Long Beach, New York | |
|---|---|
 Aerial photograph of Long Beach, NY and environs from west-by-southwest | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: The City by the Sea | |
| Motto(s): Civitas ad mare (City by the Sea) | |
 Location inNassau County and the state ofNew York | |
 Show Long Beach Show New York Show the United States | |
| Coordinates:40°35′17″N73°41′17″W / 40.58806°N 73.68806°W /40.58806; -73.68806 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| County | Nassau |
| Settled | 1623 |
| Incorporated Village | 1913 |
| City of Long Beach | 1922 |
| Founded by | William H. Reynolds |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • City Manager | Daniel Creighton |
| 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 |
| • Density | 15,795.5/sq mi (6,098.69/km2) |
| 34th densest in US | |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 11561 |
| Area codes | 516, 363 |
| FIPS code | 36-43335 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0955835 |
| Website | www |
Long Beach is an oceanfrontcity inNassau County,New York, United States. It takes up a central section of theLong Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of theouter barrier islands offLong Island's South Shore. As of the2020 Census, the city's population was 35,029.[2]
TheCity of Long Beach was incorporated in 1922,[3] and is nicknamed "The City by the Sea" (theLatin form,Civitas ad mare, is the city's motto). The Long Beach Barrier Island is surrounded byReynolds Channel to the north, east and west, and theAtlantic Ocean to the south.[4]
In 2022, Long Beach was named one of the bestEast Coast towns for a summer getaway byTime Out magazine.[5]
The city of Long Beach's first inhabitants were theAlgonquian-speakingLenape, who sold the area to Englishcolonists in 1643. From that time, while the barrier island was used bybaymen and farmers for fishing and harvestingsalt hay, no one lived there year-round for more than two centuries. ThebarqueMexico, carrying Irish immigrants to New York, ran aground on a sandbar 200 yards off of Long Beach on January 2, 1837; 115 of its passengers would freeze to death on the deck of the ship.[6]
Austin Corbin, a builder fromBrooklyn, was the first to attempt to develop the island as aresort. He formed a partnership with theLong Island Rail Road (LIRR) to finance theNew York and Long Beach Railroad Co., which laid track fromLynbrook 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.[7][8] 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.
In 1906,William H. Reynolds, a 39-year-old real estate developer and former state senator, became involved in the area. Reynolds had already developed four Brooklyn neighborhoods (Bedford–Stuyvesant,Borough Park,Bensonhurst, andSouth Brownsville), as well asConey Island'sDreamland, the world's largest amusement park at the time. Reynolds also owned a theatre and produced plays.[9][10]
He gathered investors, and acquired the oceanfront from private owners and the rest of the island from theTown of Hempstead in 1907; he planned to build aboardwalk, homes, and hotels. Reynolds had a herd ofelephants marched in from Dreamland, ostensibly to help build theLong Beach Boardwalk; he had created an effectivepublicity 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 seaplanes to transport more visitors; the new waterway was namedReynolds Channel. To ensure that Long Beach lived up to his billing it "TheRiviera of the East", he required each building to be constructed in an "eclecticMediterranean style", with whitestucco walls and red-clay tile roofs. He built a theatre called Castles by the Sea, with the largest dance floor in the world, for dancersVernon and Irene Castle.
After Reynolds' corporation went bankrupt in 1918, the restrictions were lifted. The new town attracted wealthy business people 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.[11]
The community became anincorporated village in 1913 and a city in 1922.[12]
In 1923, theprohibition agents known simply asIzzy and Moe raided the Nassau Hotel and arrested three men for bootlegging. In 1930, fiveLong Beach Police officers were charged with offering a bribe to aUnited States Coast Guard officer to allow liquor to be landed. The police had another problem a year later in the summer of 1931, when abeachcomber found the body of a young woman namedStarr Faithfull, who had drowned. She had left behind a suicide note, but others believed she had been murdered, and the circumstances of her death were never resolved. 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. Soon afterward, 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.
On November 15, 1939, MayorLouis F. Edwards was fatally shot by a police officer in front of his home.[13] Officer Alvin Dooley, a member of the police motorcycle squad and the mayor's own security detail, killed Edwards after losing his bid forPBA 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 residents passed legislation to adopt a city manager system, which still exists to this day. The city manager is hired by and reports to the City Council.
In the 1940s,José Ferrer,Zero Mostel,Mae West, and other famous actors performed at local theaters.[citation needed]John Barrymore,Humphrey Bogart,Clara Bow,James Cagney,Cab Calloway,Jack Dempsey,Lillian Roth,Rudolph Valentino, andFlorenz Ziegfeld lived in Long Beach for decades.[14]
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 primarily abedroom 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 their 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 smallamusement park at the foot of Edwards Boulevard until the 1980s. In the late 1960s, the boardwalk and amusement park area was a magnet for youth from aroundLong Island, until a police crackdown on drug trafficking ended that. A few businesses remained on the boardwalk, attracting bicyclists, joggers, walkers, and people-watchers.
Beginning in the 1980s and accelerating in the 1990s, Long Beach began an urban renewal, with new housing, new businesses, and other improvements.[15] 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 rentbungalows 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-stylecasinos) to this potential "superblock" have not yet borne fruit, the lots constitute the city's largest portion of unused land.[15][16]
On October 29, 2012,Hurricane Sandy struck Long Beach. As a result of flooding, hundreds of vehicles were destroyed 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 fromFEMA and the State of New York. The first two-block section of the new Long Beach boardwalk reopened on July 26, 2013,[17] and the entire boardwalk opened on October 25, 2013.[18] The final costs of rebuilding the boardwalk were $44 million, of which ca. $39 million were FEMA grants and the final $4.4 million were reimbursed by the state.[19]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.90 square miles (10.1 km2).[2] Of its total area, 2.22 square miles (5.7 km2) is land, and the rest is water.
The city is on abarrier island of theSouth Shore ofLong Island. It shares the island withEast Atlantic Beach,Atlantic Beach to the west andLido Beach andPoint Lookout to the east.[20]
Long Beach has ahumid subtropical climate (Cfa) under theKöppen climate classification, with humid hot summers and cool winters. It is one of the northernmost locations in this climate zone, allowing for the growth of warmer climate plants likeMimosa,Crape Myrtle,Southern Magnolia, andSweetgum. It is in plant hardiness zone 7b. Precipitation is evenly distributed year-round, mostly in the form of rain although snowfall occurs each winter. Long Beach is vulnerable to tropical cyclones. Its climate is tempered by the influence of theAtlantic Ocean.
| 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) | 92 (33) | 97 (36) | 100 (38) | 104 (40) | 101 (38) | 98 (37) | 90 (32) | 83 (28) | 75 (24) | 104 (40) |
| Mean daily maximum °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) |
| Mean daily minimum °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) | −7 (−22) | −4 (−20) | 7 (−14) | 20 (−7) | 34 (1) | 45 (7) | 48 (9) | 46 (8) | 41 (5) | 30 (−1) | 15 (−9) | −1 (−18) | −7 (−22) |
| Source:[21] | |||||||||||||
Unlike most communities near New York City, Long Beach is a high-density community. Fewer than 40% of the homes are detached houses,[22] and the city ranks as the 35th-densest community in the United States – ahead of larger cities like Chicago, Miami, and Philadelphia. The city is less than 1 mile (1.6 km) wide from ocean to bay and about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long. The city is divided into the West End, home to many smallbungalow and some large houses, and the East End. West of New York Avenue, the barrier island is less than 0.5 miles (800 m) 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.
The city of Long Beach contains the following neighborhoods:[23][24]
Neighborhoods and enclaves
Multiple sites in Long Beach are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, including:[25][26][27]
The city of Long Beach contains the following landmarks and historic district:[12][28]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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[31] | |||
The2010 U.S. census determined there were 33,275 people residing in the city, and the 2019American Community Survey estimated the population increased to 33,454. Atcensus of 2000,[32] 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 inhabitants per square mile (5,800/km2) as of 2010.[2] In 2000, thepopulation density was 16,594.9 inhabitants per square mile (6,407.3/km2). Also in 2000, there were 16,128 housing units at an average density of 7,547.3 per square mile (2,914.0/km2). If only residential area is counted, the population density rises to 17,341 per square mile (44,913.19/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 to 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% weremarried 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. Theper capita income for the city was $31,069. About 6.3% of families and 9.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.
The racial and ethnic makeup of the city of Long Beach was 71.9%non-Hispanic white, 6.2%Black or African American, 0.2%American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.7%Asian, 2.8%two or more races, and 16.3%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 to 2019.[2] In 2000, theracial 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.
According toSperling's BestPlaces, 67.7% of the population of Long Beach were religious as of 2021.[33] The majority of the religious population areChristian and theCatholic Church is the largest single denomination. The second largest Christian group isProtestantism and the single largestProtestant denomination as of 2021 wasLutheranism. The third largest religion practiced in the city isJudaism, followed byIslam.Eastern faiths includingHinduism andBuddhism are also prevalent in the city, while the remainder of the population isirreligious oratheist.
According to theUSA District Attourney's Office at Eastern New York, gangs present a prevalent criminal threat within the city. In March 2016, sixteen members of theLatin Kings gang were arrested in connections with narcotics trafficking, in particular, cocaine, crack, "molly", and illegal marijuana[1]. In another instance, 5 men from Long Beach andHempstead were arrested inWestbury in a gang-related shooting[2].
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Others | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 10,552 | 58.4% | 7,223 | 40.0% | 285 | 1.6% |
| 2016 | 8,843 | 56.1% | 6,255 | 39.7% | 670 | 4.2% |
The current City Manager (2024) is Dan Creighton.[35] He was preceded by:
The Long Beach City Council consists of five elected members who are currently (2024):[40]
The city has a comprehensive emergency services structure consisting of multiple organizations, including theLong Beach Police Department,Long Beach Fire Department, Long Beach Lifeguards, Animal Control and Emergency Medical Services (LBFD), Long Beach Auxiliary Police Department.
The city of Long Beach has an extensive parks and recreation program led by Joseph Brand II. Within the offerings include, but are not limited to the Ice Arena, Summer Camps, Pool, Races and is most well known for its Ocean Beach Park. Long Beach's Ocean Beach Park (OBP) is managed under the supervision of Nichole Landry. All city parks and recreation programs are found online at longbeachny.gov.
TheLong Beach City School District serves the city of Long Beach and parts of theTown of Hempstead,[41] withone primary high school, one middle school, one prekindergarten, and four elementary schools.[20] 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:
TheLong Beach Public Library serves greater Long Beach with the main library downtown and two branch libraries at Point Lookout and the West End.
Long Beach Bus operates a 24-hour municipal bus service with five routes,[43] including three routes serving the city, one overnight circulator route, and one route extending service toLido Beach andPoint 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.[20] The n15 and n33 travel toRoosevelt Field andFar Rockaway, viaRockville Centre andAtlantic Beach, respectively.[44][45] The n33 does not provide service wholly within Long Beach.
TheLong Island Rail Road operatesa terminal station at Park Place and Park Avenue with service on the railroad'sLong Beach Branch.[20] All other public transportation services in Long Beach converge at this terminal.[20] Most trains run toPenn Station (Manhattan) orAtlantic Terminal (Brooklyn).[46]
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