Long Island
A Bit of History
1524
Italian Explorer Verrazano spots the South Shore
1640
Southold and Southampton are the first settlements
1796
Lighthouse at Montauk is NY's first coastal beacon
1909
LI becomes "Cradle of American Aviation."
1922
First trans-Atlantic radio telephone transmitter at Rocky Point
1927
Lindbergh takes off at Roosevelt Field on first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean to Paris
1939
Pan American commercial air service to Europe from Port Washington
1940
LI becomes major center for war production
1947
Brookhaven National Laboratory to study peaceful uses of atomic energy
1947
The first suburbia in the U.S., was built in Levittown Long Island
1952
Jones Beach Theater was built for musicals and operas
1962
James Watson and Francis Crick share the Noble Peace prize for their model of the double helix structure for the structure of DNA at Cold Spring Harbor
1974
First Grumman F14 tomcat delivered to the U.S. Navy
1980-1984
New York's Islanders win four consecutive Stanley cup titles
2000
The Realistic Heavy Ion Collider began its operation in Upton Long Island. This collider is the largest in the world.
2008
In 2008 unknown creature was brushed ashore near Plum Island known as the Montauk Monster.
2002 and 2009
US Open held at Bethpage's Black Course
Facts and Figures about Long Island NY
Long Island has the 17th largest metropolitan area economy in the nation. More than 120,000 businesses in both Nassau and Suffolk counties generate $134 billion in economic activity annually. Long Island is home to the East Coast's largest industrial park, the Hauppauge Industrial Park. The park has over 1,300 companies, and employs over 55,000 Long Islanders.
NASSAU
Population 1.3 million
Area 287 sq.miles
County Seat Mineola
SUFFOLK
Population 1.4 million
Area 911 sq. miles
County Seat Riverhead
Long Island Workforce Data
Labor force: 1,485,800
Households: 916,686
Total Personal Income: $115.6 billion
Per capita income: $41,558
Regional Facts
Location: Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates: 40 º 48' 0 º N, 73 º 18' 0 º W
Area: 1,401 sq miles (3,630 km2)
Length: 118 miles (190 km)
Width: 12-23 miles (19-37 km)
Highest Point: Jayne's Hill 380 ft (120 m) above sea level
While Long Island, NY generally refers to Nassau County and Suffolk County, it also geographically includes the two New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. Long Island is home to several well-known vacation spots of the rich and famous, such as the Hamptons, Jones Beach, and Fire Island, as well as several Atlantic Ocean beaches. Although tourism makes up a substantial part of Long Island's economy in certain regions, the area supports a wide-ranging economy. The land mass identified as Long Island includes two New York City boroughs (Brooklyn and Queens) as well as Nassau County and Suffolk County. It is located just east of the New York City borough of Manhattan. When most folks speak of "Long Island," however, they are referring to the land governed by the two counties, Nassau and Suffolk.
It is a well-educated population, as well. More than 86 percent of both counties' population have a high school diploma; the percentage of residents in Nassau County with college degrees (or higher) is 35 percent while in Suffolk it is 28 percent. Long Island is home to 20 colleges and universities, internationally-renowned research facilities such as Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University..