Bellmore, NY — Crash Data, Roads, History & Law
Bellmore is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, with 16,297 residents at the 2020 Census. Federal crash records show 13 fatal crashes that killed 13 people within its boundaries from 2010 through 2024 — 4 of them on foot. Sunrise Highway (NY 27) accounted for more of those deaths (6) than any other road. Residents who commute travel an average of 34.1 minutes each way.
Long Island Town Fact Book · Updated · Sources & method
Bellmore at a glance
- Status
- Hamlet (unincorporated; census-designated place)
- Town
- Hempstead
- County
- Nassau County
- Population (2020 Census)
- 16,297[C]
- Housing units (2020)
- 5,776
- Land area
- 2.36 sq mi (plus 0.61 sq mi of water)
- Density
- 6,908 people per sq mi
- Average commute
- 34.1 minutes[B]
- Traffic deaths, 2010–2024
- 13[A]
- ZIP Code
- 11710
- Legal status
- Unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County[2]
- Main roads
- Sunrise Highway (NY 27); Merrick Road; Newbridge Road (NY 106, at least at the North Bellmore end)[3]
- 1920 population
- About 3,000, with stores along Bedford Avenue and 455 daily rail commuters[1]
- Census geography
- Bellmore CDP · GEOID 3605738 · GNIS 2389199
- Coordinates
- 40.6602°N, 73.5266°W
Hamlets in New York have no legal boundary or government of their own. Figures here use the Census Bureau's census-designated place, the standard statistical outline for the community; local usage of the name can be wider or narrower.
Name:When the Long Island Rail Road came through the area in 1867, the railroad "arbitrarily named their station, Bellmore" — a name that was, per the local historical society, both a man's first name and the name of a whisky brand popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1]
Fatal crashes in Bellmore, 2010–2024
From January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2024, 13 people died in 13 crashes on public roads inside Bellmore, according to the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System.[A] Pedestrians account for 4 of those deaths (31%). The deadliest year was 2011, with 2 deaths.
- Fatal crashes
- 13
- People killed
- 13
- Pedestrians
- 4
- Bicyclists
- 2
- Motorcyclists
- 4
- Vehicle occupants
- 3
2024 figures come from NHTSA's Annual Report File and may be revised.
View the chart as a table
| Year | Fatal crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1 | 1 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 |
| 2013 | 2 | 2 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 | 1 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 |
Roads where people died
| Road | Crashes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Highway (NY 27) | 6 | 6 |
| Merrick Road | 4 | 4 |
| Newbridge Rd | 2 | 2 |
| Bedford Ave | 1 | 1 |
Road names as recorded by police and normalised to common Long Island names.
When and where
- Of the 13 crashes with a recorded time, 5 happened between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., 2 between 4 and 8 p.m., 4 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and 2 between 6 and 10 a.m.
- 39% happened in darkness.
- 0 of the 13 deaths were on expressways or parkways; 13 were on arterials and local streets.
- In at least 1 crash, a driver had a reported blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. This counts known test results only; NHTSA's official alcohol estimates, which impute untested drivers, are higher.
Who owns the roads where they happened (2015–2024)
FARS has recorded the owner of the roadway since 2015. Of the 5 fatal crashes in Bellmore since then:
- State highways 3 (60%)
- Town roads 2 (40%)
Ownership matters in New York because claims against a county, town, city or village generally require a notice of claim within 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-e), while claims against the State are brought in the Court of Claims under Court of Claims Act § 10. This is general information, not legal advice.
Rate: 5.3 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents per year, against 5.8 for Nassau County. This is a resident-based rate, not a measure of how risky the roads are to drive: crashes are counted where they happen, not where the people involved live, so a small community crossed by a major highway shows a high rate.
Every fatal crash on record
| Date | Time | Road | Deaths | Who died | Light |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | 6 p.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) | 1 | Bicyclist | dusk |
| 6 p.m. | Newbridge Rd at Linden St | 1 | Bicyclist | daylight | |
| 3 p.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) | 1 | Motorcyclist | daylight | |
| 1 a.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) at Centre Ave | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 10 p.m. | Newbridge Rd at Oak St | 1 | Motorcyclist | dark | |
| 12 p.m. | Merrick Road | 1 | Motorcyclist | daylight | |
| 6 a.m. | Merrick Road at Soma Ave | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight | |
| 1 p.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) at Rose Pl | 1 | Motorcyclist | daylight | |
| 6 a.m. | Bedford Ave | 1 | Pedestrian | dawn | |
| 5 a.m. | Merrick Road at Soma Ave | 1 | Vehicle occupant | dark | |
| 9 p.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) at Washington Ave | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 10 p.m. | Merrick Road at Farmers Ave | 1 | Pedestrian | dark | |
| 2 p.m. | Sunrise Highway (NY 27) | 1 | Vehicle occupant | daylight |
FARS contains no names or personal identifiers. * 2024 records are preliminary. Download all 13 records (CSV) · How this was compiled
Recent Bellmore Incident Reports
Shelter-in-Place Issued in Bellmore After 1,150-Gallon Propane Cylinder Begins Leaking at Filling Station on Bellmore Avenue
A shelter-in-place order was issued for blocks surrounding a propane filling station at 2036 Bellmore Avenue in Bellmore on Memorial Day evening after a valve leak on a 1,150-gallon cylinder. Hazmat crews responded. No injuries reported.
Two-Car Crash on Jerusalem Road in North Bellmore Injures Two, Closes Road for Over an Hour
Speed Kills: North Bellmore Man, 50, Dies in Southern State Parkway Crash Near Exit 25S
Updated continuously from 511NY, NYSP, NCPD, and SCPD feeds — all Long Island reports.
All reported crashes in the Town of Hempstead, 2021–2024
New York's crash file codes each crash to a town, city or village — never to a hamlet — so the finest official count that covers Bellmore is for the Town of Hempstead, which contains it. Police reported 68,511 crashes there from 2021 through 2024 — about 46.9 a day. 18,712 (27.3%) injured someone and 142 were fatal. [D]
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15,884 | 17,747 | 17,500 | 17,380 | 68,511 |
- Injury crashes
- 18,712
- Fatal crashes
- 142
- Struck a pedestrian
- 1,410
- Struck a bicyclist
- 742
- Struck a deer
- 5
Counts are crashes, not people. The municipality is entered by the reporting police agency, and coding is less consistent for small villages, so compare places with care.
How Bellmore gets to work
Bellmore commuters travel an average of 34.1 minutes each way, 1.9 minutes shorter than the Nassau County average (the national average is 26.4 minutes). About 68.1% of workers drive alone, and 6.3% ride the railroad. [B]
| Measure | Bellmore | Nassau County | New York State | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average one-way commute | 34.1 min ±4.6 | 36 min | 32.6 min | 26.4 min |
| Commute 60 minutes or longer | 19% ±4.2 | 22.3% | 16.8% | 8.6% |
| Commute under 15 minutes | 14.4% ±3.4 | 17.9% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Drive alone | 68.1% ±2.6 | 60.7% | 48.8% | 68.8% |
| Carpool | 4.2% ±2 | 7.3% | 6.3% | 8.5% |
| Commuter rail (LIRR) | 6.3% ±2.3 | 7.1% | 1.8% | 0.3% |
| Bus | 0.2% ±0.2 † | 2.2% | 5.1% | 1.5% |
| Walk | 0.6% ±0.5 † | 2% | 5.6% | 2.4% |
| Work from home | 18.6% ±5.5 | 15.6% | 14.9% | 15.1% |
| Leave home before 6 a.m. | 10% ±3.4 | 10.8% | 10.6% | 14.4% |
| Households with no vehicle | 4.7% ±2.3 † | 6.8% | 29.2% | 8.4% |
| Households with three or more vehicles | 28.3% ±5.3 | 23.3% | 11.8% | 21.9% |
Survey estimates for 8,408 workers aged 16 and over; ± values are 90% margins of error. † Small sample — the margin of error is large relative to the estimate, so treat the figure as indicative only. Travel-time rows exclude people who work from home.
Notable facts about Bellmore
- Bellmore's railroad station, built in 1867, was "arbitrarily" named by the Long Island Rail Road — a name that also happened to be a popular whisky brand of the era.[1]
- In 1920, Bellmore's roughly 3,000 residents included 455 daily rail commuters to New York City, who paid $11.94 for a monthly ticket.[1]
- A First Amendment landmark, Ginsberg v. New York (1968), arose from the sale of adult magazines to a 16-year-old at a Bellmore stationery store and luncheonette.[6]
- Newbridge Road, at its North Bellmore end, carries the state touring-route number NY 106 all the way north to Oyster Bay.[3]
History
Bellmore lies within the Town of Hempstead, whose founding deed was negotiated on December 13, 1643 between English emissaries Robert Fordham and John Carman and Native representatives the town's own archives name as the Reuckowacky, the Merockes, Matinecock and Massapequas.[2] According to a history compiled by the president of the Historical Society of the Bellmores, the area was "settled primarily by Englishmen who crossed the Sound from Connecticut in the middle of the Seventeenth Century": Thomas Southard bought a 214-acre farm in what is now North Bellmore in 1655, and further south near the bay John Smith deeded 100 acres to his son Jeremiah in 1676.[1] Two communities grew from these beginnings — Smithville, later Smithville South, named for the Smith families, and New Bridge, named for a peninsula along Merrick Road, where John Bedell and his wife Sarah Southard settled around 1689.[1]
When the railroad reached the area in 1867, the company "arbitrarily named their station Bellmore," a name the historical society's account notes was both a man's given name and the name of a whisky brand popular at the turn of the century; both communities grew toward the depot and adopted the name.[1] By 1920 the community had about 3,000 residents, stores along Bedford Avenue and 455 people commuting daily into New York City by rail, at a monthly fare of $11.94.[1]
How the roads got here
Sunrise Highway, signed as New York State Route 27, runs through Bellmore's commercial district as part of NYSDOT's continuous South Shore touring route "to Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Freeport, Massapequa Park."[3] Merrick Road, the area's original South Shore road, was already the site of the Bedell family's home by about 1689.[1]
Newbridge Road, at least at its North Bellmore end, is New York State Route 106: NYSDOT's official touring-route description reads "(NY 105) North Bellmore, on Newbridge Road, Hicksville, Jericho, Oyster Bay (Bay Avenue) – Nassau County," meaning the state carries a signed route number up Newbridge Road from North Bellmore to Oyster Bay.[3] Jerusalem Avenue, which meets it, is separately numbered NY 105, described as running "(NY 106) North Bellmore, on Jerusalem Avenue (NY 107) – Nassau County."[3]
Law and legal history
Bellmore is the site of a landmark First Amendment ruling. Sam Ginsberg and his wife ran Sam's Stationery and Luncheonette in Bellmore; in October 1965 Ginsberg sold "girlie" magazines to a 16-year-old boy on two occasions, leading to his conviction under section 484-h of the New York Penal Law, which barred knowingly selling material "harmful to minors" — material that need not be obscene for adults — to anyone under 17.[6] In Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629, decided April 22, 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding that the statute "does not invade the area of freedom of expression constitutionally secured to minors" and that a state may vary its obscenity standard for material sold to minors even when the same material could lawfully be sold to adults.[6] Ginsberg remains a foundational precedent for the constitutional doctrine of "variable obscenity" governing minors' access to sexual material.[6]
As elsewhere in the Town of Hempstead's unincorporated area, claims over defects in town-maintained streets and sidewalks in Bellmore require prior written notice under section 6-1 or 6-3 of the Code of the Town of Hempstead, while Nassau County roads (such as Merrick Road) carry a parallel notice requirement under section 12-4.0(e) of the Nassau County Administrative Code.[7][8]
Cases of record
- Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629 (1968)[6]
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1968. Arose from the 1965 sale of adult magazines to a minor at Sam's Stationery and Luncheonette in Bellmore.The Court upheld New York's law restricting the sale to minors of material "harmful to minors," establishing that a state may apply a different, more restrictive obscenity standard to sales made to minors than the standard applicable to adults.
Each summary describes the cited decision only. Later appellate history is noted where we found it, but it has not been checked systematically — confirm a case's current status with a citator before relying on it. General information, not legal advice.
Government, courts and policing
Bellmore is unincorporated and has no village government. The Nassau County Police Department's Seventh Precinct, headquartered at 3636 Merrick Road in Seaford, states that it "serves the communities of Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh, North Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa, North Massapequa, Massapequa Park and East Massapequa."[4][5]
Misdemeanors, lesser offenses, felony arraignments and civil claims up to $15,000 from Bellmore go to the Nassau County District Court at 99 Main Street, Hempstead; larger civil matters go to Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola; non-criminal traffic and parking tickets go to the county's Traffic & Parking Violations Agency in Garden City.[9][10][11]
Bellmore timeline
- Southard farm. Thomas Southard purchased a 214-acre farm in what is now North Bellmore.[1]
- Smith land deed. John Smith deeded 100 acres near the bay to his son Jeremiah.[1]
- Bedell home on Merrick Road. John Bedell married Sarah Southard and moved into a new home on Merrick Road.[1]
- Railroad station named. The Long Island Rail Road built a station through the area and named it Bellmore.[1]
- Population and commuting. The community had about 3,000 residents, stores along Bedford Avenue, and 455 people commuting daily to New York City, paying $11.94 for a monthly rail ticket.[1]
- Sam Ginsberg's sale. The proprietor of Sam's Stationery and Luncheonette in Bellmore sold adult magazines to a 16-year-old on two occasions in October, leading to his prosecution.[6]
- Ginsberg v. New York. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Ginsberg's conviction and the New York statute restricting minors' access to sexual material.[6]
Major roads in Bellmore
| Road | Route | Maintained by | In Bellmore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Highway [3] | NY 27 | New York State | runs through the hamlet's commercial district |
| Merrick Road [3] | Nassau County road | Nassau County (per a parallel finding for the same road in Merrick; see the Merrick file's Cimino v. County of Nassau citation) | runs through the hamlet's downtown business district |
| Newbridge Road [3] | NY 106 (at its North Bellmore end) | New York State | main north-south road at the North Bellmore/Bellmore boundary, continuing north to Oyster Bay |
Emergency Resources
Hospitals
- Nassau University Medical Center — 2201 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow, NY 11554 — (516) 572-0123 (Nassau County's only Level I adult trauma center.)
Police
Emergency: 911
Courts
- Nassau County Supreme Court — 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 — (516) 493-3400 (Civil matters, including personal-injury actions.)
- Nassau County Traffic & Parking Violations Agency — 801 Axinn Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530 — (516) 572-2700 (Adjudicates traffic, parking and photo-enforcement tickets.)
Local Driver Services in Bellmore
Practical resources for Bellmore drivers — tire shops, gas prices, and live traffic conditions.
Safety Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do after a car accident in Bellmore, NY?
Move to safety and call 911 immediately, then document the scene with photos and exchange insurance and contact information with everyone involved. File a police report with NCPD and notify your insurer promptly. New York is a no-fault state, so your own PIP coverage pays initial medical costs regardless of fault, and you have just 30 days to file the NF-2 application.
Which roads are most dangerous in Bellmore?
Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road carry the heaviest traffic through Bellmore and account for most of the reported crashes we track. Sunrise Highway at Newbridge Road — a high-volume commercial interchange. Commercial driveways, signalized intersections, and turning movements along these corridors drive the local crash mix.
How current are these Bellmore accident reports?
Long Island Traffic adds new reports every 2–4 hours from 511NY, NYS Police Troop L, NCPD, and verified local news. Scroll up for the latest Bellmore and Nassau County incidents, and check the "Dangerous Roads" section for corridor-level breakdowns.
Do I need a lawyer after a Bellmore accident?
If you suffered serious injuries, significant property damage, or the other driver was uninsured, consulting a Nassau County personal injury attorney is strongly recommended. Many firms offer free consultations and work on contingency. See our free guides at /know-your-rights/car-accidents/ and /know-your-rights/insurance-claims/.
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Data: machine-readable fact sheet (JSON) · fatal-crash records (CSV) · methodology and limits
References
Datasets
- [A] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2010–2024 national files. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Crashes on public trafficways in which a person died within 30 days. No personal identifiers. Placed by reported coordinates into 2020 Census boundaries.
- [B] U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Estimates, tables B08303, B08013, B08301, B08302, B08201, B19013, B01002. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Survey estimates with 90% margins of error. lowReliability = coefficient of variation above 30%.
- [C] U.S. Census Bureau, TIGERweb — 2020 Census tabulation geography (POP100, HU100, AREALAND). Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- [D] New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Motor Vehicle Crashes — Case Information: Four Year Window. Retrieved September 17, 2026.Police-reported crashes coded to a town, city or village by the reporting agency. Hamlets are not coded; hamlet pages show the parent town.
Sources for history, roads and law
- [1] Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores / Historical Society of the Bellmores (Clarence G. Anspake, Jr., president). History of the Bellmores (Bellmore Chamber of Commerce, "Community" page, archived 2005) (2005). Archive.
- [2] Town of Hempstead (Town Clerk Archives). History of the Town (n.d.). Government record.
- [3] New York State Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Safety & Mobility. Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycle Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State (2017). Government record.
- [4] Nassau County Police Department. About Precinct (Seventh Precinct) (n.d.). Government record.
- [5] Nassau County Police Department. Nassau County Police Department Precincts (addresses and telephone numbers) (n.d.). Government record.
- [6] Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629 (1968) (1968). Court decision.
- [7] Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School Library. Cuzzo v. Town of Hempstead, 61 A.D.3d 921 (2009) (2009). Court decision.
- [8] Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School Library. Cimino v. County of Nassau, 105 A.D.3d 883 (2013) (2013). Court decision.
- [9] New York State Unified Court System. Nassau County District Court (2026). Court decision.
- [10] New York State Unified Court System. Nassau County Supreme Court (2026). Court decision.
- [11] Nassau County. Traffic & Parking Violations Agency (2026). Government record.
- [13] New York State Department of Health. New York State Trauma Centers (n.d.). Government record.
Sources opened and checked September 17, 2026.