LEVITTOWN, NASSAU COUNTY,NY 11756BY IMEE SARMIENTO, RN

WINDSHIELD SURVEY:

LEVITTOWN: INTRODUCTION

This is a windshield survey of Levittown, a hamlet town of Hempstead in Nassau County.

It is located between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale.

This windshield survey is performed by walking and driving around the community.

According to the U.S. Census Estimate of 2010, the population in Levittown is 51, 881 (16th most populated city in the state).

LEVITTOWN: HISTORY

Levittown gets its name from its builder, the firm of Levitt & Sons, Inc. founded by William Levitt, which built the district as a planned community between 1947 and 1951.

William Levitt is considered the father of modern suburbia. Levittown was the first truly mass-produced suburb and is widely regarded as the archetype for postwar suburbs throughout the country.

The Levitt firm began before World War II, as a builder of custom homes in upper middle-class communities on Long Island.

During the war, however, the homebuilding industry languished under a general embargo on private use of scarce raw materials. William "Bill" Levitt served in the Navy, and developed expertise in mass-production building of military housing using uniform and interchangeable parts.

Today, nearly all of the 17,447 Levitt houses have been either expanded, remodeled, or dormered to reflect the changing profile of Levittown's residents. 

LEVITTOWN: BOUNDARIES

Located in the center of East Meadow, Hicksville, Bethpage and Wantagh.

The street boundaries / landmarks for Levittown are Wantagh State Parkway/Bellemore Rd-Jerusalem Rd-Southern State Parkway/Tally Lane-Route 107

LEVITTOWN: BOUNDARIES

LEVITTOWN: HOUSING

The houses here are mostly ranch style, called Levitt homes, built in the 1950’s. Many house appears to have been renovated or remodeled since then.

They are mostly single family houses, with about 20 feet distance from each houses.

This is an established community with areas of commercial shops. There are many houses on sale at this time, about 1 of 20 house is

on sale. The houses all look occupied from the outside, and there are no construction going on at all on any of the houses observed.

All the houses have more than one car per household, some with as many as four to five.

Street lights are present at 1 of every 2 houses; Curbs and gutters are noted on the majority of the houses.

LEVITTOWN: HOUSING

Most houses are averaged size with the entire property measuring 60ft by 100ft

The houses appears well-maintained for the most part but there are some that seems ragged.

Garbage collection schedule are strictly enforced. On this Columbus day I observed, there were no garbage outside the houses.

The streets were clean, no garbage or litter were noted.

There were no evidence of water, air, or ground pollution.

LEVITTOWN: HOUSING

THE ONLY APARTMENT IN LEVITTOWN

TYPICAL LEVITT HOME OF LEVITTOWN

LEVITTOWN: HOUSING There are many playgrounds in

Levittown, 9 all together. They are open to the public throughout the year.

There are also 9 town pools spread out through the town. It remains open throughout the summer every year.

The playgrounds and town pools are well-kept.

There are a few recreational park (Eisenhower park, Cantiague park) around Levittown, all within 5 miles

LEVITTOWN: SHOPPING AREAS

Along the main road, Hempstead turnpike, there were four shopping centers: restaurants, clothing, grocery stores, etc.

These shopping centers were located close to one another, less than ½ mile apart.

There are no ethnic store around this community, there are variety of ethnic restaurants.

Advertisement for tobacco and/or alcohol were mainly found by the gas stations.

LEVITTOWN: TRANSPORTATION

Most common mode of transportation is via car.

The closest LIRR are Hicksville and Bellemore. They are both within 5 miles.

LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, stretching from Manhattan to the easternmost tip of Suffolk County.

There is a bus that runs down Hempstead turnpike, the main road connecting the towns of Hempstead and Farmingdale.

LEVITTOWN: TRANSPORTATION

Hempstead turnpike is the main road serving the towns of Hempstead, East Meadow, Levittown, and Bethpage. This is where traffic congestion can be noted during rush hour.

Hempstead turnpike has a speed limit of 40mph although it has been notoriously known for its car accidents.

The speed limit in the residential area is 30mph which are posted noticeably on every other block.

The streets of Levittown is mainly well-kept by the residents and the town of Hempstead. The main road are also maintained by the town of Hempstead and are clean.

LEVITTOWN: HEALTH & SOCIAL AGENCIES

Hospitals/Medical centers serving Levittown:

St. Joseph Hospital (Acute Care Hospitals, Voluntary non-profit - Private, provides emergency services, about 2 miles away; BETHPAGE, NY)

Nassau University Medical Center (Acute Care Hospitals, Government - State, provides emergency services, about 3 miles away; EAST MEADOW, NY)

North Shore Long Island Jewish Plainview Hospital (Acute Care Hospitals, Voluntary non-profit - Private, provides emergency services, about 6 miles away; PLAINVIEW, NY)

LEVITTOWN: HEALTH & SOCIAL AGENCIES

There is medical center (Premier Care) available in the heart of Levittown that serves routine care to patients of all ages requiring non-emergent, immediate medical attention.

Center for acupuncture, physical therapy and other tertiary health promotion centers can also be found within the town.

Levittown Senior Center is a center that bring together older adults who want to be engaged in their communities and with their peers. Senior centers provide the services older adults need to be healthy, happy and as independent as they can be.

Several child care centers are dispersed through Levittown: Tutor time, Learn and Play day care, Eyes of Learning, etc.

LEVITTOWN: ECONOMICS

Retail trade (13%) Construction (13%) Transportation and warehousing (9%) Public administration (8%) Finance and insurance (7%) Educational services (7%) Manufacturing (6%)

Most common industries

LEVITTOWN: ECONOMICS

LEVITTOWN: PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Ambulance: The Wantagh-Levittown Volunteer Ambulance Corps provides paramedic level of care.

Fire: Levittown is protected by three volunteer fire departments, the Levittown Fire Department with 231 members operating out of 3 stations, Station 3 of the East Meadow Fire Department which covers portions of Levittown west of Division Avenue, and Station 2 of the Wantagh Fire Department which serves portions of Levittown South of Abbey Lane School.

Police: Levittown is patrolled by the eighth precinct of the Nassau County Police Department.

LEVITTOWN: PROTECTIVE DERVICES

Random police cars are noted to be patrolling throughout the day.

Fire stations are seen doing their casual fire drills. Sanitation services are provided through a scheduled

garbage and recycle pick up 2-3 times a week. There were a few signs noted” Neighborhood Watch”

but no other evidence of active patrol were assessed. There are a minimal amount of houses that has an

alarm systems noted in front of their property. 3 out of 3 families asked in the community denied

having an alarm system in their respective houses.

LEVITTOWN: RELIGION

There is one Catholic, one Protestant, one Presbyterian, one Orthodox, and one Baptist Church all within 5 miles radius.

All the Churches appear to be used for its religious purposes only.

LEVITTOWN: SCHOOL

There are 3 Middle Schools in the area; 6 Elementary Schools; 3 High Schools; 3 Colleges that are about 5 miles apart; and 2 Vocational Schools.

There are approximately about 2,840 Elementary School students; 2,859 Middle High School students; and about 3, 255 High School students.

School ground are all well kept. Crossing guards are noted during school hours

LEVITTOWN: CENSUS INFORMATION

Levittown Race / Ethnic Groups Non-Hispanic Population 45,902 White 41,814 Black 403 American Indian 43 Asian 2,937 Pacific Islander 6 Some Other Race 130 Two or More Races 569Hispanic 5,979

Source: Census 2010 SF1 Table P9 Hispanic or Latino or Not Hispanic or Latino by Race

LEVITTOWN: GENERAL

There were no evidence of graffiti or gangs noted. Women (mothers and grandmothers) and children were

mostly noted on the street, going for a regular walk, or walking their children to school on a weekday morning.

Caucasian/Italian are predominantly found in this community.

In the community shopping stores, no other language were noted in terms of signs, except for two Spanish restaurants noted where they had signs in Spanish noted at the entrance and on their menu.

Although mostly American, there are different ethnic restaurants found in the neighborhood: Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, and Indian.

LEVITTOWN: GENERAL

The informal hangout noted was by at the parking lot of the town’s library, where teenagers were in their bikes/skateboards.

A social club noted was from one of the local high schools. They were doing a charity work for breast cancer in front of a local supermarket.

The neighbors in this community were always interacting with each other in their driveway or lawn; doors were noted to be open during the day; and the kids from the neighborhood were all very friendly.

LEVITTOWN: GENERAL

Billboards were mostly noted on the bus stop and because of the upcoming election, they were all about the local politicians.

There were no stray animal noted in the community.

There were no ample housing alternatives noted-only one area has an apartment building present within the community.

LEVITTOWN: BUSINESS

There are 4 shopping centers noted within Hempstead turnpike. These centers offers a few variety store (such as clothing, appliance store, grocery store, restaurants, etc.).

There are ample parking provided for each shopping center. These centers are also accessible by the local bus.

In most of the community shopping stores, no other languages were illustrated in terms of signs outside their doors or windows; however there were two Spanish restaurants where they had signs in Spanish noted at the entrance and on their menus.

LEVITTOWN: EVALUATION

Overall, Levittown feels like a safe neighborhood. People seems very friendly and hospitable. I would work here because of the feeling of security and cleanliness I sensed in the community.

Based on my observation, there were many community resources on public health. They were found in the churches and local supermarkets. Local public high school were sponsoring a breast cancer awareness during my survey, which gave me the feeling that the community supports public health.

Upon my short observation, I could not identify any challenges for the community from a public health perspective.

LEVITTOWN: EVALUATION

As a community health nurse in Levittown, I would encourage the local retail shops to become more involve in the public health awareness. They can participate by collecting local donations for health promotion within the community.

In conclusion, Levittown is a city with an overall good public support, therefore health promotion should be further reinforced within the community.

One thing I noted during the windshield survey is the lack of support for the bicyclist. This is definitely one health promotion approach that can be supported by the local council members.

REFERENCES:

City-Data. (2012). Levittown, New York. Retrieved October 10, 2012 from http://www.city-data.com/city/Levittown-New-York.html

Levittown Historical Society. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct 5, 2012 from http://www.levittownhistoricalsociety.org/history.htm

Levittown, New York: Wikis. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct 5, 2012 from the full wiki: http://www.thefullwiki.org/Levittown%2C_New_York

Trulia. (2012). Levittown community info. Retrieved October 12, 2012 from http://www.trulia.com/real_estate/Levittown-New_York/community-info/

New York Demographics. (2012). Levittown demographics summary. Retrieved October 5, 2012 from http://www.newyork-demographics.com/levittown-demographics