Tree Trimming Lake Success

Lake Success derives its name from a kettle lake of the same name which according to village lore had a Native American name of “Sucut.” William K. Vanderbilt II bought land around the lake in the early 20th century for a home. The village was incorporated in 1927.

In 1939, the United States government bought a large tract between Marcus Avenue, Lakeville Road and Union Turnpike, to be the home to the Sperry Gyroscope Company which built a variety of maritime, military, aerospace and navigation products. During World War II the plant had 22,000 employees. After the war, part of the plant became the temporary headquarters of the United Nations from 1947 to 1952, while its headquarters building in New York City was being built. The 1,500,000-square-foot (140,000 m²) facility continued to be used by various companies (including Unisys and Loral Corporation) to build defense products over ensuing decades. It was purchased by Lockheed Martin in 1996. The company closed the plant in 1998 and began an environmental clean-up of the site overseen by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The building became I-Park, and a few technical companies moved it, but much of the space was unused. In 2005, Northwell Health leased 454,000 square feet of the 1.4-million-square-foot former defense plant, and is valued at about $300 million and comes with an option to buy.