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Long Beach, New York
City of Long Beach
Aerial photograph of Long Beach, NY and environs from west-by-southwest
Aerial photograph of Long Beach, NY and environs from west-by-southwest
Flag of Long Beach, New York
Flag
Official seal of Long Beach, New York
Seal
Nickname(s): 
The City by the Sea
Motto(s): 
Civitas ad mare
(City by the sea)
Location in Nassau County and the state of New York
Location in Nassau County and the state of New York
Long Beach, New York is located in New York
Long Beach, New York
Long Beach, New York
Location in New York
Country  United States
State  New York
County  Nassau County, New York
Settled 1623
Incorporated Village 1913
City of Long Beach 1922
Founded by William H. Reynolds
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
Area
 • Total 3.90 sq mi (10.09 km2)
 • Land 2.22 sq mi (5.74 km2)
 • Water 1.68 sq mi (4.34 km2)
Elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 35,029
 • Estimate 
(2019)
33,454
 • Density 15,788.83/sq mi (6,102.61/km2)
  34th densest in US
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
11561
Area code(s) 516
FIPS code 36-43335
GNIS feature ID 0955835

Long Beach is an oceanfront city in Nassau County in New York, United States. It takes up a central section of the Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the 2020 United States census, the city population was 35,029, and 33,454 in 2019. It was incorporated in 1922, and is nicknamed "The City By the Sea" (the Latin form, Civitas ad mare, is the city's motto). The Long Beach Barrier Island is surrounded by Reynolds Channel to the north, east and west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.

In 2022, Long Beach was named the best East Coast beach town for a summer getaway by Time Out magazine.

History

Through the 19th century

Long Beach's first inhabitants were the Algonquian-speaking Rockaway Indians, who sold the area to English 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.

In 1837, the barque Mexico, carrying Irish immigrants to New York, ran ashore on New Year's Day.

In 1849, Congress established a lifesaving station.

Austin Corbin, a builder from Brooklyn, was the first to attempt to develop the island as a resort. He formed a partnership with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) 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, which he claimed was the world's largest hotel. 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 washouts from winter storms.

Long Beach Hotel (Long Island), Long Beach, N. Y (NYPL b12647398-66805)f
Long Beach Hotel
Longbeach 1911
Long Beach boardwalk, c. 1911
Longbeach 1923
Crowded beach, c. 1923

1900s

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), as well as Coney Island's Dreamland, the world's largest amusement park. Reynolds also owned a theater and produced plays.

He gathered investors, and acquired the oceanfront from private owners and the rest of the island from the Town of Hempstead in 1907; he planned to build a boardwalk, homes, and hotels. Reynolds had a herd of elephants marched in from Dreamland, ostensibly to help build the Long Beach Boardwalk; he had created an effective publicity stunt. Dredges created a channel 1,000 feet (300 m) wide on the north side of the island to provide access by large steamboats and sea planes to transport more visitors; the new waterway was named Reynolds Channel. To ensure that Long Beach lived up to his billing it "The Riviera of the East", he required each building to be constructed in an "eclectic Mediterranean style", with white stucco walls and red-clay tile roofs. He built a theater called Castles by the Sea, with the largest dance floor in the world, for dancers Vernon and Irene Castle.

After Reynolds' corporation went bankrupt in 1918, the restrictions were lifted. The new town attracted wealthy businessmen and entertainers from New York and Hollywood.

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. 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.

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

In 1923, the 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. Corruption became rampant in Long Beach by then; in 1922, the state Legislature designated Long Beach a city and William H. Reynolds was elected the first mayor. Shortly thereafter, Reynolds was 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 the 1940s, Jose Ferrer, Zero Mostel, Mae West, and other famous actors performed at local theaters.

By the 1940s and 1950s, with the advent of cheap air travel attracting tourists to more distant places, and air-conditioning to provide year-round comfort, Long Beach had become a primarily bedroom community for commuters to New York City. It still attracted many summer visitors into the 1970s. The rundown boardwalk hotels were used for temporary housing 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 also "warehousing" in such hotels many patients released from larger mental hospitals. They were supposed to be cared for in small-scale community centers. The 2.2-mile (3.5 km) boardwalk had a small amusement park at the foot of Edwards Boulevard until the 1980s. 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. While a few businesses remain on the boardwalk, it attracts bicyclists, joggers, walkers and people-watchers.

Post Sandy Boardwalk In Long Beach NY
The newly rebuilt boardwalk in November 2013.

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 who want the quiet beach atmosphere. With summer come local youths and college students and young adults who rent bungalows on the West End; they frequent the local bars and clubs along West Beech Street. Just behind the boardwalk near the center of the city, however, 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 comprise the city's largest portion of unused land.

2000s

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck Long Beach. As a result of flooding, hundreds of vehicles were totaled and houses suffered various levels of damage. The estimated cost of all the damage was over $250 million. The city was without power and running water for two weeks after the storm. The boardwalk was also destroyed during the storm. The City began rebuilding the boardwalk with grants from FEMA and the State of New York. The first two-block section of the new Long Beach boardwalk reopened on July 26, 2013, and the entire boardwalk opened on October 25, 2013.

Transportation

Buses and trolleys

Long Beach Bus operates a 24-hour municipal bus service with five routes, including three routes serving the city, one overnight circulator route, and one route extending service to Lido Beach and Point Lookout. Long Beach Bus also operates two seasonal trolley routes, East Loop and West Loop.

Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) has two bus routes that originate in Long Beach. The n15 and n33 travel to Roosevelt Field and Far Rockaway, via Rockville Centre and Atlantic Beach, respectively. The n33 does not provide service wholly within Long Beach.

Railroad

Long Beach LIRR station 2021b
The Long Beach Long Island Rail Road station in 2021.

The Long Island Rail Road operates a terminal station at Park Place and Park Avenue with service on the railroad's Long Beach Branch. All other public transportation services in Long Beach converge at this terminal. Most trains run to Penn Station (Manhattan) or Atlantic Terminal (Brooklyn).

Geography

Long-beach-ny-map
U.S. Census Map
Atlantic Beach and Long Beach Aeriel View
View of the Long Beach barrier island

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2).

Long Beach Barrier Island

The city is 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, a small island community between Long Beach and the mainland of Long Island. To the west, another drawbridge, the Atlantic Beach Bridge, connects the island to Lawrence on the mainland of Long Island. The Loop Parkway, to the east along the Lido Beach and Point Lookout borders, connects the island to nearby Jones Beach and, going in the opposite direction, to the rest of the expansive Long Island state parkway system by the Meadowbrook State Parkway.

The first inhabitants on the Long beach barrier island were the Rockaway Indians; the Island was sold to the New Netherland colonists in 1643. Local Long Island baymen and farmers used the island for fishing and harvesting salt hay; no people lived on the Island year round for more than two centuries. The United States Congress established a lifesaving station in 1849, a dozen years after 62 people died when the barque Mexico carrying Irish immigrants to New York ran ashore on New Year's Day.

Development began on the island as a resort and was organized by Austin Corbin, a builder from Brooklyn New York. Austin Corbin formed a partnership with the Long Island Rail Road to finance the New York and Long Beach Railroad Company which laid tracks from Lynbrook, New York to Long Beach in 1880. The company also opened the 1,100-foot-long Long Beach Hotel, at the time the largest in the world. The railroad brought 300,000 visitors the first season. By the next spring, tracks had been laid almost the full length of the Long Beach island, but after repeated winter storm washouts they were removed in 1894.

Climate

Long Beach has a moderate humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification, with hot summers and cool winters. It is one of the northernmost locations in this climate zone, allowing for the growth of warmer climate plants like Mimosa, Crape Myrtle, Southern Magnolia, and Sweetgum often seen further south. Precipitation is evenly distributed year round, mostly in the form of rain although snowfall occurs each winter. Its climate is tempered by the Atlantic Ocean current.

Climate data for Long Beach, New York
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 71
(22)
71
(22)
85
(29)
90
(32)
99
(37)
100
(38)
104
(40)
101
(38)
98
(37)
90
(32)
77
(25)
75
(24)
104
(40)
Average high °F (°C) 39
(4)
42
(6)
49
(9)
59
(15)
69
(21)
78
(26)
83
(28)
82
(28)
75
(24)
65
(18)
54
(12)
44
(7)
62
(17)
Average low °F (°C) 26
(−3)
28
(−2)
34
(1)
44
(7)
53
(12)
63
(17)
69
(21)
68
(20)
61
(16)
50
(10)
41
(5)
32
(0)
47
(9)
Record low °F (°C) −2
(−19)
−2
(−19)
7
(−14)
20
(−7)
34
(1)
45
(7)
55
(13)
46
(8)
41
(5)
30
(−1)
19
(−7)
2
(−17)
−2
(−19)

Layout

Unlike most suburbs, Long Beach is a high-density community. Fewer than 40% of the homes are detached houses, and the city ranks as the 35th densest community in the United States. 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.

Neighborhoods

Ocean View Av Long Beach jeh
Ocean View Avenue, West End
Memorial City Hall Long Beach jeh
Kennedy Plaza in the Central District.
  • Central District - The area between Magnolia Boulevard and Monroe Boulevard.
  • North Park - The area north of Park Avenue, between the LIRR and Long Beach Road.
  • The East End - The neighborhood between Monroe Boulevard, and Maple Boulevard or Curley Street.
  • The Canals - The area comprising several streets running north - south, with parallel canals originating from Reynolds Channel. The canals begin on Forrester Street and end on Curley Street.
  • The President Streets - The area comprising streets named after former U.S. presidents, with the exceptions of Atlantic, Belmont, and Mitchell Avenues, and Pacific Boulevard; the streets noted as exceptions connect directly from Park Avenue to Broadway, a parallel road to the south.
  • Kennedy Plaza - An area in the Central District, at the intersection of National Boulevard and West Chester Street.
  • The Walks - An area comprising extremely narrow sidewalks between houses. Each walk is named after a month.
  • The West End - This area is home to small bungalows and houses located very close to each other, along small narrow streets. These streets, named after U.S. states, run from the beach to the bay, until they meet East Atlantic Beach at Nevada Avenue.
  • Westholme - The neighborhood between New York Avenue and Magnolia Boulevard.

Parks and recreation

  • Clark Street Park
  • Lindell Park
  • Long Beach Ice Arena - home of the New York Applecore and Long Beach High School's club hockey teams and former practice facility for the New York Rangers.
  • Long Beach Tennis Center
  • Magnolia Playground
  • Ocean Beach Park (2.2 mile long boardwalk)
  • Ocean View Avenue - the unofficial boardwalk of the West End
  • Recreation Center
  • Skate Park
  • Veteran's Memorial Park (fishing pier and boat ramp)
  • West End's Georgia Avenue Splash Park
  • Dog Park on the bay

National Register of Historic Places

Multiple sites in Long Beach are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including:

  • Barkin House
  • Cobble Villa
  • Granada Towers
  • House at 226 West Penn Street
  • Pauline Felix House
  • Samuel Vaisberg House
  • United States Post Office

Landmarks and historic districts

  • 9/11 Memorial
  • Holocaust Memorial at Kennedy Plaza
  • John F. Kennedy Memorial
  • Red Brick District
  • Shine's Bar on the West End

Museums and community centers

  • House at 226 West Penn Street (also known as Long Beach Historical & Preservation Society Museum)
  • Martin Luther King Community Center

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1920 282
1930 5,817 1,962.8%
1940 9,036 55.3%
1950 15,586 72.5%
1960 26,473 69.9%
1970 33,127 25.1%
1980 34,073 2.9%
1990 33,510 −1.7%
2000 35,462 5.8%
2010 33,275 −6.2%
2020 35,029 5.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

The 2010 U.S. census determined there were 33,275 people residing in the city, and the 2019 American Community Survey estimated the population increased to 33,454. At census of 2000, there were 35,462 people, 14,923 households, and 8,103 families residing in the city. The local population was spread out at 15,022 people per square mile as of 2010. In 2000, the population density was 16,594.9 people per square mile (6,398.1/km2).Also in 2000, there were 16,128 housing units at an average density of 7,547.3 per square mile (2,909.8/km2).

In 2019 there were an average of 2.31 persons per household, and the median household income was $97,022. Long Beach had a per capita income of $53,579 from 2015-2019 and 6.7% of its population lived at or below the poverty line. In 2000, 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. Males had a median income of $50,995 versus $40,739 for females. 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.

Race and ethnicity

The racial and ethnic makeup of the city of Long Beach was 73.2% non-Hispanic white, 7.5% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, 3.6% Asian, 2.8% two or more races, and 13.9% Hispanic and Latin American of any race. Out of the total population, 52.2% were female and 13.4% of the total population was foreign-born from 2015-2019. In 2000, the racial makeup of the city was 84.20% White, 6.18% African American, 0.21% 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.

Religion

According to Sperling's BestPlaces, 67.7% of the population of Long Beach were religious as of 2021. The majority of the religious population are Christian and the Catholic Church is the largest single denomination. The second largest Christian group is Protestantism and the single largest Protestant denomination as of 2021 was Lutheranism. The second largest religion practiced in the city is Judaism, followed by Islam. Eastern faiths including Hinduism and Buddhism are also prevalent in the city, while the remainder of the population is irreligious or atheist.

Arts and culture

Annual events

  • Annual arts and crafts show on the boardwalk
  • Annual fine arts show at Kennedy Plaza
  • Arts in the Plaza (weekly)
  • Beach tennis tournaments - Beach Tennis USA
  • Fall festival at Kennedy Plaza
  • Farmers market at Kennedy Plaza (weekly)
  • Free summer concerts series on the beach
  • Historical Society arts and crafts show on the boardwalk
  • Long Beach International Film Festival
  • Long Beach Polar Bear Swim - world record holder for largest polar bear swim
  • St. Brendan The Navigator Parade and Festival (Irish Day) in October
  • West End Electric Light Parade
  • Wounded Warrior Project

In popular culture

In films and television

(Chronological)

  • Mario Puzo's 1969 novel and its eponymous film adaptation, The Godfather (1972), were set partly in Long Beach
  • In the film Taxi Driver (1976), a driver says he made a big tip for taking a customer from Kennedy Airport to Manhattan "by way of Long Beach".

In literature

(Alphabetical, by author's last name)

  • Boardwalk Stories (2009) is Roslyn Bernstein's collection of 14 linked stories set in Long Beach. Each story is paired with a black-and-white vintage photo of the boardwalk taken by photographer Dr. Kenneth Tydings, a long-time resident. Bernstein grew up in the West End of Long Beach.
  • In his memoir, 700 Sundays (2005), the comedian Billy Crystal describes growing up in Long Beach.
  • In his memoir The NewsBreaker, the producer/journalist Larry Garrison describes growing up here.
  • John Dos Passos' book, The Big Money, mentions weekends spent in Long Beach in the 1920s.
  • Images of America: Long Beach, NY (2010), by Roberta Fiore, Carole Shahda Geraci, and Dave Roochvarg for the Long Beach Historical and Preservation Society, is a collection of photos and stories of Long Beach, NY.
  • Paul Jackson's book, Our Town, Our Time: Long Beach, L.I., in the 1930s and WWII, is a nostalgic look at Long Beach and a social history of the time.
  • Paul Jackson's book, Scoundrels by the Sea: The Sullied Past of Long Beach Politicians, Swindlers, Bootleggers - and Worse, is filled with stories of the crooked characters from Long Beach woven together with the city's notorious history.
  • James Patterson's book, I Funny, is about a boy named Jamie Grimm, who lives in Long Beach and deals with bullies.

In music

  • Long Beach is a beneficiary of 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief. During the event, Billy Crystal talks about growing up on Long Beach. Billy Joel, who also lived in Long Beach, performed.
  • Legendary rock icon Joan Jett filmed her music video "Change The World" on the boardwalk.

Surfing

  • Long Beach hosted the 2011 Quiksilver Pro where pro surfers such as Kelly Slater competed.

Nicknames and slogans

  • "The City by the Sea" (as seen in Latin on its official seal).
  • "There's Long Beach sand in my shoes." (local)
  • The Riviera of the East

Aerial view

The right section is Long Beach:

panorama



Education

Public schools

Long Beach Catholic Regional School 2021a
Catholic Regional School

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, one prekindergarten, 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.

The schools of Long Beach City School District are:

  • Long Beach Pre-Kindergarten
  • West Elementary School
  • East Elementary School
  • Lido Elementary School
  • Lindell Elementary School
  • Long Beach Middle School
  • Long Beach High School
  • Harriet Eisman Community School

Private schools

  • Long Beach Catholic Regional School
  • Mesivta of Long Beach

Post-secondary education

  • Rabbinical College of Long Island

Public libraries

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

==Notable people==lil peep (music artist)

  • Larry Brown (born 1940), basketball star and coach, graduated from Long Beach High School.
  • Loring Buzzell (1927–1959), music publisher and record label executive.
  • Vernon and Irene Castle, dance pioneers who introduced dances such as tango and foxtrot to the US in the 1910s; they lived in Long Beach and operated a nightclub called "Castles By the Sea".
  • Alan Colmes (1950–2017), political analyst formerly on Hannity & Colmes, resided in Long Beach
  • Billy Crystal (born 1948), film and television actor who was raised in Long Beach
  • MF Doom (born Daniel Dumile, 1971-2020), hip-hop recording artist/producer, raised in Long Beach.
  • Amy Fisher (born 1974), also known as the "Long Island Lolita"
  • Maurice Mitchell (born 1979), is an American activist and Musician
  • Mike Francesa (born 1954), WFAN 660AM New York City radio host, was born and raised in Long Beach.
  • Larry Garrison, film and television producer, journalist
  • James "Scottie" Graham (born 1969) former Ohio State and NFL player, grew up in Long Beach and graduated from the high school
  • Rocky Graziano (1919–1990), boxer, lived in Long Beach for many years
  • Smith Hart (1949-2017), professional wrestler, member of the Hart wrestling family.
  • Eleanor Holm (1913–2004), Olympic swimmer, movie star, star of the Aquacade, grew up in Long Beach
  • Richard Jaeckel (1926–1997), television and film actor who starred in The Dirty Dozen, was born in Long Beach
  • Derek Jeter (born 1974), former New York Yankees shortstop and team captain since 2003, lived in Long Beach
  • Joan Jett (born 1958), rock singer
  • Pete Johnson (born 1954), running back who played eight seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals
  • Hal Kanter (1918–2011), TV writer
  • John Lannan (born 1984), pitcher for the New York Mets
  • Allard K. Lowenstein (1929–1980), congressman, anti-Vietnam War leader, and liberal activist who represented it in Congress in the late 1960s
  • Charlie McAvoy (born 1997), defenseman for the Boston Bruins
  • Audrey Peppe (1917–1992), figure skater, member of three US Olympic teams, runner-up for the national championship.

Images for kids

See also

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