Munsey Park, New York

History

The village was founded in the 1920s on North Shore land previously owned by wealthy publisher Frank Munsey as a commuter town taking advantage of Manhasset railroad station. The land was bequeathed by Munsey to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1925, which developed the planned community under the leadership of Museum President Robert DeForest. It featured Colonial-style houses and streets named after American artists, and its first model home opened in 1928. Since the village was miles away from the Plandome Road School, the Manhasset school district built a conveniently located Munsey Park Elementary School in the 1930s.

The Manhasset Press is designated as the official newspaper of the village. Munsey Park was ranked the 13th(tied) Wealthiest Town in America in 2008 by BusinessWeek.

Board of Trustees

The governing body of Munsey Park is the Village Board of Trustees. The board comprises five elected officials, of whom two are elected as Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Current Board of Trustees:

Building Advisory Committee

In order to maintain the original character of the village, most building permit applications are reviewed by the Building Advisory Committee. Members of the committee are appointed by the Board of Trustees. It is important to note that the committee itself can make no decisions on applications, just recommendations. This power is reserved strictly for the Board of Trustees. However, almost all recommendations made by the committee are upheld by the Board of Trustees.

Board of Appeals

The Board of Appeals is totally independent of the Board of Trustees. Each board member is appointed for a staggered five-year term, which can be renewed. The Board of Appeals primarily acts on an appeal from a disapproval of the Building Inspector, perhaps requesting a variance from the Village Code. This Board is asked to rule on difficult issues and, on occasions, does overturn a ruling of the Board of Trustees. Board of Appeals hearing can require the presence of a court stenographer and, on many such cases, attorneys will be present.

Law Enforcement

The Village of Munsey Park is served by the 3rd Precinct of the Nassau County Police Department. Policing is funded through village and county taxes.

Additional Taxing Districts

Residents of the village also fall under the jurisdiction of several additional taxing districts which provide additional government services. The Village of Munsey Park has no influence over the budget or day-to-day operations of these additional districts.

These include:

Intermunicipal Efforts

The village participates in the following inter-municipal efforts:

Geography

Munsey Park is located at 40°47′59″N 73°40′53″W (40.799716, -73.681523).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,632 people, 817 households, and 731 families residing in the village. The population density was 5,073.4 people per square mile (1,954.3/km²). There were 833 housing units at an average density of 1,605.7 per square mile (618.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 93.35% White, 0.34% African American, 5.66% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population.

There were 817 households out of which 48.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.6% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 10.5% were non-families. 9.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.22 and the average family size was 3.43.

In the village, the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $149,100, and the median income for a family was $159,147. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $46,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $66,772. About 1.6% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.