Floral Park, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Floral Park is an incorporated village in Nassau County, New York on Long Island. The population was 15,967 at the 2000 census. The village is at the western border of Nassau County, and is located in both the Town of Hempstead and the Town of North Hempstead. The neighborhood of Floral Park, Queens is adjacent to the village.
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[edit] History
Floral Park was known as East Hinsdale in 1874, when John Lewis Childs arrived there to work for C.L. Allen as a seed seller. After building his own seed and bulb business, and starting America's first seed catalogue business, Childs bought the land around the Hinsdale Post Office; to promote his own business and the local horticultural industry, Childs named the local streets after flowers and renamed the area Floral Park. The Post Office (its work dominated by Childs' catalogue busines) soon took the Floral Park name, and the Long Island Rail Road followed suit by changing the name of the East Hinsdale station to Floral Park in 1888. Formerly part of Queens, New York, Floral Park became part of the new county of Nassau in 1899, and it was incorporated as a village, with Childs as its president, in 1908.
[edit] Government
The village has a mayor-council form of government. The current mayor is Phil Guarnieri; the four-member village board is comprised of trustees Kevin J. Greene, Gerard M. Bambrick, Thomas J. Tweedy,and James E. Rhatigan.
Floral Park has its own police force, which is currently comprised of two lieutenants, six sergeants, two detectives and twenty-five police officers, and is commanded by police commissioner Michael Reid.
Floral Park also has a volunteer fire department, led by Chief Joe O'Grady and assistant chiefs Kevin Kelleher, Frank Wakely, Jr., Richard Militello, and Everett Ulmer. The department consists of 3 engine companies, one ladder company, and one rescue company.
Floral Park has two political parties: the Citizens Party and the Unity Party.
[edit] Quality of life
Floral Park is considered to have a high standard of living. The violent crime rate in 2003 was 0.8 per 1,000 and there were 0 homicides. This figure is particularly impressive considering that Floral Park borders Floral Park, Queens, a similarly prosperous and peaceful part of New York City proper.
Along with the low crime, the local government ensures that the village is kept visually pleasing as well. Some relevant ordinances include:
- No fences over 6 feet high may be erected, and no wire fences of any sort are allowed.
- No driveway may be enlarged in any way without a permit.
- No car may be parked anywhere but a specified driveway or garage, or the street.
- Cars are not allowed to be parked on the street at night (from 3 AM to 5 AM).
- Snow must be removed from walkways within 12 hours of snowfall.
- Public loitering is prohibited anywhere in the village.
- Properties must be kept clean (81-15)
The village currently owns and maintains 33 various-sized parks. These range from about 10 square feet, to a full village recreation center with five baseball fields, a roller hockey rink, two handball courts, a pool, and a kiddie pool. Membership is required to use these facilities, and member identification must be produced upon request.
[edit] Geography
The western village boundary is the border of New York City.
Floral Park is located at (40.722427, -73.703207)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.5 km² (1.4 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 15,967 people, 5,770 households, and 4,258 families residing in the village. The population density was 4,499.9/km² (11,635.9/mi²). There were 5,892 housing units at an average density of 1,660.5/km² (4,293.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 93.56% White, 0.46% African American, 0.06% Native American, 3.88% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.38% of the population.
There were 5,770 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.9% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the village the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $73,719, and the median income for a family was $87,243. Males had a median income of $56,527 versus $38,592 for females. The per capita income for the village was $31,183. About 2.2% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Two high schools are located in Floral Park: Floral Park Memorial High School and Sewanhaka High School, both of which are part of the Sewanhaka Central High School District (which also includes schools in nearby New Hyde Park, Franklin Square and Elmont.) [1]
There are three elementary schools in Floral Park. Two of them, John Lewis Childs School and Floral Park-Bellerose School, are part of the Floral Park-Bellerose School District (the latter school also serves the neighboring village of Bellerose). [2] Our Lady of Victory Elementary School is operated by the Roman Catholic Our Lady of Victory parish.
[edit] Additional facts about Floral Park
- The composer John Williams was born in Floral Park [3] (although some sources, including the New York Times, cite Flushing as his birthplace [4].)
- Floral Park is a station on the Long Island Rail Road on the Hempstead line between Stewart Manor (east) and Bellerose (west).
- Currently, the village is leading efforts to stop a Long Island Rail Road track expansion project, which would have a severe impact on the village.
- Two newspapers serve Floral Park: The Gateway and The Floral Park Dispatch.
- In the Marvel Comics universe, X-Men member Iceman was born in Floral Park.
- Ex-NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde attended Sewanhaka High School, which is partially in Floral Park.
- Floral Park Memorial High School Students all worked together and helped break the Guiness Book of World Records previous record for most hugs in one hour by a single person. The previous record was 640 hugs in one hour and the new record is now 844 people, with the record being broken in a mere 22 minutes. This event was not only an attempt to break a world record, but also a fundraiser for a scholarship in the honor of two students who lost their lives at the end of the 2005-2006 school year.
[edit] External links
- Floral Park official website
- Our Lady of Victory School
- Floral Park - Bellerose Schools
- History of Floral Park
- Sewanhaka High School District
- Long Island Rail Road Online Museum--Floral Park/East Hinsdale
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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| County | Nassau County, New York |  |
| Villages |
Atlantic Beach · Bellerose · Cedarhurst · East Rockaway · Floral Park · Freeport · Garden City · Hempstead · Hewlett Bay Park · Hewlett Harbor · Hewlett Neck · Island Park · Lawrence · Lynbrook · Malverne · Mineola · New Hyde Park · Rockville Centre · South Floral Park · Stewart Manor · Valley Stream · Woodsburgh |
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| Hamlets |
Baldwin · Baldwin Harbor · Barnum Island · Bay Park · Bellerose Terrace · Bellmore · East Atlantic Beach · East Garden City · East Meadow · Elmont · Franklin Square · Garden City South · Harbor Isle · Hewlett · Inwood · Lakeview · Levittown · Lido Beach · Malverne Park Oaks · Merrick · North Bellmore · North Lynbrook · North Merrick · North Valley Stream · Oceanside · Point Lookout · Roosevelt · Salisbury (South Westbury) · Seaford · South Hempstead · South Valley Stream · Uniondale · Wantagh · West Hempstead · Woodmere |
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| Website: toh.li | ||
| Town of North Hempstead, New York | |||||||||
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