On 7/8/03 (8:26:01 PM MDT), as part of an eMail, Karen Isley Seiferth ([email protected]) asked, "After years of thinking that my great-aunt and her husband lived and died on Staten Island, I just found out that they moved to Vine Road, Rocky Point in 1968. She died in 1971 and he died in 1974. Are there any old phone books or city directories available for this timeframe? I'm trying to track down this side of the family and tie up some loose ends. What kind of neighborhood is this? Is this apartments, condos, private homes?" For questions such as yours, you may want to contact the North Shore Public Library (serves the Rocky Point-Shoreham-Wading River area): North Shore Public Library 250 Route 25A Shoreham, NY 11786 Tel: 631/929-4488 Fax: 631/929-4551 eMail: [email protected] http://nspl.suffolk.lib.ny.us/ Rocky Point is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northeastern part of the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County. There are 8 villages (incorporated municipalities) and 36 hamlets all or partly in the Town of Brookhaven. There are no cities and 10 towns in Suffolk County. There are 2 Indian reservations in Suffolk County. (I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone.) Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Rocky Point in the Town of Brookhaven is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Sound Beach and Long Island Sound; on the east by the Village of Shoreham and the Hamlets of East Shoreham and Ridge; on the south by the Hamlet of Middle Island; and, on the west by the Hamlets of Miller Place and Sound Beach. And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the Hamlet of Rocky Point has a different border than does the "Rocky Point, NY" postal zone. There are places that have a "Rocky Point, NY 11778" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Rocky Point. These places are in the Hamlet of Sound Beach. For those who have their copy of the 2002 or earlier edition of the LI Population Survey or have already downloaded the report from the Long Island Power Authority web site (eMail me directly if you need instructions on how to access and download the report), you'll find the Hamlet of Rocky Point in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County on pages 14 & 24 (map) and 25 (population estimate). I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. Walter Greenspan . Cities, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Postal Zones in New York State New York State is divided into counties. County A county is a municipal corporation, a subdivision of the state, created to perform state functions; a "regional" government. All counties are divided into cities, towns and Indian reservations. City A city is a unique governmental entity with its own special charter. Cities are not sub-divided, except into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Town A town is a municipal corporation and encompasses all territory within the state except that within cities or Indian reservations. Towns can be sub-divided into villages and hamlets. Village A village is a general purpose municipal corporation formed voluntarily by the residents of an area in one or more towns to provide themselves with municipal services. The pattern of village organization is similar to those of a city. A village is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Hamlet A hamlet is an unincorporated area in one or more towns that is governed at-large by the town(s) it is in. A hamlet is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Postal Zone "City" and "Town" A postal zone "City" and "Town" is an administrative district established by the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail. Postal zone "City" and "Town" may not (but are encouraged to) conform to municipal or community borders. Thus, postal zone location does not always determine city, village or hamlet location. Please be aware: In many areas of New York State, the problem of non-conforming postal zones leads to a situation where the majority of places have a different community name in their mailing address than the community where that place is actually located.