{{See also|List of Long Island law enforcement agencies}}
{{See also|List of Long Island law enforcement agencies}}
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.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/05/04/cz_05bestplaces_bestcrimeslide.html Forbes.com]</ref>
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.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/05/04/cz_05bestplaces_bestcrimeslide.html Forbes.com]</ref>
[[Image:NCPD EMS.jpg|left|150px]]
Queens and Brooklyn are patrolled by the [[New York City Police Department]]; Nassau has its own [[Nassau County Police Department|police department]], as does [[Suffolk County Police Department|Suffolk]]. [[New York State Police]] patrol state parks and parkways; several dozen villages and the two cities in Nassau have their own police departments.
Queens and Brooklyn are patrolled by the [[New York City Police Department]]; Nassau has its own [[Nassau County Police Department|police department]], as does [[Suffolk County Police Department|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.
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.[[Image:Suffolk County New York Police Boat on Fire Island.jpg|right|150px]]
The [[Suffolk County, New York Sheriff's Office|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. [[New York State Court Officers|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.
The [[Suffolk County, New York Sheriff's Office|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. [[New York State Court Officers|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.
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. Numerous bridges and tunnels through Brooklyn and Queens connect 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 kilometres) from New York Harbor, and has a maximum width of 23 miles (37 kilometres) 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] with the population estimated at 7.7 million as of July 1, 2008,[citation needed] 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.
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 suburbanNassau 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 in the cliffs of the Gold Coast of the North Shore overlooking Long Island Sound and South Shore hugging the Atlantic Ocean. 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 Roaring Twenties established large estates on the North Shore and South Shore. Today, many exist in their original state, while others have been donated to the public as 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 the 2000 Census, 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.[3]
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.
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.[4]
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 centimetres), 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 centimetres) or more. There are also some very quiet winters, in which most parts of the island could see less than 10 inches (25 centimetres).
An Animated Map of a Nor'easter's Movement.
Long Island is somewhat vulnerable to hurricanes.[5] 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
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[6] 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 a substantial Italian-American population. There are roughly 800,000 residents of Italian-American ancestry residing on Long Island. Long Island has also been referred to as the most segregated suburb in the United States.[7]
Source for Race and Ethnicity: 2000 Census[6] 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".
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.
The Brooklyn Bridge is the first of seven bridges constructed across the East River, connecting Long Island with the Borough of Manhattan (in background).
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 square kilometres) of Queens County, which were not part of the consolidation plan,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
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.
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 having their headquarters and factories in the Bethpage area.
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.
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.
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.[16]
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.
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.[17] 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.[17]
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.
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.[18]
Schematic map of LIRR system
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.
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 as well with the exception of Dairy Queen and Sonic.
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.
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.
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.
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.||
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
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.
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 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
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.[20]
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),[21][22] and host numerous events, competitions, and other music-related activities.
^John Burbidge (2004-11-21). "Long Island at its Best; Who's the Longest of Them All?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-16. But the court wasn't saying Long Island isn't an island in a geographical sense", he continued. "In fact, all parties involved in the case agreed Long Island is a geographical island. It was only for the purposes of the case that the island was declared an extension of New York's coastline.
^"Of Interest to Politicians". The New York Times. 1894-09-13 (before vote). p. 9. Retrieved 2007-12-28. The question of the Greater New-York, which is also to be submitted to the people at this coming election, involves the proposition to unite in one city the following cities, counties, and towns: New-York City, Long Island City, in Queens County; the County of Kings, (Brooklyn;) the County of Richmond, (S.I.;) the towns of Flushing, Newtown, Jamaica, in Queens County; the town of Westchester, in Westchester County, and all that portion of the towns of East Chester and Pelham which lies south of a straight line drawn from a point where the northerly line of the City of New-York meets the centre line of the Bronx River, to the middle of the channel between Hunter's and Glen Islands, in Long Island Sound, and that part of the town of Hempstead, in Queens County, which is westerly of a straight line drawn from the south-easterly point of the town of Flushing in a straight line to the Atlantic Ocean.{{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^"Greater New-York in Doubt: The City Vote is for it and Brooklyn is uncertain". NY Times. 1894-11-08 (before results of Queens vote known). Retrieved 2007-12-28. The increase in area and population that New-York will acquire if consolidation becomes a fact will become evident by a glance at the following table... Flushing... * Part of the town of Hempstead... Jamaica... Long Island City ... Newtown... The townships in Queens County that are to be included in the Greater New-York have not been heard from yet...{{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |note= ignored (help)
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