Destination: GREAT NECK

Destination: GREAT NECK All the good stuff about Great Neck's historical villages @ the crossroads of the American Dream.

We are an all-volunteer community organization with a diverse board, dedicated to the betterment of Great Neck, NY and all of its villages including: Village of Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Thomaston, Great Neck Gardens, Harbor Hills, Saddle Rock Estates, University Gardens.

Bond Street, Great Neck Plaza. Today ( #1) and then, after an AI touch up ( #2) a vintage 1960s street scene with shops ...
06/18/2026

Bond Street, Great Neck Plaza. Today ( #1) and then, after an AI touch up ( #2) a vintage 1960s street scene with shops like Garr’s, André, and the Bel-Air Accessories. Bond Street has been at the heart of Great Neck Plaza village life since at least the 1920s, when the Colony House Hotel — a six-story landmark with a full-service restaurant and accommodations for several hundred guests — stood at the corner of Grace Avenue and Bond Street, popular with actors, theatregoers, and local movers and shakers. 

By the late 1950s and early 1960s, new storefronts were sprouting along the area around the train station giving Bond Street exactly the kind of boutique energy that would have supported such shops.

Some tenants from that era had remarkable staying power — The Petite Shop, a children’s clothing store at the corner of Grace Avenue and Bond Street was there for decades and precursor of Camp & Campus. ( #4)

14 women including five from Great Neck, whose leadership, volunteerism and professional accomplishments have strengthen...
06/17/2026

14 women including five from Great Neck, whose leadership, volunteerism and professional accomplishments have strengthened communities across the Town of North Hempstead were recognized Friday, June 12, at the 33rd Annual May W. Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor breakfast.

🙌Dr. Mahvash Rafii Abitbol of Great Neck, a pioneering radiologist whose career began in Tehran, Iran, where she earned a medical degree despite limited opportunities for women in her community. After moving to the United States, she completed residency training and joined NYU School of Medicine’s Department of Radiology, contributing to advancements in CT and MRI imaging while also remaining active in local schools, scouting and synagogue life.
🙌Shani Geisinsky of Great Neck was honored for her work through Chabad of Great Neck, where she helps lead local JCC and CTeen programs. As a Rebbetzin and community leader, she provides guidance and support to families and individuals throughout the community.

🙌Dr. Emma Laskin of Great Neck was recognized for her work as a psychiatrist and community advocate. A clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Health, she treats children, adolescents and adults while also serving on the boards of several nonprofit and educational organizations. Her efforts have earned repeated Patients’ Choice and Compassionate Doctor awards.
🙌Janet Navaei-Livian of Great Neck was recognized for years of volunteer service assisting seniors and cancer patients. Her work has included supporting members of the Shareh Shalom Senior Club, volunteering in the oncology department at North Shore University Hospital and assisting elderly residents at a senior care center in Milan.
🙌Suzy Shechtman of Great Neck was recognized for over 40 years as president of the Harbor Hills Civic Association, where she has advocated for residents and strengthened community ties. Shechtman is also an Emmy Award-winning television producer and guest lecturer at Columbia University.

Introducing, Michael Lyakhov of Great Neck, a senior graduating from Great Neck North high school. His future studies in...
06/17/2026

Introducing, Michael Lyakhov of Great Neck, a senior graduating from Great Neck North high school. His future studies include AI engineering and finance at .
Michael and his innovations aim to improve healthcare. He has two patents pending, and great plans to help others. According to Michael, “the past four years have taught me mainly, persistence. I think there’s been a lot of ups and downs and I’ve encountered a lot of obstacles, but really just not giving up has led me to my accomplishments.” Gooooo Michael! 🙌 .lyakhov

Perhaps Great Neck’s best chapter lies ahead. Our schools, beyond compare. Our parks make people stare. Our streets wi...
06/15/2026

Perhaps Great Neck’s best chapter lies ahead. Our schools, beyond compare. Our parks make people stare. Our streets will be alive. Great Neck in Five? Great Neck’s comeback story may come through new businesses opening their doors. (But please if not Fro Yo, at least no more nail / lash / spas) It may come through local entrepreneurs investing in storefronts, restaurants creating destination dining experiences, and residents with intention, choosing to shop locally.

Our moment may come through community events that bring people together. (Destination: Great Neck, yo!) It may come through grassroots organizations that promote the community and remind people what makes Great Neck unique. (cough, cough).

But make no mistake, as we saw with the Knicks on June 13, 2026: comebacks from behind, happen. History teaches us that the most satisfying victories often come after the longest waits. The Knicks reminded New York – and the world- that every setback, every disappointment, and every season of frustration was part of a larger story. One of resilience. Perseverance. A story of refusing to give up.

For Great Neck, that lesson feels especially relevant. Today, we are most known for being a town of striving, resilient, persevering immigrants and next gen. Perhaps Great Neck’s best chapter lies ahead. Our schools, beyond compare. Our parks make people stare. Our streets will be alive. Great Neck in Five?
This screenshot/ capture was taken from a video circulated by

With a tip of the hat to the Great Neck Historical Society, and a touch of AI to enhance the capture, see here. It appea...
06/13/2026

With a tip of the hat to the Great Neck Historical Society, and a touch of AI to enhance the capture, see here. It appears that in the early days, there was a roundabout in the front of the building facing what is now Middle Neck Road
For those interested in Great Neck history, the Grace Building is the closest thing the Plaza has to its architectural crown jewel as Great Neck transformed from a farming community into a sophisticated railroad suburb connected to Manhattan.
When William Russell Grace, Founder of W.R. Grace & Co., a major global shipping and chemicals company, twice Mayor of New York City and first Roman Catholic mayor of NYC began shaping downtown Great Neck in the early 1900s, he envisioned a commuter village modeled after English towns. The Grace Building circa 1913 became the centerpiece of that vision. Its ground floor contained shops and commercial uses, while the upper floors housed offices and later, apartments.

Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start 🎵🎶🎼Here, a deer in Kings Point Park. A female deer with a ...
06/13/2026

Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start 🎵🎶🎼
Here, a deer in Kings Point Park. A female deer with a long long place to.run?
Oh, dear what can the matter be? Locals know there a controversy brewing, about the fate of a certain parcel of Kings Point Park. It has become a veritable political football involving several jurisdictions —The Villages of Great Neck, Kings Point and the GN Park District.

…hopefully it will resolve well.

Meanwhile, People of the GN Peninsula— be a dear and inform thyself. Attention must be paid!

Somewhere in Kings Point, in Gatsby territory, a $35M estate with all the things is up for sale. Howdy soon-to-be neighb...
06/13/2026

Somewhere in Kings Point, in Gatsby territory, a $35M estate with all the things is up for sale. Howdy soon-to-be neighbor. Welcome to the peninsula! Unless you come in by helicopter, You gotta make the drive through the villages of Thomaston, Great Neck Plaza, Great Neck Estates, Kensington, Old Village of Great Neck, etcetera to get to points north via Middle Neck Road. Enjoy the schlep!

Another showing of our buildings as Sentinels over the past century. They have seen it all. Take a peek at the pedestri...
06/13/2026

Another showing of our buildings as Sentinels over the past century. They have seen it all. Take a peek at the pedestrians in the later shots. They all seem to be heading towards the station. In those days, (1920-1930) the tracks were on grade. Horse & buggy were still in action too.
In old Great Neck, commercial buildings sat close to the street, Businesses relied heavily on passing motorists, there were no large municipal parking lots, cars were much smaller and traffic volumes were lower. In the 1920s and 1930s, maximizing curbside parking was often a hallmark of a thriving shopping district—diagonal parking helped many suburban downtowns develop into walkable retail centers creating a more active street environment. Diagonal parking typically fits 30%–50% more cars along a block than parallel parking —more potential customers for local businesses. There are also traffic calming benefits and drivers tend to drive slower with such layouts, but may have limited visibility when reversing. Gee, if parallel parking isn’t working, and we don’t have space for diagonal what’s left? Vertical? Horizontal?

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100 Middle Neck Road
Great Neck, NY
11021

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