Hills | Massapequa | Merrick | New Cassel | New Hyde Park | North Bellmore | North Lynbrook | North Massapequa | North Merrick | North New Hyde Park | North Valley Stream | North Wantagh | Oceanside | Old Bethpage | Oyster Bay | Plainedge | Plainview | Point Lookout | Port Washington | Roosevelt | Roslyn Heights | Saddle Rock Estates | Salisbury (South Westbury) | Seaford | Searingtown | South Farmingdale | South Hempstead | South Valley Stream | Syosset | Uniondale | University Gardens | Wantagh | West Hempstead | Woodbury | Woodmere

State of New York The Empire State Albany (capital) Topics Administrative divisions · Bibliography · Congressional districts · Constitution · Demographics · Economy · Education · Elections · Geography · Government (Governor, Legislature, Court System) · History · Symbols · People · Politics · Transportation · Visitor Attractions Regions Adirondack Mountains · Allegheny Plateau · Capital District · Catskill Mountains · Central Region (formerly Central-Leatherstocking) · Central New York · Champlain Valley · City of New York · Finger Lakes · Holland Purchase · Hudson Highlands · Hudson Valley · Long Island · Mohawk Valley · New York Metro · Niagara Frontier · North Country · Ridge and Valley · Saint Lawrence Seaway · Shawangunks · Ski country · Southern Tier · Southtowns · Tech Valley · Thousand Islands · Upstate · Western Metro areas Albany / Schenectady / Troy · Binghamton · Buffalo / Niagara Falls · Elmira / Corning · Glens Falls · Ithaca · Jamestown · Newburgh / Middletown · New York City · Poughkeepsie · Rochester · Syracuse · Utica / Rome Counties Albany · Allegany · Bronx · Broome · Cattaraugus · Cayuga · Chautauqua · Chemung · Chenango · Clinton · Columbia · Cortland · Delaware · Dutchess · Erie · Essex · Franklin · Fulton · Genesee · Greene · Hamilton · Herkimer · Jefferson · Kings · Lewis · Livingston · Madison · Monroe · Montgomery · Nassau · New York · Niagara · Oneida · Onondaga · Ontario · Orange · Orleans · Oswego · Otsego · Putnam · Queens · Rensselaer · Richmond · Rockland · Saint Lawrence · Saratoga · Schenectady · Schoharie · Schuyler · Seneca · Steuben · Suffolk · Sullivan · Tioga · Tompkins · Ulster · Warren · Washington · Wayne · Westchester · Wyoming · Yates

New York-Newark-Bridgeport Combined Statistical Area Counties Bergen • Bronx • Dutchess • Essex • Fairfield • Hudson • Hunterdon • Kings • Litchfield • Mercer • Middlesex • Monmouth • Morris • Nassau • New Haven • New York • Ocean • Orange • Passaic • Pike • Putnam • Queens • Richmond • Rockland • Somerset • Suffolk • Sussex • Ulster • Union • Westchester Major city New York City Cities and towns 100k–999k Bridgeport • Elizabeth • Huntington • Jersey City • New Haven • Newark • Paterson • Stamford • Waterbury • Yonkers Cities and towns 25k–99k Bayonne • Branford • Cheshire • Clifton • Danbury • East Haven • East Orange • Englewood • Fairfield • Garfield • Greenwich • Hackensack • Hamden • Hoboken • Howell, New Jersey Kearny • Long Beach • Long Branch • Meriden • Middletown • Milford • Mount Vernon • Naugatuck • New Brunswick • New Milford • New Rochelle • Newburgh • Newtown • Norwalk • Passaic • Perth Amboy • Plainfield • Poughkeepsie • Rahway • Shelton • Stratford • Torrington • Trenton • Trumbull • Union City • Wallingford • West Haven • Westfield • Westport • White Plains Cities and towns 10k–25k Ansonia • Asbury Park • Beacon • Bethel • Brookfield • Darien • Derby • Dover • Guildford • Guttenberg • Harrison (NJ) • Harrison (NY) • Kingston • Linden • Madison • Monroe • Morristown • New Canaan • New Fairfield • North Branford • North Haven • Orange • Plymouth • Peekskill • Ridgefield • Rye • Scarsdale • Secaucus • Seymour • Southbury • Summit • Watertown • West New York • Weston • Wilton • Winchester • Wolcott Sub-regions Central Jersey • Greater Danbury • Greater New Haven • Greater Waterbury • Hudson Valley • Litchfield Hills • Long Island • North Jersey • Southwestern Connecticut