:
There is also a Town of Nassau in Rensselaer County.
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.
is a suburban
county in the
New York Metropolitan Area east of
New York City in the
U.S. state of
New York. 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 located in the Village of Garden City; however, it is served by the
Mineola Post Office,
ZIP Code 11501.
Nassau and
Suffolk counties together 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 physically make up the island's westernmost end.
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.
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.
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.
In 1917,
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. Elections were held and Republicans won 13 seats and elected
Bruce Blakeman as its first Presiding Officer (Speaker).
In the 1990s, the long-time Republican run 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 executive is the County Executive, a post created in Nassau County in 1938. The current county executive is
Thomas Suozzi, a
Democrat who was elected in 2001; he is the first Democratic county executive since
Eugene Nickerson left office in 1970. 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
Howard Weitzman, a Democrat, the county clerk is Republican
Maureen O'Connell, and the county assessor is
Harvey Levinson, another Democrat.
The 2009 Race is too close to call with Ed Mangano in the lead with 459 votes to Thomas SuozziThe county
legislature has 19 members. There are ten
Democrats, nine
Republicans.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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 and northern part of the county. This includes the central area 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 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
Franklin Square.
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,
Hempstead,
Uniondale,
East Meadow,
Valley Stream and
Rockville Centre. McCarthy defeated Republican congressman
Dan Frisa in 1996 and has held on to her 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 numerous villages and 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.
Adjacent counties
Demographics
thumb|left|200px|Age distribution (2000 census)thumb|right|200px|Population (2000-2008)thumb|left|200px|Median income (2000 census)As of the
census 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 moreraces.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 10.09% of the population.
Italian Americans make up a large portion of Nassau, and there are numerous Italian communities throughout the county. 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 ancestories 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 1,333,137 people in 2005, although it had increased to 1,339,641 in 2004.About 15.5% of population of Nassau County are
Jewish by religion.
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). 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,
Webb Institute, and
St. Joseph's College.
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.
County symbols
See also
