Melville, New York

Melville is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Huntington in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The population was 19,284 at the 2020 census.[2]

Melville, New York
Hamlet and census-designated place
One of four Melville Fire Department firehouses in October 2009
One of four Melville Fire Department firehouses in October 2009
Melville, New York is located in New York
Melville, New York
Melville, New York
Coordinates: 40°47′30″N 73°24′20″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountySuffolk
Named forHerman Melville
Area
[1]
 • Total12.11 sq mi (31.37 km2)
 • Land12.11 sq mi (31.37 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
135 ft (41 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total19,284
 • Density1,592.27/sq mi (614.78/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
11747, 11760, 11775
Area code631
FIPS code36-46514
GNIS feature ID0956931
The Long Island Expressway Service Road at Exit 49S, the site of the future Canon USA headquarters. Smoke from a fire in Farmingdale is visible.

History

The area was known to the Native Americans as Sunsquams. In the 17th century, it was named Samuel Ketcham's Valley, and it was later known as Sweet Hollow.

19th century

In 1854, it was renamed Melville in honor of American novelist Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick, which had been published three years earlier, in 1851. Melville's 1846 novel Typee also was very popular at that time.[3][4]

A Presbyterian church was built in Melville in 1829 at the corner of Old Country and Sweet Hollow Roads.

20th century

In 1977, the Presbyterian church was moved 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west.[5] The church was in continuous use until 1930. It reopened in 1944 for the funeral of Edward Baylis and has been in use since then.[6]

In 1909, a trolley line to Huntington was established. This was an extension of the Huntington Trolley Spur and went as far south as Amityville and had a connection to Babylon.[7] There were six fare zones, one of which was the Duryea Farm at Melville.[8][9] The line was shut down a decade later after farmers complained that noise from the trolley frightened their animals.[10] Buses provided transportation after the trolley line closed. The growing use of private cars also reduced demand for the trolley line.[11][12]

In the 1950s, Melville and its neighbors Dix Hills and Wyandanch, along with the area known as Sweet Hollow, proposed to incorporate as a single village.[13][14] This village would have been known as the Incorporated Village of Half Hollow Hills, would have had an area of roughly 50 square miles (130 km2), and would have embraced the Half Hollow Hills Central School District (CSD 5).[13] The plans were unsuccessful.[13][15]

21st century

In 2001, Melville, Dix Hills, Wheatley Heights, and East Farmingdale, which are all within the same school district, proposed incorporating as a single village.[16] These plans also failed and each remain unincorporated hamlets to this day.[15]

In May 2011, construction commenced for the replacement of the 63-year-old Northern State Parkway bridge over NY Route 110. The project, budgeted for $56 million, was completed in 2014.[17][18]

Long Island's highest point is Jayne's Hill in the neighboring hamlet of West Hills, with an elevation of 387 feet (118 m) to 400.9 feet (122.2 m) above sea level.

Melville is home to one of New York Senator and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's nine home state offices.[19]

Geography

Melville is located at 40°47′30″N 73°24′20″W (40.791593, −73.405439).[20]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Melville has a total area of 12.1 square miles (31.3 km2).[21]

Melville lies on the east side of Suffolk County's boundary with Nassau County.

Transportation

Road

The Long Island Expressway (LIE) and Northern State Parkway, two of Long Island's busiest highways and major points of entry in and out of New York City, pass through Melville. Melville is located immediately off Exit 49 of the LIE. NY Route 110 also runs through Melville.

Bus

Melville's primary mode of public transit is the S1 bus run by Suffolk County Transit. S1 runs up and down Route 110 seven days a week and connects to two Long Island Railroad branches north and south of Melville.[22] The "Suffolk Clipper" express bus service also serves the numerous business parks in South Melville during weekdays.

A park and ride/carpool parking lot with a bus shelter exists adjacent to the north of the LIE, but long-distance bus service to and from there is either highly occasional or nonexistent.[23] The parking lot is still used by carpool commuters, but also attracts some illicit activity.

Rail

Until 1927, Melville was served by the Huntington Railroad's streetcar line, which ran along what today is NY Route 110 and has now been replaced by the S1 bus. The closest rail line is the LIRR's Main Line to Ronkonkoma and Greenport, but the closest station on that line is Pinelawn, which only provides weekend service. Huntington station in Huntington is the closest full service station.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
202019,284—
U.S. Decennial Census[24]

As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,284 with 6,883 households. The population density was 1,599.60 inhabitants per square mile (617.61/km2). There were 5,141 housing units at an average density of 454.2 per square mile (175.4/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.6% White (82.6% White Non-Hispanic), 7.4% Asian, 3% Black, 0% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.04% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.4.% of the population.

As of the 2000 census,[25] there were 14,533 people, 4,930 households, and 3,993 families residing in Melville. The population density was 1,284.00 inhabitants per square mile (495.76/km2). The population was 18,985 at the 2010 census.[26]

In 2000, there were 4,930 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.2% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.0% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the CDP was $132,527, and the median income for a family was $170,881. Males had a median income of $142,972 versus $115,495 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $125,053. About 3.0% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over. The median house price in Melville as of 2007 is about $900,000.

Education

Half Hollow Hills Central School District and Huntington Union Free School District serve Melville. The Katharine Gibbs School – Melville serves the post-school population with certificates and associate degrees.

Economy

Melville and Hauppauge are the two primary business centers of Suffolk County, which is home to almost approximately 1.5 million people. Melville is home to the U.S. headquarters for several national and international corporations, including Canon USA,[27][28] Chyron Corporation, Leviton, MSC Industrial Direct, Nikon USA, the medical and dental supply distributor Henry Schein, Bouchard Transportation, and Verint Systems. Significant operations of Manhattan-based The Estée Lauder Companies are also based in Melville.

In early 2013, Canon Inc. moved into its new regional headquarters for North and South America to Melville, building a $500-million 668,296-square-foot (62,086.7 m2) glass structure near Exit 49 of the Long Island Expressway on the 52-acre (210,000 m2) site of a former pumpkin farm.[27] About 1,500 workers were expected to move from Canon's Lake Success offices.[27] The company chose Melville over other tri-state area locations because the employees "didn't want to leave the area".[27]

Companies once headquartered in Melville that subsequently relocated include OSI Pharmaceuticals, which was bought by Astellas Pharma of Japan, Allion Healthcare, which was acquired by a private equity firm, Hain Celestial, which moved to Lake Success in Nassau County, Arrow Electronics, which relocated to Centennial, Colorado in 2011, global staffing giant Adecco Staffing, USA, which in 2014 moved their U.S. headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida, and Gentiva Health Services, a Fortune 1000 provider of health services, which relocated to Atlanta in 2006.

Other firms to leave include First Data, Olympus America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Olympus Corporation, who moved in 2006 to Center Valley, Pennsylvania, and the national pizza chain Sbarro, which declared bankruptcy and reemerged in 2014, relocating to Columbus, Ohio.[29] Around 2002, Swiss International Air Lines's North American headquarters moved from Melville to Uniondale. The facility, the former Swissair North American headquarter site, was completed in 1995. Swissair intended to own, instead of lease, its headquarters site. It enlisted architect Richard Meier to design its Melville facility.[30][31] The building is now owned by Damianos Realty Group, LLC, a Long Island-based real estate company.

Media

The primary Long Island newspaper Newsday is published in Melville.

The independent television station WLNY-TV operates a studio in Melville, where it had been based prior to being acquired by CBS and moving to the network's Manhattan facility.

Fire protection

Melville is protected by the Melville Volunteer Fire Department. Established in 1947, it handles all emergencies, including fires, heavy rescues and extrications, emergency ambulances, hazmat, and other related tasks. The fire department responds to more than 3,500 alarms annually and provides continuous service on an annual budget of $1.5 million.

References
  1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  2. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Melville CDP, New York". www.census.gov. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  3. "archived Newsday article on Melville". Newsday. 2008. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  4. "Hartford Courant article on Melville". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  5. Original Sweet Hollow Presbyterian Church. CONTENTdm Collection
  6. Church History. Presbyterian Church of Sweet Hollow Web Site.
  7. Huntington (LIRR station)
  8. American Almanac Collection (Library of Congress) Brooklyn daily eagle almanac. 1910. New York Public Library.
  9. "Trolley Days: A History of Trolleys in the Town of Babylon". The Babylon Beacon. 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  10. Aronson, Harvey, ed. Home Town Long Island. (Newsday, 1999). ISBN 1-885134-21-5.
  11. Bus on a snowy day., CONTENTdm Collection.
  12. Closed electric trolley car. CONTENTdm Collection.
  13. "HUGE NEW VILLAGE ASKED IN SUFFOLK; It Would Take in 50 Square Miles in Huntington and Babylon Townships". The New York Times. February 6, 1955. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  14. "Talks on Proposed Village Due". The New York Times. February 13, 1955. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  15. "Long Island Index: Interactive Map". www.longislandindexmaps.org. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
  16. Kutt Nahas, Donna (July 27, 2003). "Villages, Inc.: Hamlets Across the Island Weigh the Cost-Benefit Ratio of Incorporation". The New York Times – via ProQuest.
  17. Maloney, Jennifer. Newsday: "Work begins over Route 110 bridge". May 19, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-01
  18. Bolger, Timothy. Long Island Press: "Work Starts on Northern Parkway Bridge Over Rt. 110", May 20, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-01. Archived September 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Office Locations". Senator Chuck Schumer.
  20. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  21. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Melville CDP, New York". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  22. "Suffolk CountyTransit System Map". www.sct-bus.org. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  23. "Park & Ride Lots - Melville Chamber of Commerce - 511ny.org". Melville Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  24. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  25. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  26. "American FactFinder - Results". archive.ph. February 12, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  27. Madore, James T. (February 18, 2013). "Canon Moves In". Newsday. p. A4.
  28. "A picture-perfect move". Newsday. February 20, 2013. p. A31.
  29. Companies that left Long Island or downsized over the years, Newsday, February 21, 2017, retrieved March 29, 2019
  30. "Contact Us SWISS USA". Swiss International Air Lines. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  31. Anastasi, Nick (June 7, 2002). "SwissAir USA HQ heads to market.(Swiss International Airlines moves to Uniondale)". Long Island Business News. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
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