Five Towns

2025-10-19T18:25:41Z

2600:4041:574A:3F00:F8E8:EE15:A5A9:B521: /* Jewish community */Fixed context

{{Short description|Informal grouping of areas in Nassau County, New York}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Stoke-on-Trent#Geography|Stoke-on-Trent]], referred to as "Five Towns" in [[Arnold Bennett]]'s novels}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{for-multi|the location in Yorkshire|City of Wakefield|the College|Five Towns College}}
[[Image:Welcome to Five Towns LI jeh.jpg|thumb|250px|"Welcome to the Five Towns", [[Far Rockaway]] border]]
[[File:Nassau County New York incorporated and unincorporated areas Five Towns highlighted.svg|260px|thumb|Location within Nassau County]]
The '''Five Towns''' is an informal grouping of [[village (New York)|villages]] and [[hamlet (New York)|hamlets]] in [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]], United States on the [[South Shore (Long Island)|South Shore]] of western [[Long Island]] adjoining the border with [[Queens|Queens County]] in New York City. Although there is no official Five Towns designation, "the basic five are Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett and Inwood."<ref name=NYT1983>[[James Barron (journalist)|Barron, James]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/10/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-five-towns.html "If You're Thinking Of Living In: Five Towns"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 10, 1983. Accessed March 24, 2022. "The basic five are Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett and Inwood. But the area also includes some unincorporated communities and two tiny villages, Hewlett Bay Park and Woodsburgh, that are not added to the final total."</ref> Each of these "towns" has a consecutive stop on the [[Far Rockaway Branch]] of the [[Long Island Rail Road]]. All five communities are part of the [[Hempstead, New York|Town of Hempstead]]. Woodmere is the largest and most populous community in the Five Towns, while Inwood is the second-largest community in the Five Towns.

The area also includes some unincorporated communities and two small villages, Hewlett Bay Park and Woodsburgh, that are not added to the final total.<ref name=NYT1983/> Despite the name, none of these communities is a [[town (New York)|town]]. The Five Towns is usually said to comprise the villages of [[Lawrence, Nassau County, New York|Lawrence]] and [[Cedarhurst, New York|Cedarhurst]], the hamlets of [[Woodmere, New York|Woodmere]] and [[Inwood, New York|Inwood]], and "The Hewletts,” which consist of the villages of [[Hewlett Bay Park, New York|Hewlett Bay Park]], [[Hewlett Harbor, New York|Hewlett Harbor]], and [[Hewlett Neck, New York|Hewlett Neck]], and the hamlet of [[Hewlett, New York|Hewlett]], along with [[Woodsburgh, New York|Woodsburgh]].

[[North Woodmere, New York|North Woodmere]] is technically one of the "Five Towns" as it is served by the Five Towns' two local high schools and its constituents use the "Five Towns" many public services. Others do not consider it to be part of the "Five Towns," as it is a section of [[Valley Stream, New York|Valley Stream]], separated from the rest of the Five Towns by Motts Creek. [[Atlantic Beach, New York|Atlantic Beach]], which is located across a drawbridge from Lawrence on a [[barrier island]] it shares with [[Long Beach, New York|Long Beach]], [[Lido Beach, New York|Lido Beach]] and [[Point Lookout, New York|Point Lookout]], is culturally linked to the Five Towns, with its students attending Five Towns public schools, but it is usually — though not always — excluded from the designation.

==History==
The name "Five Towns" dates back to 1931,<ref name=NYT1983/> when individual [[Community Chest (organization)|Community Chest]] groups in the area banded together to form the "Five Towns Community Chest", consisting of Inwood, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, and Hewlett. The organization still exists (as of 2018) as a local charity, but the "Five Towns" moniker caught on as a designation for the entire area.<ref>Shaman, Diana. [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/20/realestate/if-youre-thinking-of-living-in-five-towns.html "If You're Thinking Of Living In: Five Towns"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 20, 1988. Accessed March 24, 2022. "The area's name dates to 1931, when Community Chest organizers pooled their efforts and formed the Five Towns Community Chest to serve Inwood, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere and Hewlett. The name clung, even though Cedarhurst and Lawrence are incorporated villages. The Five Towns area, which lies within the Town of Hempstead, also includes five other villages - Hewlett Bay Park, Hewlett Harbor, Hewlett Neck, Woodsburgh and East Rockaway. Many also include Atlantic Beach, which is in the Lawrence Public School District."</ref> A 1933 article in ''[[The New York Times]]'' references a [[Girl Scouts of the USA]] encampment by the "Five Towns Council, embracing the villages{{sic}} of Inwood, Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere and Hewlett", listed in order by [[Long Island Rail Road|LIRR]] station.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1933/07/25/archives/to-break-camp-at-aen-girl-scouts-of-rockaways-leave-wednesday-after.html "TO BREAK CAMP AT AEN.; Girl Scouts of Rockaways Leave Wednesday After 2 Weeks' Stay."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 25, 1933, p. 16. Accessed September 15, 2008.</ref>

One notable characteristic of the Five Towns is that despite the reputation of the South Shore of [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]] being more urbanized than the [[North Shore (Long Island)|North Shore]], the Five Towns retains hamlets that resemble areas along Long Island's [[Gold Coast (Long Island)|Gold Coast]] on the North Shore with enormous mansions and exclusive private communities
along the water. ''[[The New York Times]]'' used the term "affluent" in describing the area.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/realestate/03living.html|title=Portrait of a Village at 100|author=Marcelle S. Fischler|date=December 30, 2009}}</ref> Inwood, however, is much less affluent than the other "towns," with a more urban character and a significantly more ethnically diverse population.

==Education==
There are two school districts in the Five Towns, the [[Lawrence Public Schools (New York)|Lawrence Public Schools]] (District 15) and the [[Hewlett-Woodmere School District]] (District 14).<ref name=NYT1983/> Roughly speaking, the Lawrence school district contains all of Lawrence, Cedarhurst and Inwood, and parts of Woodmere, North Woodmere, and Woodsburgh, while the Hewlett-Woodmere district contains all of Hewlett and part of Woodmere and extends partly into the neighboring villages of [[Lynbrook, New York|Lynbrook]] and [[Valley Stream, New York|Valley Stream]] (North Woodmere and Gibson in particular).

In addition, there are many private schools in the Five Towns. Among them are the independent school, [[Lawrence Woodmere Academy]], and Jewish schools, [[HAFTR|Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR)]], [[HALB|Hebrew Academy of Long Beach (HALB)]], and [[Yeshiva of South Shore]].

===Five Towns College===
Although Lawrence was planned to be the location for [[Five Towns College]], the original site was no longer available by the time the school received its charter in 1972. The college is currently located in [[Dix Hills, New York|Dix Hills]], [[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk County]]. Other than the proposed original site, the school never had a physical connection to the Five Towns.<ref>[http://www.ftc.edu/AboutUs/abo_history.php Five Towns College: Our History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708010949/http://www.ftc.edu/AboutUs/abo_history.php |date=2006-07-08 }}, accessed July 6, 2006</ref>

== Jewish community ==

By the 1980s, the Five Towns had developed a large Jewish community. The [[UJA-Federation of New York]] estimated that 35,000 Jews lived in the area, out of a total of 47,048 counted in the 1980 census, with a growing number of [[Orthodox Jews]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/04/nyregion/five-towns-where-two-worlds-meet.html|title=
Five Towns: Where Two Worlds Meet|author=Barbara Klaus|date=4 Jan 1987|work=New York Times}}</ref> By 2010, the Five Towns hosts 53 orthodox [[synagogue]]s. And a number of Jewish private schools, and kosher restaurants. The Orthodox community had become so large that many incoming Orthodox families chose to move to adjoining areas like [[Far Rockaway]] and [[North Woodmere, New York|North Woodmere]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Welcome To The 'Greater' Five Towns|date=15 June 2010|work=Jewish Telegraph Agency|url=https://www.jta.org/2010/06/15/ny/welcome-to-the-greater-five-towns}}</ref>

== Publications ==
As of February 2019, the Five Towns has two weekly local publications: The ''[[Nassau Herald]]'' and The Five Towns Jewish Times.

==In popular culture==
* The [[1993 in film|1993]] movie ''[[Amongst Friends]]'', by [[Rob Weiss]], was filmed and set in the Five Towns.<ref>Lyall, Sarah. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/movies/film-amongst-friends-tops-off-a-journey-of-self-discovery.html "Film; 'Amongst Friends' Tops Off a Journey Of Self-Discovery"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 18, 1993. Accessed March 24, 2022. "Now comes Rob Weiss, a brash 26-year-old whose first movie, ''Amongst Friends,'' portrays a world of mobsters and drug dealers in the Five Towns, a cluster of mostly affluent communities east of Kennedy Airport and near Mr. Weiss's birthplace."</ref>
*The television show ''[[Entourage (U.S. TV series)|Entourage]]'' features a fictional show titled ''Five Towns'', in which [[Johnny Drama]] stars as a character. The producer of the show was supposed to be actor-director Edward Burns, who in real life grew up in Valley Stream but attended Hewlett High School. When shown on ''Entourage'' the Five Towns is oddly portrayed as a gritty industrial area.
*In [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s 1963 debut novel ''[[V.]]'', he mentions the Five Towns; however, he includes [[Malverne, New York|Malverne]] as being part of the group.
* In the film ''[[Goodfellas]]'', when trying to get Henry to come along on a double date, Tommy mentions that his date lives in the Five Towns.
* Opening scene to ''[[Married to the Mob]]'' was filmed at the Cedarhurst train station (but with the trains going in the reverse direction per the director's decision).

==Notable people==
{{Alumni|people|date=July 2025}}
Notable current and former residents of the Five Towns include:
{{Dynamic list |date=July 2025}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em|small=yes}}
* [[Henry Abramson]] (born 1963), dean of the [[Lander College of Arts and Sciences]]
* [[Lyle Alzado]] (1949–1992), former [[National Football League|NFL]] [[American football|football]] player<ref>Gergen, Joe, via ''[[Newsday]]''. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-07-sp-2904-story.html "Commentary : Lyle Alzado Delivering Forceful Message"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', July 7, 1991. Accessed March 24, 2022. "Once more, Lyle Alzado is the protagonist in a compelling tale.... By the end of the week, reporters who knew nothing about New York geography were associating Lawrence, in Long Island's fashionable Five Towns, with Bed-Stuy and the South Bronx. Actually, Alzado hailed from the poorer Inwood section."</ref>
* [[Bruce Blakeman]], Politician, Member of the Board of Commissioners of the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]]
* [[Lil Tecca]] (born 2002), rapper
* [[Ross Bleckner]] (born 1949), artist<ref>Shaw, Dan. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/29/style/bachelor-of-arts.html "Bachelor of Arts"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 29, 1993. Accessed March 23, 2022. "'I always absolutely thought there was a difference between being a young artist and an important young artist,' said Mr. Bleckner, who grew up in Hewlett, L.I., graduated in 1971 from New York University and earned an M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts in 1973."</ref>
* [[Jake Burton Carpenter]] (1954–2019), founder and owner of Burton Snowboards.
* [[Michael Cohen (lawyer)|Michael Cohen]] (born 1966), former attorney and former lawyer for President Trump<ref>Bessen, Jeff. [https://www.liherald.com/stories/donald-trumps-lawyer-has-five-towns-ties,102321 "Donald Trump's lawyer has Five Towns ties"], ''Long Island Herald'', April 19, 2018. Accessed March 24, 2022. "Michael Dean Cohen could be in more than a little trouble through his role as President Donald Trump's lawyer, but before his name became synonymous with hush money payoffs, he was just another boy growing up in the Five Towns. Cohen grew up in Lawrence off Central Avenue. His mother, Sondra, was one of several parents who volunteered to fundraise for Hillel, the Jewish Day School Cohen attended."</ref>
* [[Howard Deutch]] (born 1950), movie director
* John DiResta, actor / comedian
* [[Debra Drimmer]], VP of Talent, [[Comedy Central]]
* [[Gordon Edelstein]], Artistic Director of the [[Long Wharf Theatre]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut]]
* [[David M. Friedman|David Friedman]] (born 1958), former US Ambassador to Israel
* [[Jane Friedman]], President and CEO, [[HarperCollins]]
* [[Jeffrey M. Friedman]] (born 1954), molecular geneticist and discoverer of [[leptin]]<ref>Kerr, Kathleen. [http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-century_of_science_dissons,0,7662594.story "They Began Here: Around the country, leading thinkers in health and science can trace their roots to Long Island"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214232230/http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-century_of_science_dissons,0,7662594.story |date=2008-12-14 }}, ''[[Newsday]]'', July 16, 2008. Accessed September 17, 2008. "And Dr. Jeffrey Friedman is another respected scientist who hails from Long Island—he grew up in North Woodmere."</ref>
* [[James E. Gaffney]], owner of the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]] baseball team, winners of the 1914 World Series
* [[Hayden Gise]], second openly [[transgender]] person to be elected to public office in Washington D.C., as an [[Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner]] in [[Woodley Park]]<ref>[https://www.metroweekly.com/2022/11/election-2022-queering-the-ancs/ "Queering the ANC"], ''[[MetroWeekly]]'', November 7, 2022. Accessed December 4, 2022.</ref>
* [[Lisa Glasberg]] (born 1956), NYC radio DJ
* [[Barbara Gaines (television producer)|Barbara Gaines]], Producer, ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'', [[Emmy Award]] Winner
* [[Rande Gerber]], nightclub owner married to Cindy Crawford
* [[Brent Glass]], director of the [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]] [[National Museum of American History]]
* [[Louise Glück]], Poet, [[Pulitzer Prize]] for Poetry in 1993, [[Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress|United States Poet Laureate]] 2003-04, Nobel Laureate in Literature 2020
* [[Carolyn Gusoff]], WNBC news anchor
* [[Joan Hamburg]], radio personality
* [[Mickey Hart]], drummer of [[The Grateful Dead]]
* [[Karen Friedman Hill]], who married Mobster [[Henry Hill]] – whose life was immortalized by [[Nicholas Pileggi]]'s book ''Wiseguy'' and [[Martin Scorsese]]'s 1990 film ''[[Goodfellas]]'' – hailed from Lawrence, and the newlyweds initially lived there with Karen's parents
* [[Red Holzman]] (1920–1998), [[New York Knicks]] head coach<ref>[[Ira Berkow|Berkow, Ira]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/15/sports/red-holzman-hall-of-fame-coach-dies-at-78.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/15/sports/red-holzman-hall-of-fame-coach-dies-at-78.html "Red Holzman, Hall of Fame Coach, Dies at 78"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 15, 1998. Accessed March 24, 2022. "He and his wife bought a house in Cedarhurst, N.Y., in the Five Towns section of Long Island in 1950s, and stayed there all their lives, raising Gail, their only child in a 55-year marriage."</ref>
* [[David M. Israel]], TV producer/writer
* [[Donna Karan]] (born 1948), fashion designer<ref>Van Gelder, Lawrence. [https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/16/archives/long-island-weekly-interview-her-winning-way-with-fashion.html "Interview; Her Winning Way With Fashion"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 16, 1977. Accessed September 15, 2008. "And suddenly, at the age of 29, Donna Karan, who grew up in Woodmere, Who lied about her age to begin selling women's clothes at 14 in Cedarhurst, and who now lives in Lawrence, was at the top of her fashion world."</ref>
* [[Aline Kominsky-Crumb]], comics artist<ref>Kominsky-Crumb, Aline. (2007). ''Need More Love''. New York: MQ Publications. {{ISBN|1-84601-133-7}}</ref>
* [[Stan Lee]], Marvel comics writer, co-creator of [[Spider-Man]] and other comic characters, actor
* [[Peggy Lipton]] (born 1946), actress<ref>Berkvist, Robert. [https://www.nytimes.com/1972/03/19/archives/-bored-creatively-im-bored-but-.html "'Bored? Creatively I'm Bored, But...'"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 19, 1972. Accessed September 15, 2008. "The girl from uptight Lawrence, L. I., was now cool, worldly; Peggy Lipton had become, in the stone-age language of the sixties, a groovy chick, and ''Mod Squad'' had found its Julie."</ref>
* [[Steve Madden]] (born 1958), shoe designer<ref>Dominguez, Robert. [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/lifestyle/2006/10/19/2006-10-19_bringing_it_back_home__steve.html "Bringing It Back Home. Steve Madden's new ad campaign focuses on his fashion center - Queens"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212145003/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/lifestyle/2006/10/19/2006-10-19_bringing_it_back_home__steve.html |date=2009-02-12 }}, ''[[New York Daily News]]'', October 19, 2006. Accessed September 15, 2008. "He grew up in Lawrence, L.I., where he worked in shoe stores from his high-school days until he started his own business in 1990, at 33, with an investment of just $1,100."</ref>
* [[Gene Mayer]], professional tennis player<ref>Cavanaugh, Jack. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/23/nyregion/a-tennis-tournament-serves-some-aces.html "A Tennis Tournament Serves Some Aces"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 23, 1987. Accessed September 16, 2008. "Most of what rooting interest developed focused on the closest thing to a homegrown product in the competition, Gene Mayer of Woodmere."</ref>
* [[Harvey Milk]] (1930–1978), first openly [[gay]] man to be elected to public office in the United States, as a city supervisor in San Francisco<ref>[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-33238837_ITM "40 Heroes"], ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'', September 25, 2007. Accessed September 16, 2008. "Though an assassin cut his life short, Harvey Milk packed 48 years with enough accomplishments to last many lifetimes. Born in Woodmere, N.Y., in 1930..."</ref>
* [[Bruce Murray (sportscaster)|Bruce Murray]], host ''[[Murray in the Morning]]'' radio show
* [[Danny Porush]] investment banker/entrepreneur
* [[Evan Roberts (sportscaster)|Evan Roberts]] (born 1983), [[WFAN (AM)|WFAN]] host<ref>Coen, Andrew. [https://patch.com/new-york/fivetowns/qa-wfans-evan-roberts-persistence-paid-off "Q&A: WFAN's Evan Roberts' Persistence Paid Off Former Five Towner and sports radio co-host talks with Patch about his successful career."], Five Towns, NY ''Patch'', June 10, 2011. Accessed March 24, 2022. "Woodmere native Evan Roberts has successful pursued his passion for covering sports since graduating in 2001 by serving as a co-host on WFAN's Midday Show for the last four years."</ref>
* [[Seth Rudetsky]] (born 1967), composer, musical director and talk show host<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/79400.html "Rhapsody in Seth's Rudetsky Fights Back With Santorum Fund"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014052007/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/79400.html |date=October 14, 2008 }}, ''[[Playbill]]'', May 7, 2003. Accessed September 17, 2008. "In his self-penned, one-man show directed by Peter Flynn — Rhapsody in Seth — Seth Rudetsky recalls growing up in North Woodmere, Long Island, where he was praised for his musical gifts but ridiculed for being gay."</ref>
* [[Jim Steinman]] (1947–2021), music producer and composer, best known for working with [[Meat Loaf]], [[Celine Dion]] and [[Bonnie Tyler]]<ref>Bessen, Jeff. [https://www.liherald.com/stories/hewlett-harbors-jim-steinman-wrote-the-classic-bat-out-of-hell,131972 "Hewlett Harbor's Jim Steinman wrote the classic 'Bat Out Of Hell'"], ''Long Island Herald'', April 28, 2021. Accessed March 24, 2022. "He rode his bike from his Hewlett Harbor home to Green Acres Mall, in Valley Stream, and bought records at Sam Goody's produced by rock 'n' roll legend Phil Spector, and others that featured the classical music of Richard Wagner. Jim Steinman blended those two diverse styles in his work, culminating in the songs he wrote for Meat Loaf's classic ''Bat Out of Hell'' album, produced by Todd Rundgren."</ref>
* [[Rob Weiss]], director/producer ''[[Amongst Friends]]'', ''[[Entourage (U.S. TV series)|Entourage]]''<ref>Lyall, Sarah. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/18/movies/film-amongst-friends-tops-off-a-journey-of-self-discovery.html "Film; ''Amongst Friends'' Tops Off a Journey Of Self-Discovery"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 18, 1993. Accessed March 24, 2022. "Born in Baldwin, near the Five Towns, Mr. Weiss dropped out of the Parsons School of Design, where he studied fashion, then film. He found himself out of work and living goallessly back at his divorced father's house in Lawrence, smack in the Five Towns."</ref>
* [[Stuart Weitzman]] (born 1941), shoe designer
* [[Leslie West]] (born 1945), musician of the hard rock group [[Mountain (band)|Mountain]]<ref>Fischler, Marcelle S. [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/nyregion/nascent-hall-of-fame-to-welcome-first-honorees.html "Nascent Hall of Fame to Welcome First Honorees"]., ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 15, 2006. Accessed March 24, 2022. "Dee Snider of Stony Brook, the shock-rocker from 1980s heavy metal band Twisted Sister, known for his defiant metal anthem ''We're Not Gonna Take It'', and Leslie West of the band Mountain, who grew up in East Meadow, Lawrence and Forest Hills, are also being inducted..."</ref>
* [[Alan Zweibel]] (born 1950), writer / producer<ref>Capuzzo, Jill P. [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/nyregion/12NJ.html "From 'Saturday Night Live' to '700 Sundays'"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 12, 2004. Accessed September 17, 2008. "As the funny kid in the neighborhood, Mr. Zweibel — born in Brooklyn and reared in Woodmere, on Long Island — first tried his hand at writing jokes while at the University of Buffalo, mailing them to Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett"</ref>
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Five Towns, New York}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [https://archive.org/details/BellotsHistoryOfTheRockaways1917 Archive.org: History of the Rockaways from 1685 to 1917] — ''free download; includes the Five Towns history''.

[[Category:Five Towns| ]]
[[Category:Hempstead, New York]]
[[Category:Hamlets in Nassau County, New York]]
[[Category:Villages in Nassau County, New York]]
[[Category:Jewish communities in the United States]]

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Five Towns