Great Neck, New York
126711
222917889
2008-07-01T19:02:42Z
Relocator100
3664201
/* People associated with Great Neck */ Mordecai Waxman
{{Infobox Settlement
|official_name = Great Neck, New York
|settlement_type = [[Village (United States)|Village]]
|nickname =
|motto =
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|pushpin_label_position = non
|pushpin_map_caption =Location within the state of New York
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|image_map =Great-neck-ny-map.gif
|mapsize = 250px
|map_caption = U.S. Census Map
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|subdivision_type = [[List of countries|Country]]
|subdivision_name = [[United States]]
|subdivision_type1 = [[Political divisions of the United States|State]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[New York]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in New York|County]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau]]
|government_footnotes =
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|area_total_km2 = 3.5
|area_land_km2 = 3.5
|area_water_km2 = 0.0
|area_total_sq_mi = 1.4
|area_land_sq_mi = 1.4
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.0
<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of = [[United States Census, 2000|2000]]
|population_footnotes =
|population_total = 9538
|population_density_km2 = 2726.8
|population_density_sq_mi = 7062.3
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|timezone = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset = -5
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|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 33
|elevation_ft = 108
|latd = 40 |latm = 48 |lats = 10 |latNS = N
|longd = 73 |longm = 43 |longs = 53 |longEW = W
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
|postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]s
|postal_code = 11020–11027
|area_code = [[Area code 516|516]]
|blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info = 36-30169
|blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info = 0951636
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
'''Great Neck''' is a [[village]] in [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]], [[New York]], in the [[United States|U.S.]], on the [[North Shore (Long Island)|North Shore]] of [[Long Island]]. As of the [[United States 2000 Census]], the village population was 9,538.
The '''Village of Great Neck''' is in the [[North Hempstead, New York|Town of North Hempstead]].
The term '''Great Neck''' is also commonly applied to the entire peninsula on the north shore, comprising a residential community of some 40,000 people made up of nine villages as well as [[unincorporated area]]s (hamlets) of North Hempstead, of which it is the northwestern quadrant. No governing entity encompasses this larger Great Neck, but it is unified as a postal zone, a water district or two, a school district, and a park district.
Great Neck is within easy commuting distance of [[Manhattan]]'s [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|Penn Station]] on the [[Port Washington Branch]] of the [[Long Island Rail Road]] via the [[Great Neck (LIRR station)|Great Neck]] station, which is one of the most frequent served in the entire system. Indeed, it is the only station on the Port Washington Branch (except for Penn Station) served by all trains, both local and express.
== Geography (Village of Great Neck) ==
The Village of Great Neck is located at {{coor dms|40|48|10|N|73|43|53|W|city}} (40.802671, -73.731255){{GR|1}}.
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the village has a total area of 1.4 [[square mile]]s (3.5 [[km²]]), of which, 1.4 square miles (3.5 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.46%) is water.
== Demographics (Village of Great Neck) ==
As of the [[census]]{{GR|2}} of 2000, there were 9,538 people, 3,346 households, and 2,552 families residing in the village. The [[population density]] was 7,062.3 people per square mile (2,727.9/km²). There were 3,441 housing units at an average density of 2,547.9/sq mi (984.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 85.33% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 2.82% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.10% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 4.94% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.04% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 3.28% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 3.48% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 9.17% of the population.
As of 2000 Great Neck was the second most Iranian place in the United States with 21.1% of its population reporting Iranian ancestry.<ref>[http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Iranian.html Iranian ancestry by city - ePodunk<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
There were 3,346 households out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the village the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $76,645, and the median income for a family was $89,733. Males had a median income of $52,445 versus $37,476 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $38,790. About 5.5% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.
== History ==
Great Neck, originally called "Madnan's Neck", was settled in the late 17th century, not long after settlers landed on [[Plymouth Rock]]. The area had previously been inhabited by the Mattinecock [[Native Americans of the United States|Native Americans]], who were pushed back by the colonists' expansion.
During the late 19th century Great Neck was the rail head of the Flushing and North Side Railroad, and began the process of converting from a farm village into a [[commuter town]].
In more recent days, Great Neck—in particular the incorporated village of [[Kings Point, New York|Kings Point]]—provided a backdrop to [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]'s book ''[[The Great Gatsby]]''. Thinly disguised as "West Egg", in counterpoint to [[Port Washington, New York|Port Washington]]'s more posh "East Egg", the next peninsula over on [[Long Island Sound]], Great Neck symbolized the decadence of the [[Roaring Twenties]] as it extended out from [[New York City]] into the then-remote [[suburbs]]. ''The Great Gatsby's'' themes and characters reflected the real-world transformation that Great Neck was experiencing at the time, as show-business personalities like [[Sid Caesar]] and the [[Marx Brothers]] bought homes in the hamlet and eventually established it as a haven for [[Jew]]s, formerly of [[Brooklyn]] and [[the Bronx]].
The end of [[World War II]] saw a tremendous migration of [[Ashkenazi Jews]] from the cramped quarters to the burgeoning suburb. They founded many synagogues and community groups and pushed for stringent educational policies in the town's public schools. Jay Cantor's novel, ''Great Neck,'' portrays the eponymous town of this era, with recently installed residents of various stripes all trying to secure the brightest futures for their children.
During the 1960s, many residents frequented the local pool and ice skating complex, Parkwood, but in the past fifteen years attendance has declined as homeowners built their own inground pools. (After the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|events of September 11, 2001]], the ice skating rink was renamed in honor of Andrew Stergiopoulos, a local resident who was killed in the attack).
Things have changed in Great Neck since the [[Baby Boomer]] era. In the 1980s, an influx of affluent [[Persian Jews|Iranian Jews]] who left their country following the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Islamic Revolution]] settled in Great Neck. Though the majority of their children attended Great Neck schools, they did not integrate into the existing Ashkenazi temples, instead starting their own Iranian synagogues, where they could follow [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]] traditions. The Persian community also established its own grocery shops.
From the late 1990s, the Great Neck peninsula has been home to another Jewish shift. During this time, more observant, [[Orthodox Jews]] have moved to the area. This is a similar trend to what has happened in the [[Five Towns]] area on the [[South Shore (Long Island)|South Shore]] of Long Island, although [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] Jews appear to remain predominant in Great Neck.
On one road, Old Mill Road, there are three synagogues representing the three main branches of American Judaism: Temple Beth-El (Reform), Great Neck Synagogue (Orthodox), and Temple Israel of Great Neck (Conservative). Old Mill Road also has an honorific extra naming, "Waxman Way," in memory of Temple Israel's renowned rabbi, Mordechai Waxman, who led the congregation for 50 years.
Also beginning in the late 1990s and continuing till present day, a number of [[East Asia]]ns, predominantly [[Chinese people|Chinese]] and [[Koreans|Korean]], have been moving into the area. Many of these families move to Great Neck for a better environment for their children as well as the well-known public school education. Great Neck's proximity to ethnic enclaves such as [[Flushing, Queens|Flushing]] and [[Bayside, Queens|Bayside]] make it ideal for East Asians.
The general trend is that the "North" part of Great Neck (whose students attend Great Neck North Middle and High) has a greater number of [[Iran]]ian families, while the "South" part (whose students attend Great Neck South Middle and High) has a larger East Asians population. The [[African American|African-American]] population is low, district wide. The "South" catchment area also includes students from [[Manhasset Hills]] and the Parkville section of [[New Hyde Park, New York|New Hyde Park]].
A point of controversy in the Village has been the erection of new synagogues.
Besides the synagogues, the Village also includes St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, All Saints Episcopal Church and cemetery, as well as a complex including Great Neck North High School and Great Neck North Middle School. The Parkwood pool and skating rink complex, the Village Green and sections of Kings Point Park are managed by the Great Neck Park District, giving the Village an unusually large amount of property not on the tax rolls.
==Emergency services==
Great Neck is protected by the [[Nassau County Police Department]], although the villages of Great Neck Estates, Kings Point and Kensington (villages on the peninsula but not within the village of Great Neck) have their own police departments.
Great Neck is served by three all-volunteer fire departments. The [http://www.alertfd.com Great Neck Alert Fire Company] was founded in 1901. [http://www.vigilantfd.com The Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company] was founded in 1904. Company 3 of the [http://www.mlfd.com Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department] was founded in 1912, and Company 4 of the M-LFD was founded in 1926. Alert covers the northern part of the peninsula, providing fire and rescue response. Vigilant serves the middle portion of Great Neck with fire and rescue response. The [http://www.vigilantfd.com Vigilant Fire Company]also provides ambulatory services to both its own area, as well as Alert's territory, due to the fact that even though many members of Alert are licensed EMTs, Alert does not operate an ambulance. M-LFD Co. 3 and 4 serve the southern part of Great Neck, including the villages of Thomaston and Lake Success. These two companies offer fire and rescue services. The M-LFD Ambulance Unit operates one ambulance out of Co. 3's firehouse. In addition the Nassau County Police ambulance units cover EMS calls in the Manhasset-Lakeville territory.
== Culture and tourism ==
Currently, Great Neck, connected to [[New York City]] by the [[Long Island Rail Road]], serves primarily as a bedroom community for New York City. As such, it contains few "touristy" attractions. Notable exceptions include:
* [[Saddle Rock Grist Mill]], a historical grain-mill; known to have been in operation as early as the 1700s.
* [[United States Merchant Marine Academy]] in Kings Point
* Steppingstone Park
== Great Neck School District ==
Great Neck residents, typically well-educated, are concerned about education and have high expectations for their school system.<ref>[http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/Pages/profiles/vsprofile06.pdf Great Neck residents]; URL accessed [[November 9]], [[2006]].</ref>
The [[Great Neck School District]] is the [[school district]] of Great Neck, New York (also including parts of New Hyde Park and Manhasset Hills). About 6,000 students, grades K-12, attend the Great Neck Public Schools. There are three high schools: North High School, with an alternative program, Community School; South High School; and The Village School, a small alternative high school. There are also two middle schools and four elementary schools. Students have diverse backgrounds; they come from more than 40 countries and represent a broad socioeconomic range.
* High Schools:
**[[Great Neck North High School]]
**[[Great Neck South High School]] (William A. Shine Great Neck South High School)
**[[Great Neck Village School]] (Alternative high school)
*Middle Schools:
**[[Great Neck North Middle School]]
**[[Great Neck South Middle School]]
*Elementary Schools:
**[[E. M. Baker Elementary School]]
**[[John F. Kennedy Elementary School]]
**[[Lakeville Elementary School]]
**[[Saddle Rock Elementary School]]
*Nursery School:
**[[Parkville School]]
Great Neck's two major high schools are rated among the top in the country. Its students have been frequent finalists in the [[Intel Science Talent Search]]. In ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine's annual list of the Top 1200 American [[High School]]s, Great Neck's schools consistently rank in the top 50. In the 2007 list, Great Neck South is ranked 42nd, and Great Neck North is ranked 50th.[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18757087/site/newsweek/]
== People associated with Great Neck ==
{{Refimprovesection|date=April 2008}}
*[[Dan Ahdoot]], comedian (graduated from Great Neck South High School and former resident)
*[[David Baltimore]], Nobel prize winning biologist and former president of Caltech (former resident and high school graduate)
*[[Nicole Blonsky|Nikki Blonsky]], actress who stars as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 film version of ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]'' and also to be in the 2008 movie '''Harold''' which was filmed in August 2007 in Great Neck North High School and Middle School
*[[Enea Bossi, Sr.|Enea Bossi]], [[Italian American|Italian-American]] engineer and aviation pioneer
*[[Oscar Brand]], folk singer and songwriter (resident)
*[[Donald Brian]], Broadway actor, singer and dancer
*[[Algis Budrys]], science-fiction author and editor (former resident)
*[[Sid Caesar]], television pioneer known for ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'' (former resident)
*[[Maurice Chevalier]], actor and entertainer (former resident)
*[[Walter Chrysler]], automobile pioneer, founder of the [[Chrysler Corporation]] (former resident)
*[[Mary L. Cleave]], [[space shuttle]] [[astronaut]] (attended high school in Great Neck)
*[[George M. Cohan]], entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, director, and producer (former resident)
*[[Steven A. Cohen]], hedge fund manager (SAC Capital), billionaire (former resident)
*[[Kenneth Cole (designer)|Kenneth Cole]], designer (attended school in Great Neck)
*[[Francis Ford Coppola]], film director (graduated from Great Neck High School [North])
*[[Andrew W. Cordier]], [[Columbia University]] president (former resident)
*[[Anthony Cumia]], latter half of [[Opie and Anthony]] (resident)
*[[Thomas DiNapoli]], New York State Comptroller (resident)
*[[Shay Doron]], first Israeli and Brenda Frese-recruited player to play in the [[Women's National Basketball Association]]
*[[Quinn Early]], former [[National Football League]] player who was selected by the [[San Diego Chargers]] in the 3rd round of the [[1988 NFL Draft]]. (Graduated from Great Neck South High School)
*[[Percy Faith]], orchestra conductor (former resident)
*[[W. C. Fields]], comedian and actor (former resident)
*[[F. Scott Fitzgerald]], novelist and author of ''[[The Great Gatsby]]'' (former resident)
*[[Whitey Ford]], [[New York Yankees]] pitcher (resident)
*[[Jamie Gorelick]], [[Clinton Administration]] official (former resident)
*[[Morton Gould]], concert pianist (former resident)
*[[Mark J. Green]], former New York City Public Advocate and mayoral candidate (former resident and high school graduate)
*[[Ilan Hall]], chef and winner of reality television show ''[[Top Chef]]'' (former resident)
*[[Oscar Hammerstein II]], writer, producer and director of musicals (former resident)
*[[Emily Hughes]], member of the U.S. [[Figure Skating]] Team at the [[2006 Winter Olympics]]
*[[Sarah Hughes]], [[Gold medal]]ist in Figure Skating at the [[2002 Winter Olympics]]
*[[David Kahn]], US historian, journalist, and writer on subjects of cryptography and military intelligence
*[[Michael Karlan]], founder of the nation's largest networking and socializing group, [[Professionals in the City]] (former resident)
*[[Andy Kaufman]], comedian and actor (former resident)
*[[Josh Kopelman]], American entrepreneur (former resident)
*[[Alan King (comedian)|Alan King]], comedian and actor (former resident)
*[[Christopher Lambert]], actor (born in Great Neck)
*[[Ring Lardner]], sports columnist and short story writer (former resident)
*[http://daniellevine.org Daniel Levine], [[Avant Guide]] publisher (former resident)
*The [[Marx Brothers]], stars of vaudeville and movies (former residents)
*[[Minae Mizumura]], novelist, essayist, critic, based in Tokyo, Japan. Author of ''[[A Real Novel.]]'' (former resident)
*[[Bobby Muller]], Vietnam War veteran and anti-war activist (grew up in Great Neck)
*[[Louise Nevelson]], abstract sculptor (former resident)
*[[Paul Newman]], actor (former resident)
*[[Eugene O'Neill]], playwright (former resident)
*[[Larry Poons]], abstract painter (graduated from Great Neck High School [North])
*[[Dan Raviv]], author and [[CBS]] TV and radio correspondent who hosts the ''[[CBS News Weekend Roundup]]'' (former resident)
*[[Jordan Rudess]], Keyboard Player for the band Dream Theater (grew up in great neck)
*[[Tamir Sapir]], Russian Born Cabdriver Billionaire. 12 Acre Estate on Pond Road.
*[[George Segal]], actor (resident)
*[[Talia Shire]], actress (former resident)
*[[Harry F. Sinclair]], oil industrialist (former resident)
*[[Alfred P. Sloan]], President of [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] (former resident)
*[[Seth Swirsky]], songwriter and author
*[[Norma Talmadge]], actress (former resident)
*[[Richard Tucker]], operatic tenor (former resident)
*[[William Kissam Vanderbilt II]], railroad executive and yachtsman (former resident)
*[[Robert Varkonyi]], [[World Series of Poker]] champion (resident)
*[[Sam Warner]], one of the four brothers who were co-founders of [[Warner Brothers]] (former resident)
*[[Mordecai Waxman]], prominent rabbi in the [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative movement]] and of Temple Israel of Great Neck (former resident)
* [[Evan Wecksell]], comedian,singer/songwriter (graduated from Great Neck South High School and former resident)
*[[P. G. Wodehouse]], English comic writer (former resident)
*[[Herman Wouk]], author (former resident)
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.mygreatneck.com Great Neck Community website]
*[http://greatneckvillage.org/ Great Neck Village website]
*[http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/ Great Neck Public Schools]
*[http://www.westegg.com/greatneck/ Great Neck unofficial website]
*[http://www.greatneckchamber.org/ Great Neck Chamber of Commerce]
*[http://www.westegg.com/greatneck/famous-people.html Some Famous Great Neckers]
*[http://www.westegg.com/greatneck/historic-sites.html Some Historic Sites in Great Neck]
*[http://www.alertfd.com Great Neck Alert Fire Company]
*[http://www.vigilantfd.com Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company]
*[http://www.mlfd.com Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department]
*[http://www.greatnecklibrary.org Great Neck Library] whose circulation policy is to grant cards to residents of the school district.
{{Geolinks-US-cityscale|40.802671|-73.731255}}
{{NorthHempsteadNY}}
[[Category:Great Neck Peninsula]]
[[Category:Town of North Hempstead, New York]]
[[Category:United States places with Orthodox Jewish communities]]
[[Category:Villages in New York]]
[[it:Great Neck]]
[[vo:Great Neck]]