Editing Levittown, New York (section)

== History ==

=== Overview ===
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The building firm, Levitt & Sons, headed by Abraham Levitt and his two sons, William and Alfred, built four planned communities called "Levittown", in [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Levittown, Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], [[Willingboro Township, New Jersey|New Jersey]] (now [[Willingboro Township]]), and [[Levittown, Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]]; the Levittown in New York was the first. Additionally, Levitt & Sons' designs are featured prominently in the older portion of [[Buffalo Grove, Illinois]]; [[Vernon Hills, Illinois]]; the Belair section of [[Bowie, Maryland]]; and the Greenbriar section of [[Fairfax, Virginia]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

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 home building industry languished under a general embargo on private use of scarce raw materials. William "Bill" Levitt served in the Navy in the [[Seabees]] – the service's construction battalions – and developed expertise in the mass-produced building of military housing using uniform and interchangeable parts. He was insistent that a postwar building boom would require similar mass-produced housing, and was able to purchase options on large swaths of onion and potato fields in undeveloped sections of Long Island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.levittownhistoricalsociety.org/history.htm |title=A Brief History of Levittown, New York |work=Levittown Historical Society |access-date=December 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220063637/http://www.levittownhistoricalsociety.org/history.htm |archive-date=December 20, 2008 }}</ref>

Returning to the firm after war's end, Bill Levitt persuaded his father and brother to embrace the utilitarian system of construction he had learned in the Navy. With his brother, Alfred, who was an architect, he designed a small one-floor house with an unfinished "expansion attic" that could be rapidly constructed and as rapidly rented to returning GIs and their young families.  Levitt & Sons built the community with an eye towards speed, efficiency, and cost-effective construction; these methods led to a production rate of 30 houses a day by July 1948.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/readings/Jackson_BabyBoom.pdf 
 |title=The Baby Boom and the Age of the Subdivision 
 |year=1985 
 |last=Jackson 
 |first=Kenneth T. 
 |access-date=January 12, 2009 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720114703/http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/readings/Jackson_BabyBoom.pdf 
 |archive-date=July 20, 2011 
 |df=mdy 
}}</ref>
They used pre-cut lumber and nails shipped from their own factories in [[Blue Lake, California]], and built on concrete slabs, as they had done in a previous planned community in [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. This necessitated negotiating a change in the building code which, prior to the building of this community, did not permit concrete slabs. Given the urgent need for housing in the region, the town agreed. Levitt & Sons also controversially utilized non-[[trade union|union]] contractors in the project, a move which provoked picket lines. On the other hand, they paid their workers well and offered multiple incentives that allowed them to earn extra money, so that they often could earn twice as much a week as elsewhere.<ref>Halberstam, David (1993–1994) ''The Fifties'', New York. p.138</ref> The company also cut out middlemen and purchased many items, including lumber and televisions, directly from manufacturers. The building of every house was reduced to 26 steps, with sub-contractors responsible for each step. His mass production of thousands of houses at virtually the same time allowed Levitt to sell them, with kitchens fully stocked with modern appliances, and a television in the living room, for as little as $8,000 each (equal to ${{Inflation|US|8000|1947|fmt=c}} today), which, with the [[G.I. Bill]] and federal housing subsidies, reduced the up-front cost of a house to many buyers to around $400 (equal to ${{Inflation|US|400|1947|fmt=c}} today).<ref name= triumph>{{cite triumph|pages+173-177}}</ref>

The planned 2,000-home rental community was quickly successful, with the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'' reporting that half of the properties had been rented within two days of the community being announced on May 7, 1947. As demand continued, exceeding availability, the Levitts expanded their project with 4,000 more homes, as well as community services, including schools and postal delivery. With the full implementation of federal government supports for housing, administered under the [[Federal Housing Administration]] (FHA), the Levitt firm switched from rental to sale of their houses, offering ownership on a 30-year mortgage with no down payment and monthly costs the same as rental. The resulting surge in demand pressed the firm to further expand its development, which changed its name from Island Trees to Levittown shortly thereafter.

Levittown was designed to provide a large amount of housing at a time when there was a high demand for affordable family homes.<ref>Gans, Herbert, J. (1967) ''The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community''. New York: Pantheon Books. p.3</ref> This suburban development would become a symbol of the "[[American Dream]]" as it allowed thousands of families to become home owners.

==== Unsuccessful incorporation proposals ====
In 1952, [[Carl Sigman]], who was running as the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate for county executive, stated that he felt it would be wise for Levittown to become incorporated as a city.<ref name=":0" /> If successful, this would have been the third city to be incorporated within Nassau County, joining [[Glen Cove, New York|Glen Cove]] and [[Long Beach, New York|Long Beach]].<ref name=":0" />

Previously, locals had proposed incorporating their hamlet as a village.<ref>{{Cite news|date=July 27, 1949|title=Levittown Civics Shelve Village Plan|work=[[Newsday]]|via=[[ProQuest]]}}</ref>

===Discriminatory practices===
As well as a symbol of the American dream, Levittown would also become a symbol of [[racial segregation in the United States]], due to clause 25 of the standard lease agreement signed by the first residents of Levittown, who had an option to buy their homes. This "[[restrictive covenant]]" stated in capital letters and bold type that the house could not "be used or occupied by any person other than members of the [[Caucasian race]]."<ref name=nyt50>Lambert, Bruce (December 28, 1997) [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/28/nyregion/at-50-levittown-contends-with-its-legacy-of-bias.html "At 50, Levittown Contends With Its Legacy of Bias"] ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref>

Such discriminatory housing standards were consistent with government policies of the time.<ref>Gotham, Kevin Fox (summer 2000) "Racialization and the State: The Housing Act of 1934 and the Creation of the Federal Housing Administration," ''Sociological Perspectives,'' 43/2 p.309</ref> The Federal Housing Administration allowed developers to justify segregation within public housing. The FHA offered mortgages only to non-mixed developments, which discouraged developers from creating [[racial integration|racially integrated]] housing.<ref>Kushner, David (2009) ''Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America's Legendary Suburb''. New York: Walker & Company. p.43</ref> Before the sale of Levittown homes began, the sales agents were aware that no applications from [[African-American|black]] families would be accepted. As a result, American veterans who wished to purchase a home in Levittown were unable to do so if they were black.<ref name="Kushner 2009, p. 44">Kushner 2009, p.44.</ref><ref name=nyt50 />

William Levitt attempted to justify their decision to only sell homes to white families by saying that it was in the best interest for business.<ref name="Kushner 2009, p. 44"/> He claimed their actions were not discriminatory but intended to maintain the value of their properties. The company explained that it was not possible to reduce racial segregation while they were attempting to reduce the housing shortage. Levitt said, "As a Jew, I have no room in my heart for racial prejudice, but the plain fact is that most whites prefer not to live in mixed communities. This attitude may be wrong morally, and someday it may change. I hope it will."<ref>"When the Niggers Moved into Levittown: a review of David Kushner's ''Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America's Legendary Suburb''" ''[[Journal of Blacks in Higher Education]]'' 63 (Spring 2009): 80–81</ref> The Levitts explained that they would open up applications to blacks after they had sold as many homes to white people as possible.<ref name="Kushner 2009, p. 44"/> They believed that potential white buyers would not want to buy a house in Levittown if they were aware that they would have black neighbors.

An opposition group was formed, the Committee to End Discrimination in Levittown, to protest the restricted sale of Levittown homes, and to push for an integrated community. In 1948 the [[United States Supreme Court]], in ''[[Shelley v. Kraemer]]'', declared that property deeds stipulating racial segregation were "unenforceable as law and contrary to public policy".<ref>Jones, Michael E. (2004) ''The Slaughter of Cities: Urban Renewal as Ethnic Cleansing''. South Bend, Indiana: St. Augustine's Press. p. 188.</ref><ref name=nyt50 /> Only well after the 1954 racial integration decisions, including ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', was Levittown racially integrated, and even as late as the 1990 census, only a tiny fraction of the community was non-white.<ref>Hales, Peter Bacon (September 2016) "Levittown's Palimpsest: Colored Skin" in [http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/Faculty/pcatapano/US2/US%20Documents/Levittown%20Documents%20of%20an%20Ideal%20American%20Suburb.pdf ''Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb'']</ref><ref name=nyt50 /> Starting primarily in the 2010s, Levittown's demographics have been shifting as it has been attracting middle-class [[South Asia]]n and Hispanic residents to the community.

===Spread of the planned community===
While the Levitts are generally credited with designing a postwar "planned community," with common public amenities such as swimming pools and community centers, they were quick to release these high-maintenance, low-profit elements to the surrounding towns; the development sprawled across municipal boundaries, causing legal and administrative difficulties and requiring major initiatives within those existing municipalities to provide for and fund schools, sewage and water systems, and other infrastructure elements.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In 1949, Levitt and Sons changed focus, unveiling a new plan which it termed a "[[Ranch-style house|ranch]]" house. Larger, {{convert|32|by|25|ft|m|1}},{{efn|Two bedrooms, 12x12 and 12x8; a living room 12x19; a kitchen 9.5x10.5; and bathroom.}} and more modern, these homes were only offered for sale, with a planned price of $7,990 (equal to ${{Inflation|US|7990|1949|fmt=c}} today). The ranch homes were similar to the rental properties in that they were built on concrete slabs, included an expandable attic but no garage, and were heated with hot-water [[radiant heating]] pipes. Five models were offered that were effectively identical with differences in details such as exterior color and window placement. Again, demand was high, requiring that the purchasing process be streamlined as the assembly process had been, reaching the point that a buyer could walk through the process of selecting a house through contracting for its purchase in three minutes. This ranch model was altered in 1950 to include a carport and a built-in television. In 1951, a partially finished attic was added to the design.

Levittown proved successful. By 1951, it and surrounding regions included 17,447 homes constructed by Levitt & Sons.

On November 9, 2007, Levitt & Sons of [[Fort Lauderdale]] became the nation's largest builder to file for [[Bankruptcy in the United States|bankruptcy]] as the housing market boom of the early 21st century continued to crumble.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/sfl-1109levitt,0,3663427.story|title=Fort Lauderdale-based home builder Levitt & Sons files for bankruptcy|last=Owers|first=Paul|date=November 9, 2007|newspaper=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel]]|access-date=August 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110204723/http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/sfl-1109levitt%2C0%2C3663427.story|archive-date=November 10, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Timeline ===
*February 12, 1664: Jerusalem Purchase between John Seaman and Takapausha of the Massapequan Indians whereupon the English were granted rights to settle in on lands that now comprise southern and easternmost Levittown (south of Hempstead Tpke.), northern and eastern Wantagh, and most of Seaford. As Seaman established his farm, Cherrywood, two years later, near the current location of Salk Middle School and MacArthur High School, he was the first European to live in what's now Levittown. This is the start of the use of the word "Jerusalem" to describe the aforementioned areas.<ref name=":81">{{Cite book|last=Winsche|first=Richard|title=The History of Nassau County Community Place-Names|date=October 1, 1999|publisher=Empire State Books|isbn=978-1557871541|location=[[Interlaken, New York]]|pages=}}</ref>
* March 22, 1747: Land deed between the Seaman and Weeks families first to mention the Island of Trees endowing the general area of northern Levittown with the name "Island Trees".<ref name=":81" />
* March 1, 1837: Rail service arrives at [[Hicksville, New York|Hicksville]] under the supervision of Valentine Hicks. The ensuing influx of German immigrant farmers and artisans opens the future Levittown area up to potato farming and other forms of development.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
* February 11, 1907: William Levitt born to Abraham Levitt and Pauline Biederman Levitt in Brooklyn.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
* May 21, 1947: Local governing board approves of the construction of a community that would become Levittown.<ref name=":81" />
* October 1, 1947: Levittown's official beginning as a suburban entity with the first three hundred families – beginning with the Bladykas family – moving into their brand-new Levitt & Sons homes.<ref name=":81" />
* January 1, 1948: The Jerusalem/Island Trees area is officially named "Levittown".<ref name=":81" />