Plainview, New York

Plainview, New York
CDP
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	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	11803
Area code	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.

Geography

Plainview is located at 40°46′48″N 73°28′46″W (40.779911, -73.479483)Template:GR.

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.

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.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, 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.

School System

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

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 (built 1960) and John F. Kennedy High School (built 1966); 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.

Closed Schools

• Fern Place (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 (now the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County)
• 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)
• Central Park Road (demolished)
• The Little Red School House (demolished)
• Oak Drive (demolished)

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.

Recreation

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. 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. 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.

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.

Media

Television

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

Movies

Until the 1980s there were several movie theaters in the community. Seeing their patrons go 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). It was converted into an office building, housing mostly medical offices.

Interesting Facts

• Jeffrey Miller, one of four students killed in the Kent State Massacre, was born and raised in Plainview.
• 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, was for many years, 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 very gardener mentioned above, 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. 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. The property is located on Washington Avenue and has no signage to indicate its presence. The property's main house still exists.
• Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Charles W. Shea, lived in Plainview. While serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Mr. Shea was ordered to take a hill near Mount Damiano, Italy. While under heavy enemy fire, Mr. Shea proceeded up the hill, alone, lobbing grenades at the enemy, engaging in a fire fight, killing three gunners and ultimately obtaining the surrender of 6 enemy soldiers before completing his mission and taking the hill.
• The building located at 1535 Old Country Road, now housing the corporate offices of the New York Islanders and New York Dragons as well as the Plainview Chinese Cultural Center, is owned by Charles Wang, and was originally built as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients.
• Marc Iavaroni, a graduate of Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School and the University of Virginia played for three National Basketball Association teams between 1982 and 1989 including the 1983 NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers. After finishing his playing career overseas, Iavaroni began his coaching career as an assistant at University of Virginia in 1992. After serving as an assistant coach for three NBA teams, Iavaroni was named the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies on May 30, 2007.

External links

• Plainview-Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce
• Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District
• Plainview-Old Bethpage Library
• Plainview-Old Bethpage Fire Department
• Plainview-Old Bethpage Herald
• Plainview Hospital

Sources

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