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Levittown, New York

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Levittown, a suburb of New York City, is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is mid way between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 53,067.

Levittown, New York
CDP
U.S. Census Map
U.S. Census Map
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyNassau
Area
 • Total6.9 sq mi (17.8 km2)
 • Land6.9 sq mi (17.8 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
82 ft (25 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total53,067
 • Density7,717.5/sq mi (2,979.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
11756
Area code516
FIPS code36-42081
GNIS feature ID0955234

Levittown gets its name from its builder, the firm of Levitt & Sons, Inc., which built it as a planned community between 1947 and 1951. Levittown was the first truly mass-produced suburb and is widely regarded as the archetype for postwar suburbs throughout the country.

History

The building firm, Levitt and Sons, headed by Abraham Levitt and his two sons, William and Alfred, built four planned communities called "Levittown" (in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Puerto Rico), but Levittown, New York was the first. Levitt and Sons designs are prevalent in the older portion of Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

Levittown was built on what used to be potato farms in an area previously known as Island Trees.[1] Levitt and Sons built the community with an eye towards speed, efficiency and cost-effective construction, which methods led to a production rate of 30 houses a day by July of 1948.[2] They used pre-cut lumber and nails shipped from their own factories in Blue Lake, California and built on concrete slabs, as they had done in a previous planned community in Norfolk, Virginia. This necessitated negotiating a change in the building code, which prior to the building of this community did not permit concrete slabs. Given the urgent need for housing in the region, the Town agreed. Levitt and Sons also controversially utilized non-union contractors in the project.

The planned 2,000 home rental community was quickly successful, with New York Herald Tribune reporting that half of the properties had been rented within two days of the community being announced on May 7, 1947. As demand continued, exceeding availability, the Levitts expanded their project with 4,000 more homes as well as community services, including schools and postal delivery.

In 1949, Levitt and Sons changed focus, unveiling a new plan which it termed a "ranch" house. Larger, 32 feet (9.8 m) by 25 feet (7.6 m), and more modern, these homes were not intended for rental, but sale, with a planned price of $7,990. The ranch homes were similar to the rental properties in that they were built on concrete slabs, included an expandable attic but no garage, and were heated with hot-water radiant heating pipes. Five models were offered that were substantially identical with differences in details such as exterior color and window-placement. Again, demand was high, requiring that the purchasing process be streamlined as the assembly process had been, reaching the point that a buyer could walk through the process of selecting a house through contracting for its purchase in three minutes. This ranch model was altered in 1950 to include a carport and a built-in television. In 1951, a partially finished attic was added to the design.

Levittown proved successful. By 1951, it and surrounding regions included 17,447 homes constructed by Levitt and Sons.

Place in American culture

As the first and one of the largest mass-produced suburbs, Levittown quickly became a symbol of postwar suburbia, for good and for bad. Although Levittown provided affordable houses in what many residents felt to be a congenial community, critics damned its homogeneity, blandness, and racial exclusivity (the initial lease prohibited rental to non-whites). Today, "Levittown" is used as a term of derogation to describe overly-sanitized suburbs consisting largely of tract housing. Oddly enough, although Levittown is remembered largely for its homogeneity and conformism, the houses of Levittown have by now been so thoroughly expanded and modified by their owners that their original architectural form can be quite difficult to see.

Levittown has become so ingrained in American culture that the Smithsonian Institution in Washington would like to put on display an entire Levittown house. Bill Yeingst, a historian with Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Domestic Life Division[3] said "An original ranch model would be ideal. We would like someone to donate their Levittown house, or we would like to find a donor to provide the funds so that we could secure a Levittown house." He noted that "The stories played out in suburban Levittown are the stories of America. They are stories important to everyone." Although "None of this is set in concrete," according to Mr. Yeingst, "the Levittown house would be dismantled at the site, transported to Washington and reconstructed. Then it would be exhibited along with other innovations in American home life." [4]

Geography

Levittown is located at 40°43'28" North, 73°30'40" West (40.724468, -73.511191)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²). 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

Because of non-conforming postal codes, Levittown has a different border than does the "Levittown, NY 11756" postal zone. There are several areas of Levittown that have a "Bethpage, NY 11714", "Seaford, NY 11783" or "Wantagh, NY 11793" mailing address.

Demographics

As of the U.S. Census Estimate of 2006, there are 53,067 people, 17,207 households, and 14,109 families residing in the community. The population density is 7,717.5 per square mile (2,978.1/km²). There are 17,410 housing units at an average density of 2,531.9/sq mi (977.0/km²). The racial makeup of the area is 88.6% White, 0.2% African American, 0.07% Native American, 8.7% Asian, and 5.7% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In the community the population is spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the community is $69,923, and the median income for a family is $73,851 (these figures had risen to $85,479 and $89,345 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[5]). Males have a median income of $80,603 versus $65,962 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $35,917. 1.2% of the population and 0.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 0.9% of those under the age of 18 and 0.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Education

Levittown is primarily served by two public school districts, the Island Trees Union Free School District with 2,851 students and the Levittown Union Free School District with 7,987 students. A small portion of the northwest corner of the hamlet is served by the East Meadow Union Free School District.[6] The Island Trees Union Free School District serves northeastern Levittown and hosts Island Trees High School, Island Trees Memorial Middle School, Michael F. Stokes Elementary School and J Fred Sparke Elementary School [7]

In 1982 Island Trees gained national attention from the United States Supreme Court case Board of Education v. Pico. The case determined that students' first amendment rights were violated when the school board removed several books it found objectionable from the high school's library. [8]

The Levittown Union Free School District, which also serves North Wantagh, has two high schools: Division Avenue and General Douglas MacArthur, two middle schools: Wisdom Lane and Jonas Salk and six elementary schools: Abbey Lane, East Broadway, Gardiners Avenue, Lee Road, Northside and Summit Lane. [7] The Levittown School District dates back to the 1800s originally called the Jerusalem School District of the Town of Hempstead.

Private schools include the Maria Montessori School, Nassau Suffolk Services for Autism,[7] and the South Shore Christian Elementary and Secondary School located in the former Geneva M Gallow Elementary School building.[9] Vocational schools available are the Brittany Beauty School, Hunter Business School[7] and the New York Chiropractic College.[10]

Infrastructure

Transportation

While there is no passenger train operation in Levittown, the Long Island Railroad provides service from the Hicksville station, which serves the Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma Branches, and the Wantagh station on the Montauk-Babylon branch. Both lines run east-west between New York's Penn Station and points east on Long Island.[11]

Emergency Services

Ambulance: The Wantagh-Levittown Volunteer Ambulance Corps provides paramedic level of care.[12]

Fire: Levittown is protected by three volunteer fire departments, the Levittown Fire Department with 231 members operating out of 3 stations, Station 3 of the East Meadow Fire Department which covers portions of Levittown west of Division Avenue and Station 2 of the Wantagh Fire Department which serves portions of Levittown South of Abbey Lane School. [13]

Police: Levittown is patrolled by the eighth precinct of the Nassau County Police Department[14]

Post Office

Has one main USPS Post Office located at 180 Gardiners Ave.

Notable residents

In the media

  • The 1954 Levittown documentary A City Is Born featured an interview with creator William J. Levitt, aerial views of the development, and a 45-second time-lapse sequence showing one of the houses being constructed.[27]
  • In 1962, singing comedian Allan Sherman (famous for his novelty hit of life at summer camp, Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah) poked fun in his album My Son, the Folk Singer with a parody of Harry Belafonte's Jamaica Farewell: "I'm upside down. My head is turning around. Cause I've got to sell the house, in Levittown."[18]
  • The Lockhorns of Levittown -- later simply The Lockhorns -- sprang from the pen of cartoonist Bill Hoest on newspaper funny pages in 1968. A graduate of Cooper Union in Manhattan, Hoest moved to Long Island, where he created the suburban couple Leroy, tippling girl watcher, and Lorretta, wisecracking roast burner. The strip lived on when John Reiner and Hoest's widow, Bunny, took over after Hoest's death in 1988.[18]
  • "Former high school teacher Gene Horowitz bodice-ripping 1980 novel, The Ladies of Levittown, [28] featured a titillating account of America's most famous suburb, scandalizing many residents, who recognized their own lives depicted in the pages. The saga - taking place between 1947 and 1978 - pushes back the drapes, offering insight into the passions and disappointments of middle-class women as they struggle to reconcile their relationships with husbands, lovers and children." [18]
  • In the 1982 musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Audrey, the slum dwelling heroine, dreams of a home "Somewhere that's Green" but "Nothing fancy like Levittown."
  • 1985 W. D. Wetherell published short story, The Man Who Loved Levittown, in a collection of the same name.[29]The The Library Journal reviewed the story (an O'Henry prizewinner) as "a World War II vet buys a house in Levittown where he spends the best years of his life. His wife has died, his grown children have left, and one by one his neighbors are selling out and moving to Florida. Beneath the talky, narrative voice of this story you discover the internal logic of a man pushed beyond reason to a desperate act".[30]
  • Stewart Bird's 1994 documentary Building The American Dream: Levittown, NY explores Levitt's vision of rapidly constructing inexpensive tract homes, featuring rare archival footage and photos, an interview with Levitt and the reminiscences of numerous Levittown residents (including singer Billy Joel). [31]
  • October 24, 1997, Wonderland, a satirical documentary about Levittown (produced and directed by John O'Hagan) premiered at TriBeCa. A New York Times review described it as follows: "The collective picture that emerges suggests a smug city slicker's condescending view of what could be almost any American small town."[32]
  • In 2003 Helen Harvey published a remembrance Eating Corn through a Picket Fence of which she writes "My mom and dad were Veterans of WWII. I consider myself a veteran of having lived with them. Levittown was a community of veterans where we all soothed our pains with sex, drugs and rock and roll."[33]
  • Anna Shapiro published a 2006 teen oriented book Living on Air. It's described by the publisher as about "Maude Pugh...(who)...was raised in Levittown, Long Island. By the time she attended high school she concluded her parents were colossal failures who hid in a community in which all exterior houses were identical to one another."[34]
  • In 2006 Marc Palmieri's play Levittown[35] was performed at the Axis Theater in New York. As reviewed by the Village Voice: "We don't typically quibble with Leo Tolstoy, but are unhappy families really so different? Or are they rather like the endless rows of postwar homes that William Levitt built on Long Island?" "[36]
  • On April 16, 2007, Levittown man Marc Kantor began riding his bicycle from Levittown, New York to San Diego, California. His mission was to help raise money and awareness for The American Heart Association. A portion of the proceeds were also donated to the Rhiannon Chloe Foundation, a foundation started to help children in need with leukemia. He successfully completed this on June 7, 2007.
  • On Friday, November 9, 2007, Levitt and Sons of Fort Lauderdale became the nation's largest builder to file for bankruptcy as the housing market boom of the early 2000s continued to crumble.Fort Lauderdale-based home builder Levitt and Sons files for bankruptcy

See also


Footnotes

  1. ^ "A Brief History of Levittown, New York". Retrieved 2008-12-30. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |source= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Jackson, Kenneth T. (1985). "The Baby Boom and the Age of the Subdivision" (PDF). Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  3. ^ "NMAH". americanhistory.si.edu. Retrieved 2008-10-08. {{cite web}}: Text "William H. Yeingst" ignored (help)
  4. ^ Ketcham, Diane (1989-11-05). "LONG ISLAND JOURNAL - New York Times". New York Times Company Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  5. ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=16000US3637044&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US36%7C16000US3637044&_street=&_county=levittown&_cityTown=levittown&_state=04000US36&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=
  6. ^ "Long Island real estate, Levittown, Nassau County, NY, homes for sale, Levittown, Long Island, community profile, photos, schools, buyers guide". longisland.newsday.com. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  7. ^ a b c d "US Dept of Education, Institute of Educational Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics". Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  8. ^ "Findlaw Cases and Codes". Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  9. ^ "Senator Hannon's Guide to Levittow". Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  10. ^ "New York Chiropractic College Levittown Center". Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  11. ^ "MTA Long Island Rail Road". Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  12. ^ "New York State Dept of Health". Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  13. ^ "Land Record Viewer". www.nassaucountyny.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  14. ^ "Patrol Division Nassau County Police". Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  15. ^ "DVE-TV Interview with Roxanne Kimble". Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  16. ^ Padgett, Tania (2006-03-22). "Local fans are singing Kevin's praises". Newsday. Melville, NY: Newsday Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  17. ^ "FILM REVIEW; Levittown, Cut Down By Ridicule". Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  18. ^ a b c d e f "It Came From Levittown". Newsday. Melville, NY: Newsday Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  19. ^ Maitla, Leslie (1979-05-09). "Lufthansa Trial Witness Tells of an Earlier Theft; Ideal Hour Selected". New York Times. New York, NY: New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  20. ^ Larkin, Michael (1999-08-13). "Hicksville or Levittown? For Billy Joel, the Truth Lies on the Border". Hicksville Illustrated News. Mineola, NY: Anton Community Newspapers. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
  21. ^ Time magazine He's a Dog's Best Friend, Sunday, Apr. 30, 2006 article by ANITA HAMILTON
  22. ^ Tomeo, Jaime L. (June 8), "Levittown Commemorates Memorial Day 2007", Levittown Tribune, p. 3 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  23. ^ Gamboa, Glenn. "Donnie Klang of Levittown gets a push from Diddy". Newsday. Melville, NY: Newsday Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  24. ^ Eliscu, Jenny (2003-09-10). "Hot Band: Brand New, When is emo worth a million dollars? When it's made by these guys". Rolling Stone Magazine. New York, NY: Rolling Stone L.L.C. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  25. ^ Tayler, Letta. "Sounding Off in Suburbia". Newsday. Melville, NY: Newsday Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  26. ^ a b Powers, Ann (2005-06-01). "Sticking With You". eMusic.com. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  27. ^ "Housing's Historic Levittown Turns 50 - Realty Times". Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  28. ^ Horowitz, Gene (1980). The Ladies of Levittown: a Novel. New York: R. Marek. ISBN 0399900764. OCLC 5676402.
  29. ^ Wetherell, W. (1985). The Man Who Loved Levittown. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0822935201. OCLC 11866793.
  30. ^ "Amazon.com The Man Who Loved Levittown". Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  31. ^ "Catalog". www.cinemaguild.com. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  32. ^ "Wonderland IMDb". Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  33. ^ Harvey, Helen (2003). Eating Corn through a Picket Fence. S.L.: Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 9781413402643. OCLC 55505044.
  34. ^ Shapiro, Anna (2006). Living on Air. New York: Soho Press. ISBN 9781569474310. OCLC 62282541.
  35. ^ Palmieri, Marc (2007). Levittown. New York: Dramatists Play Service. ISBN 0822221896. OCLC 163577211.
  36. ^ "Levitt or Leave It - Theater - Village Voice". Retrieved 2008-10-07.

References

  • Allison, John D. (1956). An analysis of Levittown, New York, with particular reference to demand satisfaction from mass produced low cost housing. New York: Thesis (Ph. D.)--Graduate School of Business Administration, New York University. OCLC 13870117.
  • Baxandall, Rosalyn and Elizabeth Ewen (2000). Picture Windows: How the Suburbs Happened. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-07013-2. OCLC 43303145.
  • Buhr, Jean Dieter (1988). The meaning of Levittown. New Brunswick, N.J.: Thesis (M.A.)--Rutgers University. OCLC 30742323.
  • Conrad, Pam (1995). Our House. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0590465236. OCLC 31739731.
  • Duncan, Susan (1999). Levittown: the Way We Were. Huntington: Maple Hill Press. ISBN 0930545184. OCLC 42383186.
  • Ferrer, Margaret (1997). Levittown, the First 50 Years. Charleston: Arcadia. ISBN 0752404652. OCLC 36910278.
  • Kelly, Barbara Mae (1988). The Politics of House and Home: Implications in the Built Environment of Levittown Long Island. Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Stonybrook. OCLC 21550472.
  • Kelly, Barbara Mae (1993). Expanding the American Dream: Building and Rebuilding Levittown. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-1287-3. OCLC 25094119.
  • Liell, John (1952). Levittown: a study in community planning and development. New Haven: Yale University.
  • Lundrigan, Margaret (1999). Levittown, NY Volume Two. City: Arcadia Publishing (SC). ISBN 0752409824. OCLC 42383070.
  • Matarrese, Lynn (1997). History of Levittown, New York. Levittown: Levittown Historical Society.
  • National Education Association of the United States (1962). Levittown, New York: A Study of Leadership Problems in a Rapidly Developed Community; Report of an Investigation. Washington DC. OCLC 3581708.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Orzack, Louis H., and Irwin Taylor Sanders (1963). A Social Profile of Levittown, New York. Boston: Research Institute, Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology, Boston University. OCLC 3655814.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • State University of New York (1962). Education in Levittown; reporting a study of the administration, financing and educational program of the school system, 1961-62, to the Board of Education, Union Free School District no. five, Levittown Public Schools, Levittown, New York. Albany. OCLC 10219344.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Thompson, Gare (2002). A Suburban Community of the 1950s. Washington: National Geographic Society. ISBN 079228691X. OCLC 50770960.

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