Hempstead Harbor is a bay on the coast of New York in Long Island Sound, between the towns of Oyster Bay on the east and North Hempstead on the west, in Nassau County, Long Island, New York. It is sometimes called Roslyn Harbor.
Before World War I shacks were built on the marsh flats in the town-owned Hempstead Bay wetlands. They served as shelters for duck hunters, fishermen and weekend campers. Over time the summer cabins became cottages passed down through generations. Until 1970, folk singer Burl Ives, spent occasional summer weekends in a cottage near the Hempstead Town Dock. Storms and erosion have taken their toll. Town officials and conservationists came to consider them an intrusion. The Town stopped granting new leases in 1964.
Hempstead Harbor Park is a recreational beach park owned by the Town of North Hempstead, on the west shore of the harbor in Port Washington. It lies immediately west and north of Bar Beach. A fireworks display takes place there every Memorial Day.
The proposed United States Navy seaplane tender USS Hempstead (AVP-43) was named for Hempstead Bay, but the contract for the ship's construction was cancelled in 1943 before construction began.
Coordinates: 40°50′50″N 73°39′41″W / 40.84722°N 73.66139°W