Nassau County, New York

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Not to be confused with Nassau (town), New York or Nassau (village), New York.
Nassau County, New York
HempsteadHouseSandsPoint.jpg
Hempstead House, part of Sands Point Preserve
Flag of Nassau County, New York
Flag		 Seal of Nassau County, New York
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Nassau County
Location in the state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location in the U.S.
Founded 1899
Named for William of Nassau
Seat Mineola
Largest town Hempstead
Area
 • Total 453 sq mi (1,173 km2)
 • Land 285 sq mi (738 km2)
 • Water 169 sq mi (438 km2), 37%
Population
 • (2010) 1,339,532
 • Density 4,705/sq mi (1,817/km²)
Congressional districts 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.nassaucountyny.gov

Coordinates: 40°44′N 73°38′W / 40.733°N 73.633°W / 40.733; -73.633

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Nassau County /ˈnæsɔː/ is a suburban county on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2010 census, the county's population was 1,339,532, estimated to have increased to 1,352,146 in 2013.[1] The county seat is located in Mineola.[2][3][4] The name of the county comes from an old name for Long Island, which was at one time named Nassau, after the Dutch Prince William of Nassau, a member of the House of Nassau, itself named for the German town Nassau. The county colors (orange and blue) are also the colors of the House of Orange-Nassau.

Nassau County is located immediately east of New York City, within the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county, 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 geographically located on the island's westernmost end. Two cities, three towns, 64 incorporated villages, and more than 60 unincorporated hamlets are located within the county. There are 56 public school districts within the county.[5] Post office districts and school districts use the same names as a city, hamlet, or village within them, but each sets the boundaries independently.[6]

In 2012, Forbes magazine, in an article based on the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, reported that Nassau County was one of the highest income counties in the United States and the wealthiest in the State of New York, comprising four of the nation's top ten towns by median income.[7] Nassau County is the wealthiest county in New York.

Name[edit]

Several alternate names had been considered for the county, including "Bryant", "Matinecock" (a village within the county currently has that name), "Norfolk" (presumably because of the proximity to Suffolk County), and "Sagamore".[8] However, "Nassau" had the historical advantage of having at one time been the name of Long Island itself,[9] and was the name most mentioned after the new county was proposed in 1875.[10][11][12]

History[edit]

The area now designated Nassau County was originally the eastern 70% of Queens County, one of the original 12 counties formed in 1683, and was then contained within two towns: Hempstead and Oyster Bay. Nassau County was formed in 1899 by the division of Queens County, after the western portion of Queens had become a borough of New York City in 1898.

When the first European settlers arrived, among the Native Americans to occupy the present area of Nassau County were the Marsapeque, Matinecoc, and Sacatogue. Dutch settlers in New Netherland predominated in the western portion of Long Island, while English settlers from Connecticut occupied the eastern portion. Until 1664, Long Island was split, roughly at the present border between Nassau and Suffolk counties, between the Dutch in the west and Connecticut claiming the east. The Dutch did grant an English settlement in Hempstead (now in western Nassau), but drove settlers from Oyster Bay (now in eastern Nassau) as part of a boundary dispute. In 1664, all of Long Island became part of the English Province of New York within the Shire of York. Present-day Queens and Nassau were then just part of a larger North Riding. In 1683, Yorkshire was dissolved, Suffolk County and Queens County were established, and the local seat of government was moved west from Hempstead to Jamaica (now in New York City).[13] By 1700, very little of Long Island had not been purchased from the native Indians by the English colonists, and townships controlled whatever land had not already been distributed.[14]

The courthouse in Jamaica was torn down by the British during the American Revolution to use the materials to build barracks.[15] In 1784, following the American Revolutionary War, the Town of Hempstead was split in two, when Patriots in the northern part formed the new Town of North Hempstead, leaving Loyalist majorities in the Town of Hempstead. About 1787, a new Queens County Courthouse was erected (and later completed) in the new Town of North Hempstead, near present-day Mineola (now in Nassau County), known then as Clowesville.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]

The Long Island Rail Road reached as far east as Hicksville in 1837, but did not proceed to Farmingdale until 1841 due to the Panic of 1837. The 1850 census was the first in which the population of the three western towns (Flushing, Jamaica, and Newton) exceeded that of the three eastern towns that are now part of Nassau County. Concerns were raised about the condition of the old courthouse and the inconvenience of travel and accommodations, with the three eastern and three western towns divided on the location for the construction of a new one.[28][29][30] Around 1874, the seat of county government was moved to Long Island City from Mineola.[24][31][32][33] As early as 1875, representatives of the three eastern towns began advocating the separation of the three eastern towns from Queens, with some proposals also including the towns of Huntington and Babylon (in Suffolk County).[10][11][12]

In 1898, the western portion of Queens County became a borough of the City of Greater New York, leaving the eastern portion a part of Queens County but not part of the Borough of Queens. As part of the city consolidation plan, all town and county governments within the borough were dissolved. The areas excluded from the consolidation included all of the Town of North Hempstead, all of the Town of Oyster Bay, and most of the Town of Hempstead (excluding the Rockaway Peninsula, which was separated from the Town of Hempstead and became part of the city borough). In 1899, following approval from the New York State Legislature, the three towns were separated from Queens County, and the new county of Nassau was constituted.

In preparation for the new county, in November 1898, voters had selected Mineola to become the county seat for the new county[34] (before Mineola incorporated as a village in 1906 and set its boundaries almost entirely within the Town of North Hempstead), winning out over Hicksville and Hempstead.[35] The Garden City Company (founded in 1893 by the heirs of Alexander Turney Stewart)[36] donated four acres of land for the county buildings in the town of Hempstead, just south of the Mineola train station and the present day village of Mineola.[37][38] The land and the buildings have a Mineola postal address, but are within the present day Village of Garden City,[39] which did not incorporate, nor set its boundaries, until 1919.

In 1917,[40] 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.

From the early 1900s until the Depression and the early 1930s, many hilly farmlands on the North Shore were transformed into luxurious country estates for wealthy New Yorkers, with the area receiving the "Gold Coast" moniker and becoming the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. One summer resident of the Gold Coast was President Theodore Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill. In 1908, William Kissam Vanderbilt constructed the Long Island Motor Parkway as a toll road through Nassau County. With overpasses and bridges to remove intersections, it was among the first limited access motor highways in the world, and was also used as a racecourse to test the capabilities of the fledgling automobile industry.

Nassau County, with its extensive flat land, was the site of many aviation firsts.[41] Military aviators for both World Wars were trained on the Hempstead Plains, and a number of successful aircraft companies were established. Charles Lindberg took off for Paris from Roosevelt Field in 1927, completing the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight from the United States. Grumman (which in 1986 employed 23,000 people on Long Island[42]) built many planes for World War II, and later contributed the Apollo Lunar Module to the Space program.[41]

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.

Until World War II, most of Nassau County was still farmland, particularly in the eastern portion. Following the war, the county saw an influx of people from the five boroughs of New York City, especially from Brooklyn and Queens, who left their urban dwellings for a more suburban setting. This led to a massive population boom in the county. 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.) While in the 1930s, Robert Moses had engineered curving parkways and parks such as Jones Beach State Park and Bethpage State Park for the enjoyment of city-dwellers, in the 1950s and 1960s the focus turned to alleviating commuter traffic.

In 1994, Federal Judge Arthur Spatt declared the Nassau County Board of Supervisors unconstitutional and directed that a 19-member legislature be formed.[43] Republicans won 13 seats[clarification needed] in the election and chose Bruce Blakeman as the first Presiding Officer (Speaker).[44] 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.

According to a Forbes magazine 2012 survey, residents of Nassau County have the 12th highest median household annual income in the country and the highest in the state.[7] In the 1990s, however, Nassau County saw huge budget problems, forcing the county to near bankruptcy. Thus, the county government increased taxes to prevent a takeover by the state of New York, leading to the county having high property taxes. Nevertheless, on January 27, 2011, a New York State oversight board seized control of Nassau County’s finances, saying the wealthy and heavily taxed county had failed to balance its $2.6 billion budgets.[45]

Geography[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 453 square miles (1,170 km2), of which 285 square miles (740 km2) is land and 169 square miles (440 km2) (37%) is water.[46]

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. The county borders Connecticut across the Long Island Sound.

Between the 1990 census and the 2000 census, the county exchanged territory with Suffolk County and lost territory to Queens County.[47] Dozens of CDPs had boundaries changed, and 12 new CDPs were listed.[47]

Climate[edit]

Nassau County has a climate similar to other coastal areas of the Northeastern United States; it has warm, humid summers and cool, wet winters. The county is classified as humid subtropical by some definitions. The Atlantic Ocean helps bring afternoon sea breezes that temper the heat in the warmer months and limit the frequency and severity of thunderstorms. Nassau County has a moderately sunny climate, averaging between 2,400 and 2,800 hours of sunshine annually.[48]

Adjacent counties[edit]

National protected areas[edit]

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1900 55,448 —
1910 83,930 51.4%
1920 126,120 50.3%
1930 303,053 140.3%
1940 406,748 34.2%
1950 672,765 65.4%
1960 1,300,171 93.3%
1970 1,428,080 9.8%
1980 1,321,582 −7.5%
1990 1,287,348 −2.6%
2000 1,334,544 3.7%
2010 1,339,532 0.4%
Est. 2013 1,352,146 0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[49]
1790–1960[50] 1900–1990[51]
1990–2000[52] 2010–2013[1]

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,339,532 people, 448,528 households, and 340,523 families residing in the county. The population of Nassau County was estimated by the U.S. Census to have increased by 0.9% to 1,352,146 in 2013, representing 6.9% of the Census-estimated New York State population of 19,651,127 and 17.5% of the Census-estimated Long Island population of 7,740,208.[53][54][55][56] The population density was 4,655 people per square mile (1,797/km²). There were 468,346 housing units at an average density of 1,598 per square mile (617/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 73.0% White (65.5% non-Hispanic White), 11.1% African American, 0.2% Native American, 7.6% Asian (3.0% Indian, 1.8% Chinese, 1.0% Korean, 0.7% Filipino, 0.1% Japanese, 0.1% Vietnamese, 0.9% Other Asian), 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.6% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.6% of the population.[57]

In 2010, there were 340,523 family households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.38. The population was 23.3% under the age of 18, and 18.7% who were 62 years of age or older. The median age was 41.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.

In 2011, there were about 230,000 Jewish people in Nassau County,[58] representing 17.2% of the population, (as compared to 2% of the total U.S. population). Italian Americans also make up a large portion of Nassau's population. The five most reported ancestries are Italian (23%), Irish (14%), German (7%), American (5%) and Polish (4%). The county's population was highest at the 1970 Census.

The median income for a household in the county in 2000 was $72,030, and the median income for a family was $81,246 (these figures had risen to $87,658 and $101,661 respectively according to a 2007 estimate[59]). 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.

The New York Times cited a 2002 study by the non-profit group ERASE Racism, which determined that Nassau, and its neighboring county, Suffolk, are the most de facto racially segregated suburbs in the United States.[60]

More recently, Asian Americans have established a prominent presence in Nassau County. Rapidly growing Chinatowns have developed in Brooklyn and Queens and have spread into Nassau County, whose Chinese hub is growing rapidly,[61][62] centered on Northern Boulevard as an eastern satellite node of the Flushing Chinatown,[63] with the county's already substantial Chinese population increasing another 50% from the 2000 Census to approximately 25,000 in 2010.[64] The Long Island Koreatown (롱 아일랜드 코리아타운) originated in Flushing, Queens before sprawling eastward along Northern Boulevard[65][66][67][68][69] and eventually into Nassau County.[66][67][62]

A Little India has also emerged in Nassau County, in Hicksville.[70]

Racial groups and ethnicity on Long Island compared to state and nation[57][71]
Place Population
2010
census		  %
white		  %
black
or
African
American		  %
Asian		  %
Other†		  %
mixed
race		  %
Hispanic/
Latino
of any
race
Race Ethnicity
Nassau County 1,339,532 73.0 11.1 7.6 5.9 2.4 14.6
Suffolk County 1,493,350 80.8 7.4 3.4 5.9 2.4 16.5
Long Island Total
(including Brooklyn and Queens)		 7,568,304 54.7 20.4 12.3 9.3 3.2 20.5
NY State 19,378,102 65.7 15.9 7.3 8.0 3.0 17.6
USA 308,745,538 72.4 12.6 4.8 7.3 2.9 16.3
†American Indian, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander make up just 0.5% of the population of Long Island, and have been included with "Other".
Religious groups on Long Island compared to state and nation[72][73]
Place Population
2010
census[57][71]		  %
Catholic		  % not
affiliated		  %
Jewish		  %
Protestant		 Estimate
of % not
reporting
Nassau County 1,339,532 52 9 16 7 15
Suffolk County 1,493,350 52 21 7 8 11
Long Island Total
(including Brooklyn and Queens)		 7,568,304 40 18 12 7 20
NY State 19,378,102 42 20 9 10 16
USA 308,745,538 22 37 2 23 12

Law and government[edit]

The head of the county's 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.

County executive[edit]

Nassau County Executives
Name Party Term
J. Russell Sprague Republican 1938–1953
A. Holly Patterson Republican 1953–1962
Eugene Nickerson Democrat 1962–1970
Ralph G. Caso Republican 1970–1978
Francis T. Purcell Republican 1978–1987
Thomas Gulotta Republican 1987–2001
Thomas Suozzi Democrat 2002–2009
Ed Mangano Republican 2010–present

Comptroller[edit]

The Comptroller of Nassau County is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the County who presides over the Nassau County Comptroller's Office. The comptroller is elected, countywide, to a four-year term and has no term limit. The current comptroller is Republican George Maragos. Maragos was elected on November 3, 2009. Comptroller Maragos serves as the fiscal watchdog for Nassau County, which has a population of 1.3 million and annual budget of $2.6 billion. Comptroller Maragos and his staff monitor Nassau’s budget and financial operations, audit government agencies and agencies with county contracts to uncover waste and abuse, review county contracts and claims, report on matters that significantly affect Nassau’s financial health and operations, work with the Administration and Legislature to help the county overcome its fiscal challenges, prepare Nassau’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, and administer the county payroll and employee health benefits functions.[74] The Comptroller's Office includes the Departments of Accounting, Field Audit, Payroll & Benefits, and Claims.

Nassau County Comptrollers (Nassau County Comptroller's Office)
Order Name Term Party
1 John Lyon Jan 1, 1911 – Dec 31, 1913 Republican
2 Chas L. Phipps Jan 1, 1914 – Jan 3, 1916 Republican
3 Earl J. Bennett Jan 14, 1916 – Dec 31, 1922 Republican
4 Philip Wiederson Jan 1, 1923 – Dec 31, 1934 Republican
5 Theodore Bedell Jan 1, 1935 – Dec 31, 1964 Republican
6 Peter P. Rocchio Sr. Jan 1, 1965 – Dec 31, 1967 Democrat
7 Angelo D. Roncallo Jan 1, 1968 – Jan 3, 1973 Republican
8 M. Hallstead Christ Jan 4, 1973 – Aug 16, 1981 Republican
9 Peter T. King Aug 17, 1981 – Dec 31, 1992 Republican
10 Alan Gurein Jan 1, 1993 – Dec 31, 1993 Republican
11 Frederick E. Parola Jan 1, 1994 – Dec 31, 2001 Republican
12 Howard S. Weitzman Jan 1, 2002 – Dec 31, 2009 Democrat
13 George Maragos Jan 1, 2010 – present Republican

County legislature[edit]

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

Nassau County Legislature
District Title Legislator Party Residence
13 Presiding Officer Norma L. Gonsalves Republican East Meadow
1 Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams Democrat Hempstead
2 Robert Troiano Democrat Westbury
3 Carrié Solages Democrat Elmont
4 Denise Ford Republican Long Beach
5 Laura Curran Democrat Baldwin
6 Francis X. Becker, Jr. Republican Lynbrook
7 Alternate Deputy Presiding Officer Howard Kopel Republican Lawrence
8 Vincent Muscarella Republican West Hempstead
9 Deputy Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello Republican New Hyde Park
10 Ellen W. Birnbaum Democrat Great Neck
11 Delia DeRiggi-Whitton Democrat Glen Cove
12 Vacant Republican Massapequa
14 Laura M. Schaefer Republican Westbury
15 Dennis Dunne, Sr. Republican Levittown
16 Judith Jacobs Democrat Woodbury
17 Rose Marie Walker Republican Hicksville
18 Donald N. MacKenzie Republican Oyster Bay
19 Vacant Democrat Merrick

Law enforcement[edit]

Main article: Nassau County Police Department

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, Muttontown, Old Brookville (Old Brookville P.D. provides police protection for Old Brookville, Brookville, Upper Brookville, Matinecock, Mill Neck and Cove Neck), 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.[citation needed] 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.

On June 1, 2011, the Muttontown Police Department commenced operations. The Old Brookville Police formerly provided police services to the Village of Muttontown.

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.[75]

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 cost potential employees, students, or public figures their positions.[76]

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.

A Nassau County Auxiliary Police car.

The Nassau County Auxiliary Police are a unit of the Nassau County Police Department. These volunteer police officers are assigned to 1 of 38 local community units and perform routine patrols of the neighborhood and provide traffic control for local parades, races and other community events.

Auxiliary Police officers are empowered to make arrests for crimes that occur in their presence.

Nassau County Auxiliary Police are required to complete a 37-week training course at the Nassau County Police Academy and qualified officers are also offered Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training.

Auxiliary Police officers are certified by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) as "Peace Officers" and are registered as peace officers in the NYS DCJS registry of peace officers.

The City of Long Beach has an independent Auxiliary Police force which is part of its municipal police force.

These officers are represented by the Auxiliary Police Benevolent Association of Long Island.

Fire departments[edit]

Nassau County is currently protected and served by 71 independent volunteer or combination paid/volunteer fire departments, organized into 9 battalions.

1st Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
100 Bellerose Village
110 Bellerose Terrace
120 Floral Park
130 Floral Park Centre
140 Garden City
150 Garden City Park
160 Mineola
170 New Hyde Park
180 South Floral Park
190 Stewart Manor

2nd Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
200 Baldwin
210 Freeport
220 Island Park
230 Long Beach
240 Oceanside
250 Point Lookout-Lido

3rd Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
300 Hewlett
310 Inwood
420 Lawrence Cedarhurst
330 Meadowmere Park
340 Valley Stream
350 Woodmere

4th Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
400 East Rockaway
410 Lakeview
420 Lynbrook
430 Malverne
440 Rockville Centre

5th Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
500 Bayville
510 East Norwich
520 Glen Cove
530 Glenwood
540 Locust Valley
550 Oyster Bay
560 Roslyn Rescue
570 Sea Cliff
580 Syosset
590 Roslyn Highlands

6th Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
600 Bellmore
610 East Meadow
620 Levittown
630 Massapequa
640 Merrick
650 North Bellmore
660 North Massapequa
670 North Merrick
680 Seaford
690 Wantagh

7th Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
700 Elmont
710 Franklin Square and Munson
720 Hempstead
730 Roosevelt
740 South Hempstead
750 Uniondale
760 West Hempstead

8th Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
800 Albertson
810 East Williston
820 Great Neck Alert
830 Great Neck Vigilant
840 Plandome
850 Port Washington
860 Williston Park
870 Manhasset-Lakeville

9th Battalion[edit]

Department Number Department Name
900 Bethpage
910 Carle Place
920 Farmingdale
930 Hicksville
940 Jericho
950 Plainview
960 Westbury
970 South Farmingdale

Politics[edit]

Main article: Politics of Long Island
Presidential elections results
Year Republican Democratic
2012 45.6% 259,308 53.3% 302,695
2008 45.4% 288,758 53.8% 342,067
2004 46.6% 288,355 52.2% 323,070
2000 38.5% 226,954 57.9% 341,610
1996 36.1% 196,820 55.7% 303,587
1992 40.5% 246,881 46.4% 282,593
1988 57.0% 337,430 42.2% 250,130
1984 61.8% 392,017 38.0% 240,697
1980 56.0% 333,567 34.8% 207,602
1976 53.7% 329,176 47.6% 302,869
1972 63.3% 438,723 36.5% 252,831
1968 51.3% 329,792 43.3% 278,599
1964 39.4% 248,886 60.5% 382,590
1960 55.1% 324,255 44.8% 263,303

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. There are also staunch Democratic pockets 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 County Executive Edward P. Mangano. 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.

The dean of the Long Island Congressional Delegation, Representative Peter T. King, is from Nassau County. His 2nd District includes heavily populated suburban neighborhoods like Massapequa, Levittown, Seaford, Wantagh, and Farmingdale. But Nassau County is also home to the popular former district attorney , Democrat Kathleen M. Rice, 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.

Nassau County's other two congressmen are both Democrats. Representative Gregory Meeks represents the 5th District, which includes the southwestern part of the county, including Inwood. Steve Israel's 3rd District includes Plainview, Old Bethpage, Jericho, Syosset, Hicksville, Bethpage, and Woodbury in Nassau County.

All of Long Island's nine state senators are Republican at the start of the 2015–2017 legislative term in January 2015. With that, the New York Senate also has a GOP majority.

Colleges and universities[edit]

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[edit]

Nassau County is home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, who play at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. However, the Islanders announced that, from the 2015 season, the Islanders will be moving to Brooklyn and will play at the Barclays Center. Nassau County is also the home of F.C. New York of the United Soccer Leagues which folded after their inaugural season, and the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse. Long Island also has its own professional baseball team, the Long Island Ducks. The County also operates several sports events for student-athletes, such as the Nassau County Executive Cup College Showcase.

Communities[edit]

Further information: List of municipalities on Long Island and List of places in Nassau County, New York

Cities[edit]

Towns[edit]

County symbols[edit]

Notable people[edit]

See also[edit]

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References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts Nassau County, New York". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2014. 
  2. ^ Nassau County Atlas, 6th Large Scale Edition, Hagstrom Map Company, Inc., 1999
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  4. ^ Toy, Vivian S. (March 30, 2003). "For Sale: Nassau's County Seat". The New York Times. The county's properties all have mailing addresses in Mineola, the official county seat, but are actually within Garden City's boundaries. 
  5. ^ "Public School Districts in Nassau County, NY". Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  6. ^ The number of districts and communities do not coincide, and the boundaries are set independently. Thus, the boundaries cannot be the same, and residences often have postal addresses that differ from the name of the hamlet and/or school district in which they are located.
  7. ^ a b "America's Most Affluent Neighborhoods.". Forbes.com. February 13, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-25. 
  8. ^ "About Nassau County". Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  9. ^ "Last will and testament of Thomas Powell Sen late of Bethpage now of Westbury in the limits of Hempstead in Queens County on Nassau Island in the Colony of New York". 1719/20. Retrieved 2012-11-11.  Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ a b "Long Island". New York Times. April 12, 1875. Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  11. ^ a b "Long Island". New York Times. April 9, 1876. Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  12. ^ a b "Proposed Division of Queens County". New York Times. December 21, 1876. Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  13. ^ "Early Five Borough's History". Retrieved 2007-12-30. When Queens County was created the courts were transferred from Hempstead to Jamaica Village and a County Court was erected. When the building became too small for its purposes and the stone meeting house had been erected, the courts were held for some years in that edifice. Later a new courthouse was erected and used until the seat of justice was removed to North Hempstead. 
  14. ^ "Old Bethpage Village Restoration". Retrieved 2012-04-22. 
  15. ^ "History of Queens County". 
  16. ^ "Historical Essay: A Thumbnail View". Official History Page of the Queens Borough President's Office. Retrieved 2007-12-29. From the final withdrawal of the British in November, 1783, until the 1830s, Queens continued as an essentially Long Island area of farms and villages. The location of the county government in Mineola (in present-day Nassau County) underscores the island orientation of that era. Population grew hardly at all, increasing only from 5,791 in 1800 to 7,806 in 1830, suggesting that many younger sons moved away, seeking fortunes where land was not yet so fully taken up for farming.  Jon A. Peterson and Vincent Seyfried, ed. (1983). A Research Guide to the History of the Borough of Queens and Its Neighborhood.  Peterson, Jon A., ed. (1987). A Research Guide to the History of the Borough of Queens, New York City. New York: Queens College, City University of New York. 
  17. ^ "New York – Queens County – History". Retrieved 2007-12-29.  "History of New York State 1523–1927". The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York.  Sullivan, Dr. James (1927). History of New York State 1523–1927. New York, Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. 
  18. ^ "New York State History". Genealogy Inc. 1999. Retrieved 2007-12-28. Under the Reorganization Act of March 7, 1788, New York was divided into 120 towns (not townships), many of which were already in existence. 
  19. ^ "State of New York; Local Government Handbook; 5th Edition" (PDF). January 2000. pp. Ch 4, p 13; Ch 5 p 2. The 1777 New York State Constitution, Article XXXVI, confirmed land grants and municipal charters granted by the English Crown prior to October 14, 1775. Chapter 64 of the Laws of 1788 organized the state into towns and cities...The basic composition of the counties was set in 1788 when the State Legislature divided all of the counties then existing into towns. Towns, of course, were of earlier origin, but in that year they acquired a new legal status as components of the counties. 
  20. ^ "History Mysteries: Shelter Island Ferry/Mineola Building". Retrieved 2008-04-01. The building shown below "is one of the most important buildings in the history of Mineola," wrote Jack Hehman, president of the Mineola Historical Society. Built in 1787 and known as the "old brig," it was the first Queens County courthouse and later a home for the mentally ill. The building was at Jericho Turnpike and Herricks Road until 1910, when it burned to the ground. [dead link]
  21. ^ "The Mineola Asylum; Witnesses who testified that it is and has been a model institution.". New York Times. August 29, 1882. Retrieved 2008-04-01. The investigation of the charges made against the Superintendent and keepers of the Mineola Asylum for the Insane, which was begun last Tuesday, was continued yesterday by the standing Committee on Insane Asylums of the Queens County Board of Supervisors-- Messrs. Whitney, Brinckerhoff, and Powell. The committee were shown through the asylum, which is the old building of the Queens County Court-house over 100 years old 
  22. ^ David Roberts. "Nassau County Post Offices 1794–1879". Retrieved 2008-04-01.  John L. Kay & Chester M. Smith, Jr. (1982). New York Postal History: The Post Offices & First Postmasters from 1775 to 1980. American Philatelic Society. There was only one post office established in present Nassau County when the Long Island post road to Sag Harbor was established September 25, 1794. It appears that the mail from New York went to Jamaica. This was the only post office in the present day Boroughs of Queens or Brooklyn before 1803. From Jamaica the mail went east along the Jericho Turnpike/Middle Country Road route and ended at Sag Harbor. The only post office on this route between Jamaica and Suffolk County was QUEENS established the same date as the others on this route 9/25/1794. This post office was officially Queens, but I have seen the area called "Queens Court House" and was located approximately in the Mineola-Westbury area. The courthouse was used until the 1870s when the county court was moved to Long Island City. Later it served as the Queens County Insane Asylum and still later as an early courthouse for the new Nassau County, during construction of the present "old" Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola. It was demolished shortly after 1900 ... after about 120 years of service of one type or the other. 
  23. ^ "The Queens County Court-House Question A New Building to be Erected at Mineola.". The New York Times. February 25, 1872. Retrieved 2008-04-01. For forty years the Supervisors of Queens County have been quarreling over a site for a Court-house. The incommodious building used 
  24. ^ a b Rhoda Amon (Staff Writer). "Mineola: First Farmers, Then Lawyers". Newsday. Archived from the original on 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2012-11-11. That was the year when the "Old Brig" courthouse was vacated after 90 years of housing lawbreakers. The county court moved from Mineola to Long Island City. 
  25. ^ "1873 map of North Hempstead". Retrieved 2007-12-31. bottom right by spur road off Jericho Tpk – location is now known as Garden City Park. Clowesville was the name of the nearest station on the LIRR, approximately at the location of the present Merillon Avenue station. The courthouse (photo at Newsday.com ) was north of the station. 
  26. ^ The former county courthouse was located northeast of the intersection of Jericho Turnpike (NY Route 25) and the aptly named County Courthouse Road in an unincorporated area of the Town of North Hempstead, variously referred to in the present day as Garden City Park or New Hyde Park. The site is now a shopping center anchored by a supermarket and is located in the New Hyde Park 11040 Zip Code. A stone marker located on the north side of Jericho Turnpike (NY Route 25), between Marcus Avenue and Herricks Road, identifies the site.
  27. ^ Weidman, Bette S.; Martin, Linda B. (1981). Nassau County, Long Island, in early photographs, 1869–1940. Courier Dover. p. 55. Retrieved 2010-12-02. 
  28. ^ "Queen's County Court House". New York Times. February 14, 1870. Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  29. ^ "Long Island". New York Times. December 5, 1870. Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  30. ^ "The Queens County Court-House Question". New York Times. February 25, 1872. Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  31. ^ "A Queens Timeline". The Queens Tribune. Retrieved 2007-12-23. 1874 – Queens County Courthouse and seat of county government moved from Mineola (in present-day Nassau County) to Long Island City. 
  32. ^ Geoffrey Mohan (Staff Writer) (2007). "Nassau's Difficult Birth; Eastern factions of Queens win the fight to separate after six decades of wrangling". Newsday. Archived from the original on 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2012-11-11. North Hempstead, Oyster Bay and the rest of Hempstead were excluded from the vote. 
  33. ^ "The New Queens County Court-House". New York Times. February 9, 1874. Retrieved 2012-11-11. 
  34. ^ "Mineola Chosen Nassau County's Seat". New York Times. November 10, 1898. Retrieved 2010-06-06. 
  35. ^ "County of Nassau Elections". New York Times. September 1, 1898. Retrieved 2010-06-06. 
  36. ^ "Incorporated Village of Garden City: History". Incorporated Village of Garden City. Retrieved 2010-06-06. 
  37. ^ "Sites for Nassau County Buildings". New York Times. September 29, 1898. Retrieved 2010-06-06. 
  38. ^ "The History of Nassau's County Seat". rootsweb. Retrieved 2010-06-06. 
  39. ^ Fischler, Marcelle S (November 15, 1998). "An Immigrant's Vision Created Garden City". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-06. 
  40. ^ Antonia Petrash, Carol Stern, and Carol McCrossen. "HISTORY OF GLEN COVE". 
  41. ^ a b Stoff, Joshua. "The Aviation History of Long Island". Cradle of Aviation Museum. Retrieved 2012-11-17. 
  42. ^ "Long Islanders Shocked by Grumman's Merger". The New York Times. March 8, 1994. Retrieved 2012-11-17. 
  43. ^ McQuiston, John T. "Judge Says He Will Create a Nassau Legislature on His Own if Supervisors Fail to Act", The New York Times, June 9, 1994. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  44. ^ McQuiston, John T. "Amid Pomp, Nassau County Inaugurates Its Legislature", The New York Times, January 13, 1996.
  45. ^ "New York State Takes Control of Nassau’s Finances". The New York Times. January 27, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  46. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2015. 
  47. ^ a b "New York: 2000 Population and Housing Unit Counts". September 2003. p. III-9. Retrieved 2012-03-12. 
  48. ^ "united states annual sunshine map". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Retrieved 2011-12-18. 
  49. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 6, 2015. 
  50. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 6, 2015. 
  51. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 6, 2015. 
  52. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 6, 2015. 
  53. ^ "Kings County, New York QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2014. 
  54. ^ "Queens County, New York QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2014. 
  55. ^ "Nassau County, New York QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2014. 
  56. ^ "Suffolk County, New York QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2014. 
  57. ^ a b c "2010 Census Profile for Nassau County". 
  58. ^ "NY Jewish Population on the Rise for First Time in Decades". 
  59. ^ Nassau County, New York[dead link]
  60. ^ Lambert, Bruce (June 5, 2002). "Study Calls L.I. Most Segregated Suburb". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
  61. ^ Heng Shao (April 10, 2014). "Join The Great Gatsby: Chinese Real Estate Buyers Fan Out To Long Island's North Shore". Forbes. Retrieved August 2, 2014. 
  62. ^ a b Carol Hymowitz (October 27, 2014). "One Percenters Drop Six Figures at Long Island Mall". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved October 29, 2014. 
  63. ^ Lawrence A. McGlinn, Department of Geography SUNY-New Paltz. "BEYOND CHINATOWN: DUAL IMMIGRATION AND THE CHINESE POPULATION OF METROPOLITAN NEW YORK CITY, 2000, Page 6". Middle States Geographer, 2002, 35: 115, Journal of the Middle States Division of the Association of American Geographers. Retrieved 2013-04-06. 
  64. ^ "Nassau County, New York QuickLinks". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-04-06. 
  65. ^ Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues Second Edition, Edited by Pyong Gap Min. Pine Forge Press – An Imprint of Sage Publications, Inc. 2006. ISBN 9781412905565. Retrieved 2013-01-06. 
  66. ^ a b Kirk Semple (June 8, 2013). "City's Newest Immigrant Enclaves, From Little Guyana to Meokjagolmok". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-06-09. 
  67. ^ a b John Roleke. "Flushing: Queens Neighborhood Profile". About.com. Retrieved 2013-06-09. 
  68. ^ "Koreatown Manhattan, or Koreatown Flushing?". CBS Interactive Inc. June 2009. Retrieved 2013-06-09. 
  69. ^ Joyce Cohen (March 23, 2003). "If You're Thinking of Living In/Murray Hill, Queens; The Name's the Same, the Pace is Slower". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-06-09. 
  70. ^ Alan Krawitz. "Hicksville: LI's LITTLE INDIA". Newsday. Retrieved 2013-04-17. 
  71. ^ a b "2010 Census brief". 
  72. ^ "The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), Year 2000 Report".  Churches were asked for their membership numbers. ARDA estimates that most of the churches not reporting were black Protestant congregations.
  73. ^ "The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), Year 2000 Report". 
  74. ^ Source: Nassau County Comptroller's Office
  75. ^ Residents Make Statement Against Village Police Department, Mineola American, December 15, 2006
  76. ^ Nassau County Should be Ashamed, The Statesman, October 20, 2008
  77. ^ http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/countyexecutive/newsrelease/2013/07-17-2013a.html
  78. ^ http://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/chris-weidman-honored-by-nassau-executives-with-chris-weidman-day-1.5713634
  79. ^ http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/7/16/4529136/nassau-county-to-proclaim-july-17-as-chris-weidman-day

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