Bethpage, New York Central Park | |
|---|---|
 A welcome sign for the hamlet | |
 Location inNassau County and the state ofNew York | |
  Bethpage, New York Location on Long Island Show map of Long Island Bethpage, New York Location within the state of New York Show map of New York | |
| Coordinates:40°44′48″N73°29′4″W / 40.74667°N 73.48444°W /40.74667; -73.48444 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| County | Nassau |
| Town | Oyster Bay |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.58 sq mi (9.26 km2) |
| • Land | 3.58 sq mi (9.26 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 105 ft (32 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 16,658 |
| • Density | 4,658.5/sq mi (1,798.67/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes |
|
| Area codes | 516, 363 |
| FIPS code | 36-06387 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0943803 |
Bethpage (formerly known asCentral Park) is ahamlet andcensus-designated place (CDP) located within theTown of Oyster Bay inNassau County, on theSouth Shore ofLong Island, inNew York, United States. The population was 16,658 at the time of the 2020 census.[2]
The nameBethpage comes from theQuakerThomas Powell, who named the area after the Biblical townBethphage, which was between Jericho and Jerusalem in ancient Israel. Present-day Bethpage was part of the 1695Bethpage Purchase. An early name for the northern section of present-day Bethpage wasBedelltown,[3][4]a name that appeared on maps at least as late as 1906.[5]
On maps just before the arrival of theLong Island Rail Road (LIRR), the nameBethpage appears for a community now included in both the post office district and school district of the adjacent community ofFarmingdale.[6] In 1841,[7] train service began toFarmingdale station, near a new settlement less than a mile eastward from what had previously appeared on maps asBethpage. Schedules at that time do not mention Bethpage as a stop, but have a notation "late Bethpage".[8] On an 1855 map,[9] The location identified asBethpage has shifted slightly southward to include a nearby area now calledPlainedge.
Between 1851[10] and 1854,[11] the LIRR initiated a stop within present-day Bethpage at astation then calledJerusalem Station, and on January 29, 1857, a local post office opened, also namedJerusalem Station.[12][13] LIRR schedules listed the station also as simplyJerusalem.[14][15] Residents succeeded in changing the name of the post office toCentral Park, effective March 1, 1867 (respelled asCentralpark from 1895 to 1899).[12][16] The Central Park Fire Company was organized in April 1910, and incorporated in May 1911. In May 1923 the Central Park Water District was created.
Following the 1932 opening of nearbyBethpage State Park, the name of the local post office was changed to Bethpage on October 1, 1936. The LIRR station was also renamedBethpage station. The nameBethpage was, however, already in use by an adjacent community,[3] which resisted suggestions of a merger and instead renamed itselfOld Bethpage. The change from Central Park to Bethpage was one of the last complete name changes of Nassau County's post offices.[12]
From 1936 until 1994, Bethpage was home to theGrumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, which made, among other things, theF-14 Tomcat, the Navy version of theGeneral Dynamics F-111 Aardvark and theApollo Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) for Moon landings, and for this reason Bethpage is mentioned in the 1995 filmApollo 13. Grumman was made famous by the performance of itsF4F Wildcat fighter aircraft and its successor theF6F Hellcat, which shot down 5,223 enemy aircraft, more than any other naval aircraft. In 1994, Grumman was purchased byNorthrop and formedNorthrop Grumman. Although no longer headquartered in Bethpage, the company still retains operations there.[17]
TheNaval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bethpage (NWIRP) started operations in 1942, west of the Grumman site.[18]
In August 2015,a small airplane with engine trouble failed to reach Farmingdale airport, and was redirected to "Bethpage Airport" by the air traffic controller. However, the pilot could not find that airport because it was closed and had buildings on it, and the plane crashed on LIRR tracks.[19][20]
In the early 1900s, Bethpage (then called Central Park) was home to a small village of earlyScandinavian immigrants,[21] whose area was north of Cherry Avenue, east of Stewart Avenue, and west of today's Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway.[22] A Scandinavian-American Club of North Central Park formed in 1924, called Central Park North Civic Association, whose social activities and project fundraising helped improve roads, street lighting, water service, and postal service. After officially disbanding in 1959, the clubhouse, located on Stewart Avenue, became Saint Isidoro's Greek Orthodox Church.
In August 2021, Town of Oyster Bay SupervisorJoseph Saladino, with the help of Central Park Historical Society, helped unveil a historical marker celebrating the Scandinavian immigrants, located on the corner of Flamingo Lane and Caffrey Avenue.
Bethpage's history as a space and aviation center has left heavy metals, toxic waste, and radioactive[23] byproducts dumped into the surrounding ground and leeching into the water. Bethpage as of 2012 has been declared a class 2Superfund site.[24] The rate of cancers and birth defects in Bethpage is statistically well above the national average, which many attribute to the polluted soil and ground water.[25] Bethpage residents have taken action by filing a $500 million lawsuit against Grumman.[26]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the CDP, or Census Designated Place, has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2), all land. For the 2000 Census, the boundaries of the CDP were adjusted compared to those of the 1990 census, with some territory gained and some lost.[27]
Bethpage is located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east ofMidtown Manhattan and 13 miles (20 km) east of theQueens border. It boundsPlainview to the north, Farmingdale and Old Bethpage to the east,Hicksville andLevittown to the west, and Plainedge to the south.
The area is served by the Bethpage Post Office,ZIP code 11714, whose boundaries are slightly different from that of the CDP. TheTown of Hempstead, on its website, includes a small part of Bethpage hamlet that is in the Levittown census-designated place.[28]
TheLong Island Rail Road provides service fromBethpage station primarily on theRonkonkoma Branch and occasionally theCentral Branch.
Bethpage, along with the remainder of Nassau County, is served by theNassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus system alongHempstead Turnpike.
TheBethpage State Parkway begins at a trumpet interchange with theSouthern State Parkway inNorth Massapequa and runs north before terminating at atraffic circle with Plainview Road and a local park road inBethpage State Park.
Bethpage's fire protection is provided by the Bethpage Fire Department. Its police protection comes from theNassau County Police Department's 8th precinct, as well as the MTA Police and Nassau County Auxiliary Police.[29]
Bethpage is home to the North America Headquarters of technology company LogiTag and Altice, formerly known asCablevision.USPS also has a sorting facility in the town that serves the New York region. The grocery chainKing Kullen was previously headquartered in Bethpage between 2000 and 2020, before transferring their offices toHauppauge.
Bethpage Federal Credit Union (rebranded toFourLeaf Federal Credit Union),[30] a federally chartered credit union, is headquartered in Bethpage. It is the largest credit union in New York State and 16th largest in the nation with approximately $12.9 billion in assets, 471,284 members, and 38 publicly accessible branches throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.[31][32]
Bethpage is home to two movie studios.[33] Gold Coast Studios has filmed major motion pictures, includingThe Amazing Spider-Man 2[34] andSisters,[35] as well as the television seriesPan Am[36] andKevin Can Wait.[37]Grumman Studios also worked onThe Amazing Spider-Man 2,[34] filmedAvengers,[38]Salt[39] and broadcastThe Sound of Music Live![40]
Goya Foods has its Long Island division in Bethpage.[41]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 1,888 | — | |
| 1940 | 2,590 | 37.2% | |
| 1960 | 15,840 | — | |
| 1970 | 18,550 | 17.1% | |
| 1980 | 16,846 | −9.2% | |
| 1990 | 15,761 | −6.4% | |
| 2000 | 16,543 | 5.0% | |
| 2010 | 16,429 | −0.7% | |
| 2020 | 16,658 | 1.4% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 17,334 | [42] | 4.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[43] | |||
As of thecensus of 2020,[44] there were 16,658 people and 5,961 households residing in the CDP. There were 6,072 housing units and the population density was 4,658.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,798.6/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 76.6%White, 72.9%Non-Hispanic White, 0.4%African American, 13.4%Asian, 11.3%Hispanic orLatino, and 6.2% from two or more races. 16.7% of the population were foreign-born persons.
There were 5,961 households, of which 19.9% had children under 18 living with them, 65.5% were married couples living together, 22.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 9.0% had a male householder with no wife present. Of all households, 24.6% were individuals. The average family size was 3.36.
In the CDP, the average age was 47.8, significantly greater than the state average of 40.2. Approximately 20% were under the age of 18, and 23% were over the age of 65. For every 100 females, there were 98 males.[45]
Between 2010 and 2020, income rates for all working citizens dramatically increased. The median income for a household in the CDP was $132,832, and the median income for a family was $151,779. Nonfamily households had a median income of $53,138. The per capita income was $58,359. Approximately 4.13% of the population had lived under the poverty line, including 3.5% of persons under age 18, 4.8% of adults between ages 18 and 64, and 1.5% of adults over age 65.
As of the census of 2010,[46] there were 16,429 people, 5,710 households, and 4,516 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,564.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,762.4/km2). There were 5,788 housing units at an average density of 1,597.0 per square mile (616.6/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.8% white 85.8% non-Hispanic white, 0.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 5.5% Asian, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7% of the population.[2]
There were 5,710 households, of which 32% had children under 18 living with them, 66.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. Of all households, 17.9% were individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.27.[2]
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.[2]
The median income for a household in the CDP was $70,173, and the median income for a family was $78,573. Males had a median income of $53,404 versus $36,708 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $27,850. About 2.1% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.[2]
Bethpage was the home of theGrumman plant that produced theApollo Lunar Modules, or LEMs.
Bethpage State Park offers five golf courses to choose from. One of them, theBlack Course, was the site of theU.S. Open in2002 and2009.Tiger Woods won the event in 2002 andLucas Glover in 2009. While the park and its five golf courses are located almost entirely withinOld Bethpage and its offices are located within the neighboringFarmingdale postal district, it is easily accessed from Bethpage.
Bethpage Water District was announced as the best tasting drinking water in New York State at theNew York State Fair inSyracuse in 2006.[47] In 2010, chlorine was added to the drinking water following new Nassau County Board of Health regulations, leading many residents to complain that the taste of the water had declined.[48]
Medal of Honor recipientStephen Edward Karopczyc lived in Bethpage,[49] and the former Karopczyc School in Bethpage (part of theIsland Trees Union Free School District) was renamed for him. The school now houses the Island Trees Public Library.
The Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center in Bethpage has an NHL-size rink for skating, and is home to the Long Island Blues special hockey team, who practice and play home games at the rink.[50][51]
As Bethpage is an unincorporated hamlet within the Town of Oyster Bay, it is governed through said Town.[52]
Bethpage is located in theNew York State Senate's5th State Senate district, which as of December 2024 is represented bySteven Rhoads (R–Bellmore).[53] It is also located in theNew York State Assembly's15th[54] and17th, occupied byJake Blumencranz (R–Oyster Bay) andJohn Mikulin (R-Bethpage), respectively.[55]
Bethpage also rests withinNew York's 3rd congressional district, which as of December 2024 is represented in theUnited States Congress byTom Suozzi (D–Glen Cove).[56]
In theUnited States Senate, Bethpage is represented byCharles E. Schumer (D) andKirsten Gillibrand (D).[57]
In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the majority of Bethpage voters voted forDonald Trump (R).[58]
Bethpage residents can be zoned for the following districts:[59]
In November 2004, Bethpage served as the first location for the series premiere ofTo Catch a Predator, featuring hostChris Hansen in the televisionnews magazine programDateline NBC.[60]
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