On 07/31/2000 (9:55:58 AM EDT), an eMail concerning NYS geographic
definitions from Carol Kammen ([log in to unmask]) was posted, as:

"I know that New York has Towns, and that Towns can have in them cities and
villages.  My question concerns hamlets.  Are some designated incorporated
and other unincorporated?  And how does the designation come about?"


Yes, New York has towns and New York has cities, but cities are not part of
towns.  When an area in one or more towns incorporates as a city, it secedes
from and becomes independent of the town(s) that it was in.  Unlike Virginia,
where a city also becomes independent of the county it had been in, in NYS a
city remains part of the county or counties it had been in prior to
incorporation.

Yes, New York has hamlets.  A hamlet is always an unincorporated area in one
or more towns.  The confusion about "hamlets" comes directly from the
confusions caused by non-conforming postal zones that may share the name of a
village (a village is an incorporated community inside one or more towns) but
have different borders from the village or a postal zone that shares the name
of the hamlet and whose borders take in parts or all of adjoining villages.
(Many people refer to an area that may have a village name in its mailing
address but is nor in the village as being in an unincorporated village.  An
unincorporated village is an oxymoron as it would translate out to read
"unincorporated incorporation".)

The root cause of much geographic confusion:  the USPS disingenuously refers
to its postal zones (be they post offices, postal stations or postal
branches) as "cities" or "towns", when they are not.

But, returning to hamlets, I was provided the following general rule of thumb
by Rufus Langhans, the immediate past Historian of the Town of Huntington:
the borders of hamlets are determined by the borders of the original school
districts (prior to becoming either "Union Free" or "Central") that they
were/are in.

I'm including (after my name) a New York State Geographic Glossary with the
NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone.
Please notice that none of these definitions are based on population, which
is another factor that confuses people, especially reporters for the New York
Times and other such media.  There seems to be a "feeling" that hamlets,
villages, towns, cities, etc., are determined by their populations.  It ain't
so.


Sincerely,

Walter Greenspan

There Are No Townships Here

.                The ZIP-zapping of New York State

Most people confuse terminology.  Many times a town is called "township" and
as many times, a hamlet is referred to as a town or village.  Adding to the
problem, there is great confusion between a community's border and the
border(s) of the (several) postal zone(s) that service that or part of that
community.

The LOCAL GOVERNMENT HANDBOOK, published by the State of New York Department
of State provides some useful help as it has the official definition of
cities, towns and villages.  (Townships and boroughs do not exist in New York
State and information about them is not included here.)  Copies of this
highly recommended publication can be obtained by eMailing
"[log in to unmask]".

     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.