Named by William R. Grace.
Wikipedia says the name dates to the mid-1800s, when William R. Grace, later mayor of New York City, bought land around the Great Neck LIRR station and named it Thomaston after his wife's ancestral home in Maine; that land became Great Neck Plaza. Residents voted 80 to 33 on September 17, 1931 to incorporate, and the village took the Thomaston name on October 1, 1931; University Gardens chose not to join, and Russell Gardens incorporated separately. Village Hall dates from 1971. The village covers 0.4 square miles.
The Census Bureau's latest five-year survey counts about 1,000 homes, with a median year built of 1951. 25% went up in the 1950s, 42% before 1940, and 10% after 1980. 68% are single-family detached houses, 27% are in buildings of five or more units, and 89% are owner-occupied.
So a typical house here has drain and water lines around 75 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 73% of homes heat with utility gas, 9% 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.
Water heaters in Thomaston.
The Census Bureau's survey puts the average owner household at 2.74 people, with a median of 6.7 rooms; 69% of homes have three or more bedrooms and 48% 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.
Thomaston is sewered. Nassau County's health department lists it under the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District (236 East Shore Rd., 516-482-0238), and Wikipedia says the small part of the village west of Middle Neck Road is in the Belgrave Sewer District instead. 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 Great Neck Water Pollution Control District (516-482-0238), or Belgrave west of Middle Neck Road.
Little mapped flood risk.
FEMA's current flood map puts under 2% of Thomaston in the high-risk flood zone.
Apartment buildings too.
The Census survey counts 27% of Thomaston's homes in buildings of five or more units and 42% built before 1940. In an apartment or co-op building, the shared stacks and mains belong to the building, so we coordinate with the board or managing agent before work that opens walls.
Water: Manhasset-Lakeville Water District.
EPA's service-area map puts about 93% of residents on the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District, with about 7% on the Water Authority of Great Neck North; your bill is the final word. The main supplier's most recent 90th-percentile lead result was 1.6 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's highest single PFOA/PFOS result was 5.3 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.
Thomaston is an incorporated village, so plumbing permits go through the Village of Thomaston's building department, not the town.
