Sands Point, New York

Sands Point, New York
Village
Incorporated Village of Sands Point
Sands Point Village Hall on June 2, 2021.
Official emblem of Sands Point
Location in Nassau County and the state of New York.
Sands Point, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 40°50′55″N 73°42′42″W / 40.84861°N 73.71167°W / 40.84861; -73.71167Coordinates: 40°50′55″N 73°42′42″W / 40.84861°N 73.71167°W / 40.84861; -73.71167
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Nassau County, New York
Town	North Hempstead
Incorporated	1910
Named for	The Sands family
Area [1]
• Total	5.60 sq mi (14.50 km2)
• Land	4.22 sq mi (10.93 km2)
• Water	1.38 sq mi (3.57 km2)
Elevation	43 ft (13 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	2,675
• Estimate  (2019)[2]	2,905
• Density	688.39/sq mi (265.81/km2)
Demonym(s)	Sands Pointian, East Egger, Port Washingtonian
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	11050
Area code(s)	516
FIPS code	36-65035
GNIS feature ID	0964415
Website	www.sandspoint.org

Sands Point is a village located at the northernmost tip of the Cow Neck Peninsula in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Port Washington area, which is anchored by Port Washington. The population was 2,675 at the 2010 census.

The Incorporated Village of Sands Point lies within the town of North Hempstead.

History[]

The village was incorporated in 1910, and is named for the Sands family.^[3] In 1917, the village absorbed the communities of Barkers Point and Motts Point. It was originally owned by three families: the Sands, the Vanderbilts, and the Cornwells.^[3] In 1917, Daniel Guggenheim bought his 216-acre (0.87 km²) Hempstead House, formerly Castle Gould. His son Harry Guggenheim, founder of Newsday, later erected his estate "Falaise" nearby in 1923.^[3] Today, the estate belongs to the Friends of the Sands Point Preserve, which is a non-profit organization that maintains the property. In the 1960s, under less strict building codes, many homes were built on 1-acre (4,000 m²) parcels. Current zoning allows subdivisions of 2 acres (8,100 m²) or more.

The Sands Family Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.^[4]

Geography[]

U.S. Census map of Sands Point.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.6 square miles (15 km²), of which, 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) of it (24.56%) is covered by water.^[5]

Sands Point is bordered almost entirely by water – the Long Island Sound to the north, Manhasset Bay to the west and Hempstead Harbor on the east. It shares land borders with the villages of Port Washington North and Manorhaven, as well as the unincorporated hamlet of Port Washington.

Sands Point and Port Washington are located on the Cow Neck Peninsula (also known as the Port Washington Peninsula or as Manhasset Neck), which is bordered by Manhasset Bay, Hempstead Bay, and Long Island Sound.

Economy[]

There are no areas zoned for business, commercial, or industrial uses located anywhere within the Village of Sands Point.^[6] Sands Point is considered a bedroom community of the City of New York, and many residents commute to/from New York for work.^[7]

Demographics[]

As of the census of 2010, 2,675 people, 872 households, and 762 families were residing in the village.^[5] The population density was 636.9 people/sq mi (243.2/km²). The 934 housing units had an average density of 222.4/sq mi (84.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 88.6% White, 0.8% African American, 8.2% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.7% of the population.

Of the 872 households, 38.3% had children under 18 living with them, 80.6% were married couples living together, 4.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.6% were not families. About 10.4% of the households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03, and the average family size was 3.21.

In the village, the age distribution was 26.4% under 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 15.4% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.

As of 2018, the median income for a household in the village was $231,667, with it being named the richest town in New York.^[9] Males had a median income of $158,500 versus $44,943 for females. The per capita income for the village was $112,716. None of families and 0.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none under age 18 or 65 or over.

Parks and recreation[]

The Sands Point Golf Course and the Village Club of Sands Point are both located in Sands Point.^[10][11]

Notable people[]

• Alva Belmont (1853–1933), socialite and suffragette
• John Philip Sousa (1854–1932), composer^[12]
• William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951), publisher^[12]
• Edgar F. Luckenbach (1868–1943), shipping magnate
• Howard Gould (1871–1959), financier
• Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942), publisher^[12]
• Herbert Bayard Swope (1882–1958), editor and journalist
• Harry Guggenheim (1890-1971), aviator, newspaper publisher, racehorse owner/breeder
• John La Gatta (1894–1977), illustrator
• Perry Como (1912–2001), singer
• Arnold A. Saltzman (1916–2014), businessman, diplomat, art collector, philanthropist
• James R. Shepley (1917–1988), reporter and publishing executive^[13]
• Stanley Chais (1926–2010), investment advisor in the Madoff investment scandal
• Kenneth Langone (born 1935), co-founder (financial backer) of Home Depot
• Felix Sater (born 1966), real-estate developer, career criminal^[14]
• Carlos Beltrán (born 1977), professional baseball player.^[15]

Sands Point and The Great Gatsby[]

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925), Sands Point (Port Washington/Manhasset neck) was referred to as "East Egg". East Egg residents inherited their fortunes and were more highly respected than the nouveau riche in newer "West Egg" (Great Neck/Kings Point), because Sands Point had "old money". The story's fictional Buchanans lived in the western part of Sands Point. Reports incorrectly suggest^[16] that Fitzgerald – while he was a guest at the mansion of Herbert Bayard Swope on Hoffstot Lane, at Prospect Point in Sands Point – used the site and its parties as his inspiration for the fictional Buchanan home in East Egg. The home may have served as one of the many inspirations, as Fitzgerald did likely visit it during his time living in Great Neck (1922–24), but not as a guest of Swope's. Fitzgerald left Great Neck for Paris in 1924, prior to Swope's purchase of that mansion. The likely story with regard to Swope is that Fitzgerald and his good friend Ring Lardner would observe many parties held at the home Swope was residing in during the time Fitzgerald was actually living in the area. This Swope residence was adjacent to Lardner's home on Shore Road in Great Neck, and is no longer extant, though Lardner's mansion is still standing.

Another Sands Point mansion, situated next to the Sands Point Light and across a shallow bay from Prospect Point, was Beacon Towers. Scholars believe it served as one of the many inspirations for Jay Gatsby's mansion in the novel, though Gatsby lived on the eastern side of Kings Point, in the book. The extravagant Gothic-style residence was built by Alva Belmont, formerly Alva Vanderbilt, in 1918. It was demolished in 1945.^[17]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sands Point, New York.

• Official website