Living in Massapequa A family community on the shore Massapequa is an active waterfront hamlet on South Oyster Bay, offering parks, natural spaces, restaurants, marinas, houses of worship and an abundance of commerce. Ocean beaches are 20-30 minutes away; other attractions include the John J. Burns and Marjorie Post parks as well as the 423-acre Massapequa Preserve. Home prices generally range from $320,000 to $1.5 million, although some properties can go higher.
AT A GLANCE: Massa pequa is located in the Town of Oyster Bay Area: 3.6 square miles Population: 22,652 Median age: 39.0 Median household income: $85,255 Median home value: $440,000* Travel time to NYC: 50 to 63 minutes by LIRR during peak times Monthly LIRR ticket: $192 ZIP code: 11758, includes North Massapequa SOURCES: Claritas 2002, 2002 Census, Long Island Rail Road *Based on past six months per Multiple Listing Service of Long Island Annual events such as the strawberry and apple festivals sponsored by the Historical Society draw large crowds. Quiet neighborhoods feature a variety of house sizes and styles including capes, ranches, split-levels, Colonials, contemporaries and Tudors. Some properties south of Merrick Road are on canals and the open bay. Well-known neighborhoods include Old Harbor Green, Massapequa Shores, Nassau Shores, Biltmore Shores and Massapequa Woods. The area officially includes East Massapequa and North Massapequa (populations of about 19,500 and 19,150, respectively).
Massapequa History
Massapequa first was occupied by the Massapequan Indians, who called it "Great Water Land." They lived peacefully until attacked in 1653 by troops led by John Underhill, an Englishman working for the Dutch. The attack killed 120 Indians. Soon after, the Townsends, a Quaker family from Connecticut bought land from the Massapequan sachem, Tackapousha. John Townsend gave the land to his daughter, Freelove, and her husband, Thomas Jones, who werethe area's first white settlers, in 1696. They owned 6,000 acres, including the sandbar that bares their name -- Jones Beach.
As a resort area, Massapequa attracted many notables over the years, including President Chester A. Arthur and Civil War Gen. Joseph Hooker, who stayed at the Vanderwater Hotel, which stood on the corner of Hicksville and Merrick roads. In the 1920s, Will Rogers and Annie Oakley rented houses in Massapequa, around the time developers began to transform the area into a suburban community. Massapequa also has produced its share of homegrown celebrities including comedian Jerry Seinfeld; actors Alec, Stephen, Daniel and William Baldwin; and Ron Kovic, a Vietnam War veteran and peace activist who wrote "Born on the Fourth of July."
