|
LONG ISLAND
,
NY
Long Island
,
NY
is the largest island, by area, in the
U.S.
with a population of about 7.7 million in its 118 mile length from
New York
Harbor
to its eastern terminus on the
Atlantic Ocean at
Montauk Point
.
It is about 28 miles in width from Long
Island Sound on the north to the
Atlantic Ocean
on the south. Its western end includes the
New York City
boroughs of Queens and
Brooklyn
. When Long Island is defined it generally excludes the Queens
and Brooklyn sections of
New York City
.
Long Island's political
divisions consist of
Nassau
and
Suffolk
Counties
, 11 towns and 109 villages -- all with their own administrations.
The area has had a historical past from the arrival of the first
settlers. Here are interesting facts:
Mastic was the home of William Floyd,
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Long Island
's first two settlements were Southold and Southampton,
in 1640.
Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk is
the site of the oldest cattle ranch in
America
, built in 1658, and birthplace of the American cowboy
The Lighthouse at Montauk became NY's first
coastal beacon in 1796. George Washington
commissioned the Montauk Lighthouse
so that the ships coming in from Europe could identify the
Atlantic Ocean
from the Long Island Sound.
The first radio transmission, by wireless inventor Guglielmo Marconi,
was in 1901 on
Fire Island Avenue
in
Babylon
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took
off from Roosevelt Field,
as he embarked on the first non-stop solo flight across the
Atlantic Ocean
.
America
's first supermarket, King Kullen,
started on
Long Island
in 1930.
Levittown, the first suburbia in
the
U.S.
, was built on
Long Island
in 1947.
The Lunar Module which landed men on the moon in 1969, was built on
Long Island
by the Grumman Corp.
The only working water mill and windmill in the
US
are located in the
Long Island
community of Water Mill.
Richard Nixon's deceased
dog Checkers is buried at Long Island's
Bide-a-Wee
Pet
Cemetery
.
When the
Brooklyn
Bridge
was completed in 1883, it became the first land-transport route between
Long Island and mainland
USA
. Before that, the only way to travel between the two was by boat.
Long Island was sculpted by melted glaciers,
which is why there is a clear difference between the hilly
North
Shore
and the flat South Shore of Long Island.
Long Island is the most populated island in the
United States
and the 17th most populated island in the world. Interesting fact: Long
Island is more populated than the entire country of
Jamaica
and of
Ireland
!
If
Long Island
was its own state, it would rank 12th in terms of population.
Robert Moses creation of a
cars-only parkway system
created the modern suburbs of
Long Island
and influenced a generation of engineers, architects and urban planners
across the nation
The North Shore is known for its large mansions, exclusive vacationing,
and rich history of its affluent citizens and architecture. The
South
Shore
hosts more entertainment and sports venues together
with Atlantic Ocean beaches such as
Jones
Beach
.
The largest industrial park in the
US
is located on
Long Island
- The Hauppauge Industrial Park which houses 1,300 companies and
employs more than 55,000 people.
Together
Nassau
and
Suffolk
counties' nearly 180 fire agencies possess more fire trucks
than
New York City
and
Los Angeles
County
combined.
Suffolk
County
is the leading agricultural county in
New York
State
based on the wholesale value of its farm products.
More 7-Eleven coffee is purchased on Long Island than in all of
California
.
Fire Island
got its name in the 17th century when it built fires to identify the coastline to
the ships in the ocean.
After World War II, the Japanese were nationalized and
able to fly to just 5 places in the country with Idlewild Airport
(JFK International) being one, which is why Canon, Nikon and Olympus located
their corporate offices there.
The Town of
Hempstead
with 800,000 residents is the largest township in the
country, larger than
Boston
,
San Francisco
and
Baltimore
.
The
Nassau
and
Suffolk
population is greater than 20 of 50 states.
Hicksville
was the original home of Fudpucker World
Airlines, the Worlds only steam powered Airline.
Long Island is the largest college "town" in the
US
with 175,000 students registered in 21 colleges.
Long Island
has the highest level of volunteerism in
the world.
|
