On 1/24/03 (12:03:33 PM MST), Brenda ([email protected]) asked, "Where do I call/write for a death certificate for Manorville?" While Manorville is a hamlet in the Town of Brookhaven, the "Manorville, NY" postal zone includes areas in BOTH the Town of Brookhaven and the Town of Riverhead. Thus, you may need to check with the town clerks for BOTH the Town of Brookhaven and the Town of Riverhead. Town Clerk Town of Brookhaven 205 South Ocean Avenue Patchogue, NY 11772 Tel: 631/654-7827 Fax: 631/654-7888 fax eMail: [email protected] http://www.brookhaven.org/departments/town_clerk.asp?dept_id=15&page_id=15 Town Clerk Town of Riverhead 200 Howell Avenue Riverhead, NY 11901 Tel: 631/727-3200 ext 260 Fax: 631/727-6712 eMail: [email protected] http://www.riverheadli.com/rvdclerk.html The pertinent geography: Manorville is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the northeast section of the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, along the Brookhaven/Riverhead town line. There are 8 villages (municipal corporations) 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 Manorville in the Town of Brookhaven is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Calverton in the Town of Riverhead (the Brookhaven/Riverhead town line); on the east by the Hamlets of Calverton and Eastport; on the south by the Hamlets of East Moriches, Center Moriches, Moriches and Mastic; and, on the west by the Hamlets of Mastic, Shirley and Yaphank (Brookhaven National Laboratory). And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31 villages and 126 hamlets), the hamlet and the postal zone that use the same name, have different borders. Thus, places with a "Manorville, NY" mailing address may not be in Manorville and places in Manorville may not have a "Manorville, NY" mailing address. There may be a few places in the Hamlet of Calverton, Town of Rivehead that have a "Manorville, NY" mailing address. For those who have their copy of the 2002 or earlier editions 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 Manorville 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. Regards, 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.