History of Long Beach, NY
Long Beach, New York, is one of the cities in Nassau County that lies along the shoreline facing the Atlantic ocean. Due to its attractive location, it has been part of the historical events in New York that put Long Beach in the history books.
Long Beach is one of the long-standing witnesses of the development of the tourism industry in New York from the 1900s up to this day. As the city continues to evolve, Hadi Medical Group in Long Beach would like to look back to the humble beginnings of the City By The Sea.
From a fishing and salting area to an island resort
The first settlers of Long Beach are native Americans belonging to the Lenape tribe, followed by the English colonists in 1640. Long Beach used to be a fishing and salting ground until the builder-entrepreneur Austin Corbin had a vision for the area.
Austin worked with Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to connect Long Beach to other parts of New York and turn it into an island resort in 1880. He also built the Long Beach Hotel and its cottages along the beach to accommodate almost 300,000 visitors during its first season.
The elephants in Long Beach boardwalk and Reynolds Channel
William H. Reynolds pioneered another attempt to develop Long Beach in 1906. One of the notable events he did is creating the boardwalk with the help of the elephants from the amusement park in Coney Island. He is also the man behind the Nassau Hotel and Reynolds Channel that opened the island to more visitors traveling through seaplanes and steamboats.
In 1907, Long Beach Hotel was burned to the ground causing several guests injuries from the fire. Some visitors left with a bad reputation for the area due to the misfortunate event. Sadly, after 13 years, his corporation went bankrupt but invited new investors to the island.
The rough start of Long Beach as a city
Long Beach, New York, became a city in 1922. However, it started as a city in a rough patch. Latter years after its incorporation, the city became the home for criminal activities.
Even the city mayor, Louis F. Edwards was shot dead in front of his house in 1939. Since the incident, the residents voted to have a city-manager form of local government that is still in place up to this day.
In 1950, the city regained a new start with the development of theatres and a bedroom community of workers traveling in and out of nearby New York cities.
The rehabilitation of Long Beach, NY after Superstorm Sandy
As Long Beach tries to be resilient from its dark past, the city faced another challenge with the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The boardwalk was destroyed, and many residential houses were severely damaged.
After one year, the Long Beach boardwalk was rebuilt and the city went on full rehabilitation. However, its citizens will never forget the storm that almost washed out the city.
Long Beach, NY: A growing urban and bedroom community of today
The bedroom community in Long Beach became part of the history of Long Beach, NY. Today, its population is around 33, 507 and home to a thriving commercial business in its two downtowns along Park Avenue and West Beech Street.
The newly built boardwalk has helped the local community to rebound and thrive once again. The boardwalk is the heart of almost every activity on the island. One of the top things to do in Long Beach, NY is to stroll, bike, or run along the boardwalk and watch the calming waves of the ocean.
With all the highs and lows of Long Beach, NY throughout history, it is probably one of the most resilient communities within the region. If they survived a superstorm and its dark past, nothing can stop Long Beach from thriving in the years to come.
We at Hadi Medical Group are proud to be part of the strong community of Long Beach.