Massapequa Park, New York

History

The village located on the South Shore of Long Island shares the early Native American history of Massapequa. Then in the 19th century, families of German descent relocated from Brooklyn to what is now Massapequa Park, and the community which was formed was known as Wurtenberg or Stadtwurtemburg. The main attraction and center of activity was the Woodcastle Hotel, a rooming house built in 1868 on Front Street next to the fire department as a summer resort. It was destroyed by fire in 1952 and replaced by houses.

 In 1928, The New York Times ran ads for Massapequa Park, a development built by a real estate firm owned by Michael J. Brady, Frank Cryan, and Peter Colleran. The three Irish-Americans described their project as having a bit of Old Erin; the area between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road still has mostly Irish street names.

 In 1931, Massapequa Park was incorporated as a village to ensure control of land use and other issues. Several dozen kit houses from Sears Roebuck were built in two different areas of the village. These include some of the largest model kit houses offered by Sears.

 The village once had its own airport, the Fitzmaurice Flying Field, named in 1929 for James Fitzmaurice, one of a crew of three to be the first to fly a plane from east to west across the Atlantic (Baldonnel, Ireland to Greenly Island in Labrador, Canada). An estimated 100,000 people came to the dedication of the field on Spruce Street. The field was used by private planes.

 The field was eventually closed and became the home for the athletic fields of the 4M Club, a popular youth athletic program founded by Larry Neusse, and supported by a wide range of local residents. Today the site is home to McKenna Elementary School (which used to be a junior high school) and the Nassau County Police Academy (which used to be Hawthorn Elementary School).

Parks and recreation

The Village of Massapequa Park owns and operates three parks main: Brady Park, Colleran Park, and Mansfield Park. It also owns and maintain several memorials and associated parks which are located throughout the village.

Education

The village is located within the boundaries of (and is thus served by) the Massapequa Union Free School District.

 During the 1960s, 1970s and much of the 1980s the Massapequa School District had seven elementary schools (Carman Road, East Lake, Birch Lane, Fairfield, Unqua, Hawthorn, Lockhart), two junior high schools (McKenna and Ames) and two high schools (Massapequa and Alfred G. Berner).

In 1987, the Massapequa school district restructured the district by leasing Carmans Road elementary to Nassau BOCES and Hawthorne Elementary to the Nassau County Police Academy. John P. McKenna Jr. High School was converted to an elementary school, while Alfred G. Berner became the new junior high, later becoming a middle school. J. Lewis Ames Jr. High School is no longer a middle school, but a "9th Grade Center"– the Ames Campus of Massapequa High School. The northern section of the village and hamlet are served by the Farmingdale School District.

 Transportation

The Long Island Rail Road's Massapequa Park station on the Babylon Branch is located in the village.

 Major roads within the village include Merrick Road (CR 27) and Sunrise Highway (NY 27). Furthermore, the Village of Massapequa Park owns roughly 30 miles (48 km) of roads, which are maintained by the Village of Massapequa Park Department of Public Works.