Merrick, NY

Norman J. Levy Park and Preserve occupies a former Merrick landfill, converted into a 52-acre plant-and-wildlife sanctuary that opened in 2000. Its trails climb to a 155-foot high point with views toward Jones Beach and the New York City skyline, and a herd of Nigerian dwarf goats controls brush. Merrick itself is a South Shore Long Island hamlet within the Town of Hempstead; 22,040 people lived there in 2020. Merrick Library began in 1891 with about 50 donated books housed in a stable hayloft, and a dedicated library building opened on donated land in 1897.