ATLANTIC BEACH, LONG ISLAND

Atlantic Beach, Long Island

Atlantic Beach is an incorporated village located in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York. It is within the Town of Hempstead and the only village on the island which became incorporated since 1938 when a state law was adopted threatening newly incorporate villages from exercising zoning powers. As of the 2000 census, there were 1,986 people, 766 households, and 569 families residing in the area. The median income for a household in the village was $85,122, and the median income for a family was $93,647. Males had a median income of $67,583 and only $49,750 for females. The latitude of Atlantic Beach is 40.588N. The longitude is -73.729W. It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 16 feet.

The community was named for its location by the ocean. The former and merged names include Long Beach. It was started when Stephen P. Pettit, the village's first developer and a banker from Freeport had plans of creating a hot spot that would rival the City of Long Beach, a creation of an amusement park operator and politician named William H. Reynolds that was already booming. Mr. Reynolds established several hotels, entertainment clubs, a theater, and dozens of his trademark white stucco estates. Even during prohibition, local swimmers would sometimes guide dories full of alcohol to shore from the Canadian ships anchored nearby. Unfortunately, Mr. Pettit died just a few months after purchasing land for 3,500 lots in Atlantic Beach. Another developer named William Austin continued with the plans, laying gas and electric lines, selling land and building homes. He finished Mr. Pettit's plan to construct a bridge between Far Rockaway and Atlantic Beach.

Atlantic Beach has many beach clubs to enjoy and to have fun together with your family along the Atlantic Ocean Shore such as Lawrence Beach Club, Atlantic Beach Club, The Sands, Catalina Beach Club, Silver Point Beach Club and Sun, and Surf Beach Club. It is within walking distance of almost any house in the village. Surf is one of Atlantic Beach's 14 private clubs in which cabanas or lockers can be rented at these clubs often costing thousands per season. During summer months, thousands of tourists flood to the beaches under the heat of the sun. The village is also home for notable residents including Guy Lombardo, Peter Lorre, and to the character Sonny Corleone in the movie “The Godfather”. In fact, some scenes of the HBO’s series “The Sopranos” and a scene from Martin Scorsese’s “GoodFellas” was shot here. Most of its residents were reported to be of Italian, Irish, Russian, and Polish ancestries. The village is separate from the Long Beach city government and served by the Lawrence, New York school district. The district has a total of 13 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and a high school. There are also several boutiques, restaurants, bars, and some small stores in Atlantic beach. The residents and visitors cross the bridge to Lawrence for groceries and other shopping. The village is a high-class private setting exclusively for the rich with many mansions and summer homes priced in the millions.