Ronkonkoma, New York Explained

Ronkonkoma is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) mostly in the Town of Islip, with a small eastern portion in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 18,955 at the time of the 2020 census.^[2]

The Ronkonkoma post office has the ZIP Code 11779, and serves parts of several hamlets and CDPs adjacent to Ronkonkoma.

The hamlet is also home to Long Island MacArthur Airport, which is owned and operated by the Town of Islip. The New York Air Route Traffic Control Center is located at the airport.

History

The name "Ronkonkoma" comes from the nearby Lake Ronkonkoma, which in turn comes from an Algonquian expression meaning "boundary fishing-lake", also earlier written as "Raconkumake" and "Raconkamuck."^[3]

Since 1988, Ronkonkoma has been the end of electrification along the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line.^[4] The track between Hicksville and Ronkonkoma is known as the Ronkonkoma Branch. In 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the groundbreaking of a new $650 million development to create a Ronkonkoma Hub near the LIRR Line, similar to the hub in neighboring Brookhaven.^[5]

Ronkonkoma was the terminus of the first road in the United States designed exclusively for automobiles, the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, constructed by a consortium of investors called the Long Island Motor Parkway, Inc. led by William Kissam Vanderbilt II.^[6]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 21.1km2, of which 0.9sqkm, or 4.07%, is covered by water.^[2]

The community is adjacent to Lake Ronkonkoma.^[7]

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 18,955 people and 6,150 households residing in the CDP. The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.7% White, 4.5% African American, 7.7% Asian, 5.1% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 20.9% of the population.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 6.1% under the age of five, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $114,216, while the per capita income for the CDP was $41,792. About 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line.^[8]

Neighborhoods

• Lake Hills is north of the Long Island Expressway and south of Long Island Motor Parkway, roughly bounded by Rosevale Avenue and Ocean Avenue to the east, and Terry Road to the west.^[9]
• Lakeland is south of the Long Island Expressway and north of Veterans Memorial Highway, bounded on the west by Lakeland County Park and Connetquot River State Park, and on the east by Ronkonkoma Avenue and Lakeland Avenue.^[10]

Economy

Vitamin maker The Bountiful Company is based in Ronkonkoma.^[11]

Northrop Grumman has a hypersonic test and manufacturing facility adjacent to the Long Island MacArthur Airport.^[12]

Education

Almost all of Ronkonkoma CDP is in Connetquot Central School District.^[13] Three public elementary schools are in Ronkonkoma, with one middle school, and high school students attend Connetquot High School in Bohemia.

A portion of the CDP to the east is in Sachem Central School District. The CDP area also extends into Central Islip Union Free School District to the west,^[13] but that portion is taken up entirely by parts of the Connetquot River State Park.^[14]

Prior to 1960, the Connetquot School District portion of the area belonged to the Ronkonkoma School District. After a vote, the district merged with the Oakdale-Bohemia School District in the neighboring communities of Oakdale and Bohemia, New York, to create the Connetquot School District.^[15]

Notable people

• Stefanie DeLeo (born 1982), author, playwright
• Keith Detelj (born 1985), soccer player^[16]
• Joe Grimaldi (born 1986), ice hockey player^[17]
• Steve Hass (born 1975), musician/music producer
• Joe Jones (born 1965), basketball coach
• Moira Kelly (born 1968), actress
• Lennon Murphy (born 1982), singer-songwriter
• Joseph Raffaele, religious leader^[18]
• Scott Rudolph, entrepreneur
• Thorgy Thor (born 1984 as Shane Galligan), drag queen, violinist
• Alexis Weik, New York state senator^[19]

In popular culture

• In The Oh, Hello Show, John Mulaney's character George St. Geegland wrote a book called Next Stop: Ronkonkoma. The book is the story of 100 people on a train on Long Island. The book is written from 100 different perspectives, and is more than 1,000 pages long.
• In the season 7 episode of How I Met Your Mother entitled "The Drunk Train", Barney says "I was all, 'do I look like I'm from Ronkonkoma?'"
• Ronkonkoma is referenced in Law and Order Special Victims Unit, (Season 16xE11: "Agent Provocateur"), where a character states she lives in Ronkonkoma.
• Ronkonkoma is referenced in two songs by singer/songwriter Mike Doughty: "Busting Up a Starbucks" and "Like a Luminous Girl."
• Ronkonkoma was referenced by Artie Lange during the March 3, 2009, taping of the Late Show with David Letterman. The comic recounted a story of sitting in front of a fan at Yankees games who repeatedly cheered on Derek Jeter by shouting, "Do it for Ronkonkoma!" to which Lange replied "No one's doing anything for Ronkonkoma!^[20] "
• Two characters in the movie 200 Cigarettes are visiting New York City from Ronkonkoma.
• George Burns mentioned Ronkonkoma on an episode of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show; coincidentally, Burns often performed in Ronkonkoma early in his career.
• Edith Bunker mentioned Ronkonkoma in the "Archie is Jealous" episode of All in the Family.^[21]
• Paul Buchman mentions Ronkonkoma in an episode of Mad About You.
• The National Hockey League's New York Islanders' 2024-25 Schedule Release video is hosted by a man named "Ronald Konkoma."
• Only Murders in the Building mentions Ronkonkoma in Season 4 Episode 8 "Lifeboat" in reference to a film project named "Project Ronkonkoma".

Notes and References

1. Web site: ArcGIS REST Services Directory. United States Census Bureau. September 20, 2022.
2. Web site: Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Ronkonkoma CDP, New York. https://archive.today/20200212192605/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US3663473. dead. 2020-02-12. U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. 2013-01-08.
3. Bright, William (2007). Native American placenames of the United States. Bright University of Oklahoma Press. p. 411.
4. News: Long Island Rail Road From Penn Station to Ronkonkoma, N.Y . . Jan 31, 2008 . 2009-08-19 . Billie . Cohen.
5. Web site: November 20, 2017 . Governor Cuomo Announces Groundbreaking on First Phase of State-of-the-Art New Ronkonkoma Hub . https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043633/https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-groundbreaking-first-phase-state-art-new-ronkonkoma-hub . December 1, 2017 . New York State Pressroom.
6. Book: Goldstone, Lawrence . 2016 . Drive! . Ballantine Books . 269 . 9780553394184 .
7. Web site: Long Island Index: Interactive Map . 2024-11-19 . Long Island Index Maps . Long Island Index.
8. Web site: QuickFacts, Ronkonkoma CDP, New York. March 13, 2022. census.gov.
9. Web site: Lake Hills Ronkonkoma. nextdoor.com.
10. Web site: Lakeland, Ronkonkoma. nextdoor.com.
11. Web site: The Nature's Bounty Co – Profile. Dun & Bradstreet. March 4, 2020.
12. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2020/Q4/purdue-hypersonics-receives-boost-from-northrop-grumman-shock-tunnel-donation.html Purdue hypersonics receives boost from Northrop Grumman shock tunnel donation
13. Web site: 2020 census - school district reference map: Suffolk County, NY. U.S. Census Bureau. 2024-10-24. 4 (PDF p. 5/6). - Text list
14. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Ronkonkoma CDP, NY. U.S. Census Bureau. 2024-10-24. 1 (PDF p. 1/2). - Compare with the school district map.
15. News: School Consolidation Voted . . June 24, 1960 . December 4, 2009.
16. Web site: Keith Detelj - Soccer - . www.soccerway.com.
17. Web site: Joe Grimaldi Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com. www.hockeydb.com.
18. Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions. Ed. J. Gordon Melton Vol. 1: United States. 9th ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2017.
19. Web site: About Alexis Weik. February 12, 2021. New York State Senate.
20. Web site: Do It For Ronkonkoma . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/68SPhJRzefY. 2021-12-11 . live. YouTube . 15 April 2021 . en.
21. Web site: All In The Family s02e23 Episode Script SS . 2024-11-19 . Springfield! Springfield! . en.