Rockville Centre

Rockville Centre is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. Rockville Centre prides itself on its rich history, schools, beautiful neighborhoods and its busy business district.

Understand

Rockville Centre (colloquially known by locals as "RVC") is in southwestern Nassau County. It has been an incorporated village since 1893 and as of 2020 is home to a population of 26,016 people.

Get in

Rockville Centre is 25 mi (40 km) east from Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

By air

Rockville Centre is 15 min away from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK IATA) by car.

By train

There is an LIRR station in the heart of Rockville Centre. It is located at North Village Avenue and Front Street and north of Sunrise Highway. Using the Long Island Rail Road, it takes approximately 35 min to arrive in the village from Grand Central Terminal or Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan.

The Babylon branch of the LIRR rail service runs through Rockville Centre with the line going west into New York City and east to Babylon. It is 21 miles (33 km) from Penn Station in New York City.

To get to the station by car take the Southern State Parkway to Exit 19 - Peninsula Boulevard South. Then take the left fork - North Village Avenue South and drive around 3-4 miles 5-7 km) to the Rockville Centre station.

Rockville Centre is in fare zone 7.

  • Two Full Service Ticket Machines and one CTVM Ticket Machine are available at the north side of the station building. Ticket office hours are M-F 5:40AM-1:15PM, closed 10:20AM-10:50AM and all day Sa Su. Waiting room hours are 5:30AM-8PM.

By car

By road it takes between one hour and one and one-half hours to drive to the village from Midtown Manhattan, depending on traffic.

Get around

By bus
  • The M14 MTA runs strictly to Rockville Centre destinations all day from several locations throughout the village.
  • N14, N15, N16 depart from the train station and go to towns across Long Island as well as some areas in Queens. The N14 is a peak time only service

By taxi
  • All Island Taxi is located at the Rockville Centre Train Station. All Island Taxi is open 24 hr, 7 days a week and is one of the largest taxi companies on Long Island. They provide both late model town cars and mini-vans. They will drive anywhere from a house in the village or to New York City.

See
  • 🌍 St. Agnes Cathedral, 29 Quealy Place, Rockville Centre. The mother church of the Roman Catholic diocese covering all of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Roman Catholic Cathedral is a magnificent building with beautiful architecture and is seat of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The history of this parish goes back over 120 years. The cathedral is easily visible from the LIRR station. 
  • 🌍 Phillips House Museum. Su 1–4PM. A restored Victorian-era home, now a museum operated by the Village of Rockville Centre. Free. (updated May 2016)

Do

There is an abundance of things to do in Rockville Centre, whether it be during the day or a night out on the town.

Movies, Fantasy 5 Loews AMC movie theatre. Park Avenue. 6 movie screens showing late release films at several different times everyday. Two snack bars have popcorn, sodas, and endless candy choices. The complex also has a mini arcade, and bathrooms.

ARTrageous. A child-friendly pottery place and a fun and different way to expand your artistic abilities with your child. ARTrageous has a number of different unfinished bisuque pieces to create into something wonderful. The idea is to plan out your design, choose the colors, and paint your heart out. When you're done, you leave the rest to the helpful team and they will fire it for you. After 2-3 days, your masterpiece is done. Take it home and enjoy your creation.

Buy
  • Extra butter, 266 Merrick Rd, ☏ +1 516 632-5150. M 11AM-6PM, Tu W 11AM-7PM, Th F 11AM-8PM, Sa 11AM-6PM, Su noon-5PM. Shoes and street apparel. 

Eat
  • La Bottega, 234 Merrick Road. Full-service restaurant with Italian specialities, but are especially known for their 60 different paninis. Also have 25 salad selections, weekly lunch and dinner specials and an off-premise catering menu. La Bottega also serves a selection of wines. 
  • Sushi Ya, 9 North Park Avenue. Japanese restaurant with a laid-back feel. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. They have over 100 different sushi rolls with fresh ingredients, as well as numerous other Japanese dishes. Open bar serving several different Japanese beers and Saki. 
  • George Martin, 65 North Park Avenue. 4 different restaurants in different locations - George Martin The Original, George Martin's Strip Steak, George Martin's Grillfire, and Nick's Tuscan Grill. One of the "Top 40 Most Popular Long Island Restaurants" in the Zagat Guide. Menu includes polenta crusted calamari, classic NY strip steak and a wide selection of other choices. They have a large selection of wines to go along with any meal. 
  • Nick's Pizzeria, 272 Sunrise Highway. It is dedicated to preserving the tradition of New York's great pie men. Using gas ovens and baked to perfection in a brick oven, their thin crust pizza is easily one of the favorites. Retro theme with exposed copper-colored ducts along the ceiling and dozens of vintage photographs on the walls. Lighting is dim, creating a comfortable glow to everything. Wine available. 
  • Front Street Bakery, 51 Front Street, ☏ +1 516 766-1199. Tu-Sa 6:30AM-6:30PM. Family-run for over 60 years. Everything from donuts to crumb cakes to the famous New York "black and white". Front Street Bakery has been featured on the Martha Stewart Show and Rachael Ray. They serve a large variety of coffee cakes, crumb cakes, turnovers, breads, cakes, cookies, and fresh brewed coffee. Be sure to get here early! All the best treats sell out early. Steps from the Rockville Centre LIRR station. 
  • Gino's Pizzeria, 187 N Long Beach Rd, ☏ +1 516 766-4200. A Rockville Centre eatery staple for decades, Gino's continues to serve some of the best pizza on Long Island. Their Sicilian and traditional thin-crust pizzas are delicious. In addition to pizza Gino's serves grinders, pastas, salads and other traditional Italian foods. Gelato also available. Take out or eat in; call ahead to have your order ready, or stop in and bring some slices home. 

Drink

Rockville Centre is known for its selection of bars. People travel to the bar scene in Rockville Centre over the weekend.

  • MacArthur Park, 1 Maple Avenue. Irish bar, one of many in Rockville Centre. Near the train station and convenient for out of towners to come relax and have a beer or two. Aside from a bar, there is a sit down restaurant with a menu full of all-American food choices. Also reserves rooms for special occasions such as brunches, baby showers, confirmation parties. 

Sleep

Stay safe

RVC is a super safe place at all times of the day and night. Visitors should not experience any issues in the way of public safety, and the Village of Rockville Centre Police Department regularly patrols the village.

Do, however, exercise caution if crossing Sunrise Highway (New York State Route 27). It is a wide road and one of the busiest surface streets on Long Island, so make sure to look both ways when crossing the road (just as you would when crossing any other street).

Like in all other parts of the United States, in an emergency, dial 911.

Connect
  • Rockville Centre Village Hall, 1 College Place, ☏ +1 516 678-9300. M-F 8AM-4PM. 

Go next
Routes through Rockville Centre
Queens ← Lynbrook ←  W  E  → Freeport → Babylon
Queens ← Lynbrook ←  W  E  → Freeport → Babylon


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