(UNIONDALE, N.Y.) – Nassau County Legislature Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Siela A. Bynoe (D – Westbury) has filed legislation that will ensure Uniondale is properly identified in all County communications and documents.
Following years of advocacy by Uniondale community leaders and elected officials, “East Garden City” was removed from the U.S. Census as a Census Designated Place starting with the 2020 Census. However, even after this official action, some people and entities continue to utilize the name “East Garden City” despite its inaccuracy and divisiveness.
To address the continuous erroneous use of “East Garden City,” Nassau County Legislature Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Siela A. Bynoe (D – Westbury), who represents all of Uniondale in the Legislature, authored and filed legislation on Friday, Jan. 19 to prohibit the use of “East Garden City” in County documents and communications wherever Uniondale is legally appropriate and accurate, and require the use of the name Uniondale in “all County documents of any kind, including but not limited to legislative enactments, maps, software, internal or external correspondence and communications, and all agency records, county department records, and all records within each branch of county government” when referring to the Census Designated Place of Uniondale as identified in the 2020 Census.
Recent mistakes have illustrated the need for codifying this directive. Despite an alert from the Minority Caucus, Nassau produced new legislative maps after redistricting that included the erroneous name, necessitating reprints. Throughout 2023, the Nassau County Police Department issued no fewer than 44 press releases referencing “East Garden City.” And, in 2022, the “Jeopardy!” misidentified the Cradle of Aviation’s Uniondale home as Garden City. Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Bynoe’s letter to “Jeopardy!” producers identifying the error brought global media attention to the issue.
“The residents of Uniondale are rightly proud of their rich heritage, and they advocated diligently and conscientiously to ensure that their historic, diverse and inclusive home would be accurately reflected in the Census,” Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Bynoe said. “Through my legislative proposal, Nassau County will fulfill its responsibility to complete the realization of this important change – one that is a matter of fundamental respect for the people of Uniondale.”