Hempstead Harbor, renamed in 1844.
Wikipedia says Dutch and English colonists settled here in 1643 and called it Hempstead Harbor until 1844, when the name changed to Roslyn because of postal confusion with the other Hempsteads. George Washington stopped for breakfast at mill owner Hendrick Onderdonk's farmhouse on April 24, 1790; it still stands on Old Northern Boulevard as Hendrick's Tavern. The Ellen E. Ward Memorial Clock Tower went up in 1895, Gerry Park was built over a former swamp in 1931, and the village incorporated on January 11, 1932, after a 38–37 vote. It covers about 0.66 square miles.
The Census Bureau's latest five-year survey counts about 1,400 homes, with a median year built of 1955. 41% went up in the 1950s, 18% before 1940, and 17% after 1980. 44% are single-family detached houses, 40% are in buildings of five or more units, and 63% are owner-occupied.
So a typical house here has drain and water lines around 71 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.
Oil to gas means new gas piping.
The ACS shows 71% of homes heat with utility gas and 13% with fuel oil. Switching means properly sized gas piping to the new equipment, and often to the water heater, range and dryer. We do the gas line work. We don't sell or deliver oil.
Water heaters in Roslyn.
The Census Bureau's survey puts the average owner household at 2.13 people, with a median of 4.5 rooms; 40% of homes have three or more bedrooms and 25% have four or more. A tank sized for a smaller household, or one full of sediment, is what runs out first when several people shower back to back. When a heater fails, we size the replacement to the household and the number of bathrooms, not just to the label on the old tank. Most houses here heat with gas, so the water heater is usually gas too, and it needs a sound flue, a working shutoff and a relief valve that discharges where it should; we check all three when we replace one.
On the sewer.
Roslyn runs its own sewer collection system: Nassau County's health department lists Roslyn Village (516-621-1961) as a collection district, and the county says the village is one of six whose sewers pump to county plants. Wikipedia says the village's sewage goes through the East Hills Interceptor to the county's Cedar Creek plant; before that hookup, the village system discharged into Hempstead Harbor. 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 Village of Roslyn (516-621-1961).
Flood risk.
Laying FEMA's current flood map over the Census boundary, about 6% of Roslyn is in the high-risk (1% annual chance) flood zone (3.8% in zone AE, 1.7% in zone A, 0.5% 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.
Apartments as well as houses.
The Census survey counts 40% of Roslyn's homes in buildings of five or more units and only 44% as single-family detached houses, with 37% renter-occupied. In an apartment or co-op building, the shared stacks and mains belong to the building, so we coordinate with the owner, board or managing agent before work that opens walls.
Water: Roslyn Water District.
EPA's service-area map puts essentially all residents on the Roslyn Water District; your bill is the final word. The main supplier's most recent 90th-percentile lead result was 0 ppb (none measured), 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's highest single PFOA/PFOS result was 5.6 parts per trillion. EPA's 4 ppt limits apply as a running annual average starting in 2029, so one high sample is not a violation, but it's the kind of number a carbon filter is sized against. 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.
Roslyn is an incorporated village, so plumbing permits go through the Village of Roslyn's building department, not the town.
