Levittown, New York

Levittown, a suburb of New York City, is a hamlet and unincorporated political subdivision of New York State located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 53,067.

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 and most famous.

Levittown, NY, was built on what used to be potato farms in an area previously known as Island Trees. On May 7, 1947, Levitt and Sons publicly announced their plan to build 2,000 mass-produced rental homes for veterans on their Island Trees land. Two days later, the New York Herald Tribune reported that 1,000 of the 2,000 proposed homes had already been rented. Levittown, as the new development would eventually be named, was off to a booming start.

In order to build their homes cheaper and faster, Levitt and Sons wanted to eliminate basements and build on concrete slabs instead, as they had in Norfolk, Virginia. This practice was prohibited in the Town Of Hempstead, but, because the need for housing was so urgent, the Town modified the Building Code to allow the Levitts to proceed with their own plan.

Levitt and Sons used many of the building methods they had used over the years in previous developments, but reorganized these methods for even better efficiency and cost savings. All of the lumber was precut and shipped from a lumber yard they owned in Blue Lake, California, where they erected a nail factory as well. An abandoned rail line was re-opened to bring construction materials to Island Trees. To keep costs down, although met with heavy opposition, non-union contractors were used. The production line technique used to build this new development was so successful that, by July of 1948, the Levitts were turning out thirty houses a day.

Even at this pace, the Levitts couldn't keep up with the demand. Although all 2,000 homes had been rented almost immediately, hundreds of veterans were still applying, so the Levitts decided to build an additional 4,000 houses. The community soon had its own schools, its own postal delivery; even phone service and streetlights. Then, in 1949, Levitt and Sons discontinued building rental houses and turned their attention to building a larger, more modern house, which they called a "ranch" and which they would sell for $7,990. All a prospective buyer needed was a $90 deposit and payments of $58 per month. The Levitt ranch measured 32' by 25' and came in five different models, differing only by exterior color, roof line, and the placement of windows. Like previous Levitt homes, the ranch was built on a concrete slab with radiant heating coils, had no garage, and came with an expandable attic. The kitchen was outfitted with a General Electric stove and refrigerator, stainless steel sink and cabinets, the latest Bendix washer, and a York oil burner. Immediately, the demand for the new Levitt ranches was so overwhelming that even the procedure for purchasing them had to be modified to incorporate "assembly line" methods. Once these techniques were put into action, a buyer could choose a house and sign a contract for it within three minutes.

So great and so far-reaching was the success of the Levittown community that on July 3, 1950, William Levitt was featured on the front cover of Time Magazine. This success continued throughout 1950 and 1951, by which time the Levitts had constructed 17,447 homes in Levittown and the immediate surrounding areas. As the GI homeowners settled into well-paying jobs and began to spawn families, the Levitt models and the surrounding community were modified to suit the needs of growing families. 1950 ranches came with a carport and a 12 1/2 inch Admiral TV set built into the living room staircase. The 1951 model included a partially finished attic. Thousand Lanes, a magazine devoted to the decorating, expanding, and remodeling of Levitt homes became a must-have for Levittown residents. Shopping centers, playgrounds, and a $250,000 community center sprang up to accommodate Levittown's active residents.

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.

Geography

Levittown is located at 40°43'28" North, 73°30'40" West (40.724468, -73.511191)^GR1.

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.

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there are 53,067 people, 17,207 households, and 14,109 families residing in the community. The population density is 2,978.1/km² (7,717.5/mi²). There are 17,410 housing units at an average density of 977.0/km² (2,531.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the area is 94.15% White, 0.50% African American, 0.07% Native American, 2.85% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. 6.79% 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. Males have a median income of $50,603 versus $35,962 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $25,917. 2.9% of the population and 2.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.6% of those under the age of 18 and 1.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Famous Residents (Past & Present)

• Kevin Covais, American Idol 5 finalist .
• Brimstone, professional wrestler and comic book hero.
• Bill Griffith the cartoonist who draws Zippy the Pinhead
• Billy Joel grew up in a section of Levittown that has since been annexed by the community of Hicksville, New York.
• Jesse Lacey, the lead singer of Brand New.
• Miss Understood (Alex Heimberg), drag artist, actor and businessperson.
• Eddie Money attended Island Trees High School.
• Bill O'Reilly, news commentator, grew up in the Alphabet Section of Levittown that has since been annexed by the community of Westbury, New York
• Brandon Reilly, lead singer of Nightmare of You.
• Maureen Tucker, drummer for the Velvet Underground.
• Travis Reilly, brother of Brandon Reilly, and lead singer of hardcore band This Is Hell.

Education

Levittown is served by two public school districts, the Island Trees School District, which serves the Eastern third of the community, as well as portions of adjacent Seaford and Bethpage. The School District dates from 1902 and is served by:

• Island Trees High School
• Island Trees Middle School
• Michael F. Stokes Elementary School, the adjacent
• J Fred Sparke Elementary School, and
• Early Childhood Center at the Geneva Gallow School

The Island Trees School District gained notoriety in the United States Supreme Court case Island Trees School District v. Pico regarding censorship of books in school libraries.

The other two thirds of the community, as well as large portions of adjacent Wantagh and Seaford is served by the Levittown School District, which dates back to the 1800s, originally called the Jerusalem School District of the Town of Hempstead. It is served by:

• Two High Schools
  • Division Avenue High School
  • General Douglas MacArthur High School
• Two Middle Schools
  • Wisdom Lane Middle School
  • Jonas Salk Middle School
• Six Elementary Schools
  • Abbey Lane Elementary School
  • East Broadway Elementary School
  • Gardiners Avenue Elementary School
  • Lee Road Elementary
  • Northside Elementary
  • Summit Lane Elementary
• Alternative Schools
  • Levittown Memorial Education Center

A small portion of Levittown, West of the Wantagh Parkway, is served by the East Meadow School District's northern section, with Schools in Westbury, New York.

Private Schools

• Maria Montessori Elementary at Laurel Lane School
• Saint Bernard's Parish School (This school will close effective at the end of the 2005 school year)
• South Shore Christian School
• Nassau BOCES at Seaman's Neck Middle School

Higher Learning

• New York Chiropractic College

References

• Baxandall, Rosalyn and Elizabeth Ewen (2000). Picture Windows: How the Suburbs Happened. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-07013-2. 
• Kelly, Barbara Mae (1993). Expanding the American Dream: Building and Rebuilding Levittown. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-1287-3. 

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