Hamlet (New York)

Though the term "hamlet" is not defined under New York law, many people in the state use the term hamlet to refer to a community within a town that is not incorporated as a village but is identified by a name, i.e. an unincorporated community. Hamlets often have names corresponding to the names of a local school district, post office, or fire district. Because a hamlet has no government of its own, it depends upon the town or towns that contain it for municipal services and government. Because they do not have governments, hamlets have no clear boundaries.

Suffolk County publishes maps that give hamlet boundaries, but towns within the county also publish maps that conflict both in the number of hamlets and their boundaries. Nevertheless, all land not within a village is administered by the town.

Most of the rest of New York's hamlets, however, have less defined boundaries, and most towns have areas that are not considered to be a part of any hamlet. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) puts hamlet names on rectangular green signs with white lettering at roadside locations of its choosing. The NYSDOT and local governments also provide community identification signs on some scenic byways to be placed at the roadside boundaries of hamlets, as decided by the sign provider. Many towns have special zoning or planning districts and planning strategies for their hamlets, and many place welcome signs at the gateways to the hamlets.

Some hamlets are former villages that have dissolved their incorporation (Old Forge in Herkimer County; Rosendale, in Ulster County; and Andes in Delaware County, for example).

The New York State Gazetteer, published by the New York State Department of Health in 1995, includes a list of hamlets in the state. The criteria used for inclusion in the Gazetteer are not stated.

The Adirondack Park Agency also uses the term "hamlet", though as a land-use classification for private land under its Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan (APLUDP). The APLUDP extends the boundaries for its classification of hamlets "well beyond established settlements" to allow for growth.