Garden City: Schools, parks, shopping, GC Hotel draw buyers

THE SCOOP Living up to its name, Garden City is a garden spot among Long Island communities, with amenities galore — including not one but three country clubs — and commensurately expensive homes.

One of the few drawbacks of Garden City, a village in the Town of Hempstead, is that it’s landlocked and not particularly close to water. Not that anyone seems to mind.

“These are golfers and country club people, not yacht club people,” said commercial real estate broker Michael Ventre, 65, a past president of the Garden City Chamber of Commerce and a 30-year village resident.

While an estate can reach as high as $6 million here, there are still relatively affordable homes in the village. “If you look in the northwest section, there are small Capes and ranches” priced at less than $1 million, Ventre said.

And anywhere within the borders puts you in the highly ranked Garden City Public School District. At Garden City High School, 98% of its students test at or above reading level and 97% at or above math level, according to U.S. News & World Report. Adelphi University is also based in Garden City.

In addition to private clubs, there is a wealth of public spaces. Garden City Community Park has baseball, softball and soccer fields, tennis courts, roller hockey rink, 18-hole miniature-golf course, playground and the Garden City Pool. St. Paul’s Recreation Complex has baseball, soccer and lacrosse fields, a field house with basketball courts, an indoor running track, a playground and a 30-acre park. Six smaller parks also offer a variety of sports and recreation.

Local landmarks include Nassau County Supreme Court and the Garden City Hotel. Rebuilt in 1983, the current hotel sits on the site of the 1874 original and the grand 1895 version where Charles Lindbergh stayed the night before his 1927 transatlantic flight.

“It’s a great vibe,” said Ventre of the current hotel, calling it the “center” of the village. “When they have the Belmont Stakes, especially if it’s part of a Triple Crown, the Garden City Hotel is loaded with sports people and dignitaries from all over the world.”

There are Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Jewish and United Church of Christ houses of worship, as well as the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island. Five Long Island Rail Road stations service the area and, technically just over the border, is the upscale shopping center Roosevelt Field.

“Franklin Avenue is the main thoroughfare” Ventre said. “And then you’ve got Seventh Street, the area that has the little mom-and-pop shops.”

Community events include the nearly 70-year-old annual Easter Day Car Parade of vintage vehicles and the annual Garden City Family Fall Festival, including a pie-baking competition.

SALE PRICES Between Oct. 3, 2023, and Oct. 2, 2024, there were 237 home sales with a median sale price of $1.19 million, according to OneKey MLS. During that period a year earlier, there were 231 home sales with a median sale price of $1.08 million.

CONDOS AND CO-OPS There are four condos, priced between $565,000 and $2.5 million, and two co-ops, priced at $349,000 and $499,000, on the market.

OTHER STATS

Population 22,871

Median age 41.5

Median home value $1.3 million

Monthly LIRR ticket from Garden City $253

School district, graduation rate Garden City (98.3%)

Library Garden City

Transit 15, 40/41

Sources: 2022 American Community Survey; OneKey MLS via InfoSparks by ShowingTime; LIRR, data.nysed.gov

ON THE MARKET

$4.3 million

A three-story Colonial dating back to 1908, this seven-bedroom home on a ¾-acre lot boasts five fireplaces, hardwood and marble floors, a two-story foyer with curved staircase, an eat-in kitchen with high-end appliances, a formal dining room and a full basement. Beside an in-ground pool are a pool house and a spa. The garage fits three vehicles. Taxes are $54,696 annually. Barbara Chmil, Howard Hanna Coach, 516-524-7087.

$1.5 million

With four beds and three full baths, this 1921 construction on a 7,500-square-foot lot has a fireplace in the living room. A dining room is adjacent to the eat-in kitchen, which opens to a brick patio. The two-story home features a finished basement with a home office. Yearly taxes are $24,578. A sale is pending. Patricia Dickson, 516-280-0976, and Kathleen Lucchesi, 516-320-0802, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

$999,000

This three-bedroom, 2½-bath midcentury home has a fireplace in its large living room, a dining room with access to a sun porch, an eat-in kitchen and a single-car garage. There are central air conditioning, new windows on the second floor and a partially finished basement. Taxes annually are $21,601. A sale is pending. Matthew Heaney, Compass Greater NY, 516-241-2648.

RECENTLY SOLD

$4.1 million

John Street

Style Colonial

Bedrooms 7

Bathrooms 6½

Built 2024

Lot size 0.46 acre

Taxes TBD

+/- List price Sold for asking

Days on market 566

$1.33 million

Wilson Street

Style Ranch

Bedrooms 3

Bathrooms 2

Built 1955

Lot size 0.23 acre

Taxes $21,558

+/- List price -$145,000

Days on market 133

$765,000

Jefferson Street

Style Cape

Bedrooms 4

Bathrooms 1

Built 1947

Lot size 0.09 acre

Taxes $14,787

+/- List price -$4,000

Days on market 91

ON ONEKEY MLS

Number of listings 30

Price range $349,000 to $6.5 million

Tax range $12,464 to $87,957