University Gardens • Great Neck, NY • 10/22/2024

Another video that I had been wanting to make for some time now was a little tour of Great Neck, NY. The consistently nice weather this month motivated me to head out to Long Island and get it happening. Plus, I love autumn season with the amazing foliage colors, which really add to the ambience. I decided to focus on one neighborhood in particular, instead of the actual downtown zone with the stores, restaurants and bars. My favorite area in Great Neck is the University Gardens neighborhood off of Northern Boulevard. The houses are beautiful, the landscaping is true artwork and the vibe is serene. Yet another great collection of homes in the NYC vicinity. Just a stone’s throw from Queens. A really nice place to take a stroll or a bike ride. Even a better place to live obviously! Ha! I also went across Northern Boulevard and passed through the Russell Gardens neighborhood, which is a continuation of awesome architecture and mega homes. So many cool places tucked away throughout NYC and Long Island. Anyways...hope you enjoy the tour.

A LITTLE HISTORY: Much of the land which is now located within the University Gardens CDP was once farmland. Suburban development in the community started to take off in the early 20th century. This includes development in and of the Little Neck Park, University Gardens, and Waverly Hills sections; at the time, the hamlet was known as Lakeville and Little Neck, Nassau County.

The University Gardens development (for which the hamlet and CDP is named) was developed in the late 1920s. It includes 218 homes and 17 commercial properties. In the 1940s, large portions of the Waverly Hills section of the hamlet were developed with homes designed by architect H.C. Meyer.

The name of the University Gardens CDP is taken from a planned community of the same name, which was constructed within the hamlet in the 1920s. The name reflects the fact that the land which that subdivision is located on was purchased from (and built atop) the short-lived University Golf Club – and because Russell Gardens, located across Northern Boulevard, was being developed around the same time. As such, the "University" part of its name comes from the golf club and the "Gardens" part of its name comes from Russell Gardens.