The village was founded in the 1920s on North Shore land previously owned by wealthy publisher Frank Munsey as a commuter town taking advantage of the Manhassetrailroad station. The land was bequeathed by Munsey to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1925, which developed the planned community under the leadership of museum president Robert W. DeForest. It featured Colonial-style houses and streets named for American artists. Its first model home opened in 1928. Since the village was miles away from the Plandome Road School, the Manhasset school district built the conveniently located Munsey Park Elementary School in the 1930s.
The village became incorporated in 1930, establishing its own municipal government and zoning ability.
The Munsey Park Village Hall is located at 1777 Northern Blvd. Opened on December 8, 1974, the village hall was built to conform to the style of residential homes in the village.
Residents of Munsey Park have a "Manhasset, NY 11030" mailing address.
The governing body of Munsey Park is the Village Board of Trustees. The board comprises five elected officials, of whom two are elected as Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Current Board of Trustees:
Frank DeMento
Jennifer Noone
Lawrence Ceriello
Antonio D’Angelo
Anthony Michael Sabino
Building Advisory Committee
In order to maintain the original character of the village, most building permit applications are reviewed by the Building Advisory Committee. Members of the committee are appointed by the Board of Trustees. It is important to note that the committee itself can make no decisions on applications, just recommendations. This power is reserved strictly for the Board of Trustees. However, almost all recommendations made by the committee are upheld by the Board of Trustees.
Board of Appeals
The Board of Appeals is independent of the Board of Trustees. Each board member is appointed for a staggered five-year term, which can be renewed. The Board of Appeals acts on appeals from disapprovals by the Building Inspector, often requesting variances from the Village Code. This Board is asked to rule on difficult issues and, on occasions, does overturn a ruling of the Board of Trustees. Board of Appeals hearings require the presence of a court stenographer and attorneys may be appear.
Law Enforcement
The Village of Munsey Park is served by the 6th Precinct of the Nassau County Police Department. Policing is funded through village and county taxes.
Additional Taxing Districts
Residents of the village fall under the jurisdiction of several other tax districts that provide additional government services. The Village of Munsey Park has no influence over the budget or day-to-day operations of these districts. These include:
The village participates in the following inter-municipal efforts:
Manhasset Bay Protection Committee
North Shore/Great Neck Cable Commission
Maintenance of Street Lighting on State Roadways within village boundaries with the Town of North Hempstead
Geography
Munsey Park is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of, all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,632 people, 817 households, and 731 families residing in the village. The population density was 5,073.4 people per square mile. There were 833 housing units at an average density of 1,605.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 93.35% White, 0.34% African American, 5.66% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population. There were 817 households, out of which 48.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.6% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 10.5% were non-families. 9.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.22 and the average family size was 3.43. In the village, the population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $149,100, and the median income for a family was $159,147. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $46,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $66,772. About 1.6% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 1.2% of those age 65 or over.
