Originally known as Old Fields, it became known by the name Greenlawn with the coming of the Long Island Rail Road in 1870 or 1871. The LIRR chose the name Greenlawn for its station, apparently to project an idyllic rural/suburban image and foster resort travel to the beaches in Centerport. Greenlawn was well known for its pickle production during the 19th century as well as, to a lesser degree, potato and cabbage farms; the principal commodity, pickles, is still celebrated by the annual Pickle Festival, held by the local Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association at the John Gardiner Farm. The Gardiner family was the first to make a name for themselves as pickle farmers in the region but a former slave, Samuel Ballton, earned the moniker "The Pickle King" for becoming a prolific pickle farmer in Greenlawn in the early 1900s.
Geography
Greenlawn is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the census-designated place has a total area of, all land.
Demographics of the CDP
As of the census of 2010, there were 13,742 people, 4,560 households, and 3,345 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 3,714.1 per square mile. There were 4,722 housing units at an average density of 1,276.2/sq mi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 74.0% White, 13.9% African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.1% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 4.9% some other race, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.5% of the population. There were 4,560 households, out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were headed by married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.45. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males. For the period 2007–2011, the median annual income for a household in the CDP was $92,664, and the median income for a family was $116,768. Males had a median income of $73,659 versus $59,107 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $40,484. About 2.1% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
Greenlawn is well known for its annual pickle festival.
Members of the Greenlawn Fire Department hold an annual Greenlawn Firemans Fair on Labor Day weekend. It is known as the oldest and largest in New York state.
Notable people
The pop singer Mariah Carey grew up in Greenlawn. She attended, and graduated from Harborfields High School.
Jeff Hawkins, born in 1957 in Huntington, New York, and who graduated from Harborfields High School in 1975, is the founder of Palm Computing where he invented the Palm Pilot, and Handspring where he invented the Treo.
Fay Kellogg, called the foremost woman architect in the US, summered on a farm that she owned in Greenlawn. She also designed and supervised the building of Greenlawn's post office east of Broadway behind the train station in 1911.
