Moving to the Five Towns

The Five Towns are a group of neighboring communities on Long Island's South Shore, in Nassau County, right on the border with Far Rockaway, Queens: Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett and Inwood. Families here also use the shuls, schools and stores just over the line in Far Rockaway and in North Woodmere. This page pulls together what this directory and its sources show about Jewish life here. Each section links to the listings, and every listing links to the source it came from.

Where people live

The Orthodox community is spread across all five towns and North Woodmere, and each area has its own cluster of shuls. Lawrence and Cedarhurst share the Central Avenue shopping strip. Woodmere and North Woodmere have many shuls along Peninsula Boulevard, Broadway and Hungry Harbor Road. Hewlett has its own Young Israel and a Sephardic congregation. Far Rockaway, in Queens, has its own large community and many of the area's yeshivos.

If you're choosing a street, walk to the shul you'd daven at on Shabbos. The shul list shows over 50 shuls by town.

What it costs

Homes here are expensive. ShulMap gives a median home value of about $857,000 for ZIP code 11516 (Cedarhurst), from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2020-2024. Costs vary a lot between towns and between streets, so check current listings and talk to a local agent.

Shuls

The OU's community page lists 39 shuls for the area, and this directory has more than 50, from large Young Israels to small shtiblach, Chassidish and Sephardic minyanim. See all shuls.

The eruv

The Five Towns Eruv is sponsored by the area's 40-plus shuls. Its website shows the map and the weekly status. You can also call the hotline or join the email alert list. Check the status every week before Shabbos.

Kosher food

Most of the restaurants, bakeries and groceries sit on Central Avenue in Cedarhurst and Lawrence, with more on Broadway in Woodmere and Hewlett and on Rockaway Turnpike. The local kashrus agency is the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway. Its website lists every place it certifies, marked meat, dairy or pareve. Each food listing here says which agency supervises it. Always check the certificate in the store, because places open, close and change supervision.

Schools

There are yeshiva day schools for every age, from pre-K to high school. HAFTR in Lawrence runs from pre-K to 12th grade. There are separate boys' and girls' high schools in Lawrence, Woodmere, Hewlett and Far Rockaway, and special-education programs such as the Hebrew Academy for Special Children and Kulanu. The grades and phone numbers here come from the federal private school survey. Ask each school about admissions and tuition directly.

Day schools
Yeshivos and high schools
Preschools, all licensed day care centers in New York State's registry

Mikvaos

There are three: in Cedarhurst, in Hewlett (Mikvah of South Shore) and in Far Rockaway. Call ahead for hours and appointments. See the mikvaos.

Help and emergencies

In a medical emergency, call 911 or Hatzalah. The number is on the Hatzalah listing.
Achiezer, in Lawrence, is the community's resource and crisis center.
The Marion & Aaron Gural JCC in Cedarhurst runs The S.H.O.P., a free kosher food pantry, as well as early childhood, special-needs and older-adult programs.

Getting around

The Long Island Rail Road's Far Rockaway Branch stops at Hewlett, Woodmere, Cedarhurst, Lawrence and Inwood, then Far Rockaway. Every train stops at Jamaica, and some run through to Penn Station or Grand Central (check the MTA timetable for your train).

First week checklist

Find the shul you'll daven at on Shabbos, and introduce yourself to the rabbi.
Sign up for the eruv alert list.
Save Hatzalah's number in your phone.
Look up your nearest mikvah and its hours.
Visit the schools you're considering and ask about admissions early.
Learn which stores on Central Avenue carry what you need.

Sources

Checked November 11, 2026.