Definition: New York State defines a village as "a general purpose
municipal corporation formed voluntarily by the residents of an
area in one or more towns to provide themselves with municipal
services ... its area still remains a part
of the town where it is located, and its residents continue to be
residents and taxpayers of that town." (State of New York Local Government Handbook, 5th Edition, 2000, visited on January 24, 2006). These areas are sometimes called incorporated villages, e.g., The Incorporated Village of Hempstead. There are 64 villages in Nassau County and 34 villages in Suffolk County. People often use the term town when they really mean village.
Examples: When someone on Long Island asks you what town you live in, he probably expects you to tell him the name of a village, not a town.
