Living in Lido Beach means having a 'year-round vacation home'

In Lido Beach, it’s all about the beach.

"It really does encapsulate the true meaning of what a cozy beach town is," Town of Hempstead Councilman Chris Carini says of the hamlet, which sits on the barrier island that starts in Atlantic Beach to the west, runs through Long Beach and ends in Point Lookout to the east.

Beaches in Lido Beach are open to Town of Hempstead and Nassau County residents. One point of pride is Camp Anchor, a town-owned beach-side camp serving special needs adults and children year-round.

With Reynolds Channel to the north (which residents refer to as the bay) and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, all the homes in the narrow hamlet are just minutes from the water.

"The surfing is spectacular," says Paul Gomez, owner of Point Realty, adding that during Superstorm Sandy areas of the hamlet protected by the dunes on the ocean side fared well, while other lower lying areas saw flooding as the ocean met the bay during the storm surge.

Popular spots include Lido Golf Course, run by the Town of Hempstead, and Marvel Frozen Dairy, a staple for ice cream lovers for the past 70 years and a landmark on Lido Boulevard, the main thoroughfare for the hamlet, which connects it to Long Beach, Point Lookout and the Meadowbrook Parkway.

Less well-known is the Lido Beach Passive Nature area, a 40-acre wetlands preserve just off the parkway with bird watching, walking paths and scenic overlooks.

Once an uninhabited sandbar, Lido Beach, like Long Beach, was made accessible after developer and politician William Reynolds dredged the channel. In 1928, envisioning a resort community, Reynolds built the Moorish style Lido Club Hotel, but never realized his dream due to the Depression. Today, the building, with its distinctive cupolas and pink hue intact, is home to condominiums.

In the 1960s residents fought off development of multistory apartment buildings, and other than a few bathing clubs and the hotel, the hamlet remained exclusively residential, a characteristic it still retains.

Today, residents live on the bayside or in a series of streets called the Dunes, which leads to the ocean beaches. Housing styles include high ranches, splanches, split levels, country ranches and contemporaries, says Renee Weinberg of Realty Connect USA. Since the pandemic, prices have risen about 15%, with a limited inventory of homes starting in the mid-$700,000s and going up to about $2 million, she says.

Residents go to Long Beach to enjoy its boardwalk, shopping and restaurants, and to Point Lookout for its dining options. Lido Beach "is a lot of fun for families," says Gomez. "And it’s a dream of people that own houses here as well because they have a year-round vacation home."

CONDOS AND CO-OPS There are eight condos on the market ranging in price from $369,900 to $2.2 million.

SALE PRICES Between Aug. 31, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, there were 51 home sales with a median sale price of $875,000, according to OneKey MLS. The low price for that period was $445,000 and the high was $2.7 million. During that period a year earlier there were 30 home sales with a median sale price of $777,000. The price range was $410,000 to $1.6 million.

OTHER STATS

Town Hempstead

Area 1.7 square miles

ZIP code 11561

Population 3,024

Median age 52.2

Median household income $161,908

Median home value $1.025 million*

Monthly LIRR ticket from Long Beach $308

School district Long Beach

Graduation rate 96.6%

Parks Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach Town Park

Library Long Beach Public Library

Hospital Mount Sinai South Nassau

SOURCES: 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; OneKey MLS; LIRR, data.nysed.gov

*Based on 24 sales in the past six months, according to OneKey MLS

NOW ON THE MARKET

$2.299 million

With 2,800 square feet of living space, this renovated five-bedroom, three-bath high ranch built in 1962 features cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors and solar heating. Located three houses from the beach in the Dunes section, the property has a built-in saltwater pool and mahogany deck. Taxes are $25,703. Renee and Dennis Weinberg, Realty Connect USA, 516-714-3606.

$1.093 million

Located minutes from the beach, this 2,468-square-foot four-bedroom, 2½-bath Colonial has hardwood floors, a new eat-in kitchen with natural stone counters and double oven. Built in 1968, the home has solar panels and new steel-clad carriage house garage door. Taxes are $15,619. Miriam Gold, Paul Gold Real Estate, 516-432-4900.

$899,000

This 2,400-square-foot splanch with four bedrooms and 2½ baths has cathedral ceilings and large windows in the third-floor den, plus natural gas heat. Built in 1964, the home sits on a 0.16-acre lot with a built-in outdoor kitchen. Taxes are $18,568. Leah Rosensweig Tozer, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, 516-670-1700.

RECENTLY SOLD

$2.6 million

Address Kensington St.

Style Modern

Bedrooms 6

Bathrooms 4

Built 1964

Lot size 0.2 acre

Taxes $16,504

+/- list price -$390,000

Days on market 151

$795,000

Address Marginal Rd.

Style High ranch

Bedrooms 4

Bathrooms 2

Built 1975

Lot size 0.14 acre

Taxes $11,488

+/- list price +$38,000

Days on market 102

$618,000

Address Regent Dr.

Style Splanch

Bedrooms 4

Bathrooms 2½

Built 1964

Lot size 0.14 acres

Taxes $9,704

+/- list price -$61,000

Days on market 114

ON ONEKEY MLS

Number of listings 21

Price range $369,900 to $5.99 million

Tax range $11,398 to $25,703