Freeportis avillagein the town ofHempstead,Nassau County, New York, USA, on theSouth ShoreofLong Island. The population was 43,713at the 2010 census.A settlement since the 1640s, it was once anoysteringcommunity and later a resort popular with the New York City theater community. It is now primarily abedroomsuburb but retains a modest commercial waterfront and some light industry. Freeport has its own municipal electric utility, andpolice, fire, and water departments. Freeport is also New York State's second-biggest villageand hasa stationon theLong Island Rail Road.
The south part of the village is penetrated by severalcanalsthat allow access to the Atlantic Ocean by means of passage throughsalt marshes. The oldest canal is the late 19th-centuryWoodcleft Canal.Freeport has extensive small-boat facilities and a resident fishing fleet, as well as charter and open water fishing boats.