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Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, United States, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs (Queens and Brooklyn) of New York City, and two of which (Nassau and Suffolk) are mainly suburban. Nine bridges and thirteen tunnels connect Brooklyn and Queens (and thus Long Island) to the three other boroughs of New York City. Ferries connect Suffolk County northward across Long Island Sound to the state of Connecticut. Two of New York City's major airports, La Guardia and JFK, are located on Long Island.

Both the longest^[1] and the largest island in the contiguous United States, Long Island extends 118 miles (190 km) from New York Harbor, and has a maximum width of 23 miles (37 km) between the northern (Long Island Sound) coast and the southern Atlantic coast.^[2] With a land area of 1,401 square miles (3,629 km²), Long Island is the 11th largest island in the United States, the 148th largest island in the world, larger than any U.S. territory except Puerto Rico,^[2] and just smaller than the state of Rhode Island (1545 sq mi).

Long Island had a population of 7,448,618 as of the 2000 census,^[2] making it the most populated island in any U.S. state or territory. It is also the 17th most populous island in the world, ahead of Ireland, Jamaica and the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. Its population density is 5,470 inhabitants per square mile (2,110 /km²). If it were a state, Long Island would rank 12th in population.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Geography 2.1 Geology 2.2 Climate 3 Demographics 4 History 5 Economy 5.1 Government and politics 5.2 Law enforcement and crime 5.3 Secession proposals 6 Transportation 6.1 Rail 7 Education 7.1 Primary and secondary education 7.2 Colleges and universities 8 Leisure and recreation 8.1 Resort areas 8.2 East-End Resort areas 8.3 Food 9 Long Island Attractions 9.1 Athletics 9.2 Professional Teams on Long Island 9.3 Music 10 Long Island gallery 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

Overview

Long Island

Native name: Paumanok
Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk of Long Island with approximate, but notably incorrect, county boundaries
Geography
Long Island (New York)
Location	Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	40°48′N 73°18′W / 40.8°N 73.3°W / 40.8; -73.3
Area	1,401 sq mi (3,630 km2)
Length	118 mi (190 km)
Width	23 mi (37 km) at widest part
Highest point	Jayne's Hill (401 ft (122 m))
Country
United States
State	New York
Demographics
Population	7,559,372 (as of 2006)
Density	5,395.7 /km2 (13,975 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	57.16% White, 20.18% African American, 0.36% Native American, 9.06% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 8.17% other races, and 4.01% from two or more races and 21.82% Hispanic or Latino

The westernmost end of Long Island contains the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn (Kings County) and Queens (Queens County). The central and eastern portions contain the suburban Nassau and Suffolk counties. However, colloquial usage of the term "Long Island" refers only to Nassau and Suffolk counties; the more dense and urban Brooklyn and Queens are not usually referred to as "Long Island," since they are politically part of New York City.

Nassau County is more developed than Suffolk County, with pockets of rural affluence within the Gold Coast of the North Shore. South Shore communities are built along protected wetlands and white sand beaches fronting on the Atlantic Ocean and Outer Barrier Islands. Old money from the time of the Revolutionary War populated the island and still does to this day. American aristocrats and European nobility in the gilded age built lavish country homes on the North Shore of Nassau county. Today, (although many of the massive estates have been demolished) many exist in their original state, while others have become parks, arboretums, universities and museums

Owing to economic growth and the suburbanization of the metropolitan region after World War II, Nassau was the fastest growing county in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. Suffolk County remains less congested despite substantial growth in high technology and light manufacturing sectors since 1990. In its far east sections, Suffolk remains small-town rural, as in Greenport on the North Fork and some of the outward areas of The Hamptons, although summer tourism swells the population in those areas.

Long Island is geographically part of the Mid Atlantic, however many towns and hamlets along the island's north shore and in eastern Suffolk County, such as Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson and Sag Harbor seem to resemble New England towns, while many of the towns and hamlets along the south shore, such as Long Beach, Valley Stream, and Babylon seem to resemble Mid-Atlantic coastal communities, especially those on the shore between New Jersey and Virginia.

Long Island is known for its affluence and high quality of life. According to Forbes Magazine, as of March, 2010, Nassau and Suffolk Counties are among the top 25 richest counties in America^[3]. Additionally, Nassau County is the third richest county per capita in New York State, and the 30th richest in the nation. Long Island's Nassau County has the second highest property taxes in the United States.^[4] Suffolk County has redeveloped North Fork potato fields into a burgeoning wine region. The South Fork is known for beach towns, including the world-renowned Hamptons, and for Montauk Point, home of Montauk Point Lighthouse at the eastern tip of the island.

Geography

Geology

Long Island, as part of the Outer Lands region, is formed largely of two spines of glacial moraine, with a large, sandy outwash plain beyond. These moraines consist of gravel and loose rock left behind during the two most recent pulses of Wisconsin glaciation during the Ice Ages some 21,000 years ago (19,000 BC). The northern moraine, which directly abuts the North Shore of Long Island at points, is known as the Harbor Hill moraine. The more southerly moraine, known as the Ronkonkoma moraine, forms the "backbone" of Long Island; it runs primarily through the very center of Long Island, roughly coinciding with the length of the Long Island Expressway.

The land to the south of this moraine to the South Shore is the outwash plain of the last glacier. Known as the Hempstead Plains, this land contained one of the few natural prairies to exist east of the Appalachian Mountains.^[5]

The glaciers melted and receded to the north, resulting in the difference between the North Shore beaches and the South Shore beaches. The North Shore beaches are rocky from the remaining glacial debris, while the South Shore's are crisp, clear, outwash sand. Running along the center of the island like a spine is the moraine left by the glaciers. Jayne's Hill, at 401 feet, is the highest hill along either moraine; another well-known summit is Bald Hill. The glaciers also formed Lake Ronkonkoma, a kettle lake.

Climate

Long Island has a climate similar to other coastal areas of the Northeastern United States; it has warm, humid summers and cold winters. The Atlantic Ocean helps bring afternoon sea breezes that temper the heat in the warmer months and limit the frequency and severity of thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorms are not uncommon, especially when they approach the island from the mainland areas of the Bronx, Westchester County and Connecticut in the northwest.

Average yearly snowfall totals range from approximately 20 to 35 inches (51 to 89 cm), with the north shore and western parts averaging more than the south shore and the east end. In any given winter, however, some parts of the island could see up to 75 inches (190 cm) or more. There are also some very quiet winters, in which most parts of the island could see less than 10 inches (25 cm).

Long Island is somewhat vulnerable to hurricanes.^[6] Its northern location and relatively cool waters tend to weaken storms to below hurricane strength by the time they reach Long Island, although despite this, some storms have made landfall at Category 1 or greater strength, including two unnamed Category 3 storms in 1938 (New England Hurricane of 1938) and 1944, Hurricane Donna in 1960, Hurricane Belle in 1976, Hurricane Gloria in 1985, Hurricane Bob in 1991 (brushed the eastern tip) and Hurricane Floyd in 1999. (There is debate among climatologists as to whether Hurricane Floyd made landfall as a Category 1 or as a very strong "almost hurricane strength" tropical storm. The official records note it as the latter.)

Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures for Various New York Locations

City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Islip, LI	39/23	40/24	48/31	58/40	69/49	77/60	83/66	82/64	75/57	64/45	54/36	44/28
New York City	38/26	41/28	50/35	61/44	71/54	79/63	84/69	82/68	75/60	64/50	53/41	43/32
Temperatures listed using the Fahrenheit scale
Source: [7]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	37,108		—
1800	42,907		15.6%
1810	48,752		13.6%
1820	56,978		16.9%
1830	69,775		22.5%
1840	110,406		58.2%
1850	212,637		92.6%
1860	379,788		78.6%
1870	540,648		42.4%
1880	743,957		37.6%
1890	1,029,097		38.3%
1900	1,452,611		41.2%
1910	2,098,460		44.5%
1920	2,723,764		29.8%
1930	4,103,638		50.7%
1940	4,600,022		12.1%
1950	5,237,918		13.9%
1960	6,403,852		22.3%
1970	7,141,515		11.5%
1980	6,728,074		−5.8%
1990	6,861,474		2.0%
2000	7,448,618		8.6%
Est. 2008	7,713,454		3.6%

Long Island is one of the most densely populated regions in the United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the total population of all four counties of Long Island was 7,448,618. New York City's portion of the census was 4,694,705, with Brooklyn's population at 2,465,326 and Queens having 2,229,379 residents.

The combined population of Nassau and Suffolk counties was 2,753,913 people; Suffolk County's share at 1,419,369 and Nassau County's at 1,334,544. Nassau County had a larger population for decades, but Suffolk County surpassed it in the 1990 census as growth and development continued to spread eastward.

As Suffolk County has over twice the land area of Nassau County, the latter still has a much higher population density. Combining all four counties, Long Island's population is greater than 38 of the 50 United States.

If it were an independent nation, it would rank as the 96th most populated nation, falling between Switzerland and Israel.

Population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau Census 2000^[8] show that non-whites are in the majority in the two urban counties of New York City, while whites are in the majority in the two suburban counties of Nassau and Suffolk. Catholics are the largest religious group, with non-affiliated in second place.

Long Island has substantial Catholic and Jewish populations. Catholics make up 52% of Nassau and Suffolk Counties population verses 23.9 for the country as a whole, and Jews 16% and 7% respectively verses 1.7% nation wide. Even more surprising is the small percentage of Protestants, 7% and 8% respectively for Nassau and Suffolk Counties, verses 51.3 for the country. Long Island has also been referred to as the most segregated suburb in the United States.^[9]

• Long Island Villages

• Long Island Towns

Racial groups, ethnicity, and religious groups on Long Island

Source for Race and Ethnicity: 2000 Census^[8]
American Indian, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander make up just 0.4% of the population of Long Island, and have been included with "Other".

Source for religious groups: ARDA^[10]

County	Population 2000 census	% white	% black or African American	% Asian	% Other	% mixed race	% Hispanic/ Latino of any race		% Catholic	% not affiliated	% Jewish	% Protestant	Estimate of % not reporting
		Race					Ethnicity		Religious groups
Kings	2,465,326	41.2%	36.4%	7.5%	10.6%	4.3%	19.8%		37%	4%	15%	8%	33%
Queens	2,229,379	44.1%	20.0%	17.6%	12.3%	6.1%	25.0%		29%	37%	11%	5%	15%
Nassau	1,334,544	79.3%	10.1%	4.7%	3.8%	2.1%	10.0%		52%	9%	16%	7%	15%
Suffolk	1,419,369	84.6%	6.9%	2.4%	4.0%	2.1%	10.5%		52%	21%	7%	8%	11%
Totals	7,448,618	57.2%	21.2%	9.0%	8.6%	4.0%	17.8%		40%	18%	12%	7%	20%

History

At the time of European contact, the Lenape people (named the Delaware by Europeans) inhabited the western end of the Island, and spoke the Munsee dialect of the Algonquian language family. Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to record an encounter with these people when he entered what is now New York Bay in 1524. The eastern portion of the island was inhabited by speakers of the Mohegan-Montauk-Narragansett language group of the same language family, indicative of their ties to the aboriginal peoples inhabiting what is now Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The western portion of Long Island was later settled by the Dutch, while the eastern region was settled by English Puritans from New Haven, Connecticut, settling in Southold on October 21, 1640.

The entirety of Long Island came under English dominion in 1664 when the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam was taken over by the English and renamed New York. In 1683, the English established the three original counties on Long Island: Kings, Queens, and Suffolk.

During the American Revolutionary War, the island was captured from General George Washington early by the British in the Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the entire war. The island remained a British stronghold until the end of the war, and was the center of much of General Washington's espionage activities due to the proximity to the British North American military headquarters in New York City. After the British victory on Long Island many Patriots fled, leaving mostly Loyalists behind.

In the 19th century, Long Island was still mainly rural and agricultural. The predecessor to the Long Island Rail Road began service in 1836 from the ferry terminal (to Manhattan) through Brooklyn to Jamaica in Queens, and completed the line to the east end of Long Island in 1844. From 1830 until 1930, population roughly doubled every twenty years, and several cities were incorporated, such as the City of Brooklyn in Kings County, and Long Island City in Queens.

Until the 1883 completion of the Brooklyn Bridge, the only connection between Long Island and the rest of the United States was by boat. Other bridges and tunnels followed, and a suburban character spread as population increased. On January 1, 1898, Kings County and portions of Queens were consolidated into The City of Greater New York, abolishing all cities and towns within them. The easternmost 280 square miles (730 km²) of Queens County, which were not part of the consolidation plan,^{[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]} separated from Queens in 1899 to form Nassau County.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Long Island began the transformation from backwoods and farms to the paradigm of the American suburb. Railroads made possible commuting suburbs before construction of the Long Island Expressway and other major roadways. Robert Moses created various parkway projects to span the island, along with state parks for the enjoyment of many. Gradually development started to follow the parkways, with various communities springing up along the more traveled routes.

After World War II, Long Island's population skyrocketed, mostly in Nassau County and western Suffolk County. People who worked and lived in New York City moved out to Long Island in new developments built during the post-war boom. The most famous post-war development was the town of Levittown: the area became the first place to massively reproduce houses on a grand scale- providing opportunities for GIs returning home to start a family. The immigration waves of southern and eastern Europe, followed by more recent ones from Latin America, have been pivotal in creating the diversity on Long Island that many other American regions lack. These immigrations are reflected in the large Italian American, Irish American and Jewish American populations.

Economy

The counties of Nassau and Suffolk have been long renowned for their affluence.

From about 1930 to about 1990, Long Island was considered one of the aviation centers of the United States, with companies such as Grumman Aircraft, Republic, Fairchild, and Curtiss having their headquarters and factories on Long Island.

Long Island has played a prominent role in scientific research and in engineering. It is the home of the Brookhaven National Laboratory in nuclear physics and Department of Energy research.

In recent decades companies such as Sperry Rand, Computer Associates (headquartered in Islandia), Motorola Enterprise Mobility (now occupying the former headquarters of Symbol Technologies, previously a Grumman plant in Holtsville), and OpenLink Financial (headquartered in Uniondale), have made Long Island a center for the computer industry. Gentiva Health Services, a national provider of home health and pharmacy services, also is headquartered on Long Island. Stony Brook University of the State University of New York conducts far-ranging medical and technology research.

Long Island is also home to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which was directed for 35 years by James D. Watson (who, along with Francis Crick, discovered the double helix structure of DNA).

Long Island is home to the East Coast's largest industrial park, the Hauppauge Industrial Park. The park has over 1,300 companies employing more than 55,000 Long Islanders. Companies in the park and abroad are represented by the Hauppauge Industrial Association. As many as 20 percent of Long Islanders commute to New York City jobs. The eastern end of the island is still partly agricultural. In the last 25 years, development of vineyards on the North Fork became a major new industry, replacing potato fields. Pumpkin farms have been added to traditional truck farming. Farms allow fresh fruit picking by Long Islanders for much of the year. Fishing continues to be an important industry, especially at Northport and Montauk.

Government and politics

Nassau County and Suffolk County each have their own governments, with a County Executive leading each. Each has a county legislature and countywide-elected officials, such as district attorney, county clerk and county comptroller. The towns in both counties have their own governments as well, with town supervisors and a town council. Within Nassau, there are two small incorporated cities (Glen Cove and Long Beach) with a combined population of about 65,000.

Brooklyn and Queens, on the other hand, do not have independent county governments. As boroughs of New York City, both have Borough Presidents, largely ceremonial offices with little political power.

The shutdown of the city's Board of Estimate due to a Supreme Court decision declaring it unconstitutional, led to a reorganization of the city government.

Long Island Native American History is home to two Indian reservations

Poospatuck Reservation Shinnecock Reservation

Both Reservations find their home in Suffolk County. Numerous island place names (Towns) are Native American in origin.

Law enforcement and crime

In 2005, Forbes magazine listed Long Island (Nassau & Suffolk counties) as having 2,042 crimes per 100,000 residents, less than half the US average.^[18]

Queens and Brooklyn are patrolled by the New York City Police Department;

Nassau has its own police department, as does Suffolk. New York State Police patrol state parks and parkways; several dozen villages and the two cities in Nassau have their own police departments.

Both Nassau and Suffolk have a sheriff's office that handles civil process, evictions, warrant service and enforcement, prisoner transport and detention, and operation of the county jail.

The Nassau County Sheriff's Department employs about 1,000 correction officers and 100 deputy sheriffs and performs the above duties although deputy sheriffs have full police officer powers and can make arrests for any crime they come across.

The Suffolk County Sheriff's Office has approximately 900 correction officers and 260 deputy sheriffs and operates the two jail facilities in Suffolk County. The deputy sheriffs in Suffolk County have a full service patrol unit, including K9, Aviation, SWAT, and Marine divisions as well as a Criminal Investigation Division and various other special details and assignments. N.Y.S Court Officers secure court houses for Long Island courts. Additionally, the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department now maintains patrols along the Long Island Expressway as well as Sunrise Highway. State parkways are still patrolled by the New York State Police.

Secession proposals

On March 28, 2008 Suffolk County, New York Comptroller Joseph Sawicki and Keith Durgan proposed a plan that would make Long Island (specifically, Nassau and Suffolk counties) the 51st state of the United States of America.^[19] Sawicki says that all the Long Island taxpayers' money would stay on Long Island, rather than the funds being dispersed all over the entire state of New York. The state of Long Island would include over 2.7 million people. So far Nassau County executives have not expressed interest in joining in the secession proposal, which would need to be approved by the NY State Legislature.^[19]

Transportation

Every major form of transportation serves Long Island, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Long Island MacArthur Airport, multiple smaller airports, railroads, subways, and several major highways. There are historic and modern bridges, recreational and commuter trails, and ferries serving various parts of all of Long island.

The Long Island Expressway, Northern State Parkway, and Southern State Parkway, all products of the automobile-centered planning of Robert Moses, make east-west travel on the island straightforward, if not always quick.

There are currently ten road crossings out of Long Island, all within New York City limits at the extreme western end of the island. Plans for a Long Island Crossing at various locations in Nassau and Suffolk Counties have been discussed for decades, but there are currently no firm plans to construct such a crossing.

The MTA implements mass transportation for The New York metropolitan area, including all five boroughs of New York City, the suburban counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester, all of which together are the "Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD)".

The MTA is the largest public transportation provider in the Western Hemisphere. Its agencies serve 14.6 million people spread over 5,000 square miles (13,000 km²) from New York City through southeastern New York State (including Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley), and Connecticut.

Combined the MTA agencies now move more than 2.6 billion rail and bus customers a year while employing some 70,000 workers.

Major roads of Long Island
West-East Roads Montauk Highway Sunrise Highway* Belt Parkway / Southern State Parkway Hempstead Turnpike Grand Central Parkway / Northern State Parkway Long Island Expressway Jericho Turnpike/Middle Country Road Northern Boulevard	South-North Roads Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Van Wyck Expressway Cross Island Parkway Meadowbrook State Parkway Wantagh State Parkway Newbridge Road Cedar Swamp Road/Broadway Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway Broad Hollow Road Deer Park Avenue Robert Moses Causeway Sagtikos State Parkway Sunken Meadow State Parkway Islip Avenue Nicolls Road William Floyd Parkway
Roads in boldface are limited access roads. *Sunrise Highway is only limited-access from western Suffolk county eastwards.

All bus stops are in effect at all times unless otherwise indicated by signage.

See Also Suffolk County Transit

Rail

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is the busiest commuter railroad system in North America, carrying an average of 282,400 customers each weekday on 728 daily trains. Chartered on April 24, 1834, it is also the oldest railroad still operating under its original name.^[20]

Education

Primary and secondary education

Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties are home to 125 public school districts containing a total of 656 public schools. In contrast, all of Brooklyn and Queens are served by the New York City Department of Education, the largest school district in the United States. Long Island is also home to a number of private and parochial schools.

Colleges and universities

Nassau and Suffolk counties are home to numerous colleges and universities, including:

Public Branches of the State University of New York Stony Brook University, including Stony Brook Southampton campus SUNY College at Old Westbury Farmingdale State College Nassau Community College Suffolk County Community College Federal Service Academies United States Merchant Marine Academy

Private Adelphi University in Nassau County Briarcliffe College - in Queens at Long Island City; Nassau at Bethpage; and Suffolk at Patchogue Dowling College - three campuses in Suffolk County Five Towns College in Suffolk County Hofstra University in Nassau County Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus Molloy College - in Rockville Centre, Nassau County New York Institute of Technology - main campus in Nassau, campus also in Suffolk (and in Manhattan) Polytechnic Institute of New York University (formerly Polytechnic University, now part of NYU) - has a "Long Island Graduate Center" in Suffolk, at Melville Saint John's University (Suffolk Campus)[21] Saint Joseph's College (Suffolk Campus) SBI-Melville - Sanford-Brown Institute campus in Suffolk County at Melville Touro Law Center in Suffolk County Watson School of Biological Sciences in Suffolk County Webb Institute in Nassau County

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For colleges in Brooklyn and Queens, see List of colleges and universities in New York City.

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Leisure and recreation

Resort areas

East-End Resort areas

• See More
  • The Hamptons

Food

Both Nassau and Suffolk County are home to thousands of restaurants. As New York is known as a melting pot, every kind of restaurant from Mexican to Hungarian to Indian to Bengali can be found. These specialty restaurants are often family owned.

Small family-owned pizzerias are ubiquitous. It is not uncommon for a town on Long Island to have several different pizzerias, each with its own distinct flavor. The Long Island Pizza Festival & Bake-Off is an annual competition in which "mom and pop" pizzerias compete to be named best on Long Island.

Bagel stores and delis are common. Some bagel stores are Jewish-owned and approved as kosher. Long Island bagels are considered some of the best in the world. Often more than one deli can be found in a town.

Diners also abound on Long Island; many are Greek- and German-owned, and many, depending on the business of the town, are open all night, for late-night patrons.

Almost all major fast food and casual dining chains have a presence on Long Island.

Long Island Attractions

New York City - Long Island	Landmark	Photo	Description	Dates
Kings	Brooklyn Museum		Located on Long Island in the New York City's borough of Brooklyn, It is the second-largest art museum in New York City, and one of the largest in the United States.	1897
Kings	Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir		The Brooklyn Tabernacle is one of New york cities largest Churches and Grammy Award winning Choir	1981
Kings	Brooklyn Bridge		Built in 1874, it is the oldest existing suspension bridge in the U.S.	1874
Kings	Coney Island		Between about 1880 and World War II, Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States	1880's to present
Kings	Prospect Park		The country’s longest open park meadow, with ancient trees in Brooklyn’s only extant forest.	1898
Queens	The Mets at Citi Field		The home stadium of the New York Mets baseball team.	2009
Queens	Rockaway Peninsula		Also known as The Rockaways, is a popular summer resort area since the 1830s,	1830
Queens	The Unisphere		The symbol of Queens, the Unisphere is a giant globe in Flushing Meadows Park.	1964
Nassau	Jones Beach		Jones Beach Tower, now a familiar Jones Beach State Park landmark, was modeled on the campanile of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice.	1928
Nassau	Old Westbury Gardens		Charles II - Westbury House, style mansion designed by George A. Crawley, contains 23 rooms. The grounds cover 160 acres.	1903
Nassau	Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park		an arboretum and state park covering over 400 acres (160 ha) located in the Village of Upper Brookville in the town of Oyster Bay, New York.	1918 - 1921
Nassau	Sagamore Hill		Sagamore Hill was the home of the 26th President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt from 1886 until his death in 1919.	1884
Suffolk	American Airpower Museum		The American Airpower Museum, the former site of the Republic factory in Farmingdale, New York, maintains a collection of Republic artifacts, and an array of aircraft spanning the many years of the aircraft factories history.	Post WWII
Suffolk	Bald Hill		Bald Hill Memorial is located in Farmingville, NY This destination pays tribute to our Veterans to honor the men and women that served our country during the Vietnam War.	1991
Suffolk	Captree State Park		A state park located on the south shore off Jones Island (the barrier island that includes Jones Beach), overlooking the Fire Island Inlet Bridge and the westernmost section of Fire Island. Captree is a fisherman's haven and a picnicker's delight.|| 1954
Suffolk	Fire Island Light		Fire Island Lighthouse is a 180 foot Stone tower that began operation in 1858 to replace the 74 foot tower originally built in 1826.	1826 (Rebuilt) 1858
Suffolk	Great South Bay Bridge		The Robert Moses Causeway, over The State Channel and Fire Island inlet Bridges to one of Long Island’s great Atlantic coast Islands such as Fire and Jones Island connecting New York’s Ocean Parkway	1963
Suffolk	Long Island Game Farm		(Petting Zoo) with over 200 animals. The Long Island Game Farm is one of the Islands oldest and most well-known establishments.	1970
Suffolk	Port Jefferson Harbor		Port Jefferson Harbor continues to attract mariners, visitors, tourists, and families to an area where natural beauty is the setting for a wide variety of human activities, including ferry service to Connecticut.	Early 1900's
Suffolk	Splish Splash		Splish Splash is a 96-acre water park in Riverhead, New York.	1991

Athletics

Long Island is home to numerous famous athletes, including hall of famers Jim Brown, Julius Erving, John Mackey and Carl Yastrzemski. Others include Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Billy Donovan, Jumbo Elliott, Mick Foley, Zack Ryder, Matt Serra, Boomer Esiason, Vinny Testaverde, Craig Biggio, Frank Catalanotto, Greg Sacks, Rob Burnett, Steve Park, Frank Viola, Marques Colston and Speedy Claxton. Several current NHL Players such as New York Rangers Christopher Higgins and Matt Gilroy as well as Toronto Maple Leaf Mike Komisarek and Los Angeles King Rob Scuderi were all raised on Long Island. Both Komisarek and Higgins played on the same Suffolk County Hockey League team at an early age, and later played on the Montreal Canadiens together.

Professional Teams on Long Island

Club	Sport	Founded	League	Venue
Long Island Rough Riders	Soccer	1994	United Soccer Leagues	Mitchel Athletic Complex
New York Islanders	Ice hockey	1972	National Hockey League	Nassau Coliseum
Long Island Lizards	Lacrosse	2001	Major League Lacrosse	Mitchel Athletic Complex
New York Titans	Indoor lacrosse	2007	National Lacrosse League	Nassau Coliseum/MSG
New York Dragons	Arena Football	1995	Arena Football League	Nassau Coliseum
Long Island Ducks	Baseball	2000	Atlantic League	Citibank Park
Strong Island Sound	Basketball	2005	American Basketball Association	Suffolk County Community College
New York Mets	Baseball	1962	Major League Baseball	Citi Field
Brooklyn Cyclones	Baseball	2001	New York-Penn League	KeySpan Park

Ebbets Field, which stood in Brooklyn from 1913 to 1957, was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, who decamped to California after the 1957 season to become the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers won several National League penants in the 1940s and 1950s, losing several times in the World Series—often called Subway Series—to their Bronx rivals, the New York Yankees. The Dodgers won their lone championship in Brooklyn in the 1955 World Series versus the Yankees. The Barclays Center is a proposed sports arena, business and residential complex to be built partly on a platform over the Atlantic Yards at Atlantic Avenue, and is intended to serve as a new home for the New Jersey Nets.

The New York Mets baseball team now plays at the new Citi Field in Flushing, Queens. Their former stadium, Shea Stadium was also home for The New York Jets football team from 1964 until 1983. The new stadium is designed with an exterior facade and main entry rotunda inspired by Ebbets Field. The Brooklyn Cyclones are a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the New York Mets. The Cyclones play at KeySpan Park just off the boardwalk on Coney Island in Brooklyn.

Nassau County is home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League and the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League, who both play at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. Long Island has been a hot spot for outdoor lacrosse at the youth and college level, which made way for a Major League Lacrosse team in 2001, the Long Island Lizards. The Lizards play at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. The longest dirt Thoroughbred racecourse in the world is located in the Nassau County community of Elmont at Belmont Park.

Long Island is also home to the Long Island Ducks minor league baseball team of the Atlantic League. Their stadium, Citibank Park, is located in Central Islip. The American Basketball Association's Strong Island Sound play home games at Suffolk County Community College. The two main rugby teams are the Long Island RFC in East Meadow and the Suffolk Bull Moose in Stony Brook. It also has a professional soccer club, the Long Island Rough Riders, who play at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. The Rough Riders have won two national championships, in 1995 and 2002.

Another category of sporting events popular in this region are Firematic Racing events, involving many local Volunteer fire departments.

Long Island also hosts one of the four tennis grand slams, the US Open. Every August (September, in olympic years) the best tennis players in the world travel to Long Island to play the championships, which is held in the USTA National Tennis Center, in Corona Park, near the La Guardia Airport. The complex also contains the biggest tennis stadium in the world, the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Music

Music on Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk) is influenced by the proximity to New York City and by the youth culture of the suburbs.

Psychedelic rock was widely popular in the 1960s as flocks of disaffected youth travelled to NYC to participate in protest and the culture of the time. R & B also has a history on Long Island, especially in Nassau County, where population is denser and more closely influenced by New York City.

Nikon at Jones Beach Theater is an outdoor amphitheatre, located at Jones Beach State Park.

Jones Beach State Park is a popular place to view summer concerts, with new as well as classic artists performing there during the summer months at its outdoor venue. It hosts a large Fourth of July fireworks show every year, and the stands are filled. People park cars along the highway leading to the show, and others watch from the nearby beaches.^[22]

Long Island is also known for its schools' music programs. Many schools in Suffolk County have distinguished music programs, with high numbers of students who are accepted into the state-wide All-State music groups, or even the National All-Eastern Coast music groups. Both the Suffolk County and Nassau County Music Educator's Associations are recognized by The National Association of Music Education (MENC),^[23][24] and host numerous events, competitions, and other music-related activities.

Notable musicians of the Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk County) music scene include;

Billy Joel, Pat Benatar, Lou Reed,[25] Paul Simon, Johnny Ramone, Dream Theater, Debbie Gibson, Eddie Money, John Tesh, Public Enemy, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, Shaggy, folk singer Oscar Brand, Harry Chapin, De La Soul, Brooklyn Bridge, Ashanti, Dee Snider, Art Garfunkel, Lindsay Lohan, Suffocation, Chuck D, Flavor Flav, EPMD, Rakim, Blue Öyster Cult, Stray Cats, Nine Days, Vanilla Fudge, Marty Beller and Danny Weinkauf, Glassjaw, Taking Back Sunday, Sam "Bluzman" Taylor, Straylight Run, Patent Pending, Nightmare of You, Latterman, From Autumn to Ashes, Brand New, Bayside, The Sleeping, The Movielife, Steve Vai, Stereo Skyline, Joe Satriani, and Lee Ranaldo, and underground MCs Aesop Rock and MF Doom.[26][27] Kings and Queens have numerous hip-hop artists, included are: Jay Z, Nas, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Mobb Deep, LL Cool J, Q-Tip, Fugees, Mos Def, Foxy Brown, Fabolous, Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, the Beastie Boys, They Might Be Giants, folk artist Run-D.M.C., and A Tribe Called Quest.

Long Island gallery

Mascot Dock- Village of Patchogue	Swan River Long Island	Port Jefferson ferry	Barrier Islands boardwalk
Old Field lighthouse	Looking out from - Montauk Lighthouse.	Nissequogue River State Park	Verrazano-Narrows Bridge - Brooklyn to Staten Island
Fire Island Light	Long Island Vineyards	Citi Field Queens, NYC	Flushing Meadows Corona Park Queens, NYC
Stony Brook, New York	2009 Jones Beach Airshow	The Fire Island Bridge	New York/Long Island Coast Guard
The Brooklyn Bridge	Patchogue Bay	Orient Point	Calverton National Cemetery
Long Island Hard Clam	LIRR	Bald Hill Farmingville, NY	NY/LI Metro

See also

• Geography and environment of New York City
• List of Long Islanders, famous residents of Nassau and Suffolk
• List of people from New York City, including famous residents of Brooklyn and Queens
• List of references to Long Island places in popular culture
• Long Island Association
• Long Island Marathon
• Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant

References

External links

• Long Island travel guide from Wikitravel

Coordinates: 40°48′N 73°18′W / 40.8°N 73.3°W / 40.8; -73.3

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From Wikitravel

For other places with the same name, see Long Island (disambiguation).

Long Island is an island stretching eastward from New York City in the Metro New York region. The largely suburban area is approximately 115 miles long from Brooklyn and Queens at the western end, to Montauk at the easternmost point. At its widest the island is approximately 20 miles from north to south. While Long Island geographically includes Brooklyn and Queens, politically Long Island in general includes Nassau County and Suffolk County of New York State only.

The primary tourist attractions are the large number of excellent beaches along Long Island Sound to the north and especially along the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The North Fork is also home to many wineries. Other attractions include harbor towns such as Port Jefferson, where a variety of eateries and small businesses thrive in a bohemian atmosphere.

• Nassau County
• Suffolk County

Cities

Long Island is essentially a suburban area throughout (except for the Twin Forks region, which is rural) and has few major cities.

• Brookhaven
• East Hampton
• Huntington
• Islip
• Mineola
• Shelter Island
• Ronkonkoma
• Bay Shore

• Fire Island
• The Hamptons
• Shelter Island
• The North Fork

Understand

Long Island consists of Nassau and Suffolk counties. Queens and Brooklyn are boroughs of New York City, and are generally not considered to be part of "Long Island," even though they are physically part of the island. A generation or so ago, Suffolk had a lot more farmland; the only remaining farmland is on the East End, where one can find many farmers' markets and wineries. Brookhaven National Laboratory's particle accelerator in Upton is visible from space.

Tourist Information

The Long Island Conventions & Visitors Bureau [1] provides information about Long Island and the places to visit.

• The daily, Island-wide newspaper is Newsday, which also provides a detailed history of the island. [2].

• News 12 on Cable TV (Cablevision) also covers local news.

• MacArthur Airport in Islip is a convenient regional airport centrally located on Long Island.

• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), [3] is convenient because the AirTrain connects JFK's monorail system to the LIRR at Jamaica or Howard Beach Stations for only $5.

• LaGuardia Airport (LGA), [4].

• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), [5] is located to the west of the Island (and New York City) in the state of New Jersey.

• The Long Island Railroad [6] runs from Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan to various points on Long Island on many branches. Service is not as frequent as the NYC subways.

• Ferries from north shore of Long Island Sound.

• There are many controlled-access highways that run through New York City from Connecticut and New Jersey. It is advisable, however, to travel on routes that do not cross Manhattan Island (where traffic is perpetually horrendous). From New Jersey, I-278 runs across Staten Island to Brooklyn where major roads (including Route 27 and the LIE) can be reached. From Connecticut, take I-95 South to I-678 and the Throgs Neck Bridge. Once into Queens, nearly every major thoroughfare is encountered while still heading south on 278.

• A convenient way to bypass most traffic is to take a car ferry from either Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson (on the North Shore in the center of Suffolk County) [7] or New London, CT to Orient Point (on the North Fork). [8] However, always check the ferry schedules while they do not operate overnight.

• The Southern State Parkway runs from East Islip to Queens where it becomes the Belt Parkway. The SSP is a very busy thoroughfare during rush hours and connects most of Nassau to each other. The Meadowbrook Parkway runs from Jones Beach, through Long Beach connecting the south shore towns to Mineola and The Northern Parkway. The Long Island Expressway, or The LIE is billed as the world's longest parking lot, especially during peak rush hours. The LIE connects Manhattan to Riverhead. Sunrise Highway, or NY-27, as a divided highway goes from Queens along the south shore of Nassau County, becoming an expressway in Babylon, back to a divided highway in Suffolk County and ending at the east end of the island in Montauk.

• Long Island Bus has a main terminal in Hempstead. There is also a terminal which serves about 4 or 5 different buses in Mineola that take you to the North Shore. Long Island Rail Road (which has a major transfer point at the Jamaica LIRR which nearly EVERY train line goes through) can take you to Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.

• Atlantis Marine World Aquarium [9] - Located in Riverhead at the end of the Long Island Expressway. Has stingray and shark petting, large tank with sharks, moray eel, turtles and manta rays, outdoor exhibits including emus and tortoises. Many conservation efforts.

• The Americana mall (popularly called the Miracle Mile, like in the Billy Joel song "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me). Some of the richest people on the island shop in this stretch of conspicuous consumption, beautiful store layouts, and mind-boggling prices. On Northern Boulevard in Manhasset.

• Long Island has some great villages, like Great Neck and Huntington where you can just wander around and see cute little stores and take in nice views.

• Port Washington has a beautiful bay with a public park where you can see all the boats and the water.

• Drive around Old Brookville and look at how gigantic the houses are.

• Sagamore Hills [10] It is the summer-home of President Theodore Roosevelt. Includes tours, a museum, and a visitor center. It is run by the National Park Service.

• The Hicksville Gregory Museum [11], which has hundreds of scientific specimens.

• The Cradle of Aviation [12], a museum about airplanes and the history of aviation.

• Garvies Point Museum and Preserve [13], which has Native American artifacts.

• Sands Point Preserve [14], with its two castles.

• Old Bethpage Village Restoration, which has a farm as well as houses and businesses from the early-to-mid 1800's.

• The Village of Roslyn, which is a historic town located on Hempstead Harbor on the North Shore. Homes date from the 17th Century.

• Sagtikos Manor [15] Montauk Highway and Manor Lane, West Bay Shore. Sagtikos Manor, built in 1697, served briefly as headquarters for the British army during the Revolutionary War. President George Washington stayed there during his tour of Long Island in 1790. Take a tour of the Manor House led by costumed docents and stroll through the grounds and nearby Gardiner County Park. June, Sundays 1-4PM, July & August, Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday 1-4PM, 631-854-0939. Robert Moses Causeway Exit RM2E Bay Shore. Turn right onto Rt 27A and continue east approx. 1/2 mile. Entrance on left.

• Splish Splash water park at exit 73 of the LIE.
• Tanger Outlets in Riverhead & Deer Park.
• Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City.
• Bar hop through Huntington
• Strike Go-Karts/Bowling/Arcade in New Hyde Park.
• ICE Nightclub in Farmingdale.
• Jones Beach and Captree State Park
• Go see the Amityville Horror House in Amityville.
• Swim at any of the great beaches. Jones, Hamptons, Montauk

Eat

Long Island is a lot like New Jersey and parts of Connecticut inasmuch as a there are a lot of 24 hour diners that serve pretty much anything whenever. Young people congregate in these diners at odd hours, and they can be found spread out on the major roads like Jericho Turnpike or Sunrise Highway. Long Island is also like a lot of suburbia as some of the most popular restaurants are just classy chain restaurants.

• Peter Leuger's Steakhouse in Brooklyn is a decent steakhouse

• The restaurant at the Jedediah Hawkins House [16] in Jamesport is really good and in a beautiful setting.

• The really amazing New York restaurant, Il Mulino, has a location in Roslyn.

• Mama's in Copiague has some of the best Italian food

• Kitchen Kabaret in East Hills (Roslyn), while not the best ambiance for a restaurant, has great food to take out. Very popular for rich kids getting lunch and upscale north shore catering.

• The Cider Mill in Laurel on Route 25 has the best pies.

• All-American Drive-in in Masssapequa has the great hamburgers.

• Bobbique in Patchogue has fantastic real pit barbecue and lots of great beers on tap. Not for vegetarians.

• The Milleridge Inn in Jericho is a rustic eatery perfect for dinner or classy lunch.

Many major fast food chains and chain casual dining restaurants have locations on Long Island.

Drink

The well known cocktail, the Long Island Iced Tea, was first created on Long Island. One of the most celebrated local beers is called Blue Point [17], named for the town of the same name.

Drinking on Long Island is tough because you need a car to get around. At night, there is little public transportation, but there are taxis. The south shore has some good bars, but except for Huntington the north shore is notoriously at a lack for popular hangouts. The Hamptons have many classy bars.

Stay safe

Be smart, don't travel to towns with a lot of crime at night. These towns include: Roosevelt, Hempstead, North Amityville, North Baldwin, Wyandanch, Rosedale, North Bay Shore, Central Islip, New Cassel, Uniondale, Brentwood, Freeport and West Babylon. In the daytime, these areas are generally safe.

Get out

Manhattan or Connecticut.

Or Brooklyn!

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From LoveToKnow 1911

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Proper noun 1.1.1 Derived terms 1.1.2 Translations

English

Wikipedia

Proper noun

Long Island

1. An island in New York.

Derived terms

• Long Islander
• Long Island iced tea
• Strong Island (slang)

Translations

• Japanese: ロングアイランド ja(ja) (ronguairando)