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Long Beach, New York

Coordinates: 40°35′22″N 73°39′59″W / 40.5895°N 73.6665°W / 40.5895; -73.6665
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40°35′22″N 73°39′59″W / 40.5895°N 73.6665°W / 40.5895; -73.6665

City of Long Beach
City
Long Beach, New York
Kennedy Plaza in Central Long Beach
Kennedy Plaza in Central Long Beach
Flag of City of Long Beach
Flag
Official seal of City of Long Beach
Seal
Nickname: 
The City by the Sea
Motto: 
Civitas ad mare
Location in Nassau County. Note: Does not indicate the separation of Long Beach from Long Island by Reynolds Channel.
Location in Nassau County.
Note: Does not indicate the separation of Long Beach from Long Island by Reynolds Channel.
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyNassau
Purchased1643
Incorporated Village1913
City of Long Beach1922
Founded byWilliam Reynolds
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • City ManagerCharles T. Theofan
 • City Council
Members' List
Area
 • Total3.9 sq mi (10.1 km2)
 • Land2.1 sq mi (5.5 km2)
 • Water1.8 sq mi (4.6 km2)
Elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total35,462
 • Density16,571/sq mi (6,398.1/km2)
 24 th densest in US
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
11561
Area code516
FIPS code36-43335
GNIS feature ID0955835
WebsiteCity of Long Beach

Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. One of Long Island's two cities, it is located on a namesake island, which forms part of the Outer Barrier off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 35,462. It was incorporated in 1922,[1] and is nicknamed The City By the Sea (as seen in Latin on its official seal).

The City of Long Beach is surrounded by the Town of Hempstead to the north, east and west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south..

Charles T. Theofan is the current city manager, a position which is appointed by the City Council.

History

The community became an incorporated village in 1913 and a city in 1922.[1]

Early history

Long Beach's first inhabitants were the Rockaway Indians, who sold the area to colonists in 1643. While the barrier island was used by baymen and farmers for fishing and harvesting salt hay, no one lived there year-round for more than two centuries, until Congress established a lifesaving station in 1849. A dozen years before, 62 people died when the barque Mexico carrying Irish immigrants to New York ran ashore on New Year's Day.

The first attempt to develop the island as a resort was organized by Austin Corbin, a builder from Brooklyn. He formed a partnership with the Long Island Rail Road to finance the New York and Long Beach Railroad Co which laid track from Lynbrook to Long Beach in 1880. That same year, Corbin opened Long Beach Hotel, a row of 27 cottages along a 1,100-foot (340 m) strip of beach that was declared the world's largest hotel.[2] In its first season, the railroad brought 300,000 visitors to Long Island. By the next spring, tracks had been laid the length of the island, but they were removed in 1894 after repeated winter washouts.

On July 29, 1907, a fire broke out at the Long Beach Hotel and burned it to the ground. Of the 800 guests, eight were injured by jumping from windows, and one woman died. The fire was blamed on defective electric wiring. A church, several cottages and the bathing pavilion were also destroyed in the fire. Trunks belonging to the guests, which had been piled on the sand to form "dressing rooms" were looted by thieves. A dozen waiters and others were apprehended by the police, who recovered $20,000 worth of jewelry and other stolen property.[3]

The Riviera of the East

Long Beach boardwalk, c. 1911

In 1906, William Reynolds, a 39-year-old former state senator and real estate developer, entered the picture. Reynolds had already developed four Brooklyn neighborhoods (Bedford-Stuyvesant, Borough Park, Bensonhurst and South Brownsville) and Coney Island's Dreamland, the world's largest amusement park. Reynolds, who also owned a theater and produced plays, gathered investors and acquired the oceanfront from its private owners and the rest of the island from the Town of Hempstead in 1907 so he could build a boardwalk, homes and hotels.

Reynolds had a herd of elephants march in from Dreamland, ostensibly to help build the boardwalk, but in reality it was just a publicity stunt. Dredges created a channel 1,000 feet (300 m) wide on the north side of the island so Reynolds could bring in large steamboats and even sea planes to transport more visitors. The new waterway was named Reynolds Channel.

Crowded beach, c. 1923

To ensure that Long Beach lived up to Reynolds' billing as 'The Riviera of the East', he required every building to be constructed in an "eclectic Mediterranean style" with white stucco walls and red tile roofs. And they could be occupied only by white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. After Reynolds' corporation went bankrupt in 1918, these restrictions were lifted. The new town attracted wealthy businessmen and entertainers. Before Reynolds' bankruptcy, he built a theater called Castles by the Sea with the largest dance floor in the world for dancers Vernon and Irene Castle. In the 1940s, Jose Ferrer, Zero Mostel, Mae West, and other famous actors performed at local theaters. Jack Dempsey, Cab Calloway, Humphrey Bogart, Lillian Roth, Rudolph Valentino, Florenz Ziegfeld, James Cagney, Clara Bow, and John Barrymore lived in Long Beach decades before anyone heard of the community's most famous modern-day native, Billy Crystal (Crystal's brother Joel has served as president of the Long Beach City Council). More recently, rock-and-roll singer Joan Jett, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Washington Nationals pitcher John Lannan, and "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher have lived in the city.

Corruption and scandal

In 1923, the world-famous Prohibition agents known simply as Izzy and Moe raided the Nassau Hotel and arrested three men for bootlegging. In 1930, five Long Beach Police officers were charged with offering a bribe to a United States Coast Guard officer to allow liquor to be landed. The police had another problem a year later: a mystery that captivated the nation in the summer of 1931. A beachcomber found the body of a beautiful young woman named Starr Faithfull. She had left behind a suicide note, but others believed she had been murdered.

Official corruption had become almost a regular feature of life in Long Beach. In 1922, the state Legislature designated Long Beach a city and Reynolds was elected the first mayor. He was promptly indicted on charges of misappropriating funds. When he was found guilty, the clock in the tower at city hall was stopped in protest. When a judge released Reynolds from jail later that year on appeal, almost the entire population turned out to greet him, and the clock was turned back on.

In 1939, Mayor Louis F. Edwards was fatally shot by a police officer on the front steps of his home. Officer Alvin Dooley, a member of the police motorcycle squad and the mayor's own security detail, killed the mayor after losing his bid for PBA president to a candidate the mayor supported. Jackson Boulevard was later renamed Edwards Boulevard in honor of the late mayor.

After the murder, the city turned to a mayorless city manager system, which still exists to this day.

Urban decay and renewal

By the 1940s and 1950s, with the advent of cheap air travel and air-conditioning, Long Beach had become a primarily bedroom community for New York City, although there was a significant summer population increase into the 1970s. The rundown boardwalk hotels became homes for welfare recipients and the elderly until a scandal around 1970 led to many of the homes losing licenses. At that time, government agencies were "warehousing" in those hotels many patients released from mental hospitals.

The 2.2-mile (3.5 km) boardwalk had a small amusement park at the foot of Edwards Boulevard until the late 1970s. In the late 1960s, the boardwalk and amusement park area were a magnet for youth from around Long Island, until a police crackdown on drug trafficking ended that. Today, while there are few businesses left, the boardwalk is full of bicyclists, joggers, walkers and people-watchers.

Beginning in the 1980s and accelerating in the 1990s, Long Beach has begun an urban renewal, with new housing, new businesses and other improvements. Today, the city is again a popular bedroom community for people working in New York, attracted by the quiet beach atmosphere. Summertime also brings in local youths and many college students and young adults who rent bungalows on the West End and frequent local bars and clubs along West Beech Street.

Just behind the boardwalk near the center of the City, "vacant" lots now occupy several blocks that once housed hotels, bathhouses and the amusement park. Because attempts to attract development (including, at one time, Atlantic City-style casinos) to this potential Superblock have not yet borne fruit, the lots now house the city's largest piece of meadowland and wildflower/wildlife habitat.

Transportation

All public transportation in Long Beach converges at the city's intermodal railway station.

MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)

  • The Long Island Rail Road operates a terminal station at Park Place and Park Avenue with service on the railroad's Long Beach Branch. A railroad ticket costs $9.75 going one way into Manhattan during peak hours; other times, $7.00. Some trains also run to Brooklyn, with the same fares. Service to Jamaica, Queens, is $6.75 or $4.75 one way depending on the time. Service is about 55 minutes to Downtown Brooklyn or Midtown Manhattan, 35 minutes to Queens.

MTA Long Island Bus

  • Long Island Bus has two bus routes that originate in Long Beach, the N15 and N33, and operate to Roosevelt Field and Far Rockaway via Rockville Centre and Atlantic Beach respectively. The N33 connects to the A train on the New York City Subway and to MTA Bus, and both routes connect to other Long Island Bus routes and LIRR stations.

Long Beach Bus

  • Long Beach Bus operates a twenty-four hour municipal bus service with five routes, with three routes serving the city, one overnight circulator route, and one route, the N69, extending service to Lido Beach and Point Lookout under contract to Nassau County. The base fare for City of Long Beach buses is US$1.50 (lower for students, seniors, and disabled travelers), while Long Island Bus and N69 cost $2.25.

Geography

U.S. Census Map

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²). The city is located on a barrier island off the South Shore of Long Island. It shares the island with Atlantic Beach to the west and Lido Beach and Point Lookout to the east. Within its section of the barrier island, the city takes up the entire north-south span, fronting on both Reynolds Channel to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. A drawbridge, the Long Beach Bridge, connects it to Island Park on the mainland of Long Island. To the west, the Atlantic Beach Bridge, connects the island to Lawrence on the mainland of Long Island. The Loop Parkway, located to the east along the Lido Beach and Point Lookout borders connects the island to Jones Beach.

Layout

The city is less than a mile wide from ocean to bay and about three and a half miles long. The city is divided into the West End, home to many small bungalows, and the East End. West of New York Avenue, the barrier island is less than a half mile wide and West Beech Street is the main east/west commercial street.

East of New York Avenue, the island is wider between the bay and ocean and is home to larger more expansive family houses. There is the city's boardwalk, which begins at New York Avenue and ends at Neptune Boulevard. Along the boardwalk are many apartment buildings and condos. The main commercial strip is Park Avenue, which narrows into a small residential strip west of New York Avenue.

Ocean View Avenue, West End

Neighborhoods

  • The Walks - There is a neighborhood known as "The Walks," consisting of extremely narrow sidewalks between houses. Each "Walk" is named after a month.
  • The West End - The West End is home to small bungalows and houses located very close to each other along small narrow streets. These streets run from the beach to the bay, and are named after US States until it meets East Atlantic Beach at Nevada Avenue.
  • Westholme - The West End between National Boulevard and New York Avenue has become known as Westholme.
  • The East End - The area east of the Long Island Rail Road station is known as the East End.
  • The Canals - In the East End there is a neighborhood on the north side of Park Avenue referred to as "The Canals" that consists of several streets running north to south with parallel canals originating in Reynold's Channel. The canals begin on Forrester Street and end on Curley Street.
  • North Park - The area north of Park Avenue, between National Boulevard and Long Beach Boulevard.
  • Central District - The area between National Boulevard and Long Beach Boulevard has become known as the Central district.
  • President Streets - An area across from the Canals on the south side of Park Avenue is an area called the President streets, nicknamed most obviously by each street being named after a former President, with the exception of Atlantic and Pacific, the latter of which connect directly from Park Avenue to Broadway, a parallel road to the south.

Parks & Recreation

  • Clark St. Park
  • Lindell Park
  • Magnolia Playground
  • Veteran's Memorial Park (fishing pier and boat ramp)
  • West End's Georgia Avenue Splash Park
  • Ocean Beach Park (2.2 Mile long boardwalk)
  • The Recreation Center
  • Long Beach Ice Arena - home of the New York Applecore Hockey Team
  • Skate Park
Holocaust Memorial and City Hall

Landmarks and Historic Districts

  • Red Brick District
  • Holocaust Memorial at Kennedy Plaza
  • 9/11 Memorial
  • John F. Kennedy Memorial

Museums & Community Centers

  • Martin Luther King Community Center
  • Long Beach Historical & Preservation Society Museum

Demographics

Sunset at Long Beach

As of 2006 U.S. Census Estimates the demographics were:

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 35,462 people, 14,923 households, and 8,103 families residing in the City. The population density was 16,594.9 people per square mile (6,398.1/km²). There were 16,128 housing units at an average density of 7,547.3/sq mi (2,909.8/km²). The racial makeup of the City was 77.1% White, 6.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.32% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 4.75% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.80% of the population.

There were 14,923 households out of which 21.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.7% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the City the population was spread out with 18.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the City was $56,289, and the median income for a family was $68,222. The per capita income for the City was $31,069. About 6.3% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

City Manager

  • Charles T. Theofan is the current city manager, a position which is appointed by the City Council.

City Council

Five Members serve the City Council.

  • Michael Fagen (D)
  • Lenny Torres (D)
  • John McLaughlin Jr. (R)
  • Thomas Sofield Jr. (R) - City Council President
  • Mona Goodman (R)

Long Beach City Judge

  • Frank Dikranis (R)

Emergency Services

The city's two emergency services are the Long Beach Police and Fire Departments

Education

Public schools

The Long Beach City School District serves the city of Long Beach and parts of the Town of Hempstead with one primary high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools. They also operate an "alternative" high school at the NIKE missile site on a campus shared with the district's transportation services.

Catholic Regional School

Private schools

Post-secondary Education

Public Libraries

The Long Beach Public Library serves Greater Long Beach with a main library downtown and two branch libraries at Point Lookout and the West End.

Arts and Culture

Annual events

  • Long Beach Polar Bear Swim - World Record holder for largest Polar Bear Swim
  • Free Summer Concerts Series on the beach
  • Beach Tennis Tournaments - Beach Tennis USA
  • Farmers Market at Kennedy Plaza
  • Annual Fine Arts Show at Kennedy Plaza
  • Annual Arts & Crafts show on the Boardwalk
  • Historical Society Arts & Crafts show on the Boardwalk

Cultural and literary references

  • The Godfather takes place partly in Long Beach, where the Corleone compound is located, and nearby Atlantic Beach, where Sonny Corleone lives. Sonny was murdered at the toll booths of the Long Beach Causeway (also known as the Loop Parkway), which connects Long Beach with the Meadowbrook State Parkway near Jones Beach. The Corleone phone number was Long Beach 4-5620. (Mafia members were widely known to live in Long Beach and neighboring Atlantic Beach throughout the mid-20th century.)
  • The 2002 movie City by the Sea, starring Robert De Niro, James Franco, and Frances McDormand, was inspired by a true story about a murderer from Long Beach (although the murder actually took place in Far Rockaway, a few miles west of Long Beach). Ironically, the murderer's grandfather had committed a kidnapping in 1959, which had led to an accidental death, while his father was a highly decorated police detective. The film was based on a fictional interpretation of Long Beach and was filmed in Asbury Park, New Jersey; residents of both cities objected to the negative imagery portrayed of their towns.
  • In his book 700 Sundays Comedian Billy Crystal talks about what it was like growing up in Long Beach. *Billy, Crystal (2005). 700 Sundays. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0446578673.
  • Boardwalk Stories published in 2009 is a collection of 14-linked fictional tales set in Long Beach NY. Each story is paired with a black and white vintage photo of the Long Beach boardwalk, taken by photographer Dr. Kenneth Tydings, who was a long-time Long Beach resident. The author, Roslyn Bernstein, is a professor of journalism and creative writing at Baruch College, CUNY. Bernstein grew up in the West End of Long Beach. *Bernstein, Roslyn (2009). Boardwalk Stories. New York: Blue Eft Press. ISBN 9780984054602.

Residents (past and present)

Aerial View

The right section is Long Beach:

panorama
panorama

References

  1. ^ a b Our History provided by Newsday (City of Long Beach Official Site)
  2. ^ The Long Beach Hotel: 1880-1907 (I Love Long Beach New York.com)
  3. ^ "1907: Fire Destroys Hotel," In Our Pages, International Herald Tribune, July 29, 2007
  4. ^ http://www.lbmc.org/about.htm
  5. ^ http://www.lbmc.org/medicaleducation.html
  6. ^ http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=1074&profileId=0
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