Plainview, New York

Geography

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

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.7 square miles (15 km²). Plainview is on the Nassau County side of the border with Suffolk County. On the Nassau side it borders the hamlets of Hicksville, Old Bethpage, Syosset, and Woodbury. On the Suffolk side, its primary border is with Melville, but also touches West Hills.

History

Plainview's origins dates to 1648, when Robert Williams, a settler from Wales, bought land in the area. The land was considered desirable for farming because of a small pond named the Moscopas by local Native Americans, meaning "hole of dirt and water". The remainder of the land in the area was purchased by Thomas Powell in 1695 as part of the Bethpage Purchase. The name "Mannatto Hill" had already appeared on the 1695 deed of the Bethpage Purchase, and the settlement came to be called "Manetto Hill". Manitou was the Native American word either for "god" or for "spirit".

The 1837 arrival of the Long Island Rail Road to nearby Hicksville brought a boom to local farming. In 1885, residents of Manetto Hill petitioned the United States Postal Service for a local post office, but were turned down because, according to several accounts, a similar name was already in use upstate. The hamlet was then named "Plainview", for the view of the Hempstead Plains from the top of the Manetto Hills.

Plainview remained a farming community, famous for growing cucumbers for the huge Heinz pickle factories located in nearby Farmingdale and Hicksville. In the early 1900s blight destroyed the cucumber crop and many farmers switched to potatoes. After World War II, a potato blight combined with the desire of many returning GIs to leave New York City for the more rural Long Island, convinced many farmers to sell their property, leading to massive development in the area, giving rise to so-called suburban sprawl. Between 1950 and 1960, the hamlet grew from a population of 1,155 to more than 35,000. Most of the available land was developed during this period or otherwise designated as parkland. While overall development declined it did continue sporadically as smaller remaining parcels of land were also developed. In recent years, some of few large remaining parcels have given way to gated communities, which are in contrast to most housing in the area. Some of these developments include "The Hamlet on Olde Oyster Bay" and "The Seasons at Plainview", a residential community focused on over age 55 residents and first time home buyers.

Demographics

As of a 2010 census, there were 26,217 people; 8,963 households; and 7,396 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,573.0/sq mi (1,765.64/km²). There were 9,281 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.8% White, 7.5% Asian, and .07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were .03% of the population.

There were 8,963 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.0% were married couples living together. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals living alone, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.24. 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 $131,808, and the median income for a family was $148,014. Males had a median income of $68,255 versus $44,229 for females.The per capita income for the CDP was $52,637. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the CDP was $126,045, and the median income for a family was $151,780. Males had a median income of $89,032 versus $61,480 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $76,634. None of the families and 0.8% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 0.7% of those over 64.

Economy

While largely a suburban enclave, in addition to its numerous shopping centers and strip malls, Plainview has approximately 330 acres of commercial property, spread across three office parks. The most notable tenants include Aeroflex, which is headquartered there.

Houses of Worship

There are numerous houses of worship located in Plainview.

Plainview is home to several Jewish congregations. Plainview Synagogue and Young Israel of Plainview are Orthodox. Plainview Jewish Center and Manetto Hill Jewish Center are Conservative. Temple Chaverim is reform.

Churches include Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, Plainview United Methodist Church (also known as the Korean United Methodist Church), Plainview Reformed Church, St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church and Episcopal Church of St. Margaret, which includes a cemetery in its backwoods.

In addition, there is also the Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Center, Inc., a Sikh temple. This temple's building formerly housed the Bethel United Pentecostal Church. In addition, Plainview is home to Beth Yeshua/Olive Tree Congregation, a Messianic temple.

History of the schools

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 B'nai B'rith Youth Organization.

Plainview once had two high schools, Plainview-Old Bethpage High School (opened February 23, 1960) and John F. Kennedy High School (built 1966); the schools were merged for the 1991-1992 school year. 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 two 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

After a period of significant increases in classroom space in the 1950s and '60s declining enrollment led to school closures in the 1970s. As a part of these school closings, the district also reorganized its schools from K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12, to K-4, 5-8 and 9-12, in process renaming its junior high schools as "middle" schools.

Other districts

Although located within Plainview geographically, some parts of the CDP are served by the Bethpage Union Free School District or the Syosset Central School District. The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC) is located in Plainview and serves the local communities from K-6.

Library

The Plainview Library was first established in 1956 in the Jamaica Avenue School, and later opened as a separate facility in the Morton Village Shopping Center in 1958. Significant increases in population caused the library to outgrow this space. In March 1962, voters approved a $711,000 bond issue to pay for the purchase of a nearly three acre parcel of land and development of a new library building directly across the street from Morton Village. Two years later, the library moved into its new facilities. Since its construction, the building has had two major expansions to better serve the community's needs, including increased audio/visual and internet demands. In 2005, a 236-seat auditorium was built, and expanded Family Center and Media Center areas were added. In 2014, library space was added from funds received previously from the New York State Dormitory Authority. The new space was updated and redesigned with additional study rooms/public meeting areas, along with self-checkout stations, an integrated Media Area and a new Technology Department. The Plainview-Old Bethpage Library is honored to be recognized by Library Journal as a "5 Star Library" for the past five years.

Mid Island Y-JCC

The Mid Island Y- Jewish Community Center, which opened in 1956, serves residents of Plainview, Old Bethpage, Syosset and surrounding areas.

Parks

Plainview has numerous community parks tucked in between homes. Its primary park is the 19-acre (77,000 m²) Plainview-Old Bethpage Community Park, located on Washington Avenue. Opened in 1960, this park features an Olympic size pool, a children's pool, baseball/softball fields, tennis courts, racquetball/handball courts, basketball courts, a newly built children's recreation playground, 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.

Borella Fields, located on Plainview Road, is another large community park. It has three baseball fields, a soccer field and a large playground.

Estates

Plainview was home to several grand Gold Coast estates.

Television

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television station, WLIW, channel 21, broadcasts from Plainview on Channel 21 Drive.

Movies

Until the 1980s, there were several movie theaters in the community. The mutliplexes built in Hicksville and Commack drew patrons away from the local theaters which were subsequently converted, primarily, to office or retail use.

Radio

Plainview is home to WPOB 88.5 FM, the local radio station located in the Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School. The school shares the same frequency as Syosset High School's WKWZ station.

Notable people

Gerard Anthony Smith (September 20, 1974 – April 20, 2011) was an American visual artist, musician, and member of the celebrated Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio. He recorded an album of original music as A Rose Parade with Shannon Funchess of Light Asylum and also produced music with Midnight Masses and The Stationary Set.[1] He died at age 36 from lung cancer.[2] Smith is survived by his son, Julian.[2][3]

As a self-taught musician who played the piano, bass, organ, classical guitar and sitar, he studied fine arts and Art History at FIT and SUNY Purchase.[2]