Garden City

History

19th century

In 1869, Irish-born millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart bought a portion of the lightly populated Hempstead Plains. In a letter, Stewart described his intentions for Garden City:

Having been informed that interested parties are circulating statements to the effect that my purpose in desiring to purchase the Hempstead Plains is to devote them to the erection of tenement houses, and public charities of a like character, etc. I consider it proper to state that my only object in seeking to acquire these lands is to devote them to the usual purposes for which such lands, so located, should be applied that is, open them by constructing extensive public roads, laying out the lands in parcels for sale to actual settlers, and erecting at various points attractive buildings and residences, so that a barren waste may speedily be covered by a population desirable in every respect as neighbour taxpayers and as citizens. In doing this I am prepared and would be willing to expend several millions of dollars.

The new community's central attraction was the Garden City Hotel. It was replaced by a new hotel in 1895, designed by the acclaimed firm of McKim, Mead & White. This hotel was destroyed by fire in 1899 and then rebuilt and expanded, before being replaced again in 1983. The hotel still stands on the original grounds, as do many nearby Victorian homes. Access to Garden City was provided by the Central Railroad of Long Island, another Stewart project that he undertook at the same time. This railroad, in conjunction with the Flushing & North Side Railroad, ran from Long Island City through Garden City to Farmingdale (with a spur to the location of the Stewart's brickworks in Bethpage), and then to Babylon. It opened in 1873, with a branch to Hempstead.

Stewart's wife, Cornelia, founded the Cathedral Schools of St. Paul (for boys) and St. Mary (for girls), a Bishop's Residence and the Gothic Cathedral of the Incarnation, which is today the center of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, as well as the final resting place of Alexander Turney Stewart and Cornelia Stewart. This elaborate memorial was completed in 1885. Mrs. Stewart died the following year. In 2008, the Cathedral of the Incarnation underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation and rehabilitation project, which was completed in 2012.

Voters selected Mineola (in the town of North Hempstead) as the county seat of the new county of Nassau in November 1898 (before Mineola incorporated as a village in 1906 and set its boundaries), winning out over Hicksville and Hempstead. The Garden City Company (founded in 1893 by Alexander Turney Stewart's heirs) donated 4 acres (1.6 ha) of land for the county buildings just south of the Mineola train station and the present-day Incorporated Village of Mineola, in the Town of Hempstead. The land and the buildings have a Mineola postal address but are within the present-day village of Garden City, which did not incorporate or set its boundaries until 1919. The early village did well due to its proximity to Hempstead, at the time Long Island's commercial center. In time, thanks to the railroad and automobiles, Garden City's population increased.

20th century

In 1910, Doubleday, Page, and Co., one of the world's most important publishers, moved its operations to the east side of Franklin Avenue and had its own train station called Country Life Press added nearby. Doubleday purchased much of the land on the west side of Franklin Avenue, and built estate homes for many of its executives on Fourth Street. In 1916, company co-founder and Garden City resident Walter Hines Page was named Ambassador to Great Britain.

In 1907, the Garden City Estates neighborhood – located to the immediate west of the original Garden City development – was established.

Aviation played a big role in the Village's history. The Nassau Boulevard Aerodrome, west of the Estates section, hosted the Second International Aviation Meet in 1911, which featured the first official airmail service. Other airfields included the Washington Avenue Field and the Hempstead Aerodrome, which became Roosevelt Field before being replaced by the Roosevelt Field Mall in the 1950s.

In 1919, Garden City incorporated as a village. Through this municipal incorporation, the Garden City Estates section – along with roughly all other areas within the boundaries of the Garden City School District – merged with the older part of Garden City, being incorporated into the new village's territory. This was made possible through an agreement reached between all major neighborhoods in the new village, to ensure balanced representation in the village government and to reduce opposition to the plan by addressing such concerns; this agreement is known as the Community Agreement.

Garden City's growth during the early 20th century promoted the development of many nearby towns, including Stewart Manor, Garden City Park, Garden City South and East Garden City.

The Village is home to three golf courses, the first having been laid out under Devereux Emmet's direction in 1896 and now called the Garden City Golf Club. Subsequently, the now-named Cherry Valley Club (originally Salisbury Club) and Garden City Country Club opened. For a short time in the late 1920s a fourth course existed, the Old Westbury Golf Club (initially the Intercollegiate Golf Club), east of Clinton Road (CR 1).

21st century

In 2001, 23 Garden City residents were murdered in the September 11 attacks. Every year on the anniversary of the attack, the Garden City Fire Department holds a remembrance ceremony. A bell tolls after the reading of each of the 23 residents' names, which are etched in the memorial monument stone on the Village Green.

The village celebrated its centennial in 2019 – 100 years after its incorporation as a village.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the village has an area of 5.3 square miles (14 km2), all land.

The village lost some territory between the 1990 census and the 2000 census.

Garden City is about 18.5 miles (29.8 km) east of Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

Drainage

Garden City is primarily within the Mill River Watershed, though its westernmost portions are within the Hook Creek Watershed; the dividing line between the two runs north–south, roughly along Nassau Boulevard.

Both the Mill River and Hook Creek Watersheds are within the Long Island Sound/Atlantic Ocean Watershed.

Greater Garden City area

In addition to the Incorporated Village of Garden City, the Garden City 11530 ZIP code includes another incorporated village, Stewart Manor, and two unincorporated areas of the Town of Hempstead: East Garden City (which was absorbed by the CDP of Uniondale in the 2010s) and Garden City South.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Garden City had a population of 23,272. The median age was 41.8 years. 24.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.9 males age 18 and over.

The population density was 4,059.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,567.4/km2). 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 7,513 households in Garden City, of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 70.6% were married-couple households, 8.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 7,715 housing units, of which 2.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%.

The median income for a household in the village was $186,607. The per capita income for the village was $83,823.

Arts and culture

Garden City is home to the landmarked Cathedral of the Incarnation; this landmarked cathedral – the tallest building in the village – is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. The Village of Garden City's local building laws specify that no building within village limits can be taller than the cathedral.

Parks and recreation

The Village of Garden City owns and operates several park and recreational facilities throughout the village. These facilities include the Garden City Community Park and the Garden City Village Pool, Edgemere Park, the Hemlock Playground, Rainbow Monument Park, Triangle Park, St. Paul's Recreation Complex, the Garden City Senior Center, and several other parks and recreational facilities of varying sizes and amenities.

Village-owned park and recreational facilities are maintained by the Village of Garden City Department of Recreation and Parks.

Government

Village government

The Village of Garden City is governed by the Garden City Board of Trustees, which consists of eight members, including a mayor and trustees. Each trustee serves a two-year term, without compensation.

As of June 2026, the Mayor of Garden City is Edward T. Finneran.

The Mayor and Trustees are elected via a "Community Agreement," in which the Village's four Property Owners' Associations – East, West, Central, and Estates, representing the different areas of the Village – hold primary elections in January. Winners are entered on the official ballot in March as the "Community Agreement Party."

From the time of the Village's incorporation until 2021, the candidates were selected by committees on the Property Owners' Associations, upon submitting a letter and resume.

Additionally, the Board of Trustees hires a village administrator, which oversees village operations and performs many of the duties that a village clerk would usually do. The Village Administrator is Ralph V. Suozzi – the former Mayor of the City of Glen Cove and the cousin of U.S. Congressman Thomas R. Suozzi.

Garden City has its own police department and volunteer fire department. Firefighting operations are conducted from three fire houses across the Village.

The Department of Recreation and Parks maintains many programs for Village residents, and operates the Community Pool in the Summer months. The Senior Center is used by all ages for meetings and recreational activities. In addition, this commission is responsible for the maintenance of the trees located on streets and municipal property. One of the most important features of the Village is the prohibition of power lines on most streets, allowing the proper development of its street trees.

The Department of Public Works is responsible for the upkeep of the Village. Its equipment is maintained by its own staff at its municipal garage. It provides garbage and rubbish collection, water service, and street maintenance including snow plowing.

Representation in higher government

The portions of Garden City located within the Town of Hempstead – the overwhelming majority of the village's territory – is located in the Town of Hempstead's 2nd council district, which as of August 2025 is represented on the Hempstead Town Council by village resident Thomas E. Muscarella (R–Garden City). Meanwhile, the small portion within the Town of North Hempstead is located in the Town of North Hempstead's 3rd council district, which as of August 2025 is represented on the North Hempstead Town Council by Dennis J. Walsh (R–Mineola).

The Village of Garden City is in Nassau County's 8th Legislative district, which as of August 2025 is represented in the Nassau County Legislature by John J. Giuffrè (R–Stewart Manor).

Garden City is in the New York State Assembly's 19th State Assembly district, which as of August 2025 is represented by Edward P. Ra (R–Garden City South).

Garden City is in the New York State Senate's 6th State Senate district, which as of August 2025 is represented by Siela A. Bynoe (D–Westbury).

The Village of Garden City is almost entirely in New York's 4th Congressional district, which as of August 2025 is represented by Laura A. Gillen (D-Baldwin). The small portion of the village in the Town of North Hempstead is represented by Thomas R. Suozzi (D–Glen Cove), and is in New York's 3rd Congressional district.

Like the rest of New York, Garden City is represented in the United States Senate by Charles E. Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D).

Politics

Garden City has long been a bastion of the Republican Party, giving Republicans in local, statewide, and national races large margins of the vote. In the 2024 United States presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won a majority of the vote in Garden City.

Education

K–12 education

Almost all of Garden City – including nearly all residential properties within the village – is located within the boundaries of the Garden City Union Free School District. A small portion of Terrace Avenue and the western half of Lydia Lane – along with westernmost portion of the Garden City Public Works Yard, meanwhile, are located within the Franklin Square Union Free School District (grades pre-K–6) and Sewanhaka Central High School District (grades 7–12).

Meanwhile, there are two small, uninhabited areas of the village that are in other districts. The northeastern corner of the village by the Clinton Road–Old Country Road intersection is within the boundaries of the Uniondale Union Free School District; and an industrial property in the small portion of the village within the Town of North Hempstead is located within the boundaries of the Mineola Union Free School District.

One independent school (the Waldorf School of Garden City (grades pre-K–12)), and two Roman Catholic elementary schools (K–8) (St. Joseph School and St. Anne School), are within the Village of Garden City. The former St. Paul's School and St. Mary's School are now defunct.

Higher education

In 1929, Adelphi College, which later became Adelphi University, moved from Brooklyn to its present, 76-acre (31 ha) campus in Garden City – a move that, in turn, made the school the first four-year college in either Nassau or Suffolk counties.

Media

Garden City is the city of license for PBS member station WLIW, channel 21, which maintains studio facilities at One Worldwide Plaza in Midtown Manhattan and an auxiliary street-level studio at Lincoln Center on Manhattan's Upper West Side; their transmitter is located atop One World Trade Center. WLIW also maintains a production studio at its former transmitter site on Long Island, in the nearby Nassau County hamlet of Plainview.

Garden City is primarily served by the New York City media market.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Clinton Road (CR 1) traverses the village and is one of its major north–south thoroughfares. Stewart Avenue (CR 177), meanwhile, runs through the middle of the village and serves as its primary east–west thoroughfare. Other major roads within the village are Cathedral Avenue (CR C31), Cherry Valley Avenue (CR C38), Franklin Avenue (CR 5A), Nassau Boulevard (CR D66), New Hyde Park Road (CR 5B), Old Country Road (CR 25), Rockaway Avenue (CR E06), and Washington Avenue (CR 7A).

Additionally, the Village of Garden City maintains approximately 74 miles (119 km) of roads.

Much of Garden City's street network is laid out to resemble the traditional street grid. A major exception is the Mott Section, which features a series of parallel, semicircular streets and numerous north–south streets connecting the crescents.

There are five Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train stations in the village: Stewart Manor, Nassau Boulevard, Garden City, and Country Life Press on the LIRR's Hempstead Branch – and Merillon Avenue on the LIRR's Main Line.

As of August 2025, nine Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus routes pass through and serve the village: the n15, the n22, the n22x, the n24, the n25, the n25/58, the n27, the n35, the n40 and the n40x.

Utilities

National Grid USA provides natural gas to all properties in Garden City connected to natural gas lines.

PSEG Long Island provides power to all homes and businesses within Garden City, on behalf of the Long Island Power Authority.

Garden City is connected to sanitary sewers. The village maintains a sanitary sewer system which flows into Nassau County's sanitary sewer system, which treats the sewage from the village's system at the Nassau County-owned sewage treatment plants on the South Shore.

The Village of Garden City owns and maintains its own water supply system. Most of the village is served by this municipal water supply system, but the Water Authority of Western Nassau County services Village residents in the westernmost part of the Village, west of New Hyde Park Road.

Notable landmarks

Adelphi University

Apostle Houses

Cathedral of the Incarnation

Garden City Hotel

Garden City High School

Nassau County Courthouse

Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building (Old Nassau County Courthouse)

St. Paul's School

Legacy

Garden City inspired the names of several nearby municipalities, and is the namesake of Garden Village, Kentucky.

In popular culture

Film

The film The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), starring James Stewart, features Charles Lindbergh's historical flight to Paris from Roosevelt Field in East Garden City in 1927. Its first few scenes occur at the Garden City Hotel, where Lindbergh had a room reserved (but did not use, contrary to the film's portrayal), and the press corps stayed who were covering the event spent the night prior to his flight; Lindbergh was up all night working on his plane the night before the flight, although he did have dinner and a nap at the Garden City home of his friend, Gregory J. Brandewiede, at 105 Third Street. The opening shot of the film's first scene shows the hotel's front exterior and sign. Subsequent scenes take place – and were filmed – at Roosevelt Field – just outside the village's corporate limits.

Additionally, scenes for The Many Saints of Newark (2021) were filmed at a funeral home within the village.

Other notable films that have been filmed within – or otherwise have scenes set in or make reference to – Garden City include:

The Antics of Ann (1917)

Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965)

Election (1999)

Boiler Room (2000)

Street of the Dead (2008)

The Judgment of Weeping Mary (2008)

Music

Musician and Garden City native John Tesh's fourth album (released in 1989) is titled Garden City (Cyprus Records) as a nod to his hometown; the album includes a song with the same title. The record company he created in 1995 and currently owns is Garden City Records.