Old Bethpage is a hamlet in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 5,400 at the 2000 census. Its ZIP code is 11804.

Old Bethpage and its neighboring hamlet, Plainview, share a school system, library, fire department, and water district. Law enforcement for the community is provided by the Nassau County Police Department 8^thPrecinct.

History

Until 1936 Old Bethpage was known as Bethpage. In that year the larger, adjacent hamlet of Central Park, changed its name to Bethpage, at which point the area became known as Old Bethpage .

Geography.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.1 mi², all land.

It is considered "Mid-Island" by locals due to its central location on Long Island.

Parts of Bethpage State Park are also within its boundaries.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,400 people, 1,834 households, and 1,557 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,311.4/mi². There were 1,843 housing units at an average density of 447.6/mi². The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.57% White, 1.19% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.94% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.93% of the population.

There were 1,834 households out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.6% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.1% were non-families. 13.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $89,771, and the median income for a family was $100,325. Males had a median income of $67,917 versus $40,353 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $34,666. About 2.4% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

School System

Old Bethpage's school system is the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central school district #4. This school district contains one high school, two middle schools, four elementary schools and a kindergarten center. Of these schools, the only one located in Old Bethpage proper, is the Old Bethpage Grade School.

Old Bethpage also had its own one room school house named the Little Red Schoolhouse. This building, which stood until the 1970s, was located appropriately enough, on Schoolhouse Road, just off of Round Swamp Road. The building was torn down and the property developed into several houses.

Parks

Old Bethpage has a number of community parks tucked in between its homes. For residents, the primary park is the Old Bethpage Park, located on Haypath Road. This park features two tennis courts, baseball and softball fields, a basketball court, playgrounds and a community center. For out-of-towners, the town is also home to the Battle Row Campground, which provides accommodations for trailers and tent camping.

Entertainment

Old Bethpage is home to the Old Bethpage Village Restoration, an authentic recreation of a mid-19th century Long Island village, complete with farmhouses, a blacksmith, general store, cobbler, school house and church.

Sports

Old Bethpage is home to "Skate Safe of America", which provides facilities for roller hockey and other indoor sports.

Trivia

• Actor John Savage was born in Old Bethpage.

• Apprentice candidate and businessman Brian Mandelbaum grew up in Old Bethpage.

• Portions of the Long Island Motor Parkway ran through Old Bethpage. Street names such as "Vanderbilt Lane", "Motor Parkway" and "Toll Place" serve as reminders. Segments of the old roadbed and some bridges can still be seen in some places. For example, in Battle Row Campground, Bethpage State Park, and theOld Bethpage Village Restoration.

• At one time a railroad, the Central Railroad of Long Island, ran a spur to a brickworks plant which opened in Old Bethpage in the 1860s. The brickworks had been established to supply necessary materials to Alexander Stewart's Garden City. The remnants of a locomotive turntable can be found in the woods on the east side of Round Swamp Road, in Bethpage State Park

• Prior to its development as a suburb, the area that is now Lark Avenue roughly between Belair Drive and Lee Place, was once a shooting range.

• The stretch of undeveloped land which starts in Bethpage State Park and crosses Haypath Road, Old Bethpage Road and Old Country Road, was originally purchased as a right of way by the State of New York, for a proposed extension of the Bethpage State Parkway to the Long Island Expressway. The intersection of these two roads would have been Exit 47 on the Expressway. There is still no Exit 47, with the LIE skipping from Exit 46 to Exit 48.