Freeport, New York
Encyclopedia : F : FR : FRE : Freeport, New York
- For other locations with this name, see Freeport.
The Incorporated Village of Freeport is in the southwestern part of Nassau County, lying within the Town of Hempstead. Freeport is also a station on the Long Island Rail Road.
History and culture
History
The village now known as Freeport was called the Great South Woods during Colonial Times. In the mid 1600's, the area was renamed Raynor South, and ultimately Raynortown, after a herdsman named Edward Raynor. Edward had moved to the area from Hempstead in 1659, cleared land and built a cabin. In 1853, residents voted to rename the village Freeport, adopting the nickname used by ship captains during colonial times because they were not charged customs duties to land their cargo. [2] The village was incorporated in 1892 in the Town of Hempstead, in Nassau County, in New York State. Oystering became a thriving industry after the Civil War, although it declined at the beginning of the 20th Century because of changing salinity in the bay and because of pollution.Description
Freeport is located on the south shore of Long Island. The south part of the village is penetrated by several canals that allow access to the Atlantic Ocean by means of passage through salt marshes. Freeport has extensive small boat facilities and a resident fishing fleet, as well as charter and open fishing boats. In the early years Freeport was a tourist and sportsman's destination for its boating and fishing, but after WWII the village became a bedroom community for New York City. The separation between the two eras was marked by the fire that destroyed the Freeport Hotel in the late 1950's.Culture
Freeport is a Long Island hot spot during the summer season in New York. A faved festival occurs on Freeport's Nautical Mile each June, which attracts many people from across Long Island, and NYC. The Nautical Mile is a strip along the water that features their well-known seafood restaurants, crab shacks, bars, eclectic little boutiques, fresh fish monger markets, as well as party cruise ships, and casino boats that float atop the canals. The Nautical Mile had been slumping in appearance, and in recent years, Manhattan's South Street Seaport presented funding to fix up the Nautical Mile & return it to all of her former glory. People line up for the boat rides, and clamor to the many restaurants which provide diners with seating on the waters edge & eat mussels, oysters, crabs, and steamers accompanied by pitchers of beer.Despite recent census pollings that tell another story, Freeport has a sizable African-American population, particularly in the northern section of the village. There are many housing projects, some made famous by hip hop artists like Public Enemy who's own Flavor Flav comes from "Brick Town." There is also a significant Hispanic community, made up of immigrants that hail from Colombia, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and many other Latin American nations. One can go through Freeport and experience the wares, groceries of Latin American cuisine at Compare Foods Warehouse, a Latin American themed supermarket (there are 3 in the village) and, on top of that, there are many Latin American themed grocery stores, restaurants dotting Merrick Road and Main Street that display Caribbean food, Central American food, Dominican food and South American food. The differences in these ethnic fares are substantial! While most of Long Island boasts their delicatessen, Freeport is home to the bodega.
Across town, you have the South Side, with many suburban homes gracefully adorning a canal system. Residents of this town are quick to let you know exactly which part of Freeport they hail from, because it makes all the difference in lifestyle.
Freeport is also the gateway to Jones Beach, one of the largest state beaches in the State of New York. One famous area is the Town of Hempstead Marina where people all over the island come to dock their boats. Even though it's surrounded by water, and the beach is always nearby, Freeport continues to thrive as a small city, not a town. Freeport is a 35-40 minute ride by Long Island Railroad to Manhattan, making the trip quite easy for commuters, and those seeking a city lifestyle.
Freeport was also one of the few towns to hold a sizeable open air market area, known as the Freeport Mall. The mall became a site of concern for residents as violence over took in the evenings, and is no longer a major shopping area.
The children of Freeport, in grades 1-4, are segregated by which part of town they are from, as it dictates which public school they will attend. There are 3 schools for the south side, Archer, New Visions, and Giblyn, and 1 for the north & the middle sections of Freeport, Bayview Avenue School. When the children get to grade 5 & 6, they all come together at Atkinson School, which resides on the North side of the town. Then they are off to Dodd Junior Highschool, which is a frightening looking establishment that some say looks like prison, and after their 2 years Junior High, it's off to Freeport Highschool, which borders the town of Baldwin, and sits beside pleasant Millburn Duck pond. Freeport Highschool uses the Devil as a mascot, and its colors are red & white. The school is quite large, and has an admirable track & field. Despite fears of gang warfare, the Freeport educational curriculum is quite vast, on par with the rest of Long Island, and better.
Until the late 1970's, Freeport was home to a race track which showcased stock car racing, and crash up derbies. The site that once housed Freeport Speedway, also known as Freeport Municipal Stadium, is now a shopping mall.
Freeport is still home to a large ice skating rink at the Freeport Recreation Center. The recreation center features one indoor olympic size pool, one outdoor olympic size pool, an outdoor diving tank, a large outdoor kiddy pool, tennis court, sauna, steam room, fully equipped gym, basketball courts, and a sizeable snack bar serving hot & cold foods. The Rec Center, as it's known, also offers up some of its space for evening adult classes.
Freeport does not have the best reputation, and is often scowled upon by its more affluent, less diverse neighbors in Merrick. Speaking with Freeport residents usually brings up a line of defense, as most seem very proud to hail from the little city village of Long Island. One of its most famous residents, Lou Reed, escaped the town for the more urban life of New York City.
Geography
Freeport is located at (40.653935, -73.587005)[Geographic references#1GR1].Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 43,783 people, 13,504 households, and 9,911 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,682.9/km² (9,531.3/mi²). There were 13,819 housing units at an average density of 1,162.4/km² (3,008.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 42.92% White, 32.57% African American, 0.46% Native American, 1.38% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 17.21% from other races, and 5.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 33.46% of the population.There were 13,504 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.65.
In the village the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $55,948, and the median income for a family was $61,673. Males had a median income of $37,465 versus $31,869 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,288. About 8.0% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.
Famous Freeporters
Graduates of Freeport High School include:- Kevin Connelly, writer
- Flavor Flav, rapper
- Morlon Greenwood, Houston Texans linebacker
- Mitch Kapor, software entrepreneur and philanthropist
- Lou Reed, musician
- Dick Schaap, sportswriter
- Lisa Tolliver, media personality and academic-practitioner
- Harold Varmus, Nobel Prize laureate
NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff was born in Freeport.
Freeport was also the home to musician Guy Lombardo during the latter portion of his life. His former residence on South Grove Street (now Guy Lombardo Avenue) included a boat house where he kept his powerful speed boats, which he raced on the ocean.
Author and former priest Tom Phelan [link] lives in Freeport, where he served at Our Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church before leaving the priesthood.
External links
- [Freeport official website]
- [Freeport Historical Society]
- [New York Auto Racing History]
- [The Raynor Family]
- [Newsday Our Island OUr History:]
- [Freeport Historical Society News Page]
- [Long Island.com: Welcome to the Village of Freeport]
- [Newsday.com Long Island History: Freeport]
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