How quickly am I covered for fire damage restoration after a blaze in Farmingdale? SERVPRO of Hicksville / Plainview

Long Island Rail Road station in Nassau County, New York

 

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Hicksville
Hicksville station in March 2019
General information
Location	Newbridge Road and West Barclay Street Hicksville, New York
Coordinates	40°46′02″N 73°31′43″W / 40.767101°N 73.528686°W / 40.767101; -73.528686
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Lines	Main Line Port Jefferson Branch
Distance	24.8 mi (39.9 km) from Long Island City[1]
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	3
Connections	Nassau Inter-County Express: n20H, n22, n24, n48, n49, n78, n79, n80
Construction
Parking	Yes; Town of Oyster Bay permits and private parking garages
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	yes
Other information
Station code	HVL
Fare zone	7
History
Opened	March 1, 1837
Rebuilt	1873, 1909, 1962, 2014–2018
Electrified	October 19, 1970 750 V (DC) third rail
Passengers
2012–14	21,924 per weekday[2]
Rank	3 out of 126
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Westbury toward Penn Station, Grand Central or Long Island City   Port Jefferson Branch   Syosset toward Huntington or Port Jefferson Mineola toward Penn Station or Grand Central   Ronkonkoma Branch   Bethpage toward Ronkonkoma Mineola toward Penn Station or Long Island City   Montauk Branch limited service   Babylon toward Montauk
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Westbury toward Long Island City or Penn Station   Main Line   Grumman toward Greenport Terminus   Wading River Branch   Landia toward Wading River Former services

Preceding station	Amtrak			Following station
Jamaica toward Norfolk, Newport News or Christiansburg		Northeast Regional		Ronkonkoma Terminus

Location

Hicksville is a commuter rail station on the Main Line and Port Jefferson Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, located in Hicksville, New York. It is the busiest station east of Jamaica, Penn Station, and Grand Central Madison by combined weekday/weekend ridership.

The station is located at Newbridge Road (NY 106) and West Barclay Street. It has two island platforms and three tracks. It is wheelchair accessible, with an elevator to each platform from street level. It is served by eight Nassau Inter-County Express routes and two cab services on the ground level of the station.

Beginning in approximately 2028, Hicksville will be served by Amtrak's Northeast Regional trains heading to and from Ronkonkoma.^[3]

Hicksville station's first depot opened on March 1, 1837, and it served as the temporary terminus of the LIRR.^[4] Both the station and the eponymous hamlet were established by Valentine Hicks – the son of an abolitionist preacher who also briefly served as President of the LIRR.^[4]

In 1841, the Main Line was extended east from Hicksville to Farmingdale, after a delay caused by the depression that had begun with the Panic of 1837.^[4]

In 1854, the station gained a line known as the Hicksville and Syosset Railroad that later became the Port Jefferson Branch of the LIRR.^[4] Ten years later, on July 15, 1864, Hicksville's first depot burned down. A second depot opened in September 1873, and was moved to a private location in 1909. The third depot opened on October 30, 1909, and was razed in November 1962 as the current elevated structure was being built.^[4][5][6] The elevated station opened on September 12, 1964.^[4][6][7]

In 1965, an eagle sculpture from the original Penn Station, which had recently been demolished, was moved to the Hicksville station. The sculpture was subsequently installed in the station's parking lot, where it remains standing today.^[4][8]

In October 1970, third-rail electrification on the Main Line was extended from Mineola through Hicksville to Huntington^[9] thereby introducing direct electric train service to Penn Station (Hicksville customers had previously been required to change trains at Jamaica).^[9] The first electric train to serve the Hicksville station ran on October 19th of that year.^[9]

On October 30, 1979, the MTA took over control of the station's escalators from the Hicksville Escalator District – a special district responsible for maintaining and paying for the escalators at the station; the controversial district was dissolved upon this transfer of ownership.^[10]

The station underwent a full renovation beginning in early 2014.^[11] The $121 million renovation included replacing station platforms, escalators, elevators, waiting rooms, canopies, and lighting. Security cameras were also added during the renovation.^[11] Construction was estimated to last through 2017, and was expected to be completed by August 2018.^[11][12][13] Platform A was the first platform to be rebuilt, reopening in September 2017.^[14] The electrical substation at Hicksville station will be replaced as part of the Main Line third track project.^[15] The rehabilitation project was officially completed in September 2018.

Generally, Platform A serves westbound trains and Platform B serves eastbound trains. Track 2 operates with the flow of rush hour, handling westbound trains in the morning and eastbound trains in the evening, though some westbound trains will use Platform B. Most Montauk Branch trains pass through the station without stopping. East of the station, the Port Jefferson Branch splits from the Main Line at DIVIDE Interlocking.

P Platform level	Track 1	←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Long Island City, or Penn Station (Westbury) ←      Ronkonkoma Branch toward Grand Central Madison or Penn Station (Mineola)
	Platform A, island platform
	Track 2	←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Grand Central Madison, Long Island City, or Penn Station (Westbury) ←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Huntington or Port Jefferson (Syosset) → ←      Ronkonkoma Branch AM rush hours toward Grand Central Madison or Penn Station (Mineola) ←      Ronkonkoma Branch toward Farmingdale or Ronkonkoma (Bethpage) → ←      Montauk Branch AM rush hours toward Long Island City (Mineola) ←      Montauk Branch PM rush hours toward Patchogue or Montauk (Babylon) →
	Platform B, island platform
	Track 3	←      Port Jefferson Branch toward Huntington or Port Jefferson (Syosset) → ←      Ronkonkoma Branch toward Farmingdale or Ronkonkoma (Bethpage) → ←      Montauk Branch PM rush hours toward Patchogue or Montauk (Babylon) →
G	Ground level	Exit/entrance, parking, buses

In January 2025, it was officially announced that a new Long Island branch of Amtrak's Northeast Regional, running east to Ronkonkoma via the LIRR's Main Line, would serve the Hicksville station, with an intermediate stop at Jamaica east of Penn Station.^[3] The year prior, Amtrak conducted a study of the new service through a $500 million federal grant.^[16] As of January 2025, Amtrak service is anticipated to begin in 2028.^[3]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Hicksville (LIRR station) (category)

• Hicksville – LIRR
• Hicksville LIRR timetable
• Steve Lynch's LIRR Maps, Photos, Charts, etc. (TrainsAreFun.com)
  • Hicksville Station History
  • 1962 Reconstruction Pamphlet; Pages 1, 2, 3, and 4
• DIVIDE Interlocking (The LIRR Today)
• Newbridge Road entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View

This article is about the hamlet. For the town encompassing the hamlet, see Town of Oyster Bay, New York.

 

Place in New York, United States

Oyster Bay

Location within the state of New York

Show map of New York

Oyster Bay, New York
Hamlet and census-designated place Town Seat of Oyster Bay
Downtown Oyster Bay in 2021
Location in Nassau County and the state of New York.
Oyster Bay Location on Long Island Show map of Long Island

Coordinates: 40°52′20.8″N 73°31′50.8″W / 40.872444°N 73.530778°W / 40.872444; -73.530778Country United StatesState New YorkCountyNassauTownOyster BayEstablished1666Area

1.61 sq mi (4.16 km²) • Land1.24 sq mi (3.20 km²) • Water0.37 sq mi (0.96 km²)Elevation

180 ft (55 m)Population

7,049 • Density5,698.6/sq mi (2,200.23/km²)Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)ZIP code

Area codes516, 363FIPS code36-55992NWS SAME code036059

Oyster Bay is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within – and the Town Seat of – the Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 7,049 at the time of the 2020 census.

The hamlet's area was considerably larger before several of its parts incorporated as separate villages. At least six of the 36 villages and hamlets of the Town of Oyster Bay have shores on Oyster Bay Harbor and its inlets, and many of these were previously considered part of the hamlet of Oyster Bay; three of those are now known as Mill Neck, Bayville, and Centre Island. The Oyster Bay Post Office (ZIP code 11771) serves portions of the surrounding villages also, including Oyster Bay Cove, Laurel Hollow, Mill Neck, Muttontown, Centre Island, Cove Neck, and Upper Brookville.

The first mention of Oyster Bay comes from Dutch Captain David Pietersz. de Vries, who in his journal recalls how on June 4, 1639, he "came to anchor in Oyster Bay, which is a large bay which lies on the north side of the Great Island… There are fine oysters here, whence our nation has given it the name of Oyster Bay."

Oyster Bay was settled by the Dutch, and was the boundary between the Dutch New Amsterdam colony and the English New England colonies. The English, under Peter Wright, first settled in the area in 1653. The boundary between the Dutch and English was somewhat fluid which led to each group having their own Main Street. Many Quakers came to Oyster Bay, escaping persecution from Dutch authorities in New Amsterdam. These included Elizabeth Feake and her husband Captain John Underhill, whom she converted to Quakerism.^[2]

Other notable Quakers to settle in Oyster Bay were the brothers John Townsend and Henry Townsend. Noted dissenter and founder of Quakerism George Fox visited Oyster Bay in 1672, where he spoke with the Wrights, Underhill and Feake at a Quaker gathering on the site of Council Rock, facing the Mill Pond.^[3]

During the Revolutionary War, Raynham Hall was owned by the irredentist Townsend family. For a six-month period from 1778 to 1779, the Townsend home served as British headquarters for the Queen's Rangers led by Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe. Simcoe was often visited by British officer Major John Andre. According to legend, on one of these visits Samuel Townsend's daughter Sally Townsend overheard the two officers discussing Benedict Arnold's traitorous plot to surrender the fort at West Point to the British.^{[clarification needed]} The plot was thwarted when three Americans on patrol captured Andre near West Point, preventing what would have been a disastrous defeat for the colonists in the Revolutionary War.

In the 1880s, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) extended rail service from Locust Valley as a means to establish a connection between New York and Boston, via steamboat on Long Island Sound. On June 21, 1889, the first LIRR train arrived in Oyster Bay. In the following year, service commenced with the train coaches being loaded onto a ferry for a connection to the New Haven Railroad at Norwalk, CT. Service lasted less than a year.^[4]

Around the time railroad service was introduced, Theodore Roosevelt, the future 26th President of the United States, chose to make his home at Sagamore Hill, in present-day Cove Neck, a neighboring incorporated village (Cove Neck was not incorporated until 1927). Sagamore Hill was completed in 1886. This is where Roosevelt lived until his death in 1919. His wife Edith Roosevelt continued to occupy the house until her death, nearly three decades later, in September 1948. On July 25, 1962, Congress established the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site to preserve the house.

Efforts to honor Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay have greatly improved the hamlet. These include design of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park. Other Roosevelt-related landmarks have been restored including Snouder's Drug Store – location of the first telegraph in Oyster Bay, Moore's Building – today the Wild Honey restaurant, and proposals to restore the Oyster Bay Long Island Rail Road Station – home station of TR and the Octagon Hotel – built in 1851 and once home to offices of Governor Roosevelt. A local non-profit, the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, developed an audio tour of these historic sites and many others called the Oyster Bay History Walk.

The oysters that give the bay its name are now the only source of traditionally farmed oysters from Long Island, providing up to 90% of all the oysters harvested in New York State.^{[citation needed]}

When Hurricane Sandy hit Oyster Bay in 2012, West Shore Road was demolished. Due to the damages, commuters between Bayville and Oyster Bay had to take a detour through Mill Neck, on-and-off for 4 years.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), of which 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) – or 23.60% – is water.^[5]

For the 2000 census, the CDP was enlarged beyond the boundaries used for the 1990 census.^[6]

Oyster Bay consists of 12 villages and 3 unincorporated hamlets:

• Oyster Bay
• Centre Island
• Bayville
• Oyster Bay Cove
• Cove Neck
• East Norwich
• Mill Neck
• Locust Valley
• Matinecock
• Lattingtown

Note: Locust Valley, Matinecock, Lattingtown are also in the Greater Glen Cove area.

As of the 2010 Census^[8] the population was 85% White 75.8% Non-Hispanic White, 3.3% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 5.4% from other races, and 3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.7% of the population.

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 6,826 people, 2,815 households, and 1,731 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 5,554.1 inhabitants per square mile (2,144.4/km²). There were 2,898 housing units at an average density of 2,358.0 per square mile (910.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.51% White, 3.16% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.76% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.17% from other races, and 2.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.25% of the population.

There were 2,815 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 20.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $57,993, and the median income for a family was $73,500. Males had a median income of $51,968 versus $41,926 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $34,730. About 3.3% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

Oyster Bay is known for the residence and summer White House of Theodore Roosevelt, Sagamore Hill (though that residence is in a nearby area known since 1927 as the Village of Cove Neck).

Many well-known American celebrities spent their youth in this town. Among its better known former residents are musician Billy Joel, who mentions the town in his song "The Ballad of Billy the Kid"; tennis players John McEnroe and his brother Patrick; actress Heather Matarazzo; authors Thomas Pynchon and Tracy Kidder; basketball coach Rick Pitino of Bayville, who attended St. Dominic's School; composer John Barry; and Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo (Pynchon and Ranaldo attended Oyster Bay High School).

A less distinguished figure from the hamlet's past is Typhoid Mary, whose contagiousness was discovered following an investigation into her employment at a summer home in Oyster Bay in 1906. William Woodward Jr., accidental victim of 1955's "Shooting of the Century" and subject of Dominic Dunne's book and NBC's The Two Mrs. Grenvilles was also a resident of Oyster Bay.

It was also the setting of the 2000 film Meet the Parents.

• Raynham Hall Museum, home of the Samuel Townsend family and a British headquarters during the American Revolution. Townsend's son, Robert, was a member of the Culper Spy Ring.
• The WaterFront Center a non-profit center for marine education and recreation offering sailing lessons and environmental education programs. It also owns the Sloop Christeen which it uses for sails around the harbor.
• Beekman Beach
• Sagamore Rowing Association
• Oyster Bay Railroad Museum dedicated to preserving the rich legacy of Long Island's railroad history.

Oyster Bay is served by the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District. Schools in the OBEN CSD include:

• Oyster Bay High School, within the hamlet, is the sole public high school.
• James H. Vernon School
• Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School

There are several private schools in close proximity to Oyster Bay. These include:

• St. Dominic High School
• East Woods School

The Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library is a public library serving the residents of the communities of Oyster Bay and East Norwich. Today the library provides a variety of services for youth and adults.^[10]

For over two hundred years the residents of Oyster Bay did not have a public library as we know it today. Before the turn of the twentieth century there were "reading rooms" instead. One of the earliest was opened by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1873, called the Oyster Bay Reading Room and Lyceum, with a focus on history and genealogy.

Others included one run by Christ Church, begun in 1889 by Reverend Henry Homer Washburn, to encourage people to spend less time at saloons. He gave up on the idea when his reading room was used more for card playing than reading.

Then in 1893 the People's Library and Reading Room opened on east Main Street and it is that collection of books which would later be brought to this building.^[11]

The Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library was originally constructed in 1901, through the efforts and donations of many community leaders, notably Andrew Snouder of Snouder's Drug Store. One of the early fundraising efforts was the laying of a cornerstone by Theodore Roosevelt in 1899, when the land had been donated by Mrs. Harriet Swan, but no plans for the building itself had yet been developed. In the time between the laying of that cornerstone, and the construction of the actual building, the symbolic masonry corner was lost and has still never been found.^[12]

Another early contributor was Andrew Carnegie, the industrialist and philanthropist. He had a niece who lived near the village and when he heard of the efforts to begin a library here he donated $1,000 to help the cause. Carnegie continued this thousand dollar annual contribution for many years afterwards, which helped greatly during the early years of the library's history. The brick building to the left as you face the front of the library represents the original structure, which was wood frame until 1949, when an extensive renovation took place.^[11]

To the right is a frame house built around 1890 which for many generations was a doctor's office. It was purchased by the library and connected to the original building in 1975.^[11] This house is often referred to as the Bishop house, named for Dr. Bishop who had a medical practice there. In 1994 the brick and glass additions behind the Bishop House were added on to further expand the facilities which now include a spacious and sunny children's room.^[13]

Acclaim Entertainment was originally located in the hamlet of Oyster Bay.^[14] It originally occupied a one-room office in Oyster Bay. At a later time it occupied a brick structure with two stories.^[15] In 1994 Acclaim bought a headquarters building in Glen Cove.^[16]

• Oyster Bay History Walk
• List of Town of Oyster Bay Landmarks
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Nassau County, New York

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oyster Bay, New York.

• Oyster Bay Historical Society
• Oyster Bay Main Street Association
• Oyster Bay – East Norwich Central School District
• Enterprise Pilot – Local Oyster Bay Newspaper
• Pictures of Oyster Bay's Historic Estates & Homes
• Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center
• Historic Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce

Whitehead Hicks
42nd Mayor of New York City
In office 1766–1776
Preceded by	John Cruger Jr.
Succeeded by	David Mathews
Personal details
Born	(1728-08-24)August 24, 1728 Flushing, Queens, New York
Died	October 4, 1780(1780-10-04) (aged 52) Flushing, Queens, New York

Whitehead Hicks (August 24, 1728 – October 4, 1780) was the 42nd Mayor of New York City from 1766 to 1776.^[1]

Hicks came from a Quaker family which settled and lent its name to Hicksville, New York. Hicks studied law under William Smith and was admitted to practice in 1750.^[2] The son of Judge Thomas Hicks, he was a lawyer and served on the New York Supreme Court of Judicature.^[3] He married Charlotte Brevoort, the daughter of John and Louisa (Kockerman) Brevoort.

Hicks was a Loyalist and was the first to appear in front of a committee of nine colonials formed by the New York Provincial Congress in 1776 to investigate "domestic enemies" "disaffected to the American cause". He met with this committee on June 15, 1776, indicating his loyalty to George III. He was subsequently put on parole.^[4] A street in the Bronx, NY is named in his honor (Hicks Street)^[5]

After resigning from the mayoralty, he served as a judge before eventually retiring to his farm on Long Island. He died there at the age of 52 years in 1780.^[2]

He was the first mayor to be born in what is now modern-day Queens.

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