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Clockwise from top: a view of shops on Main Street, monument commemorating the village's maritime past, Port Jefferson Village Hall, A ferry passes a local power plant en route to Bridgeport, Connecticut, Port Jefferson Free Library
Port Jefferson was first settled in the 17th century and remained a rural community until its development as an active shipbuilding center in the mid-19th century. The village has since transitioned to a tourist-based economy. The community's port remains active as the terminus of the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry – one of two commercial ferry lines between Long Island and Connecticut – and is supplemented by the terminus of the Long Island Rail Road's Port Jefferson Branch. It is also the center of the Greater Port Jefferson region of northwestern Brookhaven, serving as the cultural, commercial and transportation hub of the neighboring Port Jefferson Station, Belle Terre, Mount Sinai, Miller Place, Poquott, and the Setaukets.
c.1682 home of John Roe, the first settler in lower Port Jefferson
The original settlers of the Town of Brookhaven, based in the neighboring hamlet of Setauket, bought a tract of land from the Setalcott Indians in 1655. The deed included the area of contemporary Port Jefferson along with all other lands along the North Shore from the Nissequogue River eastward to Mount Misery Point.[4]
Port Jefferson's original name was Sowaysset, a Native American term for either "place of small pines" or "where water opens.[5]
The first known home within the present village boundaries was erected in the early 1660s by Captain John Scott, an important leader in Long Island's early history. This house, named Egerton, was a grand abode on the western end of Mount Sinai Harbor at Mount Misery Neck.[6] The first settler in Port Jefferson's current downtown was an Irish Protestant shoemaker from Queens named John Roe, who built his still-standing home in 1682. It remained a small community of five homes through the 18th century, and was renamed to "Drowned Meadow" in 1682.[4]
Local lore has it that the pirate Captain Kidd rendezvoused in the harbor on his way to bury treasure at Gardiners Island.[7] Another legend is that: during the Revolutionary War, naval commander John Paul Jones had a ship fitted here.[7] However, there is no factual support for these assertions, and the historical works quoted do not present them as definitive facts. John Paul Jones's career in particular is well documented, and there are no accounts of him visiting the village, which was under British control during the time he served as a commanding officer.
In 1797, when the entire town had five houses, its first shipyard was built. By 1825, several shipbuilding firms were located there, which attracted new residents and commerce.[7]
During the War of 1812, British interference on Long Island Sound upset local shipping routes. On one occasion, two British warships, the frigate HMS Pomone and brig HMS Despatch sent their boats into the harbor under cover of darkness, capturing seven sloops.[8] To protect local interests, a small fortress was set up on the west side of Port Jefferson Harbor.[9]
In 1836 the local leadership initiated the community's transition from a "swampish hamlet" to a busy port town. The 22 acres of the harborfront, which flooded at high tide, were brought to a stable elevation with the construction of a causeway. The village changed its name from "Drowned Meadow" to "Port Jefferson", in honor of Thomas Jefferson.[10][11]
Mather Shipyard in 1884
Numerous shipyards developed along Port Jefferson's harbor, and the village's shipbuilding industry became the largest in Suffolk County. Two whaling vessels were built for New Bedford at Port Jefferson in 1877 (ship Horatio and bark Fleetwing), and a Port Jefferson-built schooner (La Ninfa) was later converted into a whaling vessel at San Francisco.[12][13] Port Jefferson's primary role as a port in the 19th century was to build and support vessels engaged in the coastal freighting trades. Many of Port Jefferson's remaining homes from this period were owned by shipbuilders and captains. This includes the Mather House Museum, a mid-19th century home once owned by the Mather shipbuilding family that now serves as the center of a museum complex and headquarters for the Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson.
Postcard of Hotel Square, corner of Main and East Main, with labels displaying the Townsend House hotel and the village's first post office in the late 19th century
P. T. Barnum, the famous circus owner, owned a tract of land which ran through the village. His intention was to make Port Jefferson the home base for his circus, founded in 1871. The residents blocked his plans, and he eventually sold his land. Barnum Avenue now runs through the area that was once Barnum's.[14][15]
The section of town at the intersection of the two streets, then known as Hotel Square, became an active center of Port Jefferson's early tourism industry in the mid-19th century, with a variety of hotels and restaurants. This included the John Roe house, which was converted into the Townsend House hotel. The village's first post office was added to this intersection in 1855.[16]
With the 1923 sale of the Bayles Shipyard to the Standard Oil Company and demolition of all but two of its structures, Port Jefferson's shipbuilding industry came to a close. This resulted in an economic downturn, and the closing of many of the grand hotels in Hotel Square, as tourism declined along with the industry. Port Jefferson Harbor then became a depot for the oil transportation and gravel industries, and, since the 1940s, the site of a Long Island Lighting Companycoal-fired power plant. The harbor also had activity as a rum-running center during the Prohibition era. Decades later, Port Jefferson's economy had recovered, with tourism as its base.
Danfords Hotel & MarinaPort Jefferson Village Center, during the final phase of Harborfront Park's construction
The village of Port Jefferson was incorporated in 1963.[17] The revitalization of lower Port Jefferson soon followed as local tourism brought increased revenues and the village adjusted itself to its new economic role. One such transformation was the 1976 redevelopment of the defunct Mather & Jones Shipyard into a shop-lined promenade known as Chandler Square.
A result of the transition is new public access to much of the waterfront, as several industrial lots had previously stood in the way. Danfords Hotel and Marina was one major waterfront project, which integrated several new and historical structures into a luxury hotel. Danfords includes a commercial marina and walkable pier, marking an aspect of the harbor's transformation from industrial to recreational use.
Harborfront Park, a project completed in 2004, similarly transitioned the site of a shipyard turned Mobil Oil terminal into a public park with picnic grounds, a seasonal ice skating rink and a promenade.[18] Concurrent to the park's construction was the rebuilding of a former shipyard warehouse into the Port Jefferson Village Center, a new public space for events and recreation.
Boats in Port Jefferson HarborAn aerial view of Port Jefferson in 2018.
The village's commerce is divided into two centers that lie 1-mile (1.6 km) apart along Main Street and at differing elevations. These are known as Lower Port Jefferson and Upper Port Jefferson, respectively the waterfront and the railroad station sections of town. The first is currently the center of tourism, while the latter is undergoing plans for revitalization to the economic viability of its historic self. Further from Main Street, the remainder of Port Jefferson consists of several residential neighborhoods defined by the hills on which they sit. In the northeastern corner of the village is the neighborhood of Harbor Hills. This neighborhood occupies the western edge of Mount Sinai Harbor and contains the Port Jefferson Country Club at Harbor Hills. Brick Hill is the neighborhood directly west of the Lower Port Jefferson commercial center and was first developed by the noted circus owner P. T. Barnum. West of Upper Port Jefferson is Cedar Hill, which is topped by the c. 1859 Cedar Hill Cemetery where residents formerly would bask while enjoying views over the village from its highest point.
Within Port Jefferson is Port Jefferson Harbor, a natural deepwater harbor. Setauket Harbor branches off to the west from the harbor. One notable geographic feature is Pirate's Cove, a small cove dredged in the early 20th century by the Seaboard Dredging Company. The original name was Seaboard Hole, but it was changed for the sake of appealing to tourists, and several large sand dunes artificially created by the dredging can also be found here. The dunes, nearby coast, and surrounding wildlands are within the publicly-accessible McAllister County Park[20], with limited parking available on Anchorage Road. Foot traffic is welcome, bicycles are prohibited, and sections of the park are closed to visitors during nesting season for the endangered Piping Plover.
There were 3,090 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male household with no wife present, and 36.1% were non-families. Of all households, 28.3% were made up of individuals living alone, and 9.0% consisted of people living alone who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.96.[22]
The age breakdown consisted of 20.7% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.
In the 2008–2012 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the village was $108,060 and the median income for a family was $138,984. The per capita income for the village was $51,937. Of the population, 6.5% were below the poverty threshold.
Theatre Three is based in the Athena Hall, built c. 1874Lecture night at the Baptist Church, Port Jefferson, 1912 painting by William Moore Davis
Port Jefferson is home to Theatre Three, a non-profit theatre company founded in 1969. Each year Theatre Three stages four musicals and two plays and additionally performs A Christmas Carol during the annual Dickens Festival. Theatre Three is held in Athena Hall, a performance space dating to 1874. The village was home to two notable landscape painters in the late 19th century, William Moore Davis and Leon Foster Jones. Both artists produced numerous depictions of Port Jefferson and its harbor. They were the subject of a 1993 art exhibition by the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages in Stony Brook.
Port Jefferson has been home to the annual Port Jefferson Village Dickens Festival every year since 1996. The festival celebrates the works and times of English novelist Charles Dickens. It takes place during a weekend early in December and typically includes many events and occurrences, such as the regular sighting of people who dress in 19th century clothing, house tours, the reading of winter-related poetry, caroling, and booths set up by local businesses. Students from the Port Jefferson Middle School and High School submit poetry and art that are used in the festival. Free concerts of seasonal music by various ensembles are presented at the Methodist church. Many small festivals are held during the summer, showcasing music and crafts. Each Fourth of July sees a substantial parade on Main Street. The village also hosts an annual outdoor concert series and film screenings, both of which currently take place in Harborfront Park throughout July and August. In keeping with its seafaring heritage, Port Jefferson hosts its own annual boat race series known as the Village Cup Regatta, with proceeds benefiting cancer research.
Port Jefferson Middle School and High School currently share the same building located on 350 Old Post Road. The Middle School (7th and 8th grade only) was previously located at 118 Spring Street. That building currently houses the Jefferson Academic Center,[27] a vocational school operated by Eastern Suffolk BOCES.[28]
The village additionally serves as the eastern terminus for the Long Island Rail Road's Port Jefferson Branch. The branch consists of a diesel train that connects to the electrified Main Line at Huntington station. During the full run it continues toward the western terminus of Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan or to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. The average commute from Port Jefferson to Manhattan via the Long Island Rail Road takes approximately 2 hours. Train service to New York City first reached Port Jefferson in 1873. The ferry terminal and train station are approximately 1-mile (1.6 km) apart. In March 2014, mayor Margot Garant announced interest in establishing a future shuttle to link the two transportation networks as well as their respective sections of town, lower and upper Port Jefferson.[31][better source needed]
Port Jefferson's main street forms a section of New York State Route 25A, a scenic and historic route through Long Island's North Shore from the New York City borough of Queens eastward to Calverton. Just southeast of the village is the eastern terminus of New York State Route 347, a multilane divided highway that connects to the Northern State Parkway in Hauppauge. New York State Route 112, an important north–south route, begins just south of the village and runs to Patchogue, with a dedicated bicycle lane along much of the route.
Foghat owned a recording studio called Boogie Motel on Main Street; their 1979 album Boogie Motel was recorded there.[48]
The 1989 black comedy film She-Devil was shot on location in Port Jefferson at 161 Cliff Road. The pink-colored 30-bedroom mansion belonged to Bulgarian operetta singer and actress Nadya Nozharova, also known as Countess Nadya de Navarro Farber, who died in 2014. The house was built in 1870, and was almost 19,000 sq ft (1,800 m2). The countess lived in the house for over 40 years. The house was demolished in 2017.[49]
In season two of Netflix's House of Cards there are ongoing negotiations regarding the financing of a bridge from Port Jefferson to Milford, Connecticut.[50] It is referred to in the series as the "Port Jefferson Bridge". The idea is similar to many proposals that have been made over the years, collectively called the Long Island Sound link, including one project proposed from Port Jefferson to Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Port Jefferson's Main Street and East Main Street were featured as part of NPR's "Mapping Main Street" project in spring 2010.[51]
The 2015 film True Story was filmed in part on the docks behind Danford's Hotel.[52][53]
^Starbuck, Alexander, History of the American Whale Fishery, Originally Part 4 of the Report of the U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries, Washington, DC, 1878, Reprinted by Castle Books, Secaucus, New Jersey, 1989
^Hegarty, Reginald B., Returns of Whaling Vessels Sailing From American Ports, Old Dartmouth Historical Society, New Bedford, 1959
^"History". The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
^"A Look at the Fleet". The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
^Maggio, Robert (2013). Images of America:Port Jefferson. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 65–70. ISBN978-0738598178.
^Suffolk County Transit (December 3, 2023). "Route 51"(PDF). Retrieved August 25, 2024.
^Suffolk County Transit (December 3, 2023). "Route 53"(PDF). Retrieved August 25, 2024.
^Suffolk County Transit (December 3, 2023). "Route 55"(PDF). Retrieved August 25, 2024.
^Staff. "Walter Berndt, Drew Comic Strip Smitty, Which Ran 50 Years", The New York Times, August 15, 1979. Accessed June 5, 2017. "Walter Berndt, the cartoonist who created the comic strip Smitty, which was syndicated in hundreds of newspapers for more than 50 years, died Monday in Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, L.I. He was 79 years old and had lived in Port Jefferson since 1937."
^Nash, Eric. "John Buscema, 74, Who Drew Classic Comic Book Characters", The New York Times, January 28, 2002. Accessed June 5, 2017. "John Buscema, a comic book artist known for his robust renditions of characters like the Silver Surfer and Conan the Barbarian, died on Jan. 10. He was 74 and lived in Port Jefferson, N.Y."
^"Vic Carapazza". Baseball-Reference.Com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
^"Les Goodman". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
^Liepa, Bob. "Greatest Athletes #20: Edwards, Creighton forever linked", The Suffolk Times, July 29, 2011. Accessed June 5, 2017. "Shedrick said Edwards was better than any of the players among Greenport’s opponents, which included future NBA players Toby Knight of Port Jefferson and Mitch Kupchack of Brentwood."
^Goldaper, Sam. "Irish Down St. John's On 2 Foul Shots, 68‐67", The New York Times, February 14, 1975. Accessed June 5, 2017. "Toby Knight, the powerfully built Notre Dame sophomore from Port Jefferson, L.I., stole the spotlight that was supposed to belong to Adrian Dantley last night at Madison Square Garden."
As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,525,920,[1] its highest decennial count ever, making Suffolk the fourth-most populous county in the State of New York, and the most populous outside of the boroughs of New York City. Its county seat is Riverhead,[2] though most county offices are in Hauppauge.[3] The county was named after the county of Suffolk in England, the origin of its earliest European settlers.
Suffolk County incorporates the easternmost extreme of both the New York City metropolitan area and New York State. The geographically largest of Long Island's four counties and the second-largest of New York's 62 counties, Suffolk County is 86 miles (138 km) in length and 26 miles (42 km) in width at its widest (including water).[4] Most of the island is near sea level, with over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of coastline.[5]
Suffolk County was part of the Connecticut Colony before becoming an original county of the Province of New York, one of twelve created in 1683. From 1664 until 1683, it had been the East Riding of Yorkshire. Its boundaries were essentially the same as at present, with only minor changes in the boundary with its western neighbor, which was originally Queens County but has been Nassau County since the separation of Nassau from Queens in 1899.
According to the Suffolk County website, the county is the leading agricultural county in the state of New York, saying that: "The weather is temperate, clean water is abundant, and the soil is so good that Suffolk is the leading agricultural county in New York State. That Suffolk is still number one in farming, even with the development that has taken place, is a tribute to thoughtful planning, along with the excellent soil, favorable weather conditions, and the work of the dedicated farmers in this region."[8]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 2,373 square miles (6,150 km2), of which 912 square miles (2,360 km2) is land and 1,461 square miles (3,780 km2) (62%) is water.[9] It is the second-largest county in New York by total area and occupies 66% of the land area of Long Island.
Suffolk County occupies the central and eastern part of Long Island, in the extreme east of the State of New York. The eastern end of the county splits into two peninsulas, known as the North Fork and the South Fork. The county is surrounded by water on three sides, including the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound, with 980 miles (1,580 km) of coastline. The eastern end contains large bays.
The highest elevation in the county, and on Long Island as a whole, is Jayne's Hill in West Hills, at 401 feet (122 m) above sea level. This low lying-geography means that much of the county is vulnerable to sea level rise.[5]
Sign referring to Suffolk County's 1683 founding located in Peterkin Park on Oak Street in Amityville.
Suffolk County sits at the convergence of climate zones including the humid continental (Dfa) and humid subtropical (Cfa), bordering closely on an oceanic climate (Cfb). The majority of the county by land area is in the Dfa zone. Summers are cooler at the east end than in the western part of the county. The hardiness zone is 7a, except in Copiague Harbor, Lindenhurst, and Montauk, where it is 7b. Average monthly temperatures in Hauppauge range from 31.0 °F (−0.6 °C) in January to 74.0 °F (23.3 °C) in July, and in the Riverhead town center they range from 30.1 °F (−1.1 °C) in January to 72.8 °F (22.7 °C) in July, which includes both daytime and nighttime temperatures. On February 9, 2013, Suffolk County was besieged with 30 inches of snow, making it the largest day of snowfall on record in Suffolk.[10]
Climate data for Montauk, New York (1981–2010 normals)
Suffolk County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
According to the 2010 U.S. census[25] there were 1,493,350 people and 569,985 households residing in the county. The census estimated Suffolk County's population decreased slightly to 1,481,093 in 2018, representing 7.5% of the census-estimated New York State population of 19,745,289[26] and 19.0% of the census-estimated Long Island population of 7,869,820.[27][28][29][30] The population density in 2010 was 1,637 people per square mile (632 people/km2), with 569,985 households at an average density of 625 per square mile (241/km2). However, by 2012, with an estimated total population increasing moderately to 1,499,273 there were 569,359 housing units.[31] As of 2006, Suffolk County was the 21st-most populous county in the United States.[32]
By 2014, the county's racial makeup was estimated at 85.2% White, 8.3% African American, 0.6% Native American, 4.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those identifying as Hispanic or Latino, of any race, were 18.2% of the population. Those who identified as "white alone", not being of Hispanic or Latino origin, represented 69.3% of the population.[33] In 2006, the county's racial or ethnic makeup was 83.6% White (75.4% White Non-Hispanic). African Americans were 7.4% of the population. Asians stood at 3.4% of the population. 5.4% were of other or mixed race. Latinos were 13.0% of the population.[34] In 2007, Suffolk County's most common ethnicities were Italian (29.5%), Irish (24.0%), and German (17.6%).[35]
In 2002, The New York Times cited a study by the non-profit group ERASE Racism, which determined Suffolk and its neighboring county, Nassau, to be the most racially segregated suburbs in the United States.[36]
In 2006, there were 469,299 households, of which 37.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.00% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.20% were non-families. 18.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.36.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.10% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 31.20% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.
In 2008, Forbes magazine released its American Community Survey and named Suffolk County number 4 in its list of the top 25 richest counties in America. In 2016, according to Business Insider, the 11962 zip code encompassing Sagaponack, within Southampton, was listed as the most expensive in the U.S., with a median home sale price of $8.5 million.[37]
The median income for a household in the county was $84,767,[38] and the median income for a family was $72,112. Males had a median income of $50,046 versus $33,281 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,577. Using a weighted average from 2009 to 2014 about 6.40% of the population were below the poverty line[33] In earlier censuses, the population below the poverty line included 2.70% of those under age 18 and 2.30% of those age 65 or over.
Racial groups, ethnicity, and religious groups on Long Island
compared to state and nation
Source for Race and Ethnicity: 2010 Census[39]
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".
In 2003, Democrat Steve Levy was elected county executive, ending longtime Republican control. In 2001, Democrat Thomas Spota was elected District Attorney, and ran unopposed in 2005. Although Suffolk voters gave George H. W. Bush a victory here in 1992, the county voted for Bill Clinton in 1996 and continued the trend by giving Al Gore an 11-percent victory in the county in 2000. 2004 Democratic candidate John Kerry won by a much smaller margin of under one percent, in 2008 Democratic candidate Barack Obama won by a slightly larger 6 percent margin, 52.5%-46.5%. In 2012, he carried the county by a slightly smaller margin 51%-47%. In 2016, Republican candidate Donald Trump won Suffolk County by a 6.9 percent margin, becoming the first Republican to carry the county since 1992. In 2020, Trump again won Suffolk County; this time, however, it was decided by just 232 votes out of nearly 800,000 votes cast, making it the closest county in the nation in terms of percentage margin, and representing nearly a seven-point swing towards the Democratic ticket of former Vice President Joe Biden and junior California senator Kamala Harris. In percentage terms, it was the closest county in the state, although Ontario County and Warren County had narrower raw vote margins of just 33 and 57 votes, respectively. Suffolk was one of five counties in the state that Trump won by less than 500 votes. With Tarrant County, Texas and Maricopa County, Arizona flipping Democratic in 2020, Suffolk County was the most populous county in the nation to vote for Trump in 2020. In 2024, Trump won 54% of the vote in Suffolk county, the highest percentage since 1988.
As a whole, both Suffolk and Nassau counties are considered swing counties. However, until 2016, they tended not to receive significant attention from presidential candidates, as the state of New York has turned reliably Democratic at the national level. In 2008 and 2012, Hofstra University in Nassau County hosted a presidential debate. Hofstra hosted the first debate of the 2016 presidential election season, on September 26, 2016, making Hofstra the first college or university in the United States to host a presidential debate in three consecutive elections. The presence on the 2016 ticket of Westchester County resident Hillary Clinton and Manhattan resident Donald Trump resulted in greater attention by the candidates to the concerns of Long Island. Trump visited Long Island voters and donors at least four times while Clinton made one stop for voters and one additional stop in the Hamptons for donors.
After the 2022 midterm election results were counted, Suffolk appears to have moved further to the right. Republican gubernatorial candidate and Suffolk County native Lee Zeldin won the county by more than 17 points over the Democratic candidate Kathy Hochul.[44] Republicans, as of 2024, hold both congressional districts covering that being New York's 1st congressional district represented by Nick LaLota and New York's 2nd congressional district represented by Andrew Garbarino.
The 2023 election saw this trend continue, with Republican Edward P. Romaine defeating Democrat David Calone by 14 points to become the next County Executive.[45] Republicans also gained a 12-6 supermajority in the County Legislature, seeing a net gain of one seat.
Republicans controlled the county legislature until a landmark election in November 2005 where three Republican seats switched to the Democrats, giving them control. In November 2007, the Democratic Party once again retained control over the Suffolk County Legislature, picking up one seat in the process. In November 2009, the Republican Party regained the seat lost in 2007 but remained in the minority for the 2010-2011 session. In November 2011, the Democratic Party maintained control over the Suffolk County Legislature picking up one seat that had been held by an Independence Party member. In November 2013, the Republican Party gained the 14th district seat, but remained in the minority until 2021, when the GOP flipped the county legislature, picking up three seats with incumbents Robert Calarco (the sitting Presiding Officer) and Susan Berland (the sitting Majority Leader) losing their bids for re-election.[46][47] The Suffolk GOP built on these gains in the 2023 general election, gaining a 12-6 supermajority.
The Suffolk County Sheriff's Office is a separate agency. The sheriff, an elected official who serves a four-year term, operates the two Suffolk County correctional facilities (in Yaphank and Riverhead), provides county courthouse security and detention, service and enforcement of civil papers, evictions and warrants. The Sheriff's Office is also responsible for securing all county-owned property, such as county government office buildings, as well as the campuses of the Suffolk County Community College. As of 2008, the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office employed 275 Deputy Sheriffs, 850 corrections officers, and about 200 civilian staff.
Suffolk County has a long maritime history with several outer barrier beaches and hundreds of square miles of waterways. The Suffolk Police Marine Bureau patrols the 500 square miles (1,000 km2) of navigable waterways within the police district, from the Connecticut and Rhode Island state line which bisects Long Island Sound[48] to the New York state line 3 miles (5 km) south of Fire Island in the Atlantic Ocean. Some Suffolk County towns (Islip, Brookhaven, Southampton, East Hampton, Babylon, Huntington, Smithtown) also employ various bay constables and other local marine patrol, which are sworn armed peace officers with full arrest powers, providing back up to the Suffolk Police Marine Bureau as well as the United States Coast Guard.
This includes Fire Island and parts of Jones Island barrier beaches and the islands of the Great South Bay. Marine units also respond to water and ice rescues on the inland lakes, ponds, and streams of the District.
In February 2019, legislator Robert Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) put forward a resolution to recover salary and benefits from James Burke, the county's former police chief.[49][50] Burke had pled guilty to beating a man while in police custody and attempting to conceal it, and the county had paid the victim $1.5 million in a settlement; it had also paid Burke more than $500,000 in benefits and salary while Burke was concealing his conduct.[50][49] Trotta said that the faithless servant doctrine in New York common law gave him the power to claw back the compensation.[50] The Suffolk County Legislature supported the suit unanimously.[51] The following month Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone signed the bill.
Also in February 2019, a court ruled against the Suffolk County jail in the case of a former inmate who was denied hormone replacement therapy by the jail's doctors. Documents introduced in the trial indicate 11 other inmates were also denied treatment.[52]
Suffolk County is part of the 10th Judicial District of the New York State Unified Court System; is home to the Alfonse M. D'Amato Courthouse of the Federal U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York;[53] and has various local municipal courts. The State Courts are divided into Supreme Court, which has general jurisdiction over all cases, and lower courts that either hear claims of a limited dollar amount, or of a specific nature.[54][55] Similarly, the local courts hear claims of a limited dollar amount, or hear specific types of cases. The Federal Court has jurisdiction over Federal Claims, State Law claims that are joined with Federal claims, and claims where there is a diversity of citizenship.[56]
The Suffolk County Supreme Court is a trial court of unlimited general original jurisdiction (except as to matters which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction), but it generally only hears cases that are outside the subject-matter jurisdiction of other trial courts of more limited jurisdiction. The Suffolk County Clerk is the Clerk of the Court of the Supreme Court.
The main courthouse for the Supreme Court is in Riverhead, which has been the court's home since 1729. The original courthouse was replaced in 1855, and that courthouse was expanded in 1881.[57] The courthouse was damaged by fire and rebuilt in 1929. In 1994, a new court building was added to the complex. This Courthouse was dedicated as the "Alan D. Oshrin Supreme Court Building" on August 1, 2011.[58]
The Supreme Court also shares space in the Cohalan Court Complex in Central Islip[59] with several other courts and county agencies. Matrimonial actions are heard in the Supreme Court, and those matters are generally heard in the Supreme Court section of the Cohalan Court Complex.
The Suffolk County Court is a trial court of limited jurisdiction. It has jurisdiction over all of Suffolk County, and is authorized to handle criminal prosecutions of both felonies and lesser offenses committed within the county, although in practice most minor offenses are handled by the local courts. It is the trial court for felonies, or where a person is indicted by a Grand Jury in Suffolk County. The County Court also has limited jurisdiction in civil cases, generally involving amounts up to $25,000. The County Court is in the Cromarty Court Complex Criminal Courts Building in Riverhead.
The Suffolk County Surrogate's Court hears cases involving the affairs of decedents, including the probate of wills and the administration of estates, guardianships, and adoptions. The Surrogate's Court is in the County Center in Riverhead.
The Suffolk County Family Court has jurisdiction over all of Suffolk County in petitions filed for Neglect & Abuse, Juvenile Delinquency/Designated Felonies, Persons in Need of Supervision, Adoption, Guardianship, Foster Care, Family Offense (Order of Protection), Custody & Visitation, Paternity, Support Matters (Child & Spousal), Consent to Marry. The court also has a Juvenile Drug Court and Family Treatment Court. Individuals, attorneys, and agencies may initiate a proceeding in the Family Court with the filing of a petition. The Suffolk County Family Court is in the Cohalan Court Complex in Central Islip[59] and maintains a facility in Riverhead. Case assignment is dependent upon the geographical location of the parties.
The District Court and the Town and Village Courts are the local courts of Suffolk County. There are more than 30 local courts, each with limited criminal and civil subject matter and geographic jurisdictions. The local criminal courts have trial jurisdiction over misdemeanors, violations and infractions; preliminary jurisdiction over felonies; and traffic tickets charging a crime. The local civil courts calendar small claims, evictions, and civil actions.
Suffolk County District Court has geographic jurisdiction over the 5 western towns of Suffolk County (Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip & Smithtown). The Criminal division of the Suffolk District Court is in the Cohalan Court Complex, Central Islip, and includes Domestic Violence Courts, Drug Court, and a Mental Health Court. The Civil division is divided up in the 5 "outlying" courthouses in Lindenhurst, Huntington Station, Hauppauge, Ronkonkoma, and Patchogue. Civil actions may be filed up to $15,000, and small claims actions up to $5000. Actions are commenced by filing with the court. Summary proceedings under the RPAPL are filed in the district where the property is located.
The Town Courts of East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton, and Southold have geographic jurisdiction over the 5 eastern towns of Suffolk County. Each town maintains a courthouse where judges hear criminal cases (including a regional Drug Court) and civil actions. Civil actions are commenced by serving a summons and complaint for claims up to $3,000, and small claims actions are heard up to $3000. Summary proceedings under the RPAPL are filed in the town where the property is located.
The Village Courts of Amityville, Asharoken, Babylon, Belle Terre, Bellport, Brightwaters, Head of the Harbor, Huntington Bay, Islandia, Lake Grove, Lindenhurst, Lloyd Harbor, Nissequogue, Northport, Ocean Beach, Old Field, Patchogue, Poquott, Port Jefferson, Quogue, Sag Harbor, Saltaire, Shoreham, Southampton, Village of the Branch, West Hampton Dunes, and Westhampton Beach have geographic jurisdiction within each incorporated village. Criminal and civil subject matter jurisdiction varies in each court.
Most non-criminal moving violation tickets issued in the five west towns are handled by the Traffic Violations Bureau, which is part of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, not the court system.
Fire Island Lighthouse was an important landmark for many trans-Atlantic ships coming into New York Harbor in the early 20th century. For many European immigrants, the Fire Island Light was their first sight of land upon arrival in America.
The Great South Bay Bridge, the first causeway bridge, had only one northbound and one southbound lane, was opened to traffic in April 1954. The span of 2 miles (3 km) across Great South Bay to Captree Island features a main span of 600 feet (200 m), with a clearance for boats of 60 feet (20 m).
The Fire Island Inlet Bridge continues the two-lane road, one lane in each direction, across Fire Island Inlet to its terminus at Robert Moses State Park and The Fire Island Lighthouse. Robert Moses Causeway opened in 1964.
Suffolk County has the most lighthouses of any United States county, with 15 of its original 26 lighthouses still standing. Of these 15, eight are in Southold township alone, giving it more lighthouses than any other township in the United States.
At various times, there have been proposals for a division of Suffolk County into two counties. The western portion would be called Suffolk County, while the eastern portion of the current Suffolk County would comprise a new county to be called Peconic County. Peconic County would consist of the five easternmost towns of Suffolk County: East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold, plus the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.
The proposed Peconic County flag showed the two forks at the east end of Long Island separated by Peconic Bay. The star on the north represents Southold. The stars on the South Fork represent Southampton and East Hampton. Riverhead is at the fork mouth and Shelter Island is between the forks.
The secessionist movement has not been active since 1998.
The End of the Hamptons: Scenes from the Class Struggle in America's Paradise, by Corey Dolgon (New York University Press, 2005[66]) examined the class roots of the secessionist movement in the Hamptons. In his review, Howard Zinn wrote that the book "[t]akes us beyond the much-romanticized beaches of Long Island to the rich entrepreneurs and their McMansions, the Latino workers, and the stubborn indigenous residents refusing to disappear. The book is important because it is in so many ways a microcosm of the nation."[67] The book won the Association for Humanist Sociology's 2005 Book Prize and the American Sociological Association's Marxist Section Book Award in 2007.
Matt DeSimone, a young adult from Southold, and his partner Jake Dominy unsuccessfully started a similar movement in the late 2010s.
Suffolk County has an 8.625% sales tax, compared to an overall New York State sales tax of 4%, consisting of an additional 4.25% on top of the state and MTA assessment of .375%[68]
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic first affected the county. As of December 12, 2020, there have been a total of 73,281 cases and 2,153 deaths from the virus.[69]
Municipalities of Suffolk CountyA map outlining the villages (grey), hamlets, and CDPs of Suffolk County
In the State of New York, a town is the major subdivision of each county. Towns provide or arrange for most municipal services for residents of hamlets and selected services for residents of villages. All residents of New York who do not live in a city or on an Indian reservation live in a town. A village is an incorporated area which is usually, but not always, within a single town. A village is a clearly defined municipality that provides the services closest to the residents, such as garbage collection, street and highway maintenance, street lighting and building codes. Some villages provide their own police and other optional services. A hamlet is an informally defined populated area within a town that is not part of a village.
Figures in parentheses are 2022 population estimates from the Census Bureau.[70]
Gardiners Island is an island off eastern Suffolk County. The Island is 6 miles (10 km) long, and 3 miles (5 km) wide and has 27 miles (43 km) of coastline. The same family has owned the Island for nearly 400 years; one of the largest privately owned islands in America or the world. In addition, it is the only American real estate still intact as part of an original royal grant from the English Crown.
Robins Island is an Island in the Peconic Bay between the North and South folks of eastern Suffolk County. It is within the jurisdiction of Town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York. The Island is 435 acres (1.8 km2) and presently undeveloped. The island is privately owned and not accessible to the public.
The county includes a lot of roadways and other public transportation infrastructure. The local Suffolk County Legislature oversees funding and regulations for the infrastructure.[5] In 2019, the legislature required all new projects to account for future climate change caused sea level rise.[5]
I-495 (Long Island Expressway) traverses the county from the Nassau County line in the West to Riverhead in the East. Original plans called for the Expressway to extend further past Riverhead and along the island's North Fork, possibly to Orient Point, where a crossing to Connecticut could be built. The expressway connects to Manhattan via the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.[71]
Situated on western Long Island, the County of Nassau borders New York City's borough of Queens to its west, and Long Island's Suffolk County to its east. It is the most densely populated and second-most populous county in the State of New York outside of New York City, with which it maintains extensive rail and highway connectivity, and is considered one of the central counties within the New York metropolitan area.
A 2012 Forbes article based on the American Community Survey reported Nassau County as the most expensive county and one of the highest income counties in the U.S., and the most affluent in New York state, with four of the nation's top ten towns by median income located in the county.[9] As of 2024, the median home price overall in Nassau County is approximately US$800,000, while the Gold Coast of Nassau County features some of the world's most expensive real estate.
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".[12] However, "Nassau" had the historical advantage of having at one time been the name of Long Island itself,[13] and was the name most mentioned after the new county was proposed in 1875.[14][15][16]
The area now designated as Nassau County was originally the eastern 70% of Queens County, one of the original twelve counties formed in 1683, and was then contained within two towns: Hempstead and Oyster Bay. In 1784, the Town of North Hempstead, was formed through secession by the northern portions of the Town of Hempstead. 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, as the three easternmost towns seceded from the county.
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 the present-day eastern Nassau hamlet of Oyster Bay 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, the colonial territory of 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).[17]
By 1700, virtually none of Long Island's area remained unpurchased from the Native Americans by the English colonists, and townships controlled whatever land had not already been distributed.[18] The courthouse in Jamaica was torn down by the British during the American Revolution to use the materials to build barracks.[19]
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.[20][21][23][24]
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 combined population of the three western towns (Flushing, Jamaica, and Newtown) 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.[25] Around 1874, the seat of county government was moved to Long Island City from Mineola.[24][26][27] 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).[14][15][16]
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, village, and city (other than NYC) governments within the borough were dissolved, as well as the county government with its seat in Jamaica. 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[28] (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.[29]
The Garden City Company (founded in 1893 by the heirs of Alexander Turney Stewart)[30] 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.[31] The land and the buildings have a Mineola postal address, but are within the present day Village of Garden City,[32] which did not incorporate, nor set its boundaries, until 1919.
In 1917,[33] the hamlet 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 administrative divisions in Nassau County identified as cities.
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.[34] Military aviators for both World Wars were trained on the Hempstead Plains at installations such as Mitchel Air Force Base, and a number of successful aircraft companies were established. Charles Lindbergh 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[35]) built many planes for World War II, and later contributed the Apollo Lunar Module to the Space program.[34]
The United Nations Security Council was temporarily located in Nassau County, from 1946 till 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 that on June 27, 1950, 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, which in general is Garden City). 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.[36] Republicans won 13 seats in the election and chose Bruce Blakeman as the first Presiding Officer (Speaker).[37]
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.[9] In the 1990s, however, Nassau County experienced substantial 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 State of New York 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.[38]
Nighttime aerial view of much of the density of Nassau County, from the west-northwest; Hempstead is in the center, with roads projecting out in various directions; bridges to Jones Beach Island are at the upper right. The Grand Central Parkway–Cross Island Parkway interchange, barely visible at the lower left, is just outside the county, within Queens.Greenery of the North Shore of Nassau County, looking west. The Cow Neck Peninsula is visible as the first peninsula at the center, with Manhasset Bay immediately above it and Hempstead Harbor immediately below it.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 453.2 square miles (1,174 km2), of which 284.7 square miles (737 km2) is land and 168.5 square miles (436 km2) (37%) is water.[39]
Nassau County borders the Long Island Sound on the north and the open Atlantic Ocean on the south. The highest point in the county is Harbor Hill on the north shore. The 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 U.S. census and the 2000 U.S. census, the Nassau County exchanged territory with Suffolk County and lost territory to Queens County.[40] Dozens of CDPs had boundaries changed, and 12 new CDPs were listed.[40]
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's climate is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa) according to the Köppen climate classification. According to the Trewartha climate classification the climate is oceanic (Do) since six to seven months average above 50″F (10″C). 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.[41] The hardiness zone is 7b.[42]
In July 2017, the approval was granted by state legislators to the plan proposed by New York GovernorAndrew Cuomo to add a third railroad track to the Long Island Rail Road corridor between the communities of Floral Park and Hicksville in Nassau County. The nearly US$2 billion transportation infrastructure enhancement project was expected to accommodate anticipated growth in rail ridership and facilitate commutes between New York City and Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.[45]
Nassau County also has a public bus network known as NICE (Nassau Inter-County Express, formerly MTA Long Island Bus) that operates routes throughout the county into Queens and Suffolk counties. 24 hour service is provided on the n4, n6, and most recently the n40/41 lines.
U.S. Decennial Census[47]
1790–1960[48] 1900–1990[49]
1990–2000[50] 2010–2020[1]
At the 2019 American Community Survey, the population of Nassau County stood at 1,356,924, an increase of 17,392 since the 2010 census.[51] At the 2010 U.S. 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 Bureau to have increased by 2.2% to 1,369,514 in 2017, representing 6.9% of the census-estimated State of New York population of 19,849,399[52] and 17.4% of the census-estimated Long Island population of 7,869,820.[53][54][55][56] At the 2000 United States census, there were 1,334,544 people, 447,387 households, and 347,172 families residing in the county.
In 2010, there were 340,523 family households. 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. 24.1% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals. 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94. The average family size was 3.38.[57]
In 2010, the population was 23.3% under the age of 18. 18.7% 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.[57] In 2019, there were 474,165 housing units and 446,977 family households.[58] From 2015 to 2019, there was an average of 2.99 persons per household, and 21.4% of the population was under 18 years of age.
At the 2019 American Community Survey, Nassau had a median household income of $116,100. The per capita income was $51,422. About 5.6% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.[58] The median income for a household in the county in 2010 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 population density in 2010 was 4,700 people per square mile (1,800 people/km2). In 2000, the population density was 4,655 inhabitants per square mile (1,797/km2). In the 2010 census, there were 468,346 housing units at an average density of 1,598 per square mile (617/km2).
†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".
H Mart in Jericho – one of the busiest H Mart stores on Long Island and one of the busiest Asian-grocery stores outside Asia
In 2010, the racial makeup of the county was 73.0% White (65.5% non-Hispanic white), 10.1% 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. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 15.6% of the population.[57] In 2019, Nassau County's racial and ethnic makeup was 58.2% non-Hispanic white, 11.3% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, 10.3% Asian, 0.7% some other race, and 1.9% two or more races. The Hispanic and Latin American population increased to 17.5% of the population.[61]
Nassau County, New York – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
In 2011, there were about 230,000 Jewish people in Nassau County,[71] representing 17.2% of the population, (as compared to 2% of the total U.S. population). Italian Americans also made up a large portion of Nassau's population. The five most reported ancestries were Italian (23%), Irish (14%), German (7%), Indian (5%), and Polish (4%). The county's population was highest at the 1970 U.S. census. More recently, a Little India community has emerged in Hicksville, Nassau County,[72] spreading eastward from the more established Little India enclaves in Queens. Rapidly growing Chinatowns have developed in Brooklyn and Queens,[73][74][75] as did earlier European immigrants, such as the Irish and Italians.
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: Brookville (Brookville P.D. provides police protection for Brookville, Matinecock, Mill Neck and Cove Neck), Centre Island, Floral Park, Freeport, Garden City, Great Neck Estates, Hempstead, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Lynbrook, Malverne, Muttontown-Upper Brookville, Old Brookville, Old Westbury, Oyster Bay Cove, Rockville Centre and Sands Point.
The Port Washington Police District is not a village department but is authorized by a special district, the only such district in the State of New York. These smaller forces make use of such specialized county police services as the police academy and the aviation unit. All homicides in the county are investigated by the county police, regardless of whether or not they occur within the police district.
In June 2011, the Muttontown Police Department commenced operations. The Old Brookville Police had formerly provided police services to the Village of Muttontown.
On June 1, 2022, the Old Brookville Police Department reverted to serving only the Village of Old Brookville and moved its headquarters to the grounds of the Old Brookville village hall. The Village of Brookville formed a new police department, established headquarters on the grounds of the Brookville Nature Park and assumed policing duties for the villages of Brookville, Matinecock, Mill Neck and Cove Neck, that were formerly served by the Old Brookville Police Department. The Village of Upper Brookville joined the Muttontown Police Department which was subsequently renamed the Muttontown-Upper Brookville (MUB) Police Department. The former Old Brookville Police headquarters is now the Upper Brookville village hall and also a substation for the Muttontown-Upper Brookville Police Department.
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 in December 2006 decisively defeated the proposal.[85]
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.[86]
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. They 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 42-week training course at the Nassau County Police Academy. Qualified officers are offered Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training. Auxiliary Police officers are certified and registered by the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services as full-time "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.
Nassau County is currently protected and served by 71 independent volunteer or combination paid/volunteer fire departments, organized into 9 battalions. The Nassau County Fire Commission also provides logistical support to all 71 departments.[87]
1st Battalion
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
Department Number
Department Name
200
Baldwin
210
Freeport
220
Village of Island Park
230
Long Beach
240
Oceanside
250
Point Lookout-Lido
3rd Battalion
Department Number
Department Name
300
Hewlett
310
Inwood
320
Lawrence Cedarhurst
330
Meadowmere Park
340
Valley Stream
350
Woodmere
4th Battalion
Department Number
Department Name
400
East Rockaway
410
Lakeview
420
Lynbrook
430
Malverne
440
Rockville Centre
Roslyn Highlands Fire Department in Roslyn Heights in 2012.
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: August 2024 mask ban. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2024)
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 Bruce Blakeman, a Republican who was elected in 2021. The chief deputy county executive is Republican Arthur Walsh. The district attorney is Republican Anne T. Donnelly, who was elected in 2021, replacing Acting District Attorney Joyce Smith. Smith succeeded Madeline Singas after she was nominated and confirmed as an associate judge on the New York Court of Appeals in June 2021.
The county comptroller is Elaine Phillips, a Republican who formerly served in the New York State Senate. The county clerk is Republican Maureen O'Connell. Former elected offices chairman of the County Board of Assessors, county treasurer, and county sheriff were made appointed and serve at the pleasure of the county executive (county assessor in 2008 via referendum, changing it from a six-year term to appointed).[88]
The chief deputy county executive[89] is the highest appointed official in the Nassau County government, serving second-in-command under the auspice of the county executive. The Chief Deputy is responsible for managing the activities of all departments of the Nassau County government, which provides services to its 1.36 million residents. The chief deputy also officially serves as the acting county executive in the absence of, or disability of the County Executive. The current chief deputy county executive is Arthur T. Walsh, who was appointed by Executive Bruce Blakeman in 2022.
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.
Nassau County Comptrollers (Nassau County Comptroller's Office)
For most of the twentieth century, residents of Nassau County and neighboring Suffolk County primarily supported the Republican Party in national elections. In presidential elections during the first half of the century, the Republican candidate often received more than twice as many votes as the Democratic candidate. Between the county's incorporation in 1899 and the 1980s, Democrats only won Nassau County in the elections of 1912 (where Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party split the Republican vote) and 1964 (where Lyndon B. Johnson won in a landslide).
The county began trending Democratic in the 1990s, like many of New York City's suburbs. Until 2024, it had voted for a Democrat in every presidential election since 1992. Bill Clinton carried the county in 1992 and 1996, as did Al Gore in 2000, the latter two times by margins of nearly 20 points. John Kerry's margin in Nassau County was considerably slimmer (5.6%) in 2004, as he won the towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead but lost the town of Oyster Bay. The county went solidly for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, both times by around 8%. Hillary Clinton did marginally worse in 2016, winning by 6.2%. Joe Biden in 2020 fared better than Obama at 9.5%, but still not as well as Bill Clinton and Gore. Although the county leaned Democratic for the last 30 years on the national level, Democrats failed to win the county in the 2024 presidential election. Donald Trump earned 4.15% more of the county's votes, the first time Nassau was won by a Republican presidential candidate since 1988.[91]
Democratic strength is chiefly concentrated in both the wealthier and lower income sections of the county. Liberal voters dominate many of the wealthy communities of the North Shore, particularly in the Town of North Hempstead where affluent villages such as Sands Point, Old Westbury, Roslyn, Kensington, Thomaston, Great Neck Plaza, and Great Neck Estates as well as the neighboring City of Glen Cove vote consistently Democratic. Democratic strongholds also include several low income municipalities in the central portion of the county, such as the Village of Hempstead, Roosevelt, Uniondale and New Cassel, as well as in a few waterfront communities on the South Shore, such as the City of Long Beach and the Village of Freeport.
Republican voters are primarily concentrated in the middle to upper middle class southeastern portion of the county, which developed during the "post-war boom era". Heavily Republican communities such as Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Seaford, Wantagh, Levittown, Bethpage, and Farmingdale are the political base of many county GOP officials such as former Congressman Peter T. King and former County Executive Edward P. Mangano. In the western portion of the county, wealthy Garden City is solidly Republican, as is the middle-class community of Floral Park. Additionally, some of the more rustic areas of the North Shore, particularly in the Town of Oyster Bay usually vote for the GOP.
Areas of the county containing large numbers of swing voters include East Meadow, Oceanside, and Rockville Centre on the South Shore and Mineola on the North Shore. Several areas have changed in partisan affiliation. Formerly Democratic strongholds such as the Five Towns and parts of Great Neck have trended to the GOP while previously Republican areas such as Elmont, Valley Stream and Baldwin have become Democratic bastions.
Education features strongly in Nassau County's culture.[citation needed]
Nassau County has 58 public school districts,[92] which like post office districts use the same names as a city, hamlet, or village within them, but each sets the boundaries independently.[93] School district and community are not the same, and residences often have postal addresses that differ from the hamlet and/or school district in which they are located. Several of Nassau County's school districts are among the highest ranked public school systems in the country,[citation needed] including the Jericho Union Free School District, Great Neck Public Schools, and the Syosset Central School District.
Nassau County is home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, who played at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale from their inception in 1972. However, the Islanders announced in 2012 that starting in the fall of 2015, the team would be moving to Brooklyn and would play at the Barclays Center. Due to issues with Barclays Center being unable to adequately support ice hockey and declining attendance, the Islanders announced that for the 2018–19 season they would split their home games between Barclays Center and the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum. In December 2017, the Islanders won a bid to build a new 18,000-seat arena near Belmont Park in Elmont, returning them to Nassau County; UBS Arena opened in 2021.
The Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association, then known as the New York Nets, formerly played their home games in Nassau County at the now-demolished Island Garden arena in West Hempstead from 1969 to 1972 and then at the Coliseum from 1972 to 1977, before the franchise moved to New Jersey—its original home for several years before coming to Long Island in the late 1960s – and eventually, to Brooklyn.
The first case of COVID-19 was reported in March 2020.[97] As of January 12, 2021, there have been 104,078 cases, 3,044 deaths, 2,102,900 tests conducted, and a 4.9% positivity rate.[98] According to The New York Times' COVID-19 tracker, Nassau County's average daily case count is 1,567 (116 per capita), with 1 in 13 testing positive (the third-worst of any county in the state) and 1 in 545 dying.[99]
In August 2024, Nassau County passed into law a ban on wearing face masks in public, making it a misdemeanor subject to a $1,000 fine and up to one year in prison to wear a facial covering in public, a move that was criticized by the New York Civil Liberties Union as a "dangerous misuse of the law to score political points."[100] The law does not apply to facial coverings "worn to protect the health or safety of the wearer," but does appear to ban wearing a mask in order to protect the health or safety of others, including persons with compromised immune systems.[100]
^Nassau County Atlas, 6th Large Scale Edition, Hagstrom Map Company, Inc., 1999
^"Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^Toy, Vivian S. (March 30, 2003). "For Sale: Nassau's County Seat". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2017. The county's properties all have mailing addresses in Mineola, the official county seat, but are actually within Garden City's boundaries.
^"Early Five Borough's History". Hope Farm Press. Archived from the original on October 21, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2007. 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.
^*"Historical Essay: A Thumbnail View". Official History Page of the Queens Borough President's Office. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2007. 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.
"New York State History". Genealogy Inc. 1999. Archived from the original on January 8, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2007. Under the Reorganization Act of March 7, 1788, New York was divided into 120 towns (not townships), many of which were already in existence.
"State of New York; Local Government Handbook; 5th Edition"(PDF). January 2000. pp. Ch 4, p 13, Ch 5 p 2. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 15, 2010. 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.
"History Mysteries: Shelter Island Ferry/Mineola Building". Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2008. 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.
"The Mineola Asylum; Witnesses who testified that it is and has been a model institution". New York Times. August 29, 1882. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2008. 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
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.
"1873 map of North Hempstead". Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved December 31, 2007. 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 was north of the station.
^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.[22]
^ abRhoda Amon. "Mineola: First Farmers, Then Lawyers". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2012. 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.
^*"Queen's County Court House"(PDF). New York Times. February 14, 1870. Archived(PDF) from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
"Long Island"(PDF). New York Times. December 5, 1870. Archived(PDF) from the original on May 1, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
^*"A Queens Timeline". The Queens Tribune. Archived from the original on November 9, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2007. 1874 – Queens County Courthouse and seat of county government moved from Mineola (in present-day Nassau County) to Long Island City.
