Manhasset

Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,080 at the 2010 census.

As with other unincorporated communities in New York, its local affairs are administered by the town in which it is located, the Town of North Hempstead, whose town hall is in Manhasset, making the hamlet the town seat.

The name "Manhasset" was adopted in 1840. It is most likely the anglicized rendition of the name of a local Native American tribe[1] whose name translates to "the island neighborhood".[2][3]

The Matinecock had a village on Manhasset Bay.[4][5] These Native Americans called the area Sint Sink, meaning "place of small stones".[4][5] They made wampum from oyster shells. In 1623, the area was claimed by the Dutch West India Company and they began forcing English settlers to leave in 1640. A 1643 land purchase made it possible for English settlers to return to Cow Neck (the peninsula where present-day Port Washington, Manhasset, and surrounding villages are located.).[6]

Manhasset Bay was previously known as Schout's Bay (a schout being roughly the Dutch equivalent of a sheriff), Martin Garretson's Bay (Martin Garretson was the Schout at one point), and later Cow Bay or Cow Harbor.[5] Cow Neck was so called because it offered good grazing land. By 1659, there were over 300 cows and 5 mi (8 km) fence separating Cow Neck from the areas to the south. The settlers came to an agreement that each of them could have one cow on the neck for each section of fence the individual had constructed. The area was more formally divided among the settlers when the fence was removed in 1677. Manhasset took on the name Little Cow Neck, Port Washington was known as Upper Cow Neck.[6]

During the American Revolution, Little Cow Neck suffered at the hands of the British. Many structures and properties, such as the 1719 Quaker Meeting House were burned, seized or damaged. The Town of North Hempstead separated from the Town of Hempstead in 1784 because the South, inhabited mainly by Church of England people, was loyal to the king. The Northern communities and villages, dominated by Yankee Congregationalists supported independence.[6]

In 1801, it cost two cents to travel between Roslyn and Spinney Hill on the North Hempstead Turnpike, the newly opened toll road (now Northern Boulevard).[6]

The Manhasset name was adopted in 1840 and comes from the native word "Manhanset", roughly meaning "the island neighborhood."[7] Dairy farming was still a major endeavor, but the oyster industry was also on the rise. In 1898, the Long Island Railroad arrived, bringing with it wealthy New Yorkers looking for country homes with easy transportation to more urban areas of New York City.[6] Manhasset Valley and Spinney Hill attracted a number of skilled workers and immigrant families.[6]

The North Hempstead Town Hall opened in Manhasset on Plandome Road in 1907.[6] Town councilmen had previously been meeting in Roslyn taverns after North Hempstead split away from Hempstead in 1775.

The Manhasset Valley School, originally built to serve the children of the help on the local Gold Coast Estates, eventually came to serve Manhasset's African American community, and was closed in the 1960s by a desegregation lawsuit. It is still standing and is currently used as a community center. The centrally located but antiquated Plandome Road School was demolished in the early 1970s, having been replaced by the new Shelter Rock School by 1969. Currently, Mary Jane Davies Green sits on the site of the old school.

Manhasset is served by the Nassau County Police Department, with the Sixth Precinct station house located on Community Drive, just south of Northern Boulevard. RMPs 608 and 616 are the cars assigned to patrol duties in Manhasset. In 2005, a Wall Street Journal article ranked Manhasset as the best town for raising a family in the New York metropolitan area.[8] The Manhasset area, settled by 1680, grew quickly after it began being served by the Long Island Rail Road in 1898. The LIRR provides access to New York City via the Manhasset station with an approximately 40 minute commute to Penn Station. Express trains, which run during rush hour, make the trip in less than 30 minutes. The hamlet of Manhasset is located 19.5 miles (29.2 km) away from midtown Manhattan.

In the 2010s and 2020s, talks have been restarted to connect the businesses on Plandome Road to sanitary sewers operated by the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District.[9][10][11] These proposals have been discussed for decades but historically had been met with opposition, ultimately killing some of the earlier plans.[9][10][11]

There have been several unsuccessful attempts over the years – especially throughout the 1940s – for some or all of the unincorporated areas of Manhasset to incorporate as villages.[12][13][14][15][16][17] The most recent proposal to incorporate the hamlet took place in 2016.[17]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2), of which 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (1.24%) is water.

In addition to the unincorporated areas of Manhasset proper (Bayview, the Strathmores (North and South Strathmore, Strathmore Village, and Strathmore–Vanderbilt), Shorehaven, Terrace Manor, Manhasset Park, Manhasset Gardens, and Norgate), the Greater Manhasset area also includes three incorporated villages: Munsey Park, Plandome, and Plandome Heights; and parts of three others: Flower Hill, Plandome Manor, and North Hills.[18]

As of the census[19] of 2010, there were 8,080 people and 2,744 households residing in the census-designated place (CDP) which covers 2.38 square miles. The population density was 3,392.1 per square mile (1,309.7/km2). According to the 2018 American Community Survey,[20] the racial makeup of the CDP is estimated to be 72.5% white (65.1 non-Hispanic white), 13.8% Asian, 8.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.0% Pacific Islander, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.9% of the population.

There were 2,744 households, out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.2% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.28. The population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18 and 19.2% 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $133,456, and the median income for a family was $180,086. The per capita income in the CDP was $72,973. 5.5% of the population and 4.0% of families were below the poverty line. 6.3% of people under 18 years of age and 4.6% of people 65 and older had incomes below the poverty line.

Manhasset is well known for its high-end premium, open-air shopping center, the Americana Manhasset. The center is situated along Northern Boulevard's "Miracle Mile" which is referred to in Billy Joel's 1980 hit "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me". The Americana first opened in 1956 as a simple community-style shopping mall; however, in the early 2000s, it gradually it catered to luxury goods boutiques such as Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Theory, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Burberry, among others.[21] Manhasset has supported branches of some of the most well known stores in New York over the years—B. Altman and Company, Bonwit Teller, Abraham & Straus, Best & Co., Arnold Constable, Franklin Simon & Co., Peck & Peck, W. & J. Sloane, J.J. Newberry, Lord & Taylor, and Waldbaum's.

The commercial center of Manhasset is situated around the railroad station on Plandome Road, where the LIRR connects directly into Manhattan for a 37-minute commute.[22] The area has bakeries, pizzerias, delis, bars, coffee shops, and a movie theater. Centralized in town is a small park and a gazebo. The public library is located 1 block east of Plandome Road on the corner of Onderdonk Avenue and Northern Boulevard, adjacent to the historic Quaker Meeting House.[22]

Prior to the Long Island Rail Road's arrival, the commercial center of Manhasset was located in the Manhasset Valley (near the present-day Manhasset Valley Park), along Manhasset Bay.[22]

The North American headquarters of Sabena were located in a 36,000 square feet (3,300 m2) office building in Manhasset. In April 2002 Knightsbridge Properties Corp. bought the building for $4.9 million. Due to the bankruptcies of Sabena and Swissair, the real estate deal took over a year to finish. During that month the building was 30% occupied. Sabena was scheduled to move out of the building on May 10, 2002. The buyer planned to spend an additional $2 million to convert the building into a multi-tenant, Class A office and medical facility.[23]

Manhasset High School

St. Mary's

Manhasset is mainly served by the Manhasset Union Free School District, and is also home to numerous private schools. Schools in Manhasset include:[24][25]

The Manhasset School District covers not only the unincorporated areas discussed in the census reports, but several incorporated villages including Plandome, Plandome Manor, Munsey Park and part of Flower Hill. Manhasset High School is rated among the top in the country. In the 2010 Newsweek magazine's annual list of the top American high schools, Manhasset is ranked 87th nationally out of the 1,700 schools evaluated.[26]

Manhasset has a locally-operated School Community Association (SCA) instead of electing to be a local chapter of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). The SCA, which boasts great support within the community, annually hosts the SCA fair at Munsey Park School to raise money. Membership dues and profits from fund-raising efforts benefit the schools in Manhasset; no percentage of funds goes to a state or national offices of a larger organization, thus all monies raised benefit the Manhasset schools directly.[27]

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