Hempstead, New York

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Hempstead, New York
Town of Hempstead
Town Hall
Town Hall
Map of Hempstead
Map of Hempstead
Hempstead, New York is located in New York
Hempstead, New York
Hempstead, New York
Location within the state of New York
Country United States
State New York
County Nassau
 • Type Town Council
 • Town Supervisor Kate Murray (R)
 • Town Council
 • Total 191.3 sq mi (495.5 km2)
 • Land 120.0 sq mi (310.7 km2)
 • Water 71.4 sq mi (184.8 km2)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 759,757
 • Density 4,000/sq mi (1,500/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s) 516
Website www.toh.li
Town’s location in Nassau County


If the town were to be incorporated as a city it would be the second largest city in New York behind New York City and ahead of Buffalo, and it would be the 16th largest city in the country, between Columbus, Ohio and Fort Worth, Texas. The town's population density is also greater than that of Columbus and Fort Worth.


The town was first settled around 1644 following the establishment of a treaty between English colonists, John Carman and Robert Fordham, and the Indians in 1643. Although the settlers were from the English colony of Connecticut, a patent was issued by New Amsterdam after the settlers had purchased land from the local natives. This transaction is depicted in a mural in the Hempstead Village Hall, reproduced from a poster commemorating the 300th anniversary of Hempstead Village.

In local Dutch-language documents of the 1640s and later, the town was invariable called Heemstede,[2] while several of Hempstead's original fifty patentees were Dutch, suggesting that Hempstead was named after the Dutch town and/or castle Heemstede. However, it is possible that the authorities had Dutchified a name given by co-founder John Carman, who was born in 1606 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, on ancestral land owned by his ancestors since the 13th-century.[3]

In 1664, the new settlement adopted the Duke's Laws, an austere set of laws that became the basis upon which the laws of many colonies were to be founded. For a time, Hempstead became known as "Old Blue", as a result of the "Blue Laws".[3]


Richard Hewlett, who was born in Hempstead, served as a Lieutenant Colonel with the British Army under General Oliver De Lancey in the American Revolution. Afterwards, Hewlett departed the United States with other Loyalists and settled in the newly created Province of New Brunswick in what later became Canada. The region he settled in preserves a connection in name with his birthplace: Hampstead in Queen's County, which lies next to Long Island in the Saint John River.[citation needed]

Government and politics[edit]

The Town is headed by the Supervisor, currently Kate Murray (R-Levittown). The responsibilities of the office include presiding over meetings of the Town Council and directing the legislative and administrative function of that body. The position also entails creating and implementing the town's budget. Murray is the first woman elected to this office. One famous former supervisor was Republican Alfonse D'Amato, who later represented New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999.

The Town Council comprises six voting members, elected from a councilmatic district. Their primary function is to adopt the annual budget, adopting and amending the town code and the building zone ordinances, adopting all traffic regulations, and hearing applications for changes of zone and special exceptions to zoning codes.

As of the 2005 local elections, the council members are:

  1. Dorothy L. Goosby (D-Hempstead Village)
  2. Edward A. Ambrosino (R-North Valley Stream)
  3. James Darcy (R-Valley Stream)
  4. Anthony J. Santino (R-East Rockaway)
  5. Angie M. Cullin (R-Freeport)
  6. Gary Hudes (R-Levittown)

Other elected officials in the town include the clerk and the receiver of taxes. The clerk is responsible for issuing birth, marriage, and death certificates and is considered the town's record keeper. The clerk is currently Nasrin Ahmad of Salisbury. The Receiver of Taxes is Donald X. Clavin, Jr., of Garden City, New York.

State and federal representation[edit]

Hempstead is part of New York's 2nd and 4th Congressional Districts. District 2, represented by Peter T. King (R-Seaford), is the southern and eastern portions of the town, while District 4, represented by Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola), is the northern and western portions of the town.

Hempstead is in parts of New York's 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Senatorial Districts. They are currently represented by Kemp Hannon (R), Jack Martins (R), Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R), and Dean Skelos (R), respectively.

Eight assembly districts are either within or partly within the town. They are Districts 12, 14-15, and 17-21. The assembly members are Joseph Saladino (R), Brian F. Curran (R), Michael Montesano (R), Thomas McKevitt (R), Earlene Hill Hooper (D), David G. McDonough (R), Harvey D. Weisenberg (D), and Edward Ra (R), respectively.

County Legislators[edit]

Hempstead has 12 county legislative districts either within or in part of the town. They are districts 1-8, 13-15, and 19. The legislators who represent those districts are:
1. Kevan Abrahams
2. Robert Troiano
3. Carrie Solages
4. Denise Ford
5. Laura Curran
6. Francis X. Becker, Jr.
7. Howard Kopel
8. Vincent Muscarella
13. Norma L. Gonsalves
14. Laura Schaefer
15. Dennis Dunne, Sr.
19. David Denenberg


Though the town government is still controlled by the Republicans (and has been for almost the entire history of the party), town voters in recent years leaned Democratic in elections on the state and federal level. In the last three presidential elections, the Democrat has won decisively in Hempstead (Bill Clinton received 56% in 1996, Al Gore received 58% in 2000 and John Kerry got 53% in 2004). Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer won Hempstead by a large margin in 2004, Democratic County Executive Thomas Suozzi won here in 2001 and 2005, and most of the town is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Democrat Carolyn McCarthy, who has consistently won over 60% of the vote in the last few election cycles.


According to a Newsday survey, the Town of Hempstead is Long Island's 47th largest single employer with a total of 1,974 employees.[citation needed]

Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines have their United States headquarters in East Meadow.[4][5][6] At one time Swiss operated its United States office at 776 RexCorp Plaza in the EAB Plaza in Uniondale. The airline moved from 41 Pinelawn Road in Melville, Suffolk County around 2002.[7][8]




The west town line is the border of Queens County, New York, in New York City. Its northern border is along the main line of the Long Island Rail Road and along Old Country Road in Garden City heading east towards the Wantagh Parkway. Its eastern border runs parallel (and several hundred feet west of) Route 107. To the south is the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Atlantic Beach, Lido, Pt. Lookout, and Jones Beach. The town is located on Long Island.

The most popular beach on the east coast of the United States, Jones Beach is located in Hempstead. The beach is a popular destination for Long Islanders and residents of New York City. The beach itself receives about six million visitors a year.


The town of Hempstead contains 22 villages and 37 hamlets:




Historical populations
Census Pop.
1850 8,811
1860 12,376 40.5%
1870 13,999 13.1%
1880 18,164 29.8%
1890 23,756 30.8%
1900 27,066 13.9%
1910 44,027 62.7%
1920 70,790 60.8%
1930 180,735 155.3%
1940 259,318 43.5%
1950 432,506 66.8%
1960 740,738 71.3%
1970 801,592 8.2%
1980 738,517 −7.9%
1990 725,639 −1.7%
2000 755,924 4.2%
2010 759,757 0.5%





State parks[edit]

See also[edit]


  3. ^ a b "History of The Village of Hempstead". The Incorporated Village of Hempstead. 2006. Retrieved August 9, 2010. 
  6. ^ "East Meadow CDP, New York." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 29, 2011.
  9. ^ "Town of Hempstead Map". Retrieved 2007-12-23. 

External links[edit]