Old Lawrence, or Back Lawrence, is a part of the Village of Lawrence, comprising many large homes, mansions, beach side villas and former plantations with very large property, a few dating back to the time of the American Revolution. This area, like Hewlett is unique because its rural affluence is similar in character to the more well known Gold Coast of the North Shore instead of being more urbanized like the rest of the South Shore of Nassau County. An interesting pre-Revolutionary home on Long Island, Rock Hall, was home to two prominent families, the Martins and Hewletts, and is now an active museum.[4]
Beginning in 1869, a railroad line was completed which originated in New York City and ran through the part of Long Island now called The Five Towns. Part of the land in that area was acquired by three brothers with the surname "Lawrence," which is who the Village was eventually named after. During the second half of the 19th century, it was a main vacation spot for the wealthy families until the 1890s. A series of hurricanes and nor'easters altered the coastline considerably and destroyed a large beachfront hotel. Lawrence could no longer boast direct access to the sands along the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, Lawrence began to become a suburb, a village with schools, public facilities, better roads and a large town area that expanded into what it is now today.[4]
In 1897, Lawrence incorporated as a village.[4] This enabled it to gain local control of zoning.[4]
Lawrence, or most notably Old Lawrence, was formerly home to a large upper class of White Anglo-Saxon Protestant families who lived there since the time of the American Revolution. From the 1940s to 1980s, it became a center of Reform and Conservative Jewish life that included the largest Reform synagogue on Long Island (Temple Israel). Many noteworthy residents grew up in Lawrence during this period.
In the late 1980s, it saw a large migration of Modern Orthodox Jews. The Orthodox Jewish communities are close to the more Haredi nearby center of Far Rockaway which has more yeshivas for the children and younger members as well as a variety of kosher restaurants and communal organizations. Central Avenue in Lawrence (and its continuation in Cedarhurst) has a large and growing number of kosher restaurants and other business catering to the Orthodox community.
Geography
U.S. Census map of Lawrence.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.1 km2), of which 3.8 square miles (10.0 km2) is land and 0.8 square mile (2.2 km2) (17.91%) is water.[5]
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 6,522 people, 2,113 households, and 1,629 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,694.6 inhabitants per square mile (654.3/km2). There were 2,287 housing units at an average density of 594.2 per square mile (229.4/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 95.2% White, 1.1% African American, <0.1% Native American, 1.7% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.4% of the population.
There were 2,113 households, out of which 37.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.7% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.62.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.6% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $104,845, and the median income for a family was $129,779. Males had a median income of $99,841 versus $41,094 for females. The per capita income for the village was $51,602. About 4.3% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.2% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The Village of Lawrence is governed by an elected mayor and board of trustees. Alex H. Edelman was mayor in 2014. The board of trustees consists of five members, including the mayor. Lawrence recently enacted term limits for the village board. The mayor may only serve three 2-year terms, and trustees are limited to four 2-year terms. As of July 1, 2024 Samuel (Shlomo) Nahmias, 46, is the new mayor of The Village of Lawrence. Samuel (Shlomo) Nahmias was voted in by the largest voter turnout in the history of the village, defeating the incumbent deputy mayor by 25 votes 889 versus 864. Samuel (Shlomo) Nahmias is the youngest mayor in the 125 year history of the village at age 46.
The Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway, is a K-12 Modern Orthodox school where students study Jewish and secular subjects in a dual curriculum. The Pre-School, Kindergarten and Elementary schools are located on one campus on Frost Lane and Washington Avenue. The Brandeis School is a conservative Jewish Day School located in Lawrence.
Mesivta Ateres Yaakov is a yeshiva located in Lawrence. Rambam Mesivta, located on Frost Lane, is for grades 9-12 where students learn a dual curriculum of Jewish and secular studies. Lawrence is also home to the Shor Yoshuv Institute, a Rabbinical College with several hundred students.
The Nassau County Police Department provides police services in Lawrence and most of Nassau County. Lawrence is part of the force's Fourth Precinct.[10]
Lawrence is served by the EMS group named Hatzalah of Rockaway Lawrence (RL)
Lawrence is served by the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department. The LCFD consists of 85 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians[11] and provides fire protection to the villages of Lawrence and Cedarhurst, as well as the North Lawrence Fire District and East Lawrence Fire District. The LCFD also responds to alarms such as car accidents and aided cases on the Atlantic Beach Bridge.
Jacob H. Horwitz, (1892-1992), businessman, philanthropist and a fashion innovator who was one of the first to specialize in junior miss and teenage clothing[23]
^Barron, James. "If You're Thinking Of Living In: Five Towns", The New York Times, July 10, 1983. Accessed June 21, 2024. "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."
^Fischler, Marcelle S. "Living In: Portrait of a Village at 100", The New York Times, December 30, 2009. Accessed June 21, 2024. "Cedarhurst is part of the once highly regarded Lawrence Union Free School District 15, which also includes Lawrence, Inwood, Atlantic Beach and parts of Woodsburgh, Woodmere and North Woodmere."
^"Lawrence native Avi Berkowitz moves up in White House", Nassau Herald, October 10, 2019. Accessed June 21, 2024. "A chance meeting with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, on a basketball court at an Arizona hotel during Passover set Lawrence native Avrahm 'Avi' Berkowitz on a path to postpone his law career and go to work in the White House."
^Sullivan, Eric. "'I'm Not the Morality Police': Inside Benjamin Brafman’s Defense of Harvey Weinstein", Esquire, January 14, 2019. Accessed June 21, 2024. "Twice a week, Brafman wakes at sunrise and greets his personal trainer at the door of his large Colonial home in Lawrence, New York, on the South Shore of Long Island, just past JFK. The area, known as the Five Towns, is a collection of affluent communities that has become an enclave for Orthodox Jews like Brafman."
^Klemesrud, Judy. "This Song and Dance Routine Is Really a Class in Anatomy", The New York Times, April 16, 1975. Accessed July 13, 2017. "And he is 'Mr. Slim Goodbody', a 25‐year‐old singing, dancing, one-man anatomy class.... His real name is John Burstein, and he is the self-styled 'black sheep' of his achievement‐oriented family of six children from Lawrence, L.I."
^Fisher, Ian. "Burstein Brings an Edge to Attorney General's Race", The New York Times, August 7, 1994. Accessed March 2, 2016. "Ms. Burstein, the oldest of six children, grew up in Baldwin and Lawrence, L.I., and attended the Woodmere Academy, becoming the school's first female president of the student body."
^Burrough, Bryan. "Marc Dreier’s Crime of Destiny", Vanity Fair, September 29, 2009. Accessed July 13, 2017. "Marc Stuart Dreier was born in 1950 and grew up in Lawrence, Long Island, one of the fabled, affluent 'Five Towns'."
^"Wiseguy", Chicago Tribune, March 17, 1986. Accessed June 21, 2024. "But certainly Karen Fried [sic] Hill, from Lawrence, L.I., had no reason to believe that she would wind up in the middle of a grade-B movie."
^Berkvist, Robert. "'Bored? Creatively I'm Bored, But...'", The New York Times, March 19, 1972. Accessed March 2, 2016. "She wrinkles her nose at her affluent upbringing ('upper middle-class Jewish') in Lawrence, Long Island, and notes that he father a well-to-do lawyer, helped her break into modeling when she was 16."
^Parker, Jerry. "Star Maker Turns Movie Maker", Newsday, June 5, 1983. Accessed June 20, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Russo, a Brooklyn native reared in Lawrence, was a novice at management, who managed discotheques in Chicago and Detroit."
^Hoeflinger, Jane. "The Rise of Long Island Teen: Lil Tecca", Horizon Online, November 6, 2019. Accessed December 31, 2023. "In a matter of only four months, the name 'Lil Tecca' has become ubiquitous on a national level. Tyler Sharpe, only 17-years-old and hailing from Lawrence, Long Island, saw his career skyrocket after the release of his hit song “Ransom” on May 22."
^Lyall, Sarah. "Film; 'Amongst Friends' Tops Off a Journey Of Self-Discovery", The New York Times, July 18, 1993; Accessed December 31, 2023. "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."
^Fischler, Marcelle. "Nascent Hall of Fame to Welcome First Honorees", The New York Times, October 15, 2006. Accessed December 31, 2023. "Dee Snider of Stony Brook, the shock-rocker from the 1980's 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."
