PLAINVIEW, LONG ISLAND

Plainview, Long Island

Plainview is a hamlet and census-designated place located in Nassau County, in western-central Long Island, New York. It is in the Town of Oyster Bay and a neighboring hamlet of Old Bethpage which shares a school system, library, fire department, and water district. As of the 2000 census, there were 25,637 people, 8,556 households, and 7,315 families residing in the CDP. The median income for a household in the CDP was $90,529, and the median income for a family was $98,233. Males had a median income of $69,032 and only $41,480 for females. The latitude of Plainview is 40.776N. The longitude is -73.467W. It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 151 feet.

In 1695, Robert Williams purchased land in the area. The former and merged names include Manetto Hill, the Native American term for "God". It remained a farming community, famous for its richness in cucumbers before World War II. After the war, there was a fueled massive development in the area, giving rise to so called, suburban sprawl and many establishments were also constructed in that period of time. The population grew up to more than 35,000.

About 18% of Plainview residents report Italian ancestry and 10% report Russian. The community has one of the best libraries in Nassau County. The Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library provides quality materials and services which fulfill educational, informational, cultural, and recreational needs of the entire community. The library also offers a family center, 237-seat auditorium, two conference rooms, and an art gallery. Other agencies include the Plainview Water District, Plainview Volunteer Fire Department, two Post Offices, North Shore University Hospital, Central Island Nursing Home, Mid-Island Y, the Plainview Health Center, and the Cooperative Extension of Nassau County.

The Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District offers good educational programs which comprises of one high school, two middle schools, and four elementary schools. There is also one Kindergarten Center connected to Stratford Road Elementary School. Plainview has numerous community parks throughout the area. The famous Plainview-Old Bethpage Community Park located on Washington Avenue provides entertainment, information and recreation for all age groups, toddlers, and senior citizens as well. It offers an Olympic size pool, children's pool, baseball fields, tennis courts, racquetball/handball courts, and basketball courts. When it comes to shopping areas, the community has also plenty of strip malls with major supermarkets, drug stores, restaurants, and a variety of other stores. Home values in Plainview normally range between about $600,000 to $1.5 million.