Named for the oysters in 1639.
Wikipedia says Dutch captain David de Vries anchored here on June 4, 1639 and named the bay for its fine oysters; the English settled in 1653, and the hamlet is the Town of Oyster Bay's seat. Raynham Hall, the Townsend family home, was British headquarters in 1778–79, and Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill is next door in Cove Neck. The LIRR arrived in 1889. The CDP covers 1.6 square miles, about a quarter of it water.
The Census Bureau's latest five-year survey counts about 2,900 homes, with a median year built of 1957. 15% went up in the 1950s, 34% before 1940, and 14% after 1980. 50% are single-family detached houses, 9% are two-family, 25% are in buildings of five or more units, and 58% are owner-occupied.
So a typical house here has drain and water lines around 69 years old unless they've been replaced. Slow drains in several fixtures, a gurgling floor drain or rusty water from one tap are signs to have the main line and supply piping checked. With so many pre-1940 homes, some still have galvanized or older supply piping in the walls; we plan repairs around what's actually there.
Gas piping.
The ACS shows 78% of homes heat with utility gas, 6% with electricity and only 11% with fuel oil. New gas ranges, dryers and water heaters need properly sized gas piping, and a leak test after any change; we do the gas line work.
On the sewer.
Nassau County's health department lists the hamlet under the Oyster Bay Sewer District (15 Bay Ave., 516-922-4922), not the county. A backup that stops at your house is usually in your own line to the street; we clear it and repair or replace the line. If neighbors are backed up too, call the Oyster Bay Sewer District at 516-922-4922.
Flood risk.
Laying FEMA's current flood map over the Census boundary, about 16% of Oyster Bay is in the high-risk (1% annual chance) flood zone (10.3% in zone AE, 5.8% in zone VE; shares of the Census area, water included). On a sewered street, a backwater (sewer check) valve on your house sewer line can keep a street-sewer backup from coming in through basement floor drains. We install them. If your water heater or gas appliances ever sat in flood water, have them checked before relighting.
Water: Oyster Bay Water District.
EPA's service-area map puts about 84% of residents on the Oyster Bay Water District, with about 16% on the Jericho Water District; your bill is the final word. The main supplier's most recent 90th-percentile lead result was 5.7 ppb, under the 15 ppb action level; lead usually comes from a home's own pipes and fixtures, so results vary house to house. In EPA's UCMR 5 testing, the main supplier reported no PFOA or PFOS. For a leak at the curb or in the street, call your water supplier. For anything on your side of the meter, call us.
Permits.
Oyster Bay is an unincorporated hamlet, so plumbing permits go through the Town of Oyster Bay Department of Planning and Development.
