alternatehistory.com

Last night, I attended a rooftop party in the city of Great Neck (population 450,000) hosted by my friend who lives in the 38-story co-op apartment building. On one side, you can see the 90-story skyscraper that is the Sprague Tower (named after former Nassau County Executive J. Russell Sprague). At the height of Sprague's power, 80 percent of employees of the Nassau County Government worked in that building (Rockefeller Capital currently occupies the top five stories). Sprague Tower is one of the many commercial and residential buildings in Nassau and Suffolk counties developed by Frederick Trump. In New York, only the Empire State Building is taller.

The growth of Trump's real estate empire was responsible for the transformation of Long Island from a land of small villages and farms into a multitude of urban metropolises (and helped by lavish political contributions to Democrats and Republicans in both counties).

What POD would prevent the mass urbanization of the region and result in keeping Long Island rural, or at least turning it into a mere suburb just like Westchester and Rockland counties? If Nassau and Suffolk counties remained rural/suburban, would there be still any population growth? [1] Would the east end of Suffolk County still secede and form Peconic County? [2]

Also, would no urban development of Suffolk and Nassau counties result in a decrease in New York state's population? New York currently has 53 electoral votes (There are a combined 29 Congressional Districts in NYC, Suffolk, Nassau and Peconic counties).

And would the Trump Casino and Hotel in Atlantic Beach still be the largest employer in Long Island if it was merely rural/suburban?

Notes:
[1] IOTL, the populations are 2.75 million in Nassau County and 3 million in Suffolk County

[2] which was created IOTL in 1975 in a backlash against the mass development in Suffolk. Peconic County's current population is 250,000 (the tallest building there is the 25-story Perry Duryea Building in East Hampton, which houses the county government and courts).
Top