North Hempstead Beach Park

North Hempstead Beach Park
Bar Beach Town Park (former) Hempstead Harbor County Park (former)
The beachside promenade in 2016.
Type	Beach
Location	Port Washington, New York, United States
Coordinates	40°49′40″N 73°39′10″W
Area	60 acres (24 ha)
Owned by	Town of North Hempstead
Status	Open
Website	Town of North Hempstead – North Hempstead Beach Park

North Hempstead Beach Park (officially known as Bar Beach and Hempstead Harbor Parks) is a beach located on Hempstead Harbor in Port Washington, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is located in and owned and operated by the Town of North Hempstead.

Description

What is now North Hempstead Beach Park used to be two separate parks: Bar Beach Town Park (operated by the Town of North Hempstead) and Hempstead Harbor County Park (operated by Nassau County).^[1][2] The name was changed to its current name in 2008, following the Town's takeover. It is located off of West Shore Road (Nassau County Route 15), and is only accessible (with a fee) to residents of Nassau County.^[2][3]

In the 2000s (ca. late 2007), Nassau County transferred ownership of their portion of park space to the Town of North Hempstead.^[2] The transfer of ownership was performed as a cost-saving initiative by Nassau County.^[2]

After beginning renovations to this portion of the beach following the takeover, the Town of North Hempstead re-opened the entire property in the spring of 2008 as North Hempstead Beach Park.^[4]

The total area of the park is 60 acres (24 ha), and the total length of the property's beachfront is approximately .5 miles (0.80 km).^[3]

Amenities in the park include but are not limited to athletic fields (including little league baseball fields), an amphitheater, shuffleboard courts, the beach, the promenade, bathhouses, and boating and fishing facilities.^[3]

In the early 2020s, it was announced that the park will undergo a major renovation project.^[5]

Annual events

A fireworks display sometimes takes place at the beach on Memorial Day and for the Fourth of July.^[6][7][8]

In addition to the annual firework shows on Memorial Day and July 4th, the beach is host to "Beachfest", an end of summer festival which is held each September.^[6][9] Beachfest features music, games, food vendors, and attractions for all ages.^[6][9]

See also

• Manhasset Valley Park – Another former Nassau County park now operated by the Town of North Hempstead.
• Tappan Beach – Another beach on Hempstead Harbor, operated by the adjacent Town of Oyster Bay.

References

1. "GNIS Detail - Bar Beach Town Park". geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
2. Mancini, Rosemaria (December 12, 2004). "Nassau Wants to Transfer Parks to Towns: Take My Park, Please". The New York Times – via ProQuest.
3. "Town of North Hempstead - North Hempstead Beach Park". www.northhempsteadny.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
4. North Hempstead Beach Park Archived August 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Port Washington Patch
5. Brandon Duffy (2021-12-21). "North Hempstead Beach Park gets over $1 million for phase one of revitalization - Williston Times". The Island Now. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
6. "Town of North Hempstead - Festivals". www.northhempsteadny.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
7. "Record-breaking Crowds Flocked to North Hempstead's Memorial Day Weekend Fireworks and Salute to Our Troops and Veterans". northhempsteadny.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
8. Fan, Maureen; Long, Irving (May 19, 1991). "TOWN BEAT: Fireworks Over Fireworks Show". Newsday. p. 2NNH – via ProQuest.
9. Isl, The; Now (2019-08-09). "BeachFest returns to Port Washington - Entertainment". The Island Now. Retrieved 2021-08-10.

External links

• Official website