Garden City

Understand

The Garden City area is known as the "Nassau Hub" due to its central location and concentration of shopping, athletic, and cultural activities. Much of the development is in the hamlet of East Garden City (just outside of the Village of Garden City, within the Uniondale CDP), formerly the site of historic airfields, such as Mitchel Field (also known as Mitchel Air Force Base) and Roosevelt Field. The Village of Garden City holds the main government buildings for Nassau County – although due to a historical anomaly, neighboring Mineola is the county seat.

The development of the Village of Garden City and much of the surrounding area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was largely thanks to the innovative and creative thinking of a wealthy businessman named Alexander Turney Stewart, who built the railway line serving the area (the Hempstead Branch, then the Central Railroad of Long Island) and creating the massive, gorgeous planned community of Garden City.

Considered such a prime, important area, the name of the old hamlet of Plattsdale was changed to Garden City Park around same time as the latter's development – despite also being closely associated with New Hyde Park. Former Nassau County Historian, Richard Winsche, said so.

Get in

By train

There are five Long Island Rail Road stations in the Garden City area:

• Country Life Press. Part of the Hempstead Branch. Located in a residential area in southeastern Garden City near Hempstead.
• Garden City. Part of the Hempstead Branch. Located in central Garden City. Within walking distance of the Garden City Hotel, the Garden City Public Library, and the shops and restaurants on 7th Street and Franklin Avenue.
• Merillon Avenue. Part of the "Main Line" (Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay, and Ronkonkoma Branches), in a mostly residential area in the northwest corner of Garden City, on its border with Garden City Park.
• Nassau Boulevard. Part of the Hempstead Branch, in a residential area in the southwest corner of Garden City. Adelphi University is within walking distance.
• Stewart Manor. Part of the Hempstead Branch, in a residential area on the border of the Villages of Garden City and Stewart Manor.

By car

Garden City is easily accessible by car.

Parking on the streets between 2AM and 6AM within the Village of Garden City is prohibited. Offending cars are ticketed by the Village of Garden City Police Department. Exceptions to this rule are sometimes granted by request made in person at the Garden City Police Department, located at 349 Stewart Avenue.

Get around

By train

The Hempstead Branch of the Long Island Railroad is the easiest way to get around Garden City by train. Four of Garden City's five Long Island Railroad stations are on the Hempstead Branch. The stations are, from west to east: Stewart Manor, Nassau Boulevard, Garden City, and Country Life Press.

By car

Garden City is easily navigable by car, and the Meadowbrook State Parkway passes through East Garden City.

In the Village of Garden City, the Village speed limit is 30 miles per hour.

Stay safe

The Village of Garden City is a very safe community to visit – both during the day and at night. The same can be said about the hamlet of Garden City South.

A little more caution, however, should be exercised in East Garden City, especially at night. While by not a dangerous place, much of the area is very industrial and commercial, and they may seem sketchy to someone unfamiliar with the area. Pockets of East Garden City see a little more crime than the rest of the area. Follow your instinct. The "Museum Row" area, Roosevelt Field, the Mitchel Athletic Complex, the Nassau Coliseum, Nassau Community College, and Hofstra University are very safe; the colleges are patrolled 24/7 by on-site public safety departments, and Roosevelt Field is constantly patrolled by mall security.

You may encounter homeless people in East Garden City. They are mostly harmless, middle-aged people and they should not cause you any issues. Most of the time, you will encounter them along the median or the sidewalks of roads like Charles Lindbergh Boulevard, Early Ovington Boulevard, and Hempstead Turnpike; should you encounter any homeless people in East Garden City, you will likely see them holding signs which explain their situation and respectfully ask for food or some spare change.

Police departments

The Village of Stewart Manor and the hamlets of East Garden City, Garden City Park, and Garden City South are all patrolled regularly by the Nassau County Police Department, while the Village of Garden City has its own police department, which regularly patrols the village.

Go next

• Hempstead
• North Hempstead
• Mineola