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is located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 17,499 at the 2000 census.
Beginnings: The incorporated village shares the early Indian history of Massapequa. Then, in the 19th Century, families of German descent relocated from Brooklyn to what is now Massapequa Park, and the resulting community was known as Wurtenberg or Stadtwurtemburg. The main attraction and center of activity was the Woodcastle Hotel, a rooming house built in 1868 on Front Street next to the fire department as a summer resort. It was destroyed by fire in 1952 and replaced by houses.
Turning Point: In 1928 readers of The New York Times saw ads for Massapequa Park, a development built by a real estate firm owned by Michael J. Brady, Frank Cryan and Peter Colleran. The three Irish-Americans described their project as having a bit of Old Erin and the area still has its mostly Irish street names. In 1931, Massapequa Park was incorporated as a village to ensure control of land use and other issues.
Claims to Fame: The village once had its own airport, the Fitzmaurice Flying Field, named in 1929 for James Fitzmaurice, the first man to fly a plane from Europe to the United States. It is said that more than 100,000 people came to the dedication of the field on Roosevelt Avenue. The field was used by private planes. The field was eventually closed and became the home for the athletic fields of the 4M Club, a popular youth athletic program founded by Larry Neusse, and supported by a wide range of local residents. Today the site is home to McKenna Elementary School (which used to be a Jr. High school) and the Nassau County Police Academy (which used to be Hawthorne Elementary School).