Rockville Centre, New York facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rockville Centre, New York
Village
Incorporated Village of Rockville Centre
Rockville Centre's Eugene J. Murray Village Hall in September 2021.
Nickname(s):  RVC
Location in Nassau County and the state of New York.
Rockville Centre, New York Location in Long Island Show map of Long Island Rockville Centre, New York Location in New York Show map of New York Rockville Centre, New York Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Nassau County, New York
Town	Hempstead
Incorporated	1893
Area
• Total	3.34 sq mi (8.64 km2)
• Land	3.25 sq mi (8.42 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.22 km2)
Elevation	30 ft (9 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	24,023
• Estimate  (2019)	24,550
• Density	7,551.52/sq mi (2,915.53/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	11570
Area code(s)	516
FIPS code	36-63264
GNIS feature ID	2391098

Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census.

History

The Reckouakie tribe of Native-Americans lived in the area that would become Rockville Centre until the typical mix of germs and violent expropriation dislocated them with the arrival of Dutch and English settlers. The hamlet was named "Rockville Centre" in 1849, after local Methodist preacher and community leader Mordecai "Rock" Smith. It was incorporated as a village in 1893. Rockville Centre emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as a commuter community connected to New York by the Long Island Rail Road. In 1915, the New York Tribune went so far as to declare that Rockville Centre was a place in which "the average mortal could live happily."

Like many Long Island communities at the time, Rockville Centre's population included a considerable number of supporters of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1920s. When the white supremacist organization placed a wreath at the town's memorial to its war dead in 1923, the American Legion removed it in protest, but the city police received so many calls of complaint in response that they were forced to replace the wreath. In the late 1960s, the village of Rockville Centre received a stinging rebuke for its failure to maintain public housing units primarily inhabited by African-Americans. A report from Nassau County's Human Rights Commission stated Rockville Centre was "at best indifferent to, if not actually in favor of, Negro removal." Martin Luther King Jr. visited Rockville Centre in 1968, where he addressed a large audience at South Side Junior High School on 26 March 1968.

The Rockville Centre Post Office was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Demographics

2010 census

At the time of the census of 2010, there were 24,111 people living in the village, 9,201 households and 6,468 families. The population density was 7,496.5 people per square mile (2,892.0/km²). There were 9,419 housing units at an average density of 2,874.0 per square mile (1,108.7/km²); as of 2010^[update],. The racial makeup of the village was 78.3% White, 8.6% Black or African American, 9.7% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian alone, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 0.1% Some Other Race, and 1.2% Two or More Races.

There were 10,002 households, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 32.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.28. The population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 women there were 87.9 men. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 81.9 men.

Geography

U.S. Census Map

Rockville Centre is located at 40°39'48" North, 73°38'13" West (40.663390, −73.636831). The village has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²), of which, 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it is water. The total area is 2.38% water.

In popular culture

• The third season episode Long Island, of Dave Attell's television show Insomniac featured several locales in Rockville Centre, including Stinger's Irish Pub, the LIRR station, and the comedian's home.
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Rockville Centre is mentioned as the home-destination of both Joel Barish (Carrey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Winslet) when the two play hooky from work to visit Montauk.
• Edward Burns has filmed scenes of several of his films in Rockville Centre.

Education

The headquarters of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Sunrise Highway and North Park Avenue

Rockville Centre students attend the Rockville Centre Union Free School District, the Oceanside UFSD, and the Baldwin UFSD.

The Rockville Centre U.F.S.D. has five public elementary schools: The Watson School, The Covert School, The Wilson School, The Hewitt School, and The Riverside School. In addition to the elementary schools, Rockville Centre also consists of South Side Middle School and South Side High School. The district extends beyond Rockville Centre's borders, including part of South Hempstead, and Hempstead. Covert Elementary School is located in South Hempstead. Part of Rockville Centre is located in the Oceanside school district and a part in the Baldwin School District.

According to www.schooldigger.com, South Side High School ranks 116th out of 752 schools in New York State. This is based on actual test scores. [1], In 2012, South Side High School was ranked #22 by U.S. News & World Report's Best High Schools, and #2 in the state of NY. It has also consistently rated in Newsweek's The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,300 top U.S. Schools, #42 in 2008, #44 in 2007, #32 in 2006, #45 in 2005 and #65 in 2003.

Approximately 20 percent of the residents of the Village of Rockville Centre live in the Oceanside Union Free School District. Rockville Centre students attend Oceanside School #2 and Oceanside School #5 as well as the Oceanside Middle School and Oceanside High School and some live in the Baldwin School District attending Plaza Elementary School, Baldwin Middle School, and Baldwin High School in Baldwin, NY

Rockville Centre has one private K-8 Catholic day school; The Saint Agnes Cathedral School. The Saint Agnes Cathedral School occupies a single campus. The Saint Agnes Cathedral School provides a day school education for Kindergarten through Eighth Grade for families across Nassau County. The Saint Agnes Cathedral School's upper school (9–12), though now defunct, shared the complex at one time. The school is widely regarded for their consistently high-rated academic program among Long Island private schools, as well as their diverse secondary school placement.

Notable people

Notable current and former residents of Rockville Centre include:

Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax

Hall of Famer Floyd Patterson

Noah Rubin

Howard Stern

Vinny Testaverde

• Eddie Arcaro (1916–1997), jockey who was inducted into the horse racing Hall of Fame.
• Dave Attell (born 1965), comedian.
• Pete Axthelm (1943–1991), sportswriter, columnist and TV commentator.
• Gina Naomi Baez, actress.
• Sy Berger (1923–2014), baseball card designer with Topps
• Tommy Bianco (born 1952), third baseman who played for the Milwaukee Brewers.
• John Byner (born 1938), impressionist, comedian and actor.
• John F. Carew (1873–1951), politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1913–1929.
• Brian Cashman (born 1967), general manager of the New York Yankees.
• Kevin Connors, ESPN anchor.
• Ted Demme (1963–2002), film director and producer.
• Thomas DiNapoli. New York State Comptroller
• Billy Donovan (born 1965), head coach, Chicago Bulls, NBA.
• Crystal Dunn (born 1992), association football forward, U.S. Women's National Team.
• Martin Feldstein (1935-2019) Chief of Economic Advisors to Ronald Reagan.
• Joseph Fins (1959–), physician and medical ethicist.
• Bethenny Frankel (1970–), entrepreneur.
• Joel Gallen, television and film director/producer, and president of Tenth Planet Productions.
• Joe Gannascoli, actor, Vito Spatafore on The Sopranos
• Doris Kearns Goodwin, author, historian, TV news analyst, 1995 Pulitzer Prize winner for history.
• Seth Grahame-Smith, writer and film producer.
• Judy Griffin, New York State Assemblywoman, currently lives in Rockville Centre
• Mel Gussow (1933–2005), theater critic for The New York Times.
• Amy Hargreaves, actress.
• John D. Hawke Jr. (1933-2022), former United States Comptroller of the Currency
• Jim Hayes (1948–2009), all-time Boston University basketball scoring average leader.
• Joey Heatherton (1944–), actress and entertainer.
• Ray Heatherton (1909–97), actor.
• John E. Herbst (1959-), ambassador.
• Art Heyman (1941–2012), basketball player, All-American at Duke University.
• Henry Hill (1943–2012), mob informant.
• Donald Holder, stage lighting designer.
• Billy Idol, musician
• Dean Kamen (1951–), Segway Human Transporter inventor.
• Kerry Keating, head coach, Santa Clara University Broncos, former UCLA assistant coach.
• Kevin Kelton (1956–), TV writer-producer, wrote for Saturday Night Live.
• Gilbert King (1962–), author, Pulitzer Prize winner.
• Sandy Koufax (1935–), Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher.
• Frank Layden (1932–), Niagara University coach, president and coach of NBA's Utah Jazz.
• Kenny Laguna, producer, songwriter and musician.
• David Wong Louie (1954-2018), novelist and short-story writer.
• Brian Mahoney (born 1948), New York Nets player [ABA]; head coach at Manhattan College and St. John's University.
• Brendan Malone (1942–), assistant coach for Detroit Pistons, former head coach of Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
• Terry McDermott, baseball player for L.A. Dodgers.
• Anne Meara (1929–2015), actress and comedian, mother of actor Ben Stiller.
• Elliott Murphy (born 1949), singer-songwriter.
• John Nolan and Michelle Nolan of the band Straylight Run.
• Mark O'Connell, drummer of the band Taking Back Sunday, attended South Side High School.
• Daryl Palumbo (1979–), of the bands GlassJaw and Head Automatica.
• Floyd Patterson (1935–2006), boxer, Heavyweight Champion of the World.
• Frank Pellegrino, actor and restaurateur.
• Tommy Rainone (1980–), welterweight boxer.
• June Diane Raphael, actress, comedian, writer.
• Bob Richardson (1928–2005), photographer.
• Tom Riker (1950-), basketball player.
• Joan Roberts, created role of Laurey in original production of Oklahoma! on Broadway.
• Ted Robinson, Emmy Award-winning radio and TV sportscaster.
• Noah Rubin (1996–), tennis player.
• Amy Schumer (1981–), comedian.
• Robert B. Silvers (1929–2017), editor of The New York Review of Books
• Dean Skelos, former New York State Senator; former New York State Senate Republican Majority Leader.
• Howard Stern (1954–), radio personality.
• Paulette Tavormina, photographer.
• Danielle Elizabeth Tumminio, author, theologian, and religious leader.
• Vinny Testaverde, College Hall of Fame Quarterback, Heisman Trophy Winner, 2 Time NFL All Pro.
• Marc Turnesa, golfer on the PGA Tour.
• Jay Wright (1961–), head coach of Villanova Wildcats basketball team.
• AJ Wynder, basketball player for 1990–91 Boston Celtics.
• Matt Reeves (1966–), film director.

See also

In Spanish: Rockville Centre para niños