Great Neck, New York
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Great Neck is a village located in Nassau County, New York As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 9,538.
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People associated with Great Neck
- Oscar Brand, resident
- Sid Caesar, former resident
- Maurice Chevalier, former resident
- Walter P. Chrysler, former resident
- Mary L. Cleave, attended high school in Great Neck
- George M. Cohan, former resident
- Kenneth Cole, attended school in Great Neck
- Francis Ford Coppola, former resident
- W.C. Fields, former resident
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, former resident
- David Friedman, former resident
- Whitey Ford, former resident
- Jamie Gorelick, former resident
- Morton Gould, former resident
- Oscar Hammerstein II, former resident
- Sarah Hughes, resident
- Andy Kaufman, attended school in Great Neck
- Alan King, former resident
- Christopher Lambert, born in Great Neck
- The Marx Brothers, former residents
- Louise Nevelson, former resident
- Paul Newman, former resident
- Eugene O'Neill, former resident
- George Segal, resident
- Alfred P. Sloan, resident
- Norma Talmadge, former resident
- William Kissam Vanderbilt, Jr., former resident
- Sam Warner, former resident
- P.G. Wodehouse, former resident
- Matilde Krim, former resident
Geography
Great Neck is located at 40°48'10" North, 73°43'53" West (40.802671, -73.731255)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.5 km² (1.4 mi²). 3.5 km² (1.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.46% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 9,538 people, 3,346 households, and 2,552 families residing in the village. The population density is 2,727.9/km² (7,062.3/mi²). There are 3,441 housing units at an average density of 984.1/km² (2,547.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 85.33% White, 2.82% African American, 0.10% Native American, 4.94% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.28% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. 9.17% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 3,346 households out of which 36.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% are married couples living together, 8.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% are non-families. 20.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.85 and the average family size is 3.30.
In the village the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the village is $76,645, and the median income for a family is $89,733. Males have a median income of $52,445 versus $37,476 for females. The per capita income for the village is $38,790. 7.8% of the population and 5.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.5% of those under the age of 18 and 8.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
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 Indians, who were pushed back by the colonists' expansion.
In more recent days, Great Neck -- in particular the incorporated village of Kings Point -- provided a backdrop to F. Scott Fitzgerald's book The Great Gatsby. Thinly disguised as "West Egg," in counterpoint to Port Washington's more posh "East Egg," the next peninsula over on the 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 newly rich Jews, formerly of Brooklyn and the Bronx.
The end of World War II saw a tremendous migration of Ashkenasi Jews from the cramped quarters and frequent discrimination of the city 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.
But even during the 1960s, many residents frequented the local pool and ice skating complex, Parkwood, but in the past fifteen years attendance at Parkwood has declined as homeowners built their own inground pools. (After the 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 boom era. In the 1980s, an influx of affluent Iranian Jews who were expelled from that country following the 1979 Islamic Revolution settled in Great Neck. Though the majority of their children attended Great Neck schools, they did not integrate into the existing Ashekenasi temples, instead starting their own Iranian temples, where they could follow Sephardic traditions. The Persian community also established their own grocery shops. While they continued their religious tradition, a great many of the Iranian Jews were tolerant of Great Neck's secular nature.
However, from the late 1990s up until the present day the Great Neck peninsula has been home to another Jewish shift. During this time, more observant, Orthodox Jews have moved to the area, and sought to impose their religious values on the community. This is similar to what has also happened in the Five Towns area on the south shore of Long Island. In Great Neck, the Orthodox have threatened to boycott local shops unless the stores close on the Sabbath. In addition, many of the Orthodox send their children to private Jewish day schools, and vote against public school funding in local elections. (This is in contrast to the Iranian Jews who send their children to public school). The Orthodox have also built their own synagogue and have expansion plans for it. It should be noted that the general trend is that the 'North' part of Great Neck (those students who are sent to Great Neck North Middle and High) are overwhelmingly Iranian and Persian, however the Great Neck South School has a greater number of reform jews. As well Great Neck South also has a greater asian population, who along with the traditional jews are looking for a good education for their children.
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
- Steppingstone Park
There are two major high schools:
- Great Neck North High School
- Great Neck South High School
plus an alternative school (The Village School) and numerous elementary and nursery schools.
Great Neck's two major high schools are rated among the top in the country. Its students frequently are finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search. Newsweek's list of top 1000 High Schools in the U.S lists that Great Neck Schools rank: 22 | Great Neck South and 43 | Great Neck North
External links
- Great Neck unofficial website (http://www.westegg.com/greatneck/)
- Great Neck Chamber of Commerce (http://www.greatneckchamber.org/)
- Some Famous Great Neckers (http://www.westegg.com/greatneck/famous-people.html/)
- Some Historic Sites in Great Neck (http://www.westegg.com/greatneck/historic-sites.html/)