Gordon Heights is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 3,981 at the 2020 census.

History

Gordon Heights had its beginnings in the early 1920s, when developer Louis Fife went to Black neighborhoods in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

(

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

) with the offer of land and a better life on

. Land was offered as low as $10 down and $10 monthly or $10 weekly. Promoted as a place that would be a solid, close-knit community of small farms, the pilgrimage to Long Island began in 1927. Gordon Heights was named after "Pop" Gordon, a man who had previously owned most of the land that became part of the new community. A civic association was formed to address the need of area residents. It would later become known as the Gordon Heights Progressive Association, which was founded in 1945. This group was the parent body of the Gordon Heights Fire Department.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.80%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 Census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,094 people, 856 households, and 678 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 945 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 62.12%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 24.27%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.36% Native American, 1.91% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 5.14% from other races, and 5.17% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 14.51% of the population. There were 856 households, out of which 45.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 24.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.7% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.53 and the average family size was 3.83. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 35.2% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $56,250, and the median income for a family was $54,450. Males had a median income of $39,120 versus $31,797 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $17,516. About 8.9% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the

poverty threshold The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

School district

Gordon Heights is located entirely within the boundaries of (and is thus served by) the Longwood Central School District.

Library district

Gordon Heights is located within the boundaries of the Longwood Library District.

Transportation

Gordon Heights is served by the 52A and 52B buses, operated by

Suffolk County Transit Suffolk County Transit is the provider of bus services in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island and is an agency of the Suffolk County government. It was founded in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private con ...

. The routes both run from Gordon Heights to the Central Islip train station, with the 52A serving Coram Plaza and the 52B serving Brookhaven Town Hall. The 52A runs seven days a week, while the 52B only operates on weekdays.

References

External links

Gordon Heights Archive

Gordon Heights History (Longwood Public Library)
{{authority control Brookhaven, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in New York (state) Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York