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From:
Subject: [NYSUF] cow bay
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 08:33:45 EST

On 3/31/03 (6:09:35 AM MST), the Suffolk County List Administrator relayed a
posting from Nate Carter (), asking,

"Can some one tell me where is Cow Bay on Long Island Sound. I have a
reference to a lawyer Arthur Bassett being named "Governor of Cow Bay, LI" in
1877. It apparently was an honorary title. It was in the Brooklyn Eagle 11
Nov. 1877. It may be in Nassau County but I know there are many very
knowledgeable people on the list that may have the answer."


You're correct: it would seem to be in Nassau County.

Cow's Bay, as the name suggests, should be on the north shore of Cow's Neck,
and today's Cow's Neck is called Port Washington.

Port Washington is one of those communities on Long Island where the majority
of the places with a Port Washington mailing address are not in Port
Washington.

The pertinent geography:

Port Washington is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northeastern part
of the Town of North Hempstead. There are 30 villages (incorporated
municipalities and 18 hamlets all or partly in the Town of North Hempstead.
There are 2 cities and 3 towns in Nassau County. (I'm including after my
name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city,
town, village, hamlet and postal zone.)

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of
Port Washington in the Town of North Hempstead is bordered on the north by
the Villages of Baxter Estates, Port Washington North and Sands Point; on the
east by the Port Washington Harbor on the south by the Village of Flower
Hill; and, on the west by the Village of Plandome Manor and Hempstead Harbor.

And, like almost every community in either Nassau or Suffolk Counties, the
hamlet and the postal zone that use the same name, have much different
borders:

.....................................................acres
.........Hamlet of Port Washington.....2,570
.........Port Washington, NY 11050....6,652

Thus, about 3 out of every 5 places with a "Port Washington, NY" mailing
address are NOT in the Hamlet of Port Washington.

Quickly eyeballing the map overlay of the "11050" postal ZIP code versus
village and hamlet borders, the following 7 communities (5 villages and 2
hamlets) seem to be at least partially within the borders of the "Port
Washington, NY" postal zone and hence places in these communities can have a
"Port Washington, NY" mailing address (if the community is a village, its
year of incorporation is shown inside the parenthesis):

.........................................................acres
Village of Sands Point (1932)..............2,743
Hamlet of Northern Port Washington........162
Village of Port Washington North (1932)...315
Village of Manorhaven (1930)...................326
Village of Baxter Estates (1931)..............109
Hamlet of Port Washington..................2,570
Village of Flower Hill (1931).....................427*

* The Village of Flower Hill has a total area of 1,095 acres, and this is the
area serviced by the "Port Washington, NY 11050" postal zone. The Village of
Flower Hill's other 668 acres are in the service areas of either the
"Manhasset, NY 11030" or the "Roslyn, NY 11576" postal zones.


For those who have their copy of the 2002 or earlier edition of the LI
Population Survey or have already downloaded the report from the Long Island
Power Authority web site (eMail me directly if you need instructions on how
to access and download the report), you'll find the Hamlet of Port Washington
in the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County on pages 5 & 6 (map) and 7
(population estimate).

I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting.

Regards,

Walter Greenspan

. Cities, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Postal Zones in New York State

New York State is divided into counties.

County
A county is a municipal corporation, a subdivision of the state, created to
perform state functions; a "regional" government. All counties are divided
into cities, towns and Indian reservations.

City
A city is a unique governmental entity with its own special charter. Cities
are not sub-divided, except into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic
areas.

Town
A town is a municipal corporation and encompasses all territory within the
state except that within cities or Indian reservations. Towns can be
sub-divided into villages and hamlets.

Village
A village is a general purpose municipal corporation formed voluntarily by
the residents of an area in one or more towns to provide themselves with
municipal services. The pattern of village organization is similar to those
of a city. A village is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal
geographic areas.

Hamlet
A hamlet is an unincorporated area in one or more towns that is governed
at-large by the town(s) it is in. A hamlet is divided into neighborhoods,
which are informal geographic areas.

Postal Zone "City" and "Town"
A postal zone "City" and "Town" is an administrative district established by
the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail. Postal zone "City" and "Town"
may not (but are encouraged to) conform to municipal or community borders.
Thus, postal zone location does not always determine city, village or hamlet
location.


Please be aware: In many areas of New York State, the problem of
non-conforming postal zones leads to a situation where the majority of places
have a different community name in their mailing address than the community
where that place is actually located.

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