NORTH MERRICK, LONG ISLAND

North Merrick, Long Island

North Merrick is a community and census-designated place located in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York. It has a total area of 1.8 square miles of which, 1.8 square miles of it is land and 0.56% is water. As of the 2000 census, there were 11,844 people, 3,963 households, and 3,285 families residing in the CDP. The median income for a household in the CDP was $80,786, and the median income for a family was $85,190. Males had a median income of $59,054 versus $38,459 for females. North Merrick ZIP Code is 11566. Area Code is 516. The latitude of North Merrick is 40.691N. The longitude is -73.563W. It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 46 feet.

The neighborhood was originally taken its name from an Indian tribe. Its first inhabitants was the Meroke Indians and the area changed hands in 1643 when Sachem Tackapousha signed a treaty with Merrick's first colonists, English settlers who escaped the oppressive reign of King Charles I. During the colonial period, the community became a trading center because vessels could enter Jones Inlet and sail up deep channels to anchorage beside of what is recently the Merrick Road. Several channels, canals and coves made Merrick a haven for buccaneers who preyed on merchants in the war of 1812. In fact, a landowner George Hewlett and two friends were once robbed by the pirates in whaleboats while they were duck hunting, ripping the silver buttons from their coats. In the late 1880s, the development of North Merrick was begun during the construction of the South Shore Rail Road, a predecessor of the Long Island Rail Road. According to the famous researchers in New York, North Merrick is one of the safest neighborhoods in Long Island having no registered sex offenders living in this place in early 2007.

The racial-makeup of North Merrick comprises of 93.57% White, 1.07% African American, 0.09% Native American, 3.19% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Most of its resident’s ancestries were Italian, Irish, German, Polish, Russian, English, Asian Indian, Greek, French, and Chinese. The neighborhood is served by the North Merrick Union Free School District which has a component of a supervisory union sharing a superintendent and administrative services with other local school districts. The district focuses more in developing academic programs conversant with technology, but also giving their students the opportunity of better learning. There are several house of worships can be found in North Merrick such as Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church and Congregation Ohav Sholom. The Sacred Heart Church has a number of parish organizations and a host of ministries that invite one and all to become actively involved in their parish life.