Lawrence is a village within the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is located adjacent to the border with the New York City borough of Queens to the west and is near the Reynolds Channel to the south. The population was 6,809 at the time of the 2020 census.

Lawrence is one of the "Five Towns," which consist of the villages of Lawrence and Cedarhurst, the hamlets (unincorporated areas) of Woodmere and Inwood, and "The Hewletts", which is made up of the hamlet of Hewlett together with the villages of Hewlett Bay Park, Hewlett Harbor and Hewlett Neck, along with Woodsburgh.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."

History Old Lawrence, or Back Lawrence, is a part of the village, 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. One of the area's oldest structures, Rock Hall – once home to two prominent families, the Martins and Hewletts – was constructed during colonial times and is now an active museum, Hewlett still being the most expensive city in the 5 towns.

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.

In 1897, Lawrence incorporated as a village. This enabled it to gain local control of zoning and govern itself through municipal home rule.

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, Lawrence 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

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and , or 17.91%, is water.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Lawrence village, New York – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)6,0826,0756,09593.25%93.71%89.51%Black or African American alone (NH)6486850.98%1.33%1.25%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)0000.00%0.00%0.00%Asian alone (NH)113108931.73%1.67%1.37%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)1000.02%0.00%0.00%Other race alone (NH)261160.03%0.09%1.70%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)37231120.57%0.35%1.64%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2231853083.42%2.85%4.52%Total6,5226,4836,809 100.00%100.00%100.00%

2000 census As of the 2000 United States census, there were 6,522 people, 2,113 households, and 1,629 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 2,287 housing units at an average density of . 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. The Village of Lawrence Board of Trustees consists of a Mayor, a Deputy Mayor, and four Village Trustees (including the Deputy Mayor) – all of whom have term limits. The mayor may only serve three 2-year terms, and trustees are limited to four 2-year terms.

As of September 2025, the Mayor of Lawrence is Samuel "Shlomo" Nahmias, the Deputy Mayor is Aaron Felder, and the Village Trustees are Aaron Felder, Steven C. Gottesman, Aaron M. Parnes, and Tammy M. Roz.

Politics In the 2024 United States presidential election, the majority of Lawrence voters voted for Donald Trump (R).

Education

Public schools The Lawrence Union Free School District includes all of Lawrence. - Text list It serves the communities of Atlantic Beach, Cedarhurst, Inwood, and Lawrence – along with sections of North Woodmere, Woodmere, and Woodsburgh.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."

Private schools 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.

Transportation The Lawrence and Inwood stations provides Long Island Rail Road service on the Far Rockaway Branch to New York Penn Station and Grand Central Madison in Midtown Manhattan and Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, with connections at Jamaica to other parts of Long Island.

The buses of Nassau Inter-County Express run along Central Avenue extending southwest into Far Rockaway (with a connection to the of the New York City Subway at Far Rockaway – Mott Avenue) and northeast to the Hempstead Transit Center in central Nassau County with connections to other parts of Long Island.

Lawrence is connected to Atlantic Beach to the south, across Reynolds Channel, via the Atlantic Beach Bridge.

Emergency services The Nassau County Police Department provides police services in Lawrence and most of Nassau County. Lawrence is part of the force's Fourth Precinct.

Lawrence is served by the EMS group named Hatzalah of Rockaway Lawrence.

Lawrence is served by the Lawrence–Cedarhurst Fire Department. The LCFD consists of 85 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical techniciansLawrence Cedarhurst Fire Department, FireDepartments.net. Accessed March 9, 2008. 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.

Notable people

Notable current and former residents of Lawrence include: Ben Ashkenazy (born 1969), real estate developer"Young Crowd On Move In Real Estate Out Of The Blocks At 17", New York Daily News, updated January 10, 2019. Accessed September 8, 2025. "Ben Ashkenazy closed his first real estate deal at age 17. A kid who grew up in Lawrence, L. I., Ashkenazy was hunting with a partner for sites to open a fast-food business right after graduating from high school." Louis Auchincloss (1917–2010), lawyer, novelist, historian and essayistNoble, Holcomb B.; and McGrath, Charles. "Louis Auchincloss, Chronicler of New York’s Upper Crust, Dies at 92", The New york Times, January 27, 2010. Accessed September 8, 2025. "Louis Stanton Auchincloss (pronounced AW-kin-kloss) was born on Sept. 27, 1917, in Lawrence, on Long Island, joining an upper-crust clan of Auchinclosses, Dixons, Howlands and Stantons." J. Stewart Baker (1893–1966), banker who served as the first president of Chase Manhattan Bank"J. Stwart Baker, Banker, Is Dead; Chase Manhattan's First Head Retired in 1957", The New York Times, September 7, 1966. Accessed September 8, 2025. "His father, Stephen Baker, was president of the Bank of the Manhattan Company when J. Stewart was born, in Lawrence, New York, on Aug. 6, 1893." Stuart Beck (1946-2016), lawyer and diplomat for Palau who helped negotiate the Compact of Free Association, which established Palau as an independent nation in free association with the United States in 1994Roberts, Sam. "Stuart J. Beck, American Who Helped Guide Palau Into Nationhood, Dies at 69", The New York Times, March 1, 2016. Accessed March 2, 2016. "Stuart Jay Beck was born on Dec. 23, 1946, in Manhattan, the son of Martin F. Beck, a radio broadcasting executive, and the former Lorraine Hills. He was raised in Brooklyn and on Long Island, in Lawrence." Avi Berkowitz (born 1988), Special Assistant to Jared Kushner and President Donald Trump, who participated in the formation of the Abraham Accords"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." Bruce Blakeman (born 1955), First Presiding Officer of the Nassau County Legislature; Nassau County Executive