At 0.096 square miles (0.25 km2), the Incorporated Village of South Floral Park is the smallest village in the State of New York by total area.
History
The Village of South Floral Park was incorporated in November 1925 as the Village of Jamaica Square.[3] This name had been used since the area was first developed ca. 1905; the name was originally chosen so as to reflect the fact that it was down the road from Jamaica, Queens and next to Franklin Square.[3] However its name was changed to South Floral Park in 1931 due to confusion with said neighborhood in Queens; the new name was chosen based on the fact that the village is located immediately south of and adjacent to Floral Park.[3]
Residents decided to incorporate their community because they felt that the Town of Hempstead was unable to adequately fulfill the needs of their community, and believed that a more localized government would be able to govern it better.[3][4]
In 1953, South Floral Park Village Hall was constructed. The building was expanded in 1984 to rehouse the village's fire department in a more modern and efficient facility, which was dedicated on October 19, 1986.[4]
The village itself is residential in character, consisting of a single residential zoning district which covers South Floral Park in its entirety.[11][12][13] As such, there are no areas zoned for commercial or industrial uses anywhere within South Floral Park.[11][12][13] Despite this, there have historically been a couple of formal businesses which operated within the village – including a deli.[4]
The majority of lots in the village consist of single-family residential homes, with the only major exceptions being the village hall and fire station complex and a church.[4][12][13]
South Floral Park village, New York – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the U.S. Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
At the 2000 census there were 1,578 people, 456 households, and 383 families in the village. The population density was 15,776.3 inhabitants per square mile (6,091.3/km2). There were 462 housing units at an average density of 4,618.9 per square mile (1,783.4/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 22.18% White, 59.06% African American, 0.25% Native American, 3.80% Asian, 6.15% from other races, and 8.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.56%.[17]
Of the 456 households 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 22.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.0% were non-families. 12.3% of households were one person and 5.9% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.46 and the average family size was 3.72.
The age distribution was 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.
The median household income was $64,205 and the median family income was $68,000. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $37,292 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,091. About 0.8% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government
South Floral Park Village Hall in August 2022.
As of August 2022, the Mayor of South Floral Park is Nyakya T. Brown, the Deputy Mayor is Jennifer Bellamy, and the Village Trustees are Jennifer Bellamy, LeRoy Graham, Jr., Randy Jaques, and Porscha Lyons.[18] All elected officials on the Board of Trustees serve 4-year terms.[18]
The South Floral Park Village Hall is located in the heart of the village, at 383 Roquette Ave.[18]
The following is a list of South Floral Park's mayors, from 1925 to present:[4][18]
Mayors of South Floral Park
Mayor's name
Year(s) in office
William J. Ruppert
1925–1933
William Hand
1933–1939
William Sweeney
1939–1942
Barney Strup
1942–1966
William J. Hoffman
1966–1971
James Lorenzo
1971–1990
Arlene McMullen
1990–2002
Angel Soto
2002–2010
Geoffrey N. Prime
2010–2022
Nyakya T. Brown
2022–Present
Parks and recreation
The Village of South Floral Park owns and maintains a small park, known as Firemen's Memorial Park, which was dedicated in 1974.[4] Located off Arthur Avenue, the park contains a historic bell dating to 1875, which was formerly utilized in alerting the community's volunteer firefighters; the bell was installed at the park in 1973.[4]
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