Grumman Corporation

Grumman was one of the leading aircraft producers for the U.S. Military in the 20th century. Grumman got its start in Baldwin then to Farmingdale and eventually moved to Bethpage.

In 1936, a local townsman successfully persuaded his friend Leroy Randle Grumman to relocate his expanding aircraft business from Farmingdale to Bethpage. It was at this time that the founders Messrs. Leroy Randle Grumman, Leon 'Jake' Swirbul, William 'Bill' Schwendler, Clint Towl, Ed Poor, and Joe Stamm purchased the farm land from the Looney family, Mary Moesch, the Neders, and the Kutsurs. They also acquired the polo grounds known as the Central Park Hunt Club (that was the area where the airport is currently.) They opened their first plant in 1936, soon becoming Bethpage's (and Long Island's) largest business concern. Their business boomed during the 1930's and 1940's in answer to the Navy's demands for quality aircraft and by 1944, Grumman, the man and the business, became a legend in their own time, winning the Navy "E" Award for production efficiency five years in a row. It was also awarded for its high morale as it turned out 500 airplanes per month. During World War II over 17,000 aircraft were produced in Bethpage, the runways were paved and several new plants were built. Having earned a "sterling reputation" for a quality product, the company went on to produce for the Korean conflict, for the 'Cold War' peace of the 1950-s and for the needs of the military in Vietnam.

In the 1950's, Grumman expanded beyond Bethpage onto sites at Stuart, Florida and Calverton, New York. Grumman Corporate Headquarters was in Bethpage on Stewart Avenue. The employee population increased from 13,789 in 1957 to over 34,000 in 1988.

Perhaps the most remembered project was the construction of the Lunar Module, and Grumman made Bethpage famous the world over. This was a complex and brilliantly designed spacecraft, which was to transport two astronauts to the surface of the moon and return them safely to earth. Grumman built 13 lunar modules. After signing the contract to build the Lunar Module (LM), the company's personnel level in Bethpage increased dramatically. It was during this era that local government officials recognized the need to allay rush-hour congestion along many of the traffic arteries, and by 1965, Stewart, Central, and Cherry Avenues had been widened.

The company's benevolence has had an enormous impact on our community. In 1956, our Fire District needed to construct a substation North of the railroad tracks. Grumman came forward and donated the land located on Stewart Avenue opposite Farmers Avenue. Similarly, 1962 marked the beginning of the Bethpage Community Park. It was built on a $720,000 18-acre site which was also generously donated by Grumman Corporation. They supported all community endeavors and the childrens baseball teams all carried the name of a Grumman airplane.

In 1969 Grumman went through a major restructuring which changed the name of the company from Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation to Grumman Corporation (with Grumman Aerospace Corporation as a major subsidiary). The change was designed to reflect the product lines which included boats, canoes, space technology, hydrofoils, avionics, and, of course, aircraft.

In 1975, Bethpagers opposed Grumman's plans to extend their airfield so that general aviation would be permitted to land in Bethpage. Residents feared these plans would ruin the suburban characteristics of the community. Within seven months, Town of Oyster Bay officials rejected Grumman's application. Paradoxically, in 1981 when the Dallas-based LTV Corporation attempted to take over Grumman, Bethpagers, Long Islanders and Grummanites across the country rallied in support of Grumman. Many of the people who worked in the shops on Broadway and Stewart Avenue made their support for Grumman clear by wearing t-shirts with slogans such as "I Love Grumman", "LTV Stay Away, Grumman All the Way", and "Forget it LTV, You can't Buy Me." There were bumper stickers, banners, newspaper ads, T-shirts and letters to Washington, D.C. all in opposition of the LTV take over, which many feared would jeopardize jobs and pensions. Grumman was Fortune 500 corporation and one of the nation's largest defense contractors. It was the largest public employer on Long Island. Its economic welfare had profound impact upon our community.

1994 Northrop Corp. purchased Grumman for $2.1 billion to form Northrop Grumman Corp. The new company closed almost all of the facilities on Long Island. Grumman headquaters building on 1111 Stewart Avenue became headquaters for Cablevision. Calverton is now the site of Grumman Memorial Park.

Newsday - June 1, 2010 - It Happened On Long Island - In the 1980's Grumman designed a Long Life Vehicle or LLV. This small truck is used by the U. S. Postal Service to deliver mail nationwide. The LLV driver sits on the right side of the vehicle with a tray of mail in the passenger seat on the left. This configuration lets the driver deliver mail to curb side mailboxes without leaving the truck. Between 1987 and 1994 the U. S. Postal Service put more than 100,000 LLVs on the roads.

Newsday - June 15, 2010 - Northrop Grumman Corp., in Bethpage, has been awarded a U.S. Army contract worth $517 million to build three unmanned blimps, each the length of a football field, for surveillance work in Afghanistan. The contract is awarded to the Battle Management and Engagement Systems Division that is headquartered in Bethpage, but also includes major facilities in Florida. About 2,000 people work at the Bethpage facility. Dianne Baumert-Moyik, Northrop Grumman spokes-woman in Bethpage stated one Long Island company, Telephonics Corp. of Farmingdale is a subcontractor. Telephonics provides communications systems for military and commercial airplanes. In all, 42 companies in 18 states are working on the program.