- This article is about Long Island in New York State. For other uses, see Long Island (disambiguation)
Long Island is an island in New York, at 1,377 square miles (3567 km²) the largest island in the continental United States, and with 7.4 million residents, the 17th most populous island in the world. True to its name, the island is much longer, jutting out some 118 miles (190 km) from New York Harbor, than it is wide, with only from 12 to 20 miles (32 km) between the southern Atlantic coast and Long Island Sound. The Native American name for Long Island is Paumonauk, meaning "fish-shaped island."
On the western part of Long Island are the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn (Kings County) and Queens (Queens County); east of these are Nassau and Suffolk counties. However, common usage of the term "Long Island" or "the Island" usually refers to Nassau and Suffolk counties only (Brooklyn and Queens are considered already part of New York City).
Geography
Image of Long Island taken by NASA.
To the north of the island is Long Island Sound, which separates it from the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island. To the south are the Great South Bay, South Oyster Bay, and Jamaica Bay, which are actually lagoons, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by a string of narrow barrier islands, most notably Fire Island. The island splits into two forks at the eastern end, known as the North Fork and South Fork, which are separated by the Great Peconic Bay.
Long Island is interesting because it is geographically part of the Mid-Atlantic, however many towns and hamlets along the island's North Shore and in eastern Suffolk County, such as Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson and Sag Harbor seem to resemble New England towns, while many of the towns and hamlets along the South Shore, such as Long Beach, Valley Stream, and Babylon Village seem to resemble Mid-Atlantic coastal communities, especially those on the shore between New Jersey and Virginia.
Long Island can be considered the geographical border between the Mid-Atlantic and New England.
Climate
Long Island has a climate that is very similar to other coastal areas of the Northeastern United States; it has warm, humid summers and cold winters, but the Atlantic Ocean helps bring afternoon sea breezes that temper the heat in the warmer months and limit the frequency and severity of thunderstorms. In the wintertime, temperatures are warmer than areas further inland (especially in the night and early morning hours), sometimes causing a snowstorm further inland to fall as rain on the island. However, measurable snow falls every winter, and in many winters one or more intense storms called Nor'easters produce blizzard conditions with snowfalls of 1-2 feet and near-hurricane force winds. Long Island temperatures also vary from west to east, with the western part of the island warmer on most occasions than the east. This is due to two factors; one because the western part is closer to the mainland and the other is the western part is more developed causing what is known as the "urban heat island" effect. The eastern part is cooler on most occasions due to the ocean and sound and it is less developed. On dry nights with no clouds or wind, the Pine Barrens in eastern Suffolk County can be almost 20 Fahrenheit degrees cooler due to radiational cooling.
Long Island is somewhat vulnerable to hurricanes. [1]. Its northern location and relatively cool waters tend to weaken storms to below hurricane strength by the time they reach Long Island. Despite this, some storms had made landfall at Category 1 or greater strength, including two unnamed Category 3 storms in 1938 (New England Hurricane of 1938) and 1944, Hurricane Donna in 1960, Hurricane Belle in 1976, Hurricane Gloria in 1985, Hurricane Bob in 1991 (brushed the eastern tip), and Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
Geology
Long Island is formed largely of two spines of glacial moraine, with a large, sandy outwash plane beyond. These moraines consist of gravel and loose rock left behind during the two most recent pulses of Wisconsin glaciation. The northern moraine, which directly abuts the North Shore of Long Island at points, is known as the Harbor Hill moraine. The more southerly moraine, known as the Ronkonkoma moraine, forms the "backbone" of Long Island; it runs primarily through the very center of Long Island, roughly coinciding with the length of the Long Island Expressway. Most of the more level land south of this moraine to the South Shore is the outwash plain.
The island's tallest natural point is Jayne's Hill near Melville, with an elevation of 400.9 feet (122.2 m) above sea level. The island is separated from the mainland by the East River — actually not a river but a tidal strait.
Long Island is made up of a series of sand and gravel aquifers, geologic formations which can hold, transmit and yield water in usable quantities. All of Long Island's water supply comes from underground water held in aquifers. Stacked one on top of the other like layers in a cake, three major and one minor aquifer make up the Long Island aquifer system. In sequence from shallowest to deepest, the Long Island aquifers are: the Upper Glacial, the Magothy and the Lloyd Aquifers. All Long Island aquifers receive their fresh water from precipitation which takes from 25 to 1,000 years to migrate through the layers to the aquifers, which hold roughly 70 trillion gallons — enough to flood the entire surface of Long Island with more than 300 feet of water — and can withstand long droughts that dry up surface-water reservoirs like the ones that supply New York City. Almost four million gallons each day are taken from beneath Nassau and Suffolk Counties, providing the primary source of water for the resident population. While most homes are on a municipal water system, there are still many areas where homes have their own wells to provide them with water. Due to contamination associated with development, the concern over preserving the quality of Long Island's groundwater has become the single most important factor limiting the region's growth.
Demography
Long Island is one of the most densely populated regions in the United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the combined population of Nassau and Suffolk counties was 2,753,913 people; the total population of Long Island, including Brooklyn and Queens, was 7,458,618. It was the first census in which the population of the larger, less densely populated Suffolk County (1,419,369) surpassed that of Nassau County (1,334,544).
While there is more diversity than in most suburban areas of the United States, Italians, Irish, and Jews make up a major portion of the local population, especially in Nassau County. The town of Massapequa has been nicknamed "Matzoh-Pizza" by many locals reflecting the heavy presence of Jews and Italians in the town, though this pattern is evident in any town within 60 miles of New York City. Long Island has a substantial Italian American presence, accounting for 28.8% of Suffolk's population and 23.9% of Nassau's as of the 2000 census. While accounting for less than 10% of the residents of Long Island, there are pockets of African Americans throughout the area, mainly confined to Hempstead (village), Roosevelt, and Uniondale.
History
Long Island was shaped by Ice Age glaciers. Early colonial figures include Wyandanch, Smith, Captain William Kidd, Lionel Gardner, and John Underhill. The West of Long Island was settled by the Dutch, and the East settled by Puritans from Massachusetts. Long Island was the scene of several witch hunts, including one involving Lionel Gardner in Easthampton.
During the American Revolutionary War, it was captured by the British early on in the Battle of Long Island, and always had a notable loyalist influence. It was a British stronghold until the end of the war. Close ties with England (since colonization and even after independence) may account for the similarities between English accents and the New York Accent, most notably the non-rhotic pronunciation.
Prior to May 4, 1897, the whole of Long Island remained outside the boundaries of New York City as the counties of Queens, Kings and Suffolk. Long Island itself formerly possessed two incorporated cities; the City of Brooklyn and the City of Long Island (in Queens County, now a neighborhood in the Borough of Queens. The name Long Island City harks back to its former status). Both, along with Kings and Queens counties, were consolidated into "The City of Greater New York" on the May 4th date, with an officially celebrated date of January 1, 1898 (Kings and Queens Counties survive as names of court districts). The easternmost 280 Square miles (725.2 Sq km) of Queens County, which rejected consolidation into New York City, formed a separate county. "Nassau", one of several names by which the island was once known, was revived to represent the newly-established county. The figurative "separation" of Brooklyn and Queens from Long Island in popular usage must have begun around this time, since the Battle of Long Island and Long Island City (all nowadays in "The City") all allude to their geographical location on the island.
Long Island was the home of several prominent Roosevelts such as author Robert Roosevelt, and the summer home of his nephew President Theodore Roosevelt, who made his home at Sagamore Hill in Nassau County, and Theodore's son Quentin, for whom Roosevelt Field was named. Long Island was also the home of the Vanderbilt family.
Immigrants spilling over from New York City have made comfortable lives on Long Island. The immigration waves of Southern and Eastern Europe have been pivotal in creating the diversity on Long Island that most other American regions lack. These immigrations are reflected in the large Italian American and Jewish-American populations.
Long Island is also important in the history of aviation. It was the home of the Roosevelt Airfield which was an airfield in Garden City, Nassau County. From this airport, Charles Lindbergh took off for his historic 1927 nonstop flight from the New York City area to Paris, France. But Roosevelt Airfield was closed in 1951, and its land is now the location of commercial development, including a shopping mall.
Another important historic Long Island airport was Floyd Bennett Field in Queens County. Established in the early 1930s, it was New York City's first commercial airport, and it was also a terminus of historic flights by Amelia Earhart, Roscoe Turner, Wiley Post, and Howard Hughes. Its runways were closed in the 1970s, and it is currently part of a wildlife refuge.
In 1996, tragedy struck Long Island, as TWA Flight 800 exploded over water off the coast of the small town of East Moriches. 230 people were killed in the disaster. A monument to those lost now stands at Smith Point County Park on Fire Island in Suffolk County.
Long Island was also hit especially hard by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Many people who live on Long Island commute to Manhattan for work on a daily basis. Also, many of the firefighters called in to assist in evacuation efforts or quelling the underground fires that occured after the Twin Towers fell were from Long Island.
Economy
The counties of Nassau and Suffolk have long been renowned for their affluence. With median home prices rising in excess of $400,000 USD [2], Long Island has a very high cost of living with residents paying some of the highest property taxes in the country. Such affluence is especially pervasive among the towns on the North Shore of Long Island also known as the 'Gold Coast'.
Long Island is home to some of the most expensive houses in the country. In fact, the most expensive residence in the country is Three Ponds in Bridgehampton. [3] Long Island is home to the luxury communities of the Hamptons, as well as Cold Spring Harbor and Lloyd Harbor in Suffolk County and Garden City, Laurel Hollow, and Manhasset in Nassau County.
The economy of Long Island has long benefitted from its proximity to New York City, although before and during World War II, Long Island began developing industry of its own. From about 1930 to about 1990, Long Island was considered one of the aviation centers of the United States, with companies such as Grumman Aircraft and Sperry Gyroscope having their headquarters and factories in the Bethpage area. Grumman has long been the source of top warplanes for the U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps, as seen in the movie Top Gun and numerous WW-II naval and Marine Corps aviation movies. Prominent WW-II Grumman aircraft included the F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat fighters, and the TBF Avenger bomber, flown by hundreds of U.S. and Allied pilots, including former President George H.W. Bush.
Long Island has played a prominent role in scientific research and in engineering. It was the home of the Grumman Aircraft factories where all the Apollo Program Lunar Module spacecraft were built; and it still is the home of the Brookhaven National Laboratories in nuclear physics and Department of Energy research. All of this makes Long Island one of the leading high-technology areas in the world.
In their early decades, Sperry Gyroscope and related companies were concentrated on Long Island, especially in Nassau County in the Bethpage area. Over the years, it also diversified to other locations. The company did very well during WW-II as military demand skyrocketed; it specialized in high technology devices such as gyrocompasses, analog computer-controlled bomb sights, airborne radar systems, and automated take-off and landing systems. As the reader can see, these were jumping-off points into the multibillion-dollar annually aviation electronics business. During the Cold War decade of the 1950s, part of Sperry Gyroscope was moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and soon therafter became part of the Sperry Flight Systems Company. This was to try to preserve parts of this vital defense company in the event of a thermonuclear conflagration. Both on Long Island and in Arizona, Sperry continued to excel at aviation electronics — avionics, and it also provided avionics systems for such NASA programs as the Space Shuttle.
In recent decades companies such as Sperry Rand and Computer Associates, headquartered in Islandia, have made Long Island a center for the computer industry. Nevertheless, the eastern end of the island is still partly agricultural, now including many vineyards as well as traditional truck farming. Fishing also continues to be an important industry, especially at Northport and Montauk.
Since World War II, Long Island has become increasingly suburban and, in some areas, fully urbanized. Levittown was only the first of many new suburbs, and businesses followed residential development eastward.
Long Island is home to the East Coast's largest industrial park, the Hauppauge Industrial Park. The park has over 1,300 companies, and employs over 55,000 Long Islanders. Companies in the park and abroad are represented by the Hauppauge Industrial Association.
Politics
Brooklyn and Queens do not have independent county governments as they are boroughs of New York City. Both boroughs do have subsidiary offices headed by "borough presidents", but this largely a ceremonial title that holds little political power.
Nassau County and Suffolk County have their own separate governments, with a County Executive leading both. Each also has a county legislature, as well as other countywide elected officials such as district attorney, county clerk and county comptroller. The towns in both counties have their own governments as well, with town supervisors and a town council.
Politically, Long Island was long controlled by the Republican Party. Republican presidential candidates won both Nassau and Suffolk counties from 1900 until 1988, with the exception of the 1912 victory of Woodrow Wilson and the Lyndon Johnson landslide of 1964. In 1972, Richard Nixon won Nassau, Suffolk and Queens and came within 14,000 votes of winning heavily Democratic Brooklyn. In 1992, the suburban counties split, with Nassau voting Democratic and Suffolk voting Republican; however, since 1996, both counties, along with Brooklyn and Queens, have been Democratic, although sometimes by fairly close margins. In 2004, John Kerry won Suffolk County by just under 14,000 votes. The close 2004 margins followed a large Gore win in Nassau and Suffolk in 2000, and many observers think the 2004 results were more of a reflection from a 9/11 bump Bush received through portions of the NY Metro area (as his #'s jumped quite a bit from 2000 in Staten Island, Rockland County and parts of New Jersey as well) rather than a reversal of the Democratic trend. In 2000, Senator Hillary Clinton lost both Nassau and Suffolk to Republican Rick Lazio, who had previously served as a congressman from Suffolk County. While the 2004 results did show a much stronger showing for Bush across Nassau and Suffolk County it did not hurt Democrat Charles Schumer and his re-election bid in the area. Schumer won both Nassau and Suffolk in a landslide receiving close to 70% of the vote in both counties. Republican Governor George Pataki won both Nassau and Suffolk in all three of his victories.
In 2001, Nassau County elected Democrat Thomas Suozzi as county executive and Democrats took control of the county legislature, marking the first time Democrats had full control over county governments. Republicans still held on to the District Attorney's office and Hempstead town government, which has not had a Democratic majority on the town coucil or held the town supervisor position in close to 100 years. In 2003, Suffolk County followed suit, elected Democrat Steve Levy as county executive.
The 2005 election saw Nassau move further into Democratic hands. Denis Dillon, the Republican District Attorney of Nassau County for over thirty years, lost his re-election bid to the Democrat Kathleen Rice. The Republicans also lost the Town of Brookhaven, long known as a bastion of the Republican party on the Island. This has been attributed, in part, to what was perceived as widespread Republican corruption in the town; some critics had begun to refer to Brookhaven as "Crookhaven" because of this. The Suffolk County sheriff's race also resulted in a Democratic win. For the first time in years, Democrats once again control the Suffolk County Legislature. In 2006, for the first time ever, Democrats will control a majority of government offices in both counties including both county executives, legislatures, and district attorneys.
On the western side, both Brooklyn and Queens are reliably Democratic, although Queens became that way fairly recently, having still been politically volatile through the 1980's. This is mainly a consequence of the recent changes in Queens demographics, that used to be a white-middle-class suburban county, and is now one of the most diverse places in the United States.
All or parts of 15 of New York's 29 congressional districts are located on Long Island. Of them, only two are represented by Republicans; Peter T. King of Seaford represents the 3rd Congressional District, which includes most of eastern Nassau County and parts of southwestern Suffolk County. The other, Vito Fossella of the 13th Congressional District, represents parts of southwest Brooklyn, though his district is mainly located in Staten Island. The other 13 representatives are all Democrats.
Crime
In 2005, Forbes magazine listed Long Island as having 2,042 crimes per 100,000 residents; the lowest crime rate and less than half the US average [4].
The island is patrolled by the Nassau County Police Department (reportedly the second highest paid police force in the country), the Suffolk County Police Department (the highest paid), The New York State Troopers, and several dozen town and village police departments. Both counties also have a sheriff's office which handles civil process, domestic violence, as well as running the county jails. Nassau County Sheriff's deputies have full police officer powers and enforce all NYS laws including the issuance of Vehicle and Traffic Law summonses. Suffolk County Sheriff's deputies have full police officer powers and a patrol divsion which mainly operates in the Eastern part of the county. New York City Sheriff deputies are peace officers and have no patrol function.
- See List of Long Island law enforcement agencies
Transportation
Long Island is the location of three large airports with regularly-scheduled commercial jet airline service. These are the John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, both in Queens County (in New York City), and the MacArthur Airport, (sometimes referred to as the "Islip Airport"), a smaller airport in Suffolk County. This is the only airport in Nassau or Suffolk counties with regularly-scheduled commercial flights, handling about 2 million passengers a year.
Long Island is also important in the history of aviation. It was the home of the Roosevelt Airfield which was an airfield in Garden City, Nassau County. From this airport, Charles Lindbergh took off for his historic 1927 nonstop flight from the New York City area to Paris, France. But Roosevelt Airfield was closed in 1951, and its land is now the location of commercial development, including a shopping mall.
Another important historic Long Island airport was Floyd Bennett Field in Queens County. Established in the early 1930s, it was New York City's first commercial airport, and it was also a terminus of historic flights by Amelia Earhart, Roscoe Turner, Wiley Post, and Howard Hughes. Its runways were closed in the 1970s, and most of it is currently part of a wildlife refuge.
The Long Island Rail Road, Long Island Expressway, and Northern and Southern State Parkways (the latter three all products of the automobile-centered planning of Robert Moses) make east-west travel on the island straightforward, if not always quick. Indeed, Long Island Expressway is lovingly referred to by locals as "The World's Longest Parking Lot".
For several decades, the tracks and stations of the Long Island Railroad gave the only railroad service to Long Island. Hence, it was a source of great pride to Long Islanders when bridges and/or tunnels connecting Brooklyn and Queens to the mainland belatedly gave nationwide through railroad service to Long Island.
The MTA Long Island Bus provides bus transportation throughout Nassau County and the western portions of Suffolk County. Suffolk Transit provides bus transportation throughout Suffolk County.
For a less stressful ride, one only needs to travel east across Long Island to the "Twin Forks". These two peninsulas offer a long and ambling journey far removed from the hustle and bustle of suburbia further west. Indeed, even after one reaches the end of Long Island Expressway in Riverhead, it is another 45 minute drive along Middle Country Road to reach the eastern end of the North Fork at Orient Point, and over an hour along Sunrise and Montauk Highways to reach Montauk Point at the end of the South Fork.
Colleges and universities
Nassau and Suffolk counties are home to numerous colleges and universities, including:
Public
Private
Leisure
Beaches
Long Island has a great deal of beaches.
Resort areas
Fire Island National Seashore, which is a long barrier island off Long Island's South Shore, is a hot spot for tourists, especially during the summer. The Village of Ocean Beach is the most populous community on Fire Island. There are restrictions on automobile use and the island is not accessible by car (except for one small westernly portion), requiring passage by one of numerous ferries or other watercraft.
The Hamptons, in eastern Long Island's Suffolk County, is one of the area's most popular summer destinations. Parts of the Hamptons are well known for being a playground for the rich, and are frequented by residents of New York City during the summer months for weekend getaways. This has given rise to the terms "House in the Hamptons" or "Hamptons summer share."
Food
Both Nassau and Suffolk County are host to numerous restaurants, many of world-class prestige. As New York is known as a melting pot, every kind of restaurant, from Mexican to Hungarian can be found. These specialty restaurants are often family owned and are of the highest quality.
Small family-owned pizzerias are ubiquitous. It is not uncommon for a town on Long Island to have several different pizzerias, each with its own distinct flavor. Corporate pizza companies, such as Dominos and Pizza Hut are often utilized to satisfy late-night cravings, but in general, their cheezy, circular bread products are not truly considered "pizza" by locals.
Bagel stores and delis are also extremely common. Many bagel stores are Jewish owned and approved as kosher. Long Island bagels are considered some of the best in the world. At least one, and often more than one deli can be found in a town.
Sports
Nassau County is also home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, who play at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. Belmont Park, whose main track is the longest dirt Thoroughbred racecourse in the world, is located in the Nassau County community of Elmont. Long Island is also home to the Long Island Ducks minor league baseball team of the Atlantic League.Their stadium, Citibank Park, is located in Central Islip. The American Basketball Association (21st century)'s Strong Island Sound play home games at colleges in the area. The two main rugby teams are the Long Island RFC in East Meadow and the Suffolk Bull Moose in Stony Brook. It also has a professional soccer club, the Long Island Rough Riders, who play at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. The Rough Riders have won two national championships, in 1995 and 2002.
Music
Modern music has a long history on Long Island, as it has long been part of US history, and it being close to the largest population center in North America, yet located in the suburbs and containing strong influences of youth culture. Psychedelic music was widely popular in the 1960s as flocks of disaffected youth travelled to NYC to participate in protest and the culture of the time. R & B also has a history in Long Island, especially in Nassau County, where population is denser and more closely influenced by New York City (Queens and Brooklyn).
Long Island, known in the hip-hop community, and by college students as Strong Island, was home to the members of the groundbreaking rap groups Public Enemy and De La Soul. Method Man and Busta Rhymes also share roots in Long Island. One of the genre's leading radio DJ's — Andre (Doctor Dre) Brown, a native of Westbury — plied his trade at Adelphi University's WBAU prior to achieving success on WQHT-FM and MTV.
Other famous artists also have roots in Long Island. For example, superstar diva Mariah Carey was born and raised on Long Island and Billy Joel is from Hicksville in Nassau County. Joel's debut solo album, Cold Spring Harbor, was a reference to the Long Island town of the same name. Many compositions by Billy Joel pertain to life on Long Island, particularly his youth. Songs such as "Keepin' the Faith", "Captain Jack", "It's Still Rock n Roll to Me" (where he actually references the "Miracle Mile" located on Northern Boulevard in Manhasset) and most notably "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant", which names local eateries and hangouts. Also, the song "Movin' Out" is a highly identifiable song for Long Islanders. Its commiseration of the increasing cost for living on Long Island has its protagaonists working too hard just to "move up", all too familiar to this island's inhabitants. The songs "No Man's Land" and "Downeaster Alexa" lament the increasing development of the island; the latter song specifically referring to the eastern island and its effect on the fishing industry.
The pioneering heavy metal / psychedelic rock group Blue Öyster Cult came together around Stony Brook University, releasing hits such as (Don't Fear) The Reaper, Astronomy, and Godzilla. Both of these artists had genre-defining roles in the popular music scene of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Also, New Orleans heavy metal band, Zebra, while not experiencing much success elsewhere, become popular on Long Island during the 1980s.
Modern music in Long Island includes indie music which has rapidly grown in popularity especially in Suffolk County, with the local emo and hardcore punk scene that continues to grow. It has been felt nationally by the moderate success of local bands such as Quinn, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Straylight Run, The Movielife, and From Autumn to Ashes selling Gold albums nationwide. Many churches and synagogues, as well as VFW Halls and community centers constantly house underground shows, affording cheap entertainment and an underlying sense of "scene community". Ska and pop punk bands also have an impressive following, with bands like Patent Pending, High School Football Heroes, long-since disbanded Edna's Goldfish, and Arrogant Sons of Bitches topping the list of crowd pleasers. It is a self serving "business", so to speak, and most bands are known on the island spill over into the northeast regions such as New Jersey and Connecticut.
A Long Island-based rock station, WBAB, 102.3 FM, plays classic rock music from the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Garden City based radio station WLIR at 92.7 FM was nationally known in the 1980s and 90s for playing "new wave" bands from Europe that were at the time unheard of in the U.S. Many of the bands and songs eventually crossed over to more mainstream radio, for example, the groups Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Pet Shop Boys. Since 2004, the station has operated under a Spanish-language format since being bought-out by Univision. (WLIR has been reborn at 107.1 FM, but its more easterly location in Riverhead means many parts of the New York metro area that used to be able to hear it can now only do so via the Internet)
Long Island is probably, along with New Brunswick, New Jersey, the biggest emo scene in the United States.
Jones Beach is an extremely popular place to view summer concerts, with new as well as classic artists performing there during the summer months at its outdoor venue.
See also
Notes
- ^ weather.com — Vulnerable Cities: Long Island. URL accessed on December 5, 2005.
- ^ Housing prices up - supply, too — Newsday. URL accessed on March 14, 2006.
- ^ The Most Expensive Homes in America — Special Edition — Yahoo! Finance. URL accessed on December 5, 2005.
External links
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island under GFDL
