Then & now: Lifestyle

Work

Then

Grumman was the Island’s biggest single employer, with 17,309 total Long Island employees.

Now

North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System is the Island’s biggest, with l38,000 employees.

Commuting

Then

Annual Long Island Rail Road ridership was 64.2 million.

Now

82.9 million as of 2009.

Cars

Then

The Chevy Impala/Caprice was the nation’s top-selling car, keeping Chevys on top as they had been for 20 years.

Now

The most popular car for the past eight years, just surpassed in January 2010 by the Honda Accord, was the Toyota Camry.

Politics

Then

The GOP ruled Long Island politics. Both Nassau County Executive Francis Purcell and Suffolk County Executive John V. N. Klein were Republicans.

Now

Republicans have lost ground in recent years, but they are making a comeback. This year, the GOP regained the majority in the Nassau County Legislature and took back the county executive seat, with Edward Mangano besting incumbent Tom Suozzi. Conservative Democrat Steve Levy ran on all five party lines to win re-election in 2007 as Suffolk County executive, and now mulls a race for governor.

College

Then

Hofstra University tuition for full-time undergraduates was $3,150, and the most popular major was public accounting.

Now

Tuition cost is up to $29,080, and the top major is psychology.