Hempstead, NY Curfew Laws: Park Curfew (2026)

Section 78-15 gives the Town Board the primary authority to designate the time and hour a Town park opens and closes, rather than fixing a single townwide curfew hour in the code itself; the actual clock times therefore vary by park and are set administratively rather than printed in the chapter. Subsection A layers a second, independent authority on top of the Board's schedule: the Director can open or close any park in his sole discretion whenever an emergency, health or safety reason requires it, even if that means shutting a park earlier than its normally posted hours or keeping it closed on a day it would otherwise be open.

Subsection B makes using a park outside the designated hours a violation in its own right, separate from whatever underlying activity a person might be doing there after closing. Subsection C requires the opening and closing times to actually be posted at the park, so the Town cannot enforce an hour it has not displayed. Read with § 78-25's traffic rules, which set a 15 mile per hour speed limit and ban overnight parking except in designated areas, the closing-hour rule functions as the Town's practical after-dark curfew for park property, backed by the Public Safety Department's authority to eject or cite anyone remaining on park grounds after posted closing.