Lawrence C. "Larry" Levy (born 1950) is the executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, as well as a former journalist. He is an expert on suburban politics."Cuomo Boasts of New York’s Rebirth, but Hits Snags,"
''The New York Times''. In 1999, he was a finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Journalism. It has been awarded since 1917 for distinguished editorial writing, the test of excellence being clearness of style, ...

. In 2023 Levy was inducted into the Long Island Journalism Hall of Fame.

Biography

Early life

Levy was born in 1950, and is the son of Celia "Cyl" and Saul S. Levy. He has a sister Mara Kahn. He grew up in

Valley Stream Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 40,634 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of ...

, New York. He is married to Freda Wagner, and has two sons, David and Sam. As of 2009, he lived in

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

. He attended

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

's School of Communication (B.S. 1972), where Levy majored in Journalism, Film & English Literature. Levy was a starting pitcher on the school baseball team.

Career

Levy worked as a reporter, chief political columnist, and senior editorial writer at ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' from 1977 to 2007. He has also served as the host of "Face-Off", a weekly public affairs show on WLIW. In 1999, he was a finalist for the

, for his writing that was key in prompting reform of the inequities in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

's system of property assessment. He has written guest posts for

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and written a regular column on politics for the ''

Albany Times Union The ''Times Union'', or ''Times-Union'', is an American daily newspaper, serving the Capital Region of New York. Although the newspaper focuses on Albany and its suburbs, it covers all parts of the four-county area, including the cities of Tr ...

''. He has appeared as a guest on

WCNY-FM WCNY-FM (91.3 MHz) is a public radio station in Syracuse, New York, that plays classical music and is an NPR member station. The station is owned and operated by The Public Broadcasting Council of Central New York, Inc. and shares studios with ...

, '' Innovation Hub'',

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

, and others. Levy is a member of a

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

advisory panel. Levy has since 2007 been the executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at

, as well as a former journalist. In 2008, he was named 47th on the 6th Annual Power List of the ''

Long Island Press The ''Long Island Press'' is a free monthly news and lifestyle magazine serving Long Island. It is owned by Schneps Media. History Its previous print incarnation was as a free, independent print and digital monthly news journal with extensive c ...

''. Levy was honored as the 2022 Educator of the Year by the Long Island Black Educators Association (LIBEA). Speaking in 2023 about attitudes of people on Long Island, Levy said: "Suburbanites are all about personal security — as it’s reflected in crime, as it’s reflected in their finances — and when they are starting to feel threatened with the steady drumbeat of bloody headlines and lead stories, they take notice. And even if they don’t see much of it happening around them, they’re worried that it could find them." In 2023 Levy was inducted into the Long Island Journalism Hall of Fame. He is an expert on suburban politics."To End Inquiry, Suffolk Leader Exits Race,"
''The New York Times''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Lawerence C. 20th-century American newspaper people 21st-century American newspaper people American columnists American journalists Boston University College of Communication alumni Boston University Terriers baseball players Hofstra University faculty Living people People from Huntington, New York Year of birth missing (living people)