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The geography of Long Island can be quite confusing, even to current
residents, let alone to those who live in other parts of the country and have never
been to the area. Thus, the following ...
For a good town-by-town map showing all the villages and hamlets in each of
LI's 13 towns, read on:
Each year, LIPA, as successor to LILCO, publishes a report (the report is
published by LIPA, but is written by KeySpan, previously known as LILCO) updating
the census population numbers (by using people-per-electric meter ratios) for
all the 293 communities on Long Island.
There are 2 cities and 13 towns (as well as 2 Indian reservations) in the
bi-counties and the 13 towns (3 in Nassau and 10 in Suffolk) are further
sub-divided into 95 villages (incorporated municipalities) and 196 hamlets
(unincorporated areas), yielding 293 communities (2 + 95 + 196 = 293).
| |
Nassau |
Suffolk |
Total |
| cities |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| villages |
64 |
31 |
95 |
| hamlets |
70 |
126 |
196 |
| total |
136 |
157 |
293 |
The heart of this 40-page report are maps of each of the 13 towns (3 in
Nassau, 10 in Suffolk), showing the true borders of all villages and hamlets (not
the postal zone borders) in each town. The facing pages list which communities
are villages or hamlets and their populations. (You'll find villages and
hamlets that you never knew existed because they are in some other community-named
postal zone.)
I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS
definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone. I consider this the best resource available in understanding the geography
and governmental organization of Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
You can download a copy of the most current edition of the LI
Population Survey by going to:
http://www.lipower.org/company/pubs/popsurvey.html
As supplied by:
Walter Greenspan
soyamaven@AOL.com
Cities, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Postal Zones in New York State
New York State is divided into counties.
County
A county is a municipal corporation, a subdivision of the state, created to
perform state functions; a "regional" government. All counties are divided
into cities, towns and Indian reservations.
City
A city is a unique governmental entity with its own special charter. Cities
are not sub-divided, except into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic
areas.
Town
A town is a municipal corporation and encompasses all territory within the
state except that within cities or Indian reservations. Towns can be
sub-divided into villages and hamlets.
Village
A village is a general purpose municipal corporation formed voluntarily by
the residents of an area in one or more towns to provide themselves with
municipal services. The pattern of village organization is similar to those of a
city. A village is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic
areas.
Hamlet
A hamlet is an unincorporated area in one or more towns that is governed
at-large by the town(s) it is in. A hamlet is divided into neighborhoods, which
are informal geographic areas.
Postal Zone "City" and "Town"
A postal zone "City" and "Town" is an administrative district established by
the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail. Postal zone "City" and "Town" may not (but are encouraged to) conform to municipal or community borders.
Thus, postal zone location does not always determine city, village or hamlet
location.
Please be aware: In many areas of New York State, the problem of
non-conforming postal zones leads to a situation where the majority of places have a
different community name in their mailing address than the community where that
place is actually located.
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