Long Island is an island in New York, USA. At 1,377 square miles and is home to 7.536 million residents as of 2005. It is the largest island in the continental United States, the most populous island in any U.S. state or territory, and the 17th most populous island in the world, having a larger population than the countries of Ireland and Jamaica. True to its name, the island is much longer, jutting out some 118 miles from New York Harbor, than it is wide, with only from 12 to 20 miles between the southern Atlantic coast and Long Island Sound. The Native American name for Long Island is Paumonauk, meaning "fish-shaped island."
On the western part of Long Island are the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn (Kings County) and Queens (Queens County); east of these are Nassau and Suffolk counties. However, colloquial usage of the term "Long Island" or "the Island" usually refers only to Nassau and Suffolk counties only; Brooklyn and Queens are omitted, as they are part of New York City.
Demography
Long Island is known for its affluence and high quality of life. As of 2004, Nassau County is listed as the richest county per capita in New York State, as well as the sixth richest in the United States. Suffolk County is known for many communities located on its beaches, including the world renowned Hamptons.
Long Island is one of the most densely populated regions in the United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the total population of all four counties of Long Island was 7,448,618. New York City's portion of the census was 4,694,705, with Brooklyn's population at 2,465,326 and Queens having 2,229,379 residents. The combined population of Nassau and Suffolk counties was 2,753,913 people. It was the first census in which the population of the larger, less densely populated Suffolk County (1,419,369) surpassed that of Nassau County (1,334,544).
Economy
The counties of Nassau and Suffolk have long been renowned for their affluence. With median home prices rising in excess of $400,000, Long Island has a very high cost of living with residents paying some of the highest property taxes in the country. Such affluence is especially pervasive among the hamlets and villages on the North Shore of Long Island also known as the 'Gold Coast' and among opulent pockets of the South Shore.
Long Island is home to some of the most expensive houses in the country. In fact, the most expensive residence in the country is Three Ponds in Bridgehampton. Long Island is home to the luxury communities of the Hamptons, as well as Cold Spring Harbor and Lloyd Harbor in Suffolk County and Garden City, Laurel Hollow, Syosset, and Manhasset in Nassau County.
Long Island Towns
Suffolk and Nassau counties consist of thirteen townships. Within those townships there are 230 towns and villages, and two cities. In Suffolk County there are ten townships: Babylon, Brookhaven, East Hampton, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead, Smithtown, Shelter Island, Southhampton, and Southold. These townships are comprised of 134 towns and villages. In Nassau County there are three townships: Oyster Bay, Hempstead, and North Hempstead. Within these three townships are 96 towns and villages and two cities: Long Beach and Glen Cove.
Websites
Below are the counties and local townships along with their websites:
Suffolk County - http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us
Nassau County - http://www.nassaucountyny.gov
Professional Sports Teams
Ebbets Field, which stood in Brooklyn from 1913-1957, was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who decamped to California after the 1957 season to become the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers won several National League penants in the 1940s and 1950s, losing several times in the World Series — often called Subway Series — to their Bronx rivals, the New York Yankees. The Dodgers won their lone championship in Brooklyn in the 1955 World Series versus the Yankees. The Brooklyn Nets Arena is a proposed sports arena, business and residential complex to be built partly on a platform over the Atlantic Yards at Atlantic Avenue, and is intended to serve as a new home for the New Jersey Nets.
The New York Mets play at Shea Stadium in Flushing in Queens. Plans have been announced for a New Mets Stadium in Willets Point in the parking lot of the current stadium, to be completed for the 2009 baseball season. The new stadium is designed with an exterior facade and main entry rotunda inspired by Ebbets Field. The Brooklyn Cyclones are a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the New York Mets. The Cyclones play at KeySpan Park just off the boardwalk on Coney Island.
Nassau County is home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, and the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League, who both play at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. The Long Island Lizards of the National Lacrosse League play at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. Belmont Park, whose main track is the longest dirt Thoroughbred racecourse in the world, is located in the Nassau County community of Elmont.
Long Island is also home to the Long Island Ducks minor league baseball team of the Atlantic League. Their stadium, Citibank Park, is located in Central Islip. The American Basketball Association's Strong Island Sound play home games at Suffolk County Community College. The two main rugby teams are the Long Island RFC in East Meadow and the Suffolk Bull Moose in Stony Brook. It also has a professional soccer club, the Long Island Rough Riders, who play at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. The Rough Riders have won two national championships, in 1995 and 2002.
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