Plainview, New York

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Plainview, New York
Plainview, New York (New York)
Plainview, New York
Plainview, New York
Coordinates: 40°46′48″N 73°28′46″W / 40.78, -73.47944
Country United States
State New York
County Nassau
Area
 - Total 5.7 sq mi (14.8 km²)
 - Land 5.7 sq mi (14.8 km²)
 - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation 151 ft (46 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 25,637
 - Density 4,478.2/sq mi (1,729.0/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 11803
Area code(s) 516
FIPS code 36-58442
GNIS feature ID 0960664

Plainview is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 25,637 at the 2000 census.

Plainview and its neighboring hamlet, Old Bethpage, share a school system, library, fire department, and water district. Law enforcement for the community is provided by the Nassau County Police Department, with the Second Precinct serving areas north of Old Country Road and Eighth Precinct serving areas south of Old Country Road.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Plainview is located at 40°46′48″N, 73°28′46″W (40.779911, -73.479483)[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²), all land. Plainview is located in the middle of Long Island, bordering Suffolk County.

[edit] History

Plainview's history dates to 1695, when Robert Williams bought land in the area. Settlers named their town, Manetto Hill, the Native American term for "God".

In 1885, residents petitioned the United States Postal Service, for a local post office, but were turned down because the name Manetto Hill was already in use upstate. The town was then renamed, Plainview, for the "plain-view", the town had of the Hempstead Plains, from the top of Manetto Hill.

Plainview remained a farming community, famous for growing cucumbers, until World War II. After the war, returning GIs, many anxious to leave New York City, fueled massive development in the area, giving rise to so called, suburban sprawl. Between 1950 and 1960, the town grew from a population of 1,155 to more than 35,000.[2]

[edit] Demographics

As of the 2000 census[3], there were 25,637 people, 8,556 households, and 7,315 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,478.2 per square mile (1,730.5/km²). There were 8,638 housing units at an average density of 1,508.9/sq mi (583.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.55% White, 0.38% African American, 0.02% Native American, 4.79% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.57% of the population.

There were 8,556 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.2% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.5% were non-families. 13.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $90,529, and the median income for a family was $98,233. Males had a median income of $69,032 versus $41,480 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $36,634. About 1.7% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] School System

The Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District operates one high school, Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, two middle schools, Howard B. Mattlin [4] and Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School, and four elementary schools Parkway (due to its proximity to the Northern State Parkway), Pasadena, Old Bethpage, and Stratford Road. There is also one Kindergarten Center, a school just for kindergarteners connected to Stratford Road Elementary School.

[edit] History

The Plainview-Old Bethpage School District was referred to as Central School District #4 until the 1970s.

Two schools in Plainview have had the name Manetto Hill School. The original building was a one room school house, built in 1899. This building, which still stands, is adjacent to the much larger school of the same name, which was built in the 1950s. Today, both buildings are owned by the Mid-Island Y-JCC. The original building is immediately north of the JCC. The entrance to the building is on the front left side, but if you look closely on the right side opposite the entrance, you'll see the outline of what had been another door. When originally built, the building had separate entrances for boys and girls. The right door, now sealed off, was the girls entrance. The building now serves as an office for the Nassau-Suffolk Region Bnai Brith Youth Organization.

Plainview once had two high schools, Plainview-Old Bethpage High School (opened February 23, 1960) [5] and John F. Kennedy High School (built 1966) [6]; the schools were merged in 1992. Plainview-Old Bethpage High School is now Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School; the building which formerly housed the Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School (formerly known as Plainview Junior High), now houses both Stratford Road Elementary School and the Kindergarten Center.

Old Bethpage also had its own one room school house, named the Little Red Schoolhouse. This building, which stood until the 1970s, was located, appropriately enough, on Schoolhouse Road, just off of Round Swamp Road. The building was torn down and the property developed into several houses.

[edit] Closed Schools

After a period of significant increases in classroom space in the 1950s and '60s [7] declining enrollment led to school closures in the 1970s. As a part of these school closings, the district also reorganized its schools from K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12, to K-4, 5-8 and 9-12, in process renaming its junior high schools as "middle" schools.[8]

  • Central Park Road (July 1, 1976) [8] (demolished)
  • Fern Place (July 1, 1974) [8] (now the Association for Children with Down Syndrome)
  • Jamaica Avenue (now houses 2 day care centers, a private school, and hosts senior citizens' activities.)
  • Joyce Road (July 1, 1978) [8] (now the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County)
  • The Little Red School House (demolished)
  • Manetto Hill Road (now the offices of the Mid-Island Y JCC of Plainview}
  • Manetto Hill Road (now the Mid-Island Y JCC of Plainview- Main Building)
  • Oak Drive (July 1, 1976) [8] (demolished)

[edit] Other Districts

Some parts of geographic Plainview belong to other school districts. Some areas located by Woodbury Road are part of the Syosset Central School District and some areas south of Old Country Road are part of the Bethpage Union Free School District.

[edit] Recreation

[edit] Parks

Plainview has numerous community parks tucked in between homes. Its primary park is the 19 acre Plainview-Old Bethpage Community Park, located on Washington Avenue. [9] Opened in 1960, this park features an Olympic size pool, a children's pool, baseball/softball fields, tennis courts, racquetball/handball courts, basketball courts and trails through its woods. [10] [11] During the summer the park runs a concession stand. Parks in Plainview are administered by either the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums or the Town of Oyster Bay. In addition, the town is home to a nature preserve called the Manetto Hills Park. This undeveloped parkland was the formerly known as the Shattuck Estate.

[edit] Sports

Greater Long Island Runners Club, formerly known as the Plainview-Old Bethpage Roadrunners Club, is the largest runners club on Long Island.

The Plainview Baseball Association is the local youth baseball league.

Plainview-Old Bethpage Highlanders Soccer Club is the youth soccer league.

The Mid Island Y JCC has many activities for youths as well as seniors.

[edit] Media

[edit] Television

The PBS television station, WLIW, channel 21, broadcasts from Plainview.

[edit] Movies

Until the 1980s there were several movie theaters in the community. Their patrons going to the mutliplexes which were built in Hicksville and Commack, all the theaters were converted to office or retail use.

  • Century's Morton Village, Morton Village Shopping Center. This theater, located at the western end of the shopping center, was converted to retail space.
  • Old Country Theater. Located at the intersection of Old Country Road and Manetto Hill Road. This theater was immediately west of the Shell gas station. The building was converted to an office building, housing mostly medical offices.
  • RKO Plainview Twin. This movie theater was located behind the Plainview Centre on South Oyster Bay Road. This building was converted (and expanded) into today's Shoprite.
  • The Plainview, A Century Theater. This theater was located on South Oyster Bay Road (facing the Plainview Centre, noted above) and, therefore, technically, was in Hicksville, South Oyster Bay Road being the boundary line between Plainview and Hicksville. It was converted into an office building, housing mostly medical offices.

[edit] Notable current and former residents

  • Aaron Karo, a graduate of Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School (Class of 1997) professional comedian.
  • Charles W. Shea, World War II veteran and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor]. Ordered to take a hill near Mount Damiano, Italy, Shea proceeded alone, lobbing grenades at the enemy and engaging in a fire figh/ He killing three gunners and ultimately obtained the surrender of 6 enemy soldiers before completing his mission and taking the hill. [12] [13]

[edit] Interesting Facts

  • Plainview was home to at least two grand Gold Coast estates.
    • The Schwarzenbach Estate. Robert Schwarzenbach was a very successful textile manufacturer, who purchased an estate on Manetto Hill. The house was demolished long ago to make way for homes, however, one outbuilding still exists. It is located in the Manetto Hills Shopping Center. This building, originally the home provided to the estate's gardener, operated for many years as Malarkey's Tavern. The building presently houses a veterinarian's office. In addition, until the 1990s, a second building was still standing. This building, which had been the estate's chicken coop, was converted into a residence, where the gardener mentioned above eventually moved with his wife. It was located on Manetto Hill Road, just across from Nick Place.
    • The Shattuck Estate. The Shattuck Estate was purchased by a successful New York City attorney, who lived there until he died in the 1960s. He was a member of the Shattuck family who owned the Frank G. Shattuck Company, which operated, among other things, a restaurant chain known as Schrafft Foods. [14] The property, which totals approximately 138 acres, was almost developed in the 1970s until community activists forced the county to purchase the property and leave it as a nature preserve. [15] It is located on Washington Avenue and has no signage to indicate its presence. The property's main house still exists.
  • The property known as the Nassau County Office Complex, located between the split of Old Country Road and Round Swamp Road, was once home to the Nassau County Sanitarium, a tuberculosis ward. Built on the Taliaferro Estate, primarily in Old Bethpage, the sanitarium was authorized by the Nassau County Board of Supervisors in 1930, and was completed in the early part of the same decade. [16] [17] As tuberculosis was brought under control, the complex of Georgian style buildings was closed in the 1960s. [18] Following its closure, the facility was given over to mixed use, including the establishment of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in 1976 and a branch of the Cornell Cooperative Extension. [18] [19] In 1999, Charles Wang, founder of Computer Associates purchased the 144 acre property from the county for $23 million. [20] Included in the purchase was 1535 Old Country Road, which now houses the corporate offices of the New York Islanders and New York Dragons, both of which are owned by Wang. In addition, the building is home to the Wang-created, Plainview Chinese Cultural Center. [21]

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ Plainview-Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce History
  3. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ Unknown (1960-11-29). Four-Part School is Planned on Long Island. NY Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  5. ^ Unknown (1960-05-02). Plainview Dedicates School. NY Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  6. ^ Terte, Robert H. (1964-12-08). Plainview School To Fit New Plan. NY Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  7. ^ [>Unknown (1958-08-03). 3 New L. I. Schools Approved. NY Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
  8. ^ a b c d e Silver, Roy R. (1974-03-17). Plainview Will Close 4 Schools by 1978-1979. NY Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
  9. ^ Town of Oyster Bay- Parks Division
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ [2]
  12. ^ Newsday LI History: Charles W. Shea
  13. ^ World War II History: Charles W. Shea
  14. ^ Unknown (1937-03-15). FRANK G. SHATTUCK OF SCHRAFFT'S DIES. NY Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
  15. ^ Save Americas Forests: Carl Ross
  16. ^ http://www.nassaulibrary.org/bethpage/cphs/cphs-n.html Encyclopedia of the Unincorporated Village of Bethpage]]
  17. ^ Unknown (1932-04-14). $5,000,000 Bonds For Nassau County. NY Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  18. ^ a b McMorrow, Fred (1976-11-07). Beyond the Drunk Tank. NY Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-03.
  19. ^ NY Camping Review
  20. ^ http://www.newsday.com/topic/ny-bzwang0601,0,6017383.story.
  21. ^ Charles Wang Foundation Donates Plainview Chinese School to Enrich Asian Cultural Offerings For Long Islanders

[edit] Sources

  • "Our Town: Life in Plainview-Old Bethpage 1600 Through Tomorrow", by Richard Koubek, published in 1987
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