LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Village
of Atlantic Beach

WHEREAS, Each and every city, town, village and hamlet within its
borders proudly resonates with the rich and noble history of the State
of New York; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
commemorate the anniversary of the founding of municipalities throughout
the State, noting in turn their contributions to the fabric and develop-
ment of this great Empire State; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commemorate the 50th
Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Village of Atlantic Beach, New
York, to be celebrated on June 20 and 21, 2012, recognizing the signif-
icance of this special anniversary and applauding its distinguished
history; and
WHEREAS, On Wednesday, June 20, 2012, the Village of Atlantic Beach
will celebrate this auspicious occasion with an Anniversary Eve Dinner
to be held at the Sunny Atlantic Beach Club on Ocean Boulevard and, on
the afternoon and evening of Thursday, June 21, 2012, Atlantic Beach
residents will celebrate on The Plaza with rides and games, arts and
crafts, demonstrations by Atlantic Beach Rescue, music and performances
by local talent, a vintage automobile parade and exhibit, beautification
displays and, complimentary anniversary cake and dessert on the board-
walk; and
WHEREAS, Atlantic Beach is an incorporated village located in Nassau
County on the South Shore of Long Island, New York; it is within the
Town of Hempstead and the only village on the island which became incor-
porated since 1938; and
WHEREAS, Atlantic Beach has always been about the beaches, its great-
est and most treasured asset; it was the beaches which attracted devel-
opment in the late 1920s and 1930s and since; and
WHEREAS, It was the safeguarding of the privacy and control of the
beaches which motivated the push to incorporate and, it was preservation
of the beaches and oceanfront property which resulted in the change of
zoning to a Marine Recreation District, a zoning classification which
prevents any further residential development along the oceanfront and
preserves the beaches for all, among the most important and significant
decisions and occurrences in the history of the Village; and
WHEREAS, The first real interest in the growing barrier island of
Atlantic Beach came in 1922 when Robert Moses, the famous highway build-
er and public works czar, and the then Chairman of the State Council of
Parks, included Atlantic Beach as part of his "State Park Plan for New
York"; and
WHEREAS, The blueprint, which is believed to be still on file at the
archives in Albany, showed a parkway from central Queens to a bridge
crossing Reynolds Channel with architecturally refined facilities for
thousands of beach goers; unfortunately however, cost overruns on many
of Mr. Moses' other projects at the time and other factors dampened his
plans which were ultimately abandoned; and
WHEREAS, In 1923, a private company, Atlantic Beach Associates, headed
by Stephen P. Pettit, a Freeport banker and former sheriff, purchased
the property to develop 3,500 lots and named it Atlantic Beach; Stephen
Pettit had visions of creating a resort beachfront community; and
WHEREAS, Stephen Pettit died before he could advance his vision of a
resort community to equal Long Beach, which was already thriving a few
miles to the east, or Atlantic City in New Jersey but in 1926, another

developer, William Austin with his associate, C.N. Talbot, formed Island
Park Associates and purchased the land for $4,000,000; and
WHEREAS, Austin and Talbot completed Pettit's preliminary dredging and
shoring work, and proceeded with plans to subdivide the property; The
Title Guarantee and Trust Company approved a first mortgage loan on 45
homes to be erected by the company, the first of 150 dwellings planned,
the homes were all designed with seven rooms, two baths, private
detached garages on 40' x 88' lots, and were built in Spanish, Normandy,
Dutch or Moroccan styles; the homes were all stucco with tile roofs, in
a variety of tropical colors, and were suitable for year-round habita-
tion; and
WHEREAS, The new corporation, with the intention of developing the
area into a seaside community of homes and resorts, filed a map in 1926
and another in 1927 showing lots, streets, beaches, and boardwalk;
streets were provided to the beach and the bay at roughly every third
block; and
WHEREAS, William Austin laid in gas and electric lines and a sanitary
sewer system was installed in 1927; the boardwalk was planned for the
entire ocean side but, as constructed, it was about a mile long,
stretching from west of The Plaza and extending easterly beyond Vernon
Avenue; and
WHEREAS, A sales and development campaign was started; many of the
advertisements touted the success of Atlantic City in New Jersey,
promoting an even bigger and better resort, with the bonus of its prox-
imity to New York City; the boardwalk, then double the width of what
exists today, was built and opened in 1929; and
WHEREAS, The Atlantic Beach Bridge opened and was officially dedicated
on June 29, 1927; and
WHEREAS, The Castles Beach Club opened in May 1928; the Atlantic Beach
Club, later known as the Atlantic Beach Hotel & Cabana Club, the ABH,
opened in 1930 and plans were announced for the building of the Casa del
Mar (later the Nautilus Hotel), an apartment hotel, which upon
completion, became an overnight sensation and, in August 1930, the new
homeowners in Atlantic Beach joined together and formed the Atlantic
Beach Property Owners' Association; and
WHEREAS, Atlantic Beach became of vital importance to the government
during World War II; a 120 foot concrete lookout tower was constructed
at the tip of Silverpoint with both the bridge and its accesses to
Silverpoint being designated as emergency military routes in time of
war; during this time, homeowners also patrolled the beaches for signs
of enemy submarines; and
WHEREAS, By the end of World War II, Atlantic Beach had become a
summer mecca with thousands of city dwellers clogging what were then
only local streets through both the Rockaways and the Five Towns; and
WHEREAS, On October 14, 1950, a ground breaking ceremony for the new
Atlantic Beach Bridge was held and the ribbon cutting ceremony for the
new bridge was held on May 10, 1952; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, the building of nine stone jetties by the Army Corps
of Engineers, replacing deteriorating wooden jetties commenced and, in
June of that year the reconstruction of the Boardwalk from The Plaza to
Putnam was completed; and
WHEREAS, After 15 years of effort by and on behalf of the people of
Atlantic Beach, the Village of Atlantic Beach was incorporated in 1962;
the first Village Election was held in June 1962, electing the first
Village Board and the long serving and highly esteemed Fred Lager as
Mayor, who served for 28 years; Stephen Mahler has served as the Mayor
of the Village of Atlantic Beach since 1996; and

WHEREAS, The Atlantic Beach Village Office at 60 Park Street official-
ly opened on November 18, 1962; the all-volunteer Atlantic Beach Auxil-
iary Police unit was established in 1969; the new Atlantic Beach Village
Hall at 65 The Plaza officially opened on June 6, 1971; the all-volun-
teer Atlantic Beach Rescue Unit officially went into service in 1975;
and
WHEREAS, Remaining fruitful over the ebb and flow of decades of growth
and change, the Village of Atlantic Beach retains its commitment to
enhancing the quality of life of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, As the Village of Atlantic Beach celebrates the 50th Anniver-
sary of its incorporation, it honors its illustrious past, its proud
heritage and its promising future; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of the Village of Atlantic Beach's rich histo-
ry and enduring contribution to the State of New York, this Legislative
Body is proud to pay tribute to this spirited Village upon the occasion
of the celebration of its 50th Anniversary; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Village of Atlantic Beach and to
enthusiastically salute its residents as they celebrate this auspicious
occasion on June 20 and 21, 2012; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Village of Atlantic Beach, New York.