North Hempstead, New York

North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the 7th most populous city or town in New York.

History

The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and was a part of the town of Hempstead.
The , conducted in the Province of New York in 1755, contains a long list of enslaved individuals in Oyster Bay, including the hamlets of Jericho and what is now North Hempstead. It is followed by a remarkable additional list of "free Negroes Melattoes and Mustees Resideing within ye Township of Oysterbay that may probably Be Likely In case of Insurrections To be as Mischevious as ye Slaves."
During the American Revolution the southern part of Hempstead was primarily Tory, while the northern part, having been settled by Yankees, supported the revolution. Following the war, the Town of North Hempstead was split off from Hempstead in 1784. North Hempstead became more affluent with the opening of the Long Island Rail Road through to Great Neck, and the inauguration of steamboat service from Manhattan in 1836.
The Town of North Hempstead is made up of 30 incorporated villages that claimed the right to set zoning restrictions to protect their rights and resources. No new villages have been created in the Town of North Hempstead since 1932, and prospective villages were further discouraged from incorporating when the county charter was revised in 1936, which denied zoning powers to future villages in the county.
There are also some unincorporated areas in the Town of North Hempstead which are not part of villages; these areas are instead governed by the Town of North Hempstead.

Geography

The western town line is the border of Queens County, New York, part of New York City. The northern town line, delineated by the Long Island Sound, is the border of Bronx County and Westchester County. The Town of Oyster Bay and the City of Glen Cove are its eastern neighbors, and the Town of Hempstead is its southern neighbor.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and, or 22.62%, is water.
North Hempstead is the only town on Long Island that does not have a corresponding hamlet or village in its borders with the same name; Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County and the towns of Huntington, Babylon, Islip, Smithtown, Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, Shelter Island and East Hampton in Suffolk County all have smaller neighborhoods with the same name.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 222,611 people, 76,820 households, and 58,460 families residing in the town. The population density was. There were 78,927 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the town was 78.98% White, 6.40% African American, 0.14% Native American, 9.11% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.90% from other races, and 2.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.83% of the population.
There were 76,820 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.0% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $96,517, and the median income for a family was $115,697. Males had a median income of $60,094 versus $41,331 for females. The per capita income for the town was $41,621. About 3.1% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
Between the 1990 census and the 2000 census, North Hempstead lost some population growth to Queens.

Communities in North Hempstead

Villages (incorporated)

The Town of North Hempstead contains 31 villages:

The Town of North Hempstead includes the following unincorporated hamlets, which are governed by North Hempstead:

Cow Neck, or Manhasset Neck – A peninsula into the Long Island Sound.
Great Neck – A peninsula into the Long Island Sound.
Hempstead Harbor – A bay of the Long Island Sound.
Lake Success – A lake near the western town line.
Little Neck Bay – A bay of the Long Island Sound.
Manhasset Bay – A bay of the Long Island Sound.
United States Merchant Marine Academy – located in Kings Point.
Government

The Town of North Hempstead is governed by a seven-member board composed of six council members and the Town Supervisor. Council members are each elected by and represent a single district within the Town. The Supervisor is elected at-large and represents the entirety of the Town. In addition to Supervisor, there are two other town-wide positions elected at-large: Town Clerk and Receiver of Taxes.

Elected officials

Supervisor

As of January 2024, the Town Supervisor of North Hempstead is Jennifer S. DeSena.
The following is a list of North Hempstead's supervisors, from 1784 to present:

Supervisor's name	Year in office	Residence
Adrian Onderdonck	1784–1786	Manhasset
Richard Throne	1786–1787	Great Neck
Adries Hegeman Sr.	1787–1809	Flower Hill
Lawrence Denton	1809–1819	Herricks
John B. Kissam	1819–1821	Herricks
Singleton Mitchell	1821–1829	Manhasset
Henry I. Hagner	1829–1830	Herricks
William L. Mitchell	1830–1838	Great Neck
John Willis	1838–1846	Westbury
Silvanus S. Smith	1846–1853	East Herricks
John S. Wood	1853–1854	Westbury
John M. Clark	1854–1855	Westbury
Andrew J. Hegeman	1855–1856	Manhasset
John M. Clark	1856–1868	Westbury
Benjamin W. Allen	1868–1870	Great Neck
Henry D. Remsen	1870–1873	Great Neck
John M. Clark	1873–1874	Westbury
Henry D. Remsen	1874–1875	Great Neck
Samuel Willets	1875–1877	Westbury
John M. Clark	1877–1882	Westbury
Jacob S. Powell	1882–1885	Manhasset
Augustus Denton	1885–1886	New Hyde Park
Jacob S. Powell	1886–1889	Manhasset
John T. Woolley	1889–1890	Lake Success
John M. Clark	1890–1892	Westbury
Augustus Denton	1892–1893	New Hyde Park
Jacob S. Powell	1893–1895	Manhasset
Augustus Denton	1895–1900	New Hyde Park
Edwin C. Willets	1900–1903	Roslyn
Eugene V. Willis	1903–1904	Mineola
Edwin C. Willets	1904–1907	Roslyn
Philip J. Christ	1907–1917	New Hyde Park
Cornelius E. Remsen	1917–1929	Roslyn
Charles Snedeker	1929–1938	Manhasset
Dwight Rogers	1938	Mineola
Hartford N. Gunn Sr.	1938–1950	Port Washington
Henry A. Sahm	1950–1960	Great Neck
Clinton G. Martin	1960–1965	North New Hyde Park
Solomon Wachtler	1965–1967	Kings Point
Robert C. Meade	1968–1970	Great Neck
Michael J. Tully Jr.	1971–1982	North New Hyde Park
John B. Kiernan	1982–1989	Williston Park
Benjamin L. Zwirn	1990–1993	Port Washington
May W. Newburger	1994–2003	Great Neck
Jon Kaiman	2004–2014	Great Neck
Judi Bosworth	2014–2021	Harbor Hills
Jennifer S. DeSena	2021–present	Strathmore