Greentree is a

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

in Manhasset, New York on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. The estate was constructed for businessman Payne Whitney in 1904 and was owned by members of the Whitney family for much of the 20th century. It is currently owned by the Greentree Foundation, a philanthropic nonprofit organization.

History

Payne Whitney purchased the estate for his bride, Helen Julia Hay, in 1904. As with other Gold Coast Mansions, the original estate was pieced together. The five family farms that were purchased to make up the new estate were the Mitchell, Ketchum, Brinkerhoff, Skidmore, and Schenck farms. Later,

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the ''New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family. Early life Whit ...

and his second wife, Betsey, occupied the main house, where Mrs. Whitney remained in residence there until her death in 1998. Radio and TV talk show pioneers John Reagan "Tex" McCrary, and his wife, model and movie star Jinx Falkenburg, intermittently lived on the Jock Whitney estate with their sons from 1947 to 1977. The estate was later divided, with gifts of land being made to several organizations. * The North Shore Unitarian Universalist Society, now known as the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock
UUCSR
, received a portion adjacent to Shelter Rock Road and has built a large Worship Hall on the site of the former Apple Orchard. The old clay

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

court was removed at that time. * North Shore Manhasset Hospital also received a donation of property adjacent to Community Drive. John Hay Whitney was an honorary member of the Manhasset Lakeville Fire Department, and donated the land along Community Drive East to be the site of the M.L.FD. Company Two fire house, and Nassau County Police Departments 6th Precinct. The remaining 408 acres, including the family home, are run by the Greentree Foundation, as a conference center dedicated to international justice and human rights issues. The Greentree Foundation was founded in 1982 by

Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney Betsey Maria Cushing Whitney (May 18, 1908 – March 25, 1998) was an American philanthropist, a former daughter-in-law of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and later wife of U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St James's, John Hay Whitney. Early li ...

, and has owned the property since 2000. In 2004 the Greentree Foundation auctioned impressionist and modern artworks from the Whitney collection at Sothebys. The estate has hosted the

Manhasset negotiations The Manhasset negotiations (also known as Manhasset I, II, III and IV) were a series of talks that took place in four rounds in 2007–2008 at Manhasset, New York between the Moroccan government and the representatives of the Saharawi liberatio ...

, a round of talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front, August 10–12, 2007, as part of a set of UN-led meetings centering on the future of Western Sahara, among others.

References

{{Coord, 40, 47, 23, N, 73, 41, 32, W, region:US-NY_type:landmark, display=title Defunct real tennis venues Manhasset, New York Mansions of Gold Coast, Long Island Whitney family residences

History

See also

References