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Nassau County
County of Nassau
Hempstead House, part of Sands Point Preserve
Hempstead House, part of Sands Point Preserve
Flag of Nassau County
Flag
Official seal of Nassau County
Seal
Map of New York highlighting Nassau County
Location within the U.S. state of New York
Map of the United States highlighting New York
New York's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  New York
Founded 1899
Named for House of Nassau
Seat Mineola
Largest town Hempstead
Area
 • Total 453 sq mi (1,170 km2)
 • Land 285 sq mi (740 km2)
 • Water 169 sq mi (440 km2)  37%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 1,395,774
 • Density 4,897.45/sq mi (1,890.92/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code 516
Congressional districts 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
Population is 2020 official census


Nassau County ( NASS-aw-,__--ow) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead.

Nassau County is situated on western Long Island, bordering New York City's borough of Queens to the west, and Suffolk County to the east. It is the most densely populated and second-most populous county in New York State 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. Nassau County contains two cities, three towns, 64 incorporated villages, and more than 60 unincorporated hamlets. Nassau County has a designated police department, fire commission, and elected executive and legislative bodies.

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 United States, and the most affluent in the state of New York, with four of the nation's top ten towns by median income located in the county. Nassau County high school students often feature prominently as winners of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and similar STEM-based academic awards. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the Town of Oyster Bay and the Old Westbury campus of New York Institute of Technology are both globally prominent life sciences research institutions in Nassau County.

Name

The name of the county comes from an old name for Long Island, which was at one time named Nassau, after the Dutch Prince William of Nassau, a member of the House of Nassau, itself named for the German town Nassau. The county colors (orange and blue) are also the colors of the House of Orange-Nassau.

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". However, "Nassau" had the historical advantage of having at one time been the name of Long Island itself, and was the name most mentioned after the new county was proposed in 1875.

History

The area now designated Nassau County was originally the eastern 70% of Queens County, one of the original 12 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, 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). By 1700, very little of Long Island had not been purchased from the native Indians by the English colonists, and townships controlled whatever land had not already been distributed.

The courthouse in Jamaica was torn down by the British during the American Revolution to use the materials to build barracks. 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.

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 population of the three western towns (Flushing, Jamaica, and Newton) 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. Around 1874, the seat of county government was moved to Long Island City from Mineola. 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).

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 and county governments within the borough were dissolved. 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 (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. The Garden City Company (founded in 1893 by the heirs of Alexander Turney Stewart) 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. The land and the buildings have a Mineola postal address, but are within the present day Village of Garden City, which did not incorporate, nor set its boundaries, until 1919.

In 1917, the village 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. 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 Lindberg 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) built many planes for World War II, and later contributed the Apollo Lunar Module to the Space program.

The United Nations Security Council was temporarily located in Nassau County from 1946 to 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 on June 27, 1950, that 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, in general, which is Garden City.) While 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. Republicans won 13 seats in the election and chose Bruce Blakeman as the first Presiding Officer (Speaker). Among the first class of Legislators were Peter J. Schmitt (R-Massapequa), Judith Jacobs (D-Woodbury), John Ciotti (R-North Valley Stream), Dennis Dunne Sr. (R-Levittown), Francis X. Becker (R-Lynbrook), Vincent T. Muscarella (R-West Hempstead), Ed Mangano (R-Bethpage), Michael Fiechter (C-North Bellmore), Roger Corbin (D-Westbury), Salvatore Pontillo (R-Farmingdale), Bruce Nyman (D-Long Beach), Edward Ward (R-Wantagh), Darlene Harris (R-Uniondale), Ed Oppenheimer (D-Rockville Centre), John Canning (R-Sea Cliff), Bruce Blakeman (R-Woodmere), Lisanne Altmann (D-Great Neck), Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), Barbara Johnson (D-Port Washington).

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. 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 New York State 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.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 453 square miles (1,170 km2), of which 285 square miles (740 km2) is land and 169 square miles (440 km2) (37%) is water.

Nassau 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 census and the 2000 census, the county exchanged territory with Suffolk County and lost territory to Queens County. Dozens of CDPs had boundaries changed, and 12 new CDPs were listed.

Countyscape

The Village of Freeport on Baldwin Bay.

Climate

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 is classified as humid subtropical by some definitions. 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.

Adjacent counties

Nassau County borders the following counties:

National protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1900 55,448
1910 83,930 51.4%
1920 126,120 50.3%
1930 303,053 140.3%
1940 406,748 34.2%
1950 672,765 65.4%
1960 1,300,171 93.3%
1970 1,428,080 9.8%
1980 1,321,582 −7.5%
1990 1,287,348 −2.6%
2000 1,334,544 3.7%
2010 1,339,532 0.4%
2020 1,395,774 4.2%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010, 2019

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. 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 New York State population of 19,849,399 and 17.4% of the census-estimated Long Island population of 7,869,820. 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, out of which 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, and 24.1% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.38. The population was 23.3% under the age of 18, and 18.7% who 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. In 2019, there were 474,165 housing units and 446,977 family households. 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 and a per capita income of $51,422. About 5.6% of the population lived at or below the poverty line. 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. 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 (1,815/km2). In 2000, the population density was 4,655 people per square mile (1,797/km2). According to the 2010 census, there were 468,346 housing units at an average density of 1,598 per square mile (617/km2).

Race and ethnicity

Racial groups and ethnicity on Long Island compared to state and nation
Place Population
2010
census
 %
white
 %
black
or
African
American
 %
Asian
 %
Other
 %
mixed
race
 %
Hispanic/
Latino
of any
race
Race Ethnicity
Nassau County 1,339,532 71.0 11.1 7.6 5.9 2.4 14.6
Suffolk County 1,493,350 81.0 7.3 3.4 5.9 2.4 16.5
Long Island Total
(including Brooklyn and Queens)
7,568,304 54.7 20.4 12.3 9.3 3.2 20.5
NY State 19,378,102 65.7 15.9 7.3 8.0 3.0 17.6
USA 308,745,538 72.4 12.6 4.8 7.3 2.9 16.3
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 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. 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.

In 2011, there were about 230,000 Jewish people in Nassau County, 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, spreading eastward from the more established Little India enclaves in Queens. Rapidly growing Chinatowns have developed in Brooklyn and Queens, as did earlier European immigrants, such as the Irish and Italians. As of 2019, the Asian population in Nassau County had grown by 39% since 2010 to an estimated 145,191 individuals, including approximately 50,000 Indian Americans and 40,000 Chinese Americans, as Nassau County has become the leading suburban destination in the U.S. for Chinese immigrants. Likewise, the Long Island Koreatown originated in Flushing, Queens, and is expanding eastward along Northern Boulevard and into Nassau County. The New York Times cited a 2002 study by the non-profit group ERASE Racism, which determined that Nassau, and its neighboring county, Suffolk, as the most de facto racially segregated suburbs in the United States.

Religious groups on Long Island compared to state and nation
Place Population
2010
census
 %
Catholic
 % not
affiliated
 %
Jewish
 %
Protestant
Estimate
of % not
reporting
Nassau County 1,339,532 52 9 16 7 15
Suffolk County 1,493,350 52 21 7 8 11
Long Island Total
(including Brooklyn and Queens)
7,568,304 40 18 12 7 20
NY State 19,378,102 42 20 9 10 16
USA 308,745,538 22 37 2 23 12

Communities

Cities

Towns

County symbols

Sports

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 stadium near Belmont Park in Elmont, returning them to Nassau County.

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 New York Cosmos (1970–1985) of the former North American Soccer League (1968–1984) played for two seasons, 1972 and 1973, at Hofstra Stadium at Hofstra University in Hempstead. The team's name was revived in 2010 with the New York Cosmos (2010) of the new North American Soccer League to also play at Hofstra Stadium, which had been renamed James M. Shuart Stadium in 2002. Nassau County is also the home of the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse, who play at Shuart Stadium. The county also operates several sports events for student-athletes, such as the Nassau County Executive Cup College Showcase.

Belmont Park in Elmont is a major horse racing venue which annually hosts the Belmont Stakes, the third and final leg of the prestigious Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing. The now-demolished Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury hosted auto racing and, from 1940 through 1988, was a popular harness racing track.

Belmont9 1999-05
A pre-race post parade at Belmont Park in 1999

Nassau is home to some famous and historic golf courses. Rockaway Hunting Club, founded in 1878, is the oldest country club in the country. The U.S. Open has been held in Nassau five times, once each at Garden City Golf Club, Inwood Country Club, and Fresh Meadow Country Club, and twice at Bethpage Black Course, the first ever municipally owned course. Courses consistently ranked in the top 100 in the U.S. such as Bethpage Black, Garden City Golf Club, Piping Rock Club, and The Creek are located in the county.

Bethpage Golf Course
The golf course at Bethpage State Park

Nassau County hosted the 1984 Summer Paralympics, marking the first Paralympic Games to be held in the United States.

Education

Nassau County has 56 public school districts, which like post office districts use the same names as a city, hamlet, or village within them, but each sets the boundaries independently. The number of districts and communities do not coincide, therefore the boundaries cannot be the same, and residences often have postal addresses that differ from the name of the hamlet and/or school district in which they are located.

Colleges and universities

US Merchant Marine Academy aerial
The United States Merchant Marine Academy
Hofstra University, Student Center
Hofstra University Student Center

Notable people

  • Matt Cardona – Professional Wrestler, Lived in Nassau County
  • Brian Myers – Professional Wrestler, Lived in Nassau County
  • Jon Gabrus – Lived in Nassau County, worked at Jones Beach State Park as a lifeguard.
  • Bob Keeshan – (Captain Kangaroo) was born in Lynbrook
  • Ben Cohen / Jerry Greenfield – (of Ben & Jerry Ice Cream) both grew up in Merrick
  • Kevin James – was born in Mineola
  • Tatyana Ali—from North Bellmore
  • Carol Alt—lived in the Willistons
  • Criss Angel—from East Meadow
  • Carmelo Anthony – is said to have a home in Hewlett Harbor
  • Marc Anthony – had a home in Brookville, with Jennifer Lopez
  • Judd Apatow—raised in Syosset
  • Fred Armisen – grew up in Valley Stream
  • Ashanti (singer)—native of Glen Cove
  • Dave Attell—raised in Rockville Centre
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg—lived in Rockville Centre after getting married
  • John Barry (composer)—lived in Oyster Bay
  • The Baldwin brothers-in age order: Alec Baldwin (b. 1958), Daniel Baldwin (b. 1960), William Baldwin (b. 1963), and Stephen Baldwin (b. 1966) – were raised in the Nassau Shores area of Massapequa
  • Bruce Blakeman – first Presiding Officer, Port Authority Commissioner, Councilman, County Executive. From Valley Stream
  • Nikki Blonsky—grew up in Great Neck
  • Stephen Boyd (American football)—native of Valley Stream
  • Lorraine Bracco—grew up in Hicksville
  • Nicholas Braun—native of Bethpage
  • Jim Breuer – grew up in Valley Stream
  • Jim Brown—grew up in Manhasset
  • Lenny Bruce—native of Mineola and Bellmore
  • William Cullen Bryant—lived in Cedermere in Roslyn
  • Edward Burns – grew up in Valley Stream
  • Steve Buscemi and Michael Buscemi– grew up in Valley Stream
  • Cab Calloway—lived in Long Beach for a time
  • Eddie Cantor – lived in Great Neck
  • Theresa Caputo—lives in Hicksville
  • William J. Casey—lived in Bellmore and Roslyn Harbor
  • Vernon and Irene Castle—lived in Long Beach
  • Elaine Chao—grew up in Syosset
  • Harry Chapin—lived in Jericho
  • Michael Cimino—grew up in Westbury
  • Speedy Claxton - from Hempstead
  • Billy Crystal—is from Long Beach
  • Anthony Cumia – radio host, owns a home in Roslyn Heights
  • Chuck D—grew up in Roosevelt
  • Al D'Amato—US Senator, former Hempstead Supervisor, lived in Island Park and Lido Beach
  • Michelle DaRosa—also known as Michelle Nolan, grew up in Rockville Centre
  • Carson Daly – resides in Flower Hill
  • Tony Danza—Native of Malverne
  • Candy Darling - lived in Massapequa Park
  • Taylor Dayne—grew up in Baldwin
  • Dave DeBusschere—lived in Garden City
  • Gary Dell'Abate—native of Uniondale
  • Nelson DeMille—lives in Garden City
  • Ted Demme—native of Rockville Centre
  • Jonathan Demme—grew up in Baldwin
  • Brian Dennehy—grew up in Mineola
  • Tim Dillon-grew up in Island Park
  • Mort Drucker—lived in Syosset
  • Julius Erving—native of Roosevelt
  • Everlast – grew up in Valley Stream
  • Perry Farrell—grew up in Woodmere
  • D'Brickashaw Ferguson—grew up in Freeport
  • WC Fields – lived in Great Neck
  • Flavor Flav—grew up in Freeport
  • Whitey Ford—lived in Glen Cove
  • Mike Francesa – radio host. Born in Long Beach, lives in Flower Hill
  • Bev Francis – IFBB professional Australian female bodybuilder, powerlifter, and national shot put champion; lives in Syosset
  • Steve Weinberger – IFBB judge and powerlifter and husband of Bev Francis; lives in Syosset
  • William Gaddis – grew up in Massapequa; later lived in East Hampton
  • John R. Gambling – radio host; lifelong county resident
  • Joe Gatto (comedian)—lives in Lynbrook
  • Pamela Geller – blogger, author, political activist, and commentator
  • Debbie Gibson—grew up in Merrick
  • Danny Green – played high school basketball in Manhasset
  • Ellie Greenwich—lived in Levittown
  • Bill Griffith—raised in Levittown
  • Steve Guttenberg – raised in North Massapequa
  • Tobias Harris – basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers, lives in Syosset
  • John Hampson of Nine Days—lives in Wantagh
  • George "Gabby" Hayes—lived in Baldwin
  • Joey Heatherton—grew up in Rockville Centre
  • Ray Heatherton - lived in Rockville Centre
  • William S. Hofstra—lived in Hempstead
  • Red Holzman—lived in Cedarhurst
  • Al Iaquinta – grew up in Valley Stream
  • Dan Ingram—native of Oceanside
  • Joan Jett—lives in Long Beach
  • Billy Joel – grew up in Hicksville, and has a home in Centre Island
  • Christine Jorgensen—lived in Massapequa Park
  • JWoww—lived in Franklin Square
  • Donna Karen—raised in Woodmere
  • Andy Kaufman—raised in Great Neck and Westbury
  • Charlie Kaufman—grew up in Massapequa
  • Wendy Kaufman—lived in North Woodmere
  • Doris Kearns Goodwin—lived in Rockville Centre
  • Greg Kelly—native of Rockville Centre
  • Alicia Keys – once had a home in Muttontown
  • Jack Kirby—lived in Hewlett Harbor
  • Aline Kominsky-Crumb—native of Long Beach
  • Michael Kors—grew up in Merrick
  • Sandy Koufax—lived in Rockville Centre
  • Ron Kovic—from Massapequa
  • Ed Kranepool—lives in Old Westbury
  • Paul Krugman—grew up in Merrick
  • Tim Kubart—of Postmodern Jukebox is from Farmingdale
  • Ray Kump-grew up in Island Park
  • Jesse Lacey—native of Levittown
  • Erik Larson (author)—lived in Freeport
  • Cyndi Lauper - briefly lived in Valley Stream
  • Adam Lazzara—lived in Bellmore
  • Stan Lee—lived in Hewlett Harbor
  • Carol Leifer—grew up in East Williston
  • The Lemon Twigs—based out of Hicksville
  • John Lennon – briefly lived in Laurel Hollow
  • Alan Jay Lerner—lived in Centre Island
  • Wendy Liebman—grew up in Roslyn
  • Scott Lipsky (born 1981) – tennis player, born in Hempstead
  • Peggy Lipton—raised in Lawrence
  • Lindsay Lohan – her family resides in North Merrick
  • Guy Lombardo - lived in Freeport
  • Jennifer Lopez – had a home in Brookville, with Marc Anthony
  • Susan Lucci – soap opera star grew up and still has a residence in Garden City
  • Chuck Lorre—native of Plainview
  • Lori Loughlin—raised in Oceanside
  • Elliot S. Maggin—DC Comics writer lived in Merrick
  • The Marx Brothers – lived in Great Neck
  • Jackie Martling - grew up in Mineola
  • Christopher Masterson and Danny Masterson are from East Williston
  • John McEnroe – lived in Cove Neck
  • Michael McKean—raised in Sea Cliff
  • Kate McKinnon of Saturday Night Live – grew up in Sea Cliff
  • Anne Meara—raised in Rockville Centre
  • John Melendez—Stuttering John from Howard Stern show—from Massapequa
  • Idina Menzel - from Syosset
  • Method Man—lived in Hempstead
  • Steve Madden—grew up in Lawrence
  • Larry Miller – grew up in Valley Stream
  • Harvey Milk—native of Woodmere and Hewlett
  • MF Doom—lived in Long Beach
  • Eddie Money lived in Levittown
  • Les Moonves—grew up in Valley Stream
  • Rita Moreno—lived in North Valley Stream
  • Errol Morris—grew up in Hewlett
  • Sterling Morrison—native of East Meadow
  • John Moschitta Jr.—native of Uniondale
  • Charlie Murphy—grew up in Roosevelt
  • Eddie Murphy—grew up in Roosevelt
  • Elliott Murphy—from Rockville Centre
  • Billy Murray (singer)—lived in Freeport
  • John Nolan (musician)—grew up in Rockville Centre
  • Ole Olsen (comedian)—lived for a time in Malverne
  • Momina Mustehsan – Pakistani singer, engineer; lives part-time in Nassau County
  • Bill O'Reilly – resides in Plandome; grew up in Westbury
  • Daryl Palumbo—lived in Bellmore
  • Adam Pascal—lived in Woodbury
  • Slim Jim Phantom—grew up in Massapequa
  • Natalie Portman – actress, grew up in Syosset
  • Gary Portnoy—lived in North Woodmere
  • C.W. Post and his daughter Marjorie Merriweather Post lived in Brookville. Her daughter, actress Dina Merrill spent time there too
  • Thomas Pynchon – grew up in Oyster Bay
  • pH-1 – singer and rapper, grew up on Long Island
  • Prodigy (rapper) --- native of Hempstead
  • Lee Ranaldo—native of Glen Cove
  • Lou Reed - Grew up in Freeport
  • Busta Rhymes—from Uniondale
  • Joel Rifkin—lived in East Meadow
  • Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US president, lived on Oyster Bay during his presidency. His estate, Sagamore Hill, is now a US National Historic Site
  • Eleanor Roosevelt and her father Elliott Roosevelt lived in Salisbury
  • Jeff Rosenstock—from Baldwin
  • Lonny Ross—native of Wantagh
  • Bob Rozakis and Laurie Rozakis live in the town of Oyster Bay
  • Rick Rubin—grew up in Lido Beach
  • Scott Rudin—from Baldwin
  • Chris Russo—from Syosset
  • Telly Savalas—native of Garden City
  • Shaggy – lives in Valley Stream
  • Jerry Seinfeld – grew up in Massapequa
  • Brian Setzer—grew up in Massapequa
  • Amy Schumer—from Oceanside
  • Adrienne Shelly—grew up in Jericho
  • Kevin Shinick—native of Merrick
  • Jamie-Lynn Sigler—native of Jericho
  • Helen Slater—from Bethpage
  • Elinor Smith—lived in Freeport
  • Greg Smith (American musician)—grew up in Valley Stream
  • Dee Snider—native of Baldwin
  • Lara Spencer—native of Garden City
  • Frank Springer—grew up in Malverne
  • Howard Stern - grew up in Roosevelt
  • Jim Steinman—native of Hewlett
  • Laura Stevenson—lived in Rockville Centre
  • Brandon Tartikoff - raised in Freeport
  • Taz (wrestler)—lived in Massapequa
  • John Tesh—native of Garden City
  • Vinny Testaverde—grew up in Elmont
  • LaMarcus Adna Thompson—lived in Glen Cove
  • Louis Comfort Tiffany—lived in Laurel Hollow
  • Moe Tucker—grew up in Levittown
  • Reginald VelJohnson—lives in Oceanside
  • Frank Viola—native of East Meadow
  • James Watson—lives in Laurel Hallow
  • Chris Weidman – Mixed martial artist and former middleweight champion in the UFC (honored with 'Chris Weidman Day' on July 17 in Nassau County)
  • Leslie West—grew up in East Meadow and Lawrence
  • Walt Whitman—lived in Hempstead
  • Robin Wilson (musician)—Lives in Valley Stream
  • Paul Zaloom—native of Garden City
  • Alan Zweibel—lived in Woodmere and Wantagh
  • Levar Stoney – mayor of Richmond, Virginia; was born in Nassau County

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Nassau (Nueva York) para niños

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Nassau County, New York Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.