Amityville, New York

Episode 101 / 10 January 2019 / 153 min / full

First Degree Stupid

"We're going all the way to Amityville, New York ... this is in Suffolk County." about 0:07:46

The case: Murder of Alex Algieri (January 17, 2001). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2019

Population

9,486

Median age

46.2

Median household income

$81,135

Median home value

$326,600

Two-bedroom rent

$2,250

Cost of living

131

Religious

72.6%

Property crime

▼ about 10% below

Violent crime

▲ about 10% above

History, in brief

• The area was first visited by people from Huntington around 1653, who came for the salt hay used as animal fodder. about 0:11:19
• Chief Wyandanch granted the first deed to land in Amityville in 1658. about 0:12:22
• The area was originally called Huntington West Neck South. about 0:12:31
• The name was changed in 1846 when residents wanted their own post office. about 0:12:47
• According to village lore, someone at the meeting said 'what this meeting needs is some Amity'; another version says a boat was named the Amity. about 0:13:47
• In the early 1900s tourists came for the hotels, canals, boating and fishing. about 0:14:15
• Will Rogers had a home in the village, and Al Capone had a house because his wife was from there. about 0:14:49
• Amityville has been twinned with Le Bourget in France since 1979. about 0:15:15
• In November 1974 Ronald DeFeo Jr shot his whole family in the house. about 0:15:49
• In December 1975 George and Kathy Lutz bought the house at Ocean Avenue and within a month claimed to be haunted. about 0:17:11
• The house was built in 1927 and its address has since been changed because of the tourist traffic. about 0:19:08
• The house sold for $1.15 million in May 2010 and for $950,000 in September 2018. about 0:19:11

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