Cedarhurst, New York

History

The village was incorporated in 1910. It is part of the "Five Towns," together with the village of Lawrence and the hamlets of Woodmere and Inwood, and "The Hewletts," which consist of the villages of Hewlett Bay Park, Hewlett Harbor and Hewlett Neck and the hamlet of Hewlett, along with Woodsburgh.

Cedarhurst's early name was Ocean Point. Rail service arrived in 1869 which led people to the area, especially to the Rockaway Hunting Club, built in Cedarhurst in 1878. A post office was established in 1884, and Ocean Point was renamed Cedarhurst, partly at the request of the Hunt Club. The name Cedarhurst is in reference to a grove of trees that once stood at the post office.

In 1959, the present Cedarhurst Village Hall was erected. This two-story building houses the village's government.

For many years, Central Avenue, the area's main business district, was considered the Rodeo Drive of Long Island, offering upscale shops and boutiques to shoppers from around the area. With the growth of the local Orthodox Jewish community, many stores and restaurants now cater to the needs of this community. As observant Jews do not shop on the Jewish Sabbath, many of the street's businesses are closed on Saturday, reducing the foot traffic for those stores that remain open on Saturdays.

On November 22, 2019, a fire broke out at the Cedarhurst Shoppes, which affected five businesses of various types and significantly damaged them.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,164 people, 2,289 households, and 1,636 families residing in the village. The population density was 9,042.0 PD/sqmi. There were 2,366 housing units at an average density of 3,470.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 90.74% White, 1.28% African American, 0.11% Native American, 3.08% Asian, 2.94% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.35% of the population.

There were 2,289 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.1% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $56,441, and the median income for a family was $71,406. Males had a median income of $52,460 versus $37,292 for females. The per capita income for the village was $29,591. About 4.3% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Over the past 20 years significant numbers of Orthodox Jewish families have moved into Cedarhurst supporting synagogues and other Jewish organizations. Italian-Americans (15.3%), Russian Americans (10.5%), Polish-Americans (9.7%) and Irish-Americans (6.9%) also make up a large percentage of the Five Towns community.

Education

Cedarhurst is part of School District 15 and is served by the Lawrence Union Free School District. Lawrence High School as well as the No. 5 Elementary School – both of which serve students from a number of surrounding communities – are located within the Village of Cedarhurst.

Cedarhurst is also home to the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway – a Jewish high school – and a Kahal school, both located on Central Avenue.

Religion

Cedarhurst is home to a number of synagogues, including Temple Beth El, the Chofetz Chaim Torah Center, Congregation Tifereth Zvi, Kehilas Bais Yehuda Tzvi (otherwise known as The Red Shul), Agudath Israel of the Five Towns, Chabad of the Five Towns, Kehilas Bais Yisroel and the Young Israel of Lawrence Cedarhurst. The national Jewish Orthodox Women's Medical Association (JOWMA) is based in Cedarhurst.

The town is also home to St. Joachim Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, also on Central Avenue. The church's parish elementary school was closed in June 2005 due to declining enrollment in the school's area over the previous decade.

Government

As of September 2025, the Mayor of the Village of Cedarhurst, its Village Trustees, and its Village Justice are as follows:

• ** Mayor** Benjamin Weinstock
• Deputy Mayor Ari Brown (2001–present)
• Village Trustee Myrna Zisman (2008–present)
• Village Trustee Israel Wasser (2015–present)
• Village Trustee Daniel Plaut (2019–present)
• Village Justice Andrew Goldsmith (2013–present)

Transportation

Train

The Cedarhurst station provides Long Island Rail Road service on the Far Rockaway Branch to New York Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and to Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.

Bus

Cedarhurst is directly served by buses operated by Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. NICE regularly services the neighborhood with the n31, n31x, and n32 buses. The MTA offers limited service with the Q111 bus, running only one trip a day in each direction.

Emergency services

The Nassau County Police Department provides police services in Cedarhurst and most of Nassau County. Cedarhurst is part of the force's Fourth Precinct.

Cedarhurst is served by the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department. The LCFD consists of close to 80 volunteer firefighters and provides fire protection to the villages of Lawrence and Cedarhurst, as well as the North Lawrence Fire District and East Lawrence Fire District. The LCFD also responds to alarms such as car accidents and aided cases on the Atlantic Beach Bridge. The Chief of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department is James McHugh.

They are also served by the volunteer EMS Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau.

Notable people

• Lyle Alzado (1949–1992), actor and All Pro National Football League defensive lineman
• Jake Burton (1954–2019), snowboarding pioneer
• Helen Hicks (1911–1974), pro golfer who was one of the 13 co-founders of the LPGA in 1950
• Red Holzman (1920–1998), two-time NBA All-Star guard, former coach of the New York Knicks, Hall of Fame
• Alan Kalter (born 1943), announcer on the Late Show with David Letterman
• Lisa Lillien, cookbook author and founder of Hungrygirl.com
• Shane Olivea (1981-2022), football player{{Cite web |last=Lind |first=Andrew |date=March 3, 2022 |title=Former Ohio State OT Shane Olivea Passes Away At Age 40
• Victor Orena (born 1934), mobster who became the acting boss of the Colombo crime family
• Alwin Max Pappenheimer Jr. (1908-1995), biochemist and immunologist after whom Pappenheimer bodies are named
• Lil Tecca (born 2002), rapper, singer and songwriter
• Evan Roberts (born 1983), radio personality
• Michael Scanlan (1931–2017), Roman Catholic priest
• Rodolfo Valentin (born 1944), celebrity hair stylist

In popular culture

• Parts of the movie Married to the Mob, most notably the opening scene at the train station, were filmed in Cedarhurst.

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. Barron, James. [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/10/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-five-towns.html?sq=%22five+towns%22+lawrence+woodmere&scp=3&st=cse "IF YOU'RE THINKING OF LIVING IN: FIVE TOWNS"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 10, 1983. Accessed May 20, 2008. "The basic five are Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett and Inwood. But the area also includes some unincorporated communities and two tiny villages, Hewlett Bay Park and Woodsburgh, that are not added to the final total."
3. Bernstein, James. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-profile-of-ced/179312507/ "Living In: Cedarhurst's Changing 'Rodeo Drive'"], ''[[Newsday]]'', November 1, 1998. Accessed August 20, 2025, via [[Newspapers.com]].
4. Winsche, Richard. (October 1, 1999). "The History of Nassau County Community Place-Names". Empire State Books.
5. (2025-09-08). "Village Trustees".
6. (February 12, 2011). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
8. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. "Long Island Zoning Atlas".
10. (July 21, 2022). "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Nassau County, NY". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
11. "About JOWMA - Who we are - JOWMA provides free health education to the entire Orthodox Jewish community".
12. [http://www.drvc.org/pubinfo/05_Releases/release_041205.html St. Joachim Parish Elementary School in Cedarhurst To Close] ([http://web.archive.org/20050514080823/www.drvc.org/pubinfo/05_Releases/release_041205.html Archive]), press release dated April 12, 2005
13. "Nassau Inter-County Express - Maps and Schedules".
14. [http://www.police.co.nassau.ny.us/4th_pct.htm 4th Precinct] {{Webarchive. link. (August 18, 2007 , [[Nassau County Police Department]]. Accessed August 20, 2007.)
15. https://hatzalah.org/neighbourhoods/
16. Puma, Mike. [https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Alzado_Lyle.html Not the size of the dog in the fight], [[ESPN.com]], Accessed December 10, 2006.
17. link. (December 8, 2006 , accessed January 4, 2007. "Born in New York City on April 29, 1954, Jake spent his childhood in Cedarhurst, New York.")
18. [[Rhonda Glenn. Glenn, Rhonda]]. [http://www.usga.org/articles/2010/12/on-the-early-road-with-helen-hicks-2147491640.html "On The Early Road With Helen Hicks"], [[USGA]], December 26, 2010. Accessed January 15, 2017. "Born into a jovial and athletic family on Feb. 11, 1911, in Cedarhurst, N.Y., Hicks, like many girls, was introduced to golf by her father. Young Helen began playing at the age of 15 and improved rapidly. She won the Metropolitan Women’s Golf Association Junior Girls’ Championship at the same time she was starring as a basketball player for Lawrence High School."
19. [[Ira Berkow. Berkow, Ira]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/15/sports/red-holzman-hall-of-fame-coach-dies-at-78.html "Red Holzman, Hall of Fame Coach, Dies at 78"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 15, 1998. Accessed September 15, 2008. "He and his wife bought a house in Cedarhurst, N.Y., in the Five Towns section of Long Island in the 1950s, and stayed there all their lives, raising Gail, their only child in a 55-year marriage."
20. link. (September 30, 2007 , ''[[Nassau Herald]]'', August 4, 2005. "Thanks in part to Glass, Brown will become the 22nd head coach in Knicks history, following in the footsteps of the late Red Holzman of Cedarhurst, who coached the Knicks to two NBA championships in the early 1970s, the last time the team won titles. Brown has mentioned that one of the things he remembers most about the area is playing basketball with Holzman at the Number Five School playground in Cedarhurst.")
21. [http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/bios/29710/ Alan Kalter], [[CBS]]. Accessed June 23, 2016. "Alan is a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn and raised in Little Neck and Cedarhurst, New York."
22. [[Selwyn Raab. Raab, Selwyn]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/12/nyregion/investigators-say-they-re-ready-to-topple-new-mafia-chiefs.html "Investigators Say They're Ready to Topple New Mafia Chiefs"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 12, 1988. Accessed August 20, 2025. "Colombo Family Boss: Benny Aloi, 53 years old, lives in Floral Park, L.I. Underboss: Victor (Little Guy) Orena, 55 years old, lives in Cedarhurst, L.I."
23. Koscik, Danielle. [https://medium.com/@dkoscik1/rapper-lil-teccas-transition-from-high-school-student-to-chart-topping-artist-16483cf94d90 "Rapper Lil Tecca’s Transition from High school Student to Chart Topping Artist"], [[Medium (website)]], November 21, 2019. Accessed September 26, 2020. "Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe grew up in Cedarhurst, Long Island right around the corner from the high school he would attend for 3 years before making it big. While at Lawrence High school he would tend to stay in the background before people worldwide knew his name."
24. Gossett, Dave. [http://www.heraldstaronline.com/news/local-news/2017/01/funeral-services-scheduled-for-former-franciscan-president-rev-michael-scanlan-tor/ "Funeral services scheduled for former Franciscan president, Rev. Michael Scanlan, TOR; Rev. Scanlan, credited with saving FUS, dies"], ''[[Herald-Star]]'', January 8, 2017. Accessed January 15, 2017. "Scanlan was born Vincent Michael Scanlan in 1931 in Cedarhurst, Long Island, N.Y."
25. (November 10, 2011). "Emotional wig fitting at Cedarhurst beauty salon".