Melville, New York

Melville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,284 at the time of the 2020 census.

History
The area was known to the Native Americans as Sunsquams. In the 17th century, it was named Samuel Ketcham's Valley, and it was later known as Sweet Hollow.

19th century
In 1854, it was renamed Melville in honor of American novelist Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick, which was published three years earlier, in 1851. Melville's 1846 novel Typee also was very popular at that time.

A Presbyterian church was built in Melville in 1829 at the corner of Old Country and Sweet Hollow Roads.

20th century
In 1977, the Presbyterian church was moved 1 mi to the west. The church was in continuous use until 1930. It reopened in 1944 for the funeral of Edward Baylis and has been in use since then.

In 1909, a trolley line to Huntington was established as an extension of the Huntington Trolley Spur that went south to Amityville and had a connection to Babylon. There were six fare zones, one of which was the Duryea Farm in Melville. A decade later, the line was closed after farmers complained that noise from the trolley frightened their animals. Buses then provided local transportation after the trolley line closed. The growing use of private cars later further reduced demand for the trolley line.

In the 1950s, Melville and three of its neighbors, Dix Hills, Wyandanch, and the area known as Sweet Hollow, proposed incorporating as a single village. The village would have been known as the Incorporated Village of Half Hollow Hills, would have had an area of roughly 50 mi2, and would have embraced the Half Hollow Hills Central School District. The plans were unsuccessful.

21st century
In 2001, Melville, Dix Hills, Wheatley Heights, and East Farmingdale, which are all within the same school district, proposed incorporating as a single village. These plans also failed, and each remain unincorporated hamlets to this day.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Melville has a total area of 31.3 sqkm.

Melville lies on the east side of Suffolk County's boundary with Nassau County.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,284 with 6,883 households. The population density was 1,599.60 PD/sqmi. There were 5,141 housing units at an average density of 454.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.6% White (82.6% White Non-Hispanic), 7.4% Asian, 3% Black, 0% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.04% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.4.% of the population.

As of the 2000 census, there were 14,533 people, 4,930 households, and 3,993 families residing in Melville. The population density was 1,284.00 PD/sqmi. The population was 18,985 at the 2010 census.

In 2000, there were 4,930 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.2% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.0% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the CDP was $132,527, and the median income for a family was $170,881. Males had a median income of $142,972 versus $115,495 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $125,053. About 3.0% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over. The median house price in Melville is about $900,000.

Economy
Melville and Hauppauge are the two primary business centers of Suffolk County, which is home to almost approximately 1.5 million people. Melville is home to the U.S. headquarters for several national and international corporations, including Canon USA, Chyron Corporation, Leviton, MSC Industrial Direct, Nikon USA, the medical and dental supply distributor Henry Schein, Bouchard Transportation, and Verint Systems. Significant operations of Manhattan-based The Estée Lauder Companies are also based in Melville.

In early 2013, Canon Inc. moved into its new regional headquarters for North and South America to Melville, building a $500-million 668296 ft2 glass structure near Exit 49 of the Long Island Expressway on the 52 acre site of a former pumpkin farm. About 1,500 workers were expected to move from Canon's Lake Success offices. The company chose Melville over other tri-state area locations because the employees "didn't want to leave the area".

Companies once headquartered in Melville that subsequently relocated include OSI Pharmaceuticals, which was bought by Astellas Pharma of Japan, Allion Healthcare, which was acquired by a private equity firm, Hain Celestial, which moved to Lake Success in Nassau County, Arrow Electronics, which relocated to Centennial, Colorado in 2011, global staffing giant Adecco Staffing, USA, which in 2014 moved their U.S. headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida, and Gentiva Health Services, a Fortune 1000 provider of health services, which relocated to Atlanta in 2006.

Other firms to leave include First Data, Olympus America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Olympus Corporation, who moved in 2006 to Center Valley, Pennsylvania, and the national pizza chain Sbarro, which declared bankruptcy and reemerged in 2014, relocating to Columbus, Ohio. Around 2002, Swiss International Air Lines's North American headquarters moved from Melville to Uniondale. The facility, the former Swissair North American headquarter site, was completed in 1995. Swissair intended to own, instead of lease, its headquarters site. It enlisted architect Richard Meier to design its Melville facility. The building is now owned by Damianos Realty Group, LLC, a Long Island-based real estate company.

Government
One of the nine state offices of U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is located in Melville.

Education
Half Hollow Hills Central School District and Huntington Union Free School District serve Melville. Katharine Gibbs School – Melville serves the post-school population with certificates and associate degrees.

Media
The primary Long Island newspaper Newsday is published in Melville.

The independent television station WLNY-TV operates a studio in Melville, where it had been based prior to being acquired by CBS and moving to the network's Manhattan facility.

Road
The Long Island Expressway and Northern State Parkway, two of Long Island's busiest highways and major points of entry in and out of New York City, pass through Melville. NY Route 110 also runs through Melville.

Rail
Until 1927, Melville was served by the Huntington Railroad's streetcar line, which ran along what today is NY Route 110 and has now been replaced by the S1 bus. The closest rail line is the LIRR's Main Line to Ronkonkoma and Greenport, but the closest station on that line is Pinelawn, which only provides weekend service. Huntington station in Huntington is the closest full service station.

Bus
Melville's primary mode of public transit is the 1 bus run by Suffolk County Transit. Route 1 runs up and down Route 110 seven days a week and connects to two Long Island Railroad branches north and south of Melville. The "Suffolk Clipper" express bus service also serves the numerous business parks in South Melville during weekdays.

A park and ride and carpool parking lot with a bus shelter exists adjacent to the north of the LIE, but long-distance bus service to and from there is either highly occasional or nonexistent. The parking lot is still used by carpool commuters, but also attracts some illicit activity.

Fire protection
Melville is protected by the Melville Volunteer Fire Department. Established in 1947, it handles all emergencies, including fires, heavy rescues and extrications, emergency ambulances, hazmat, and other related tasks. The fire department responds to more than 3,500 alarms annually and provides continuous service on an annual budget of $1.5 million.