Franklin Square, New York

Franklin Square is a hamlet (and a census-designated place) in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 29,342 at the 2000 census. Franklin Square is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempstead.

Geography

Franklin Square is located at (40.701722, -73.676549).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 29,342 people, 10,187 households, and 7,833 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 10,169.2 per square mile (3,920.1/km²). There were 10,364 housing units at an average density of 3,591.9/sq mi (1,384.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.97% White, 0.99% African American, 0.11% Native American, 3.79% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.75% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.89% of the population.

There were 10,187 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.9% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $80,164, and the median income for a family was $87,485 as of a 2007.^[1] Males had a median income of $50,805 versus $35,207 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,149. About 3.7% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Franklin Square has large Italian-American (40%), Irish-American (16%) and German-American (11%) populations.^[2]

History

Franklin Square was the home of the Franklin National Bank, once the nation's 20th largest bank. Under the leadership of Arthur T. Roth, the Franklin National Bank introduced many banking innovations, such as

• The bank credit card
• The drive up teller window (1950)
• Junior savings accounts (1947)
• A no-smoking policy on banking floors (1958)

On October 8, 1974, the Franklin National Bank was declared insolvent due to mismanagement and fraud, involving losses in foreign currency speculation and poor loan policies. This caused massive losses for its stockholders, resulted in jail and disgrace for its management; Italian financier and CEO Michele Sindona was poisoned in his cell in 1986,^[3] while serving a life-sentence for his part in this affair. It was at the time the largest bank failure in the history of the country, and forced US banking policymakers to reexamine and reassess regulation of international banking.

Schools

Franklin Square has three public elementary schools, one private elementary school, and one public high school.

Below are the schools in Franklin Square, and their respective grade levels and districts.

Town Infrastructure

Franklin Square has a volunteer fire department^[4] and is served by the Nassau County Police Department's Fifth Precinct^[5]. The Franklin Square Public Library^[6] provides library services to residents. Sanitation and recycling services are provided by Town of Hempstead District 6^[7]. The Town of Hempstead department of Parks and Recreation operates and maintains Rath Park, which includes Rath Park Pool, basketball, handball, and tennis courts, football and baseball Fields, a playground. There is a snack commissary and recreational equipment rental facility that operate during the summer, while the pool is operational^[8].

Groups

There is an active Chamber of Commerce^[9] and a historical society^[10]. Franklin Square has the Franklin Square Raiders youth soccer program ^[11], the Franklin Square Little League^[12], and Franklin Square Seminoles II baseball and softball club^[13].

Newspapers

Franklin Square has a print weekly newspaper, the Franklin Square Bulletin^[14], and is covered by another local print and online newspaper, the Three Village Times ^[15].

Houses of Worship

Franklin Square is served by St. Catherine's of Sienna Roman Catholic church^[16], an Orthodox Presbyterian Church^[17] and a Jewish Center.

Notable Residents

• Barbara Rosenthal, the New York avant-garde artist who wrote a weekly column ("A Crack In The Sidewalk") for The Franklin Square Bulletin in 1959-61, when she was only eleven.^[18]

• The Bulletin also served as training ground for another writer, Robert Viagas, who started writing the theatre review column "Theatre in the Square" (1974–1977) while still a student at H. Frank Carey Junior-Senior High School, and later went on to found Playbill.com and Theatre.com, and to write more than a dozen books on theatre.

• Alice Hoffman (born March 16, 1952) is a novelist and young-adult and children's writer, best known for her 1996 novel Practical Magic, which was adapted for a 1998 film of the same name.

• Rich Davis is a radio personality on the Covino and Rich show on Sirius XM Radio and is a graduate of the H. Frank Carey Junior-Senior High School.

• Vinny Testaverde, former professional football player for the New York Jets.

• T.J. Surlis, on the show MTV's Busted.

• Jenni "JWoww" Farley, a cast member on MTV's Jersey Shore.

• Sean Hannity, an American radio and television host, author, and political commentator.

• Michael J. Massimino, NASA Astronaut, a graduate of H. Frank Carey Junior-Senior High School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

References