Elmont

Lore & Background

In 1650, Christopher and Thomas Foster purchased a large plot of land on the Hempstead Plains, naming it 'Foster's Meadow.' By the mid-17th century, descendants of Sephardic Jews settled there for agriculture. Control shifted to England in 1664, and by 1683 Foster's Meadow was part of Queens County. The current boundaries were decided in 1898 when Nassau County was created. In the mid-19th century, Roman Catholic and Ashkenazi Jewish farmers from Brooklyn and Middle Village arrived, largely of German and Italian descent. The Church of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ was built in 1852, re-dedicated as Saint Boniface Roman Catholic Parish in 1857. In 1882, Foster's Meadow was renamed Elmont. Belmont Park opened in 1905, leading to suburban development. In 1910, it hosted the first air race in the United States. In 1918, Belmont Park was the New York terminal for the first inter-city Air Mail Service. In 1940 and 1943, the park held war relief events. After World War II, suburban tract homes were built. In 2017, the New York Islanders' bid to redevelop part of Belmont Park was selected, leading to construction of UBS Arena, which opened in fall 2021. Belmont Park Village, an open-air luxury outlet center, opened in October 2024. Elmont has attempted to incorporate as a village multiple times (1931, 1940, 1949) but has been unable to do so.

In Their Own Story

It is a Tuesday night in February, 1981. The Coliseum is packed, the kind of packed where the aisles are standing and the concession lines snake past the tunnel. The air is thick with the smell of hot pretzels, cheap beer, and the particular electricity of a team that has not lost in weeks. Billy Smith is in the net, his pads wide, his eyes tracking the puck like a hawk tracking a field mouse. Denis Potvin is on the bench, jaw set, waiting for the next shift. The opposing team's winger draws the puck to the blue line and fires a slap shot. Smith pads it in, and the Coliseum *explodes* — not a cheer, a detonation. Fourteen thousand voices hit the ceiling and the ceiling does not care. A woman three rows back is on her feet, screaming at her husband, who is also on his feet, who is also screaming. A kid in a too-big Bossy jersey is crying, and no one is making fun of him. The puck is in the net. The scoreboard is not important. The Coliseum is everything. And for the next six minutes of the period, Long Island is the center of the hockey universe, and the world can wait.

Reader's Guide

Elmont is famous for Belmont Park, which hosts the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown. It is also home to UBS Arena, home of the NHL's New York Islanders. The CDP has a total area of all land. It is on the border between Nassau County and Queens, earning it the nickname 'The Gateway to Long Island.' Elmont is located within the Hook Creek Watershed. It has a humid subtropical climate, with average monthly temperatures ranging from 32.3°F in January to 75.3°F in July. According to the USDA, it is in hardiness zone 7b.

Did You Know?

• Elmont was originally called Foster's Meadow, named after Christopher and Thomas Foster who purchased the land in 1650.
• Belmont Park hosted the first air race in the United States in 1910, with Wilbur and Orville Wright staging an international aerial competition.
• UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders, opened in fall 2021 as part of a redevelopment of Belmont Park property.
• Elmont has tried to incorporate as a village multiple times, including in 1931, 1940, and 1949, but has not succeeded.