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Long Beach is an oceanfront city in Nassau County, New York, United States. It takes up a central section of the Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the 2020 Census, the city's population was 35,029. The City of Long Beach was incorporated in 1922, and is nicknamed "The City by the Sea" (the Latin form, Civitas ad mare, is the city's motto). The Long Beach Barrier Island is surrounded by Reynolds Channel to the north, east and west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. In 2022, Long Beach was named one of the best East Coast towns for a summer getaway by Time Out magazine.

The city of Long Beach's first inhabitants were the Algonquian speaking Lenape, who sold the area to English colonists in 1643. From that time, while the barrier island was used by baymen and farmers for fishing and harvesting salt hay, no one lived there year round for more than two centuries. The bark Mexico, carrying Irish immigrants to New York, ran ashore on New Year's Day. Austin Corbin, a builder from Brooklyn, was the first to attempt to develop the island as a resort. He formed a partnership with the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to finance the New York and Long Beach Railroad Co., which laid track from Lynbrook to Long Beach in 1880. That same year, Corbin opened Long Beach Hotel, a row of 27 cottages along a 1100 feet (335 m) strip of beach, which he claimed was the world's largest hotel. In its first season, the railroad brought 300,000 visitors to Long Island. By the next spring, tracks had been laid the length of the island, but they were removed in 1894 after repeated washouts from winter storms.

In 1906, William H. Reynolds, a 39 year old real estate developer and former state senator, became involved in the area. Reynolds had already developed four Brooklyn neighborhoods (Bedford–Stuyvesant, Borough Park, Bensonhurst, and South Brownsville), as well as Coney Island's Dreamland, the world's largest amusement park at the time. Reynolds also owned a theatre and produced plays. He gathered investors, and acquired the oceanfront from private owners and the rest of the island from the Town of Hempstead in 1907; he planned to build a boardwalk, homes, and hotels. Reynolds had a herd of elephants marched in from Dreamland, ostensibly to help build the Long Beach Boardwalk; he had created an effective publicity stunt. Dredges created a channel 1000 feet (305 m) wide on the north side of the island to provide access by large steamboats and seaplanes to transport more visitors; the new waterway was named Reynolds Channel. To ensure that Long Beach lived up to his billing it "The Riviera of the East", he required each building to be constructed in an "eclectic Mediterranean style", with white stucco walls and red clay tile roofs. He built a theatre called Castles by the Sea, with the largest dance floor in the world, for dancers Vernon and Irene Castle. After Reynolds' corporation went bankrupt in 1918, the restrictions were lifted. The new town attracted wealthy business people and entertainers from New York and Hollywood. On July 29, 1907, a fire broke out at the Long Beach Hotel and burned it to the ground. Of the 800 guests, eight were injured by jumping from windows, and one woman died. The fire was blamed on defective electric wiring. A church, several cottages, and the bathing pavilion were also destroyed. Trunks belonging to the guests, which had been piled on the sand to form "dressing rooms", were looted by thieves. A dozen waiters and others were apprehended by the police, who recovered $20,000 worth of jewelry and other stolen property. The community became an incorporated village in 1913 and a city in 1922. Officer Alvin Dooley, a member of the police motorcycle squad and the mayor's own security detail, killed Edwards after losing his bid for PBA president to a candidate the mayor supported. Jackson Boulevard was later renamed Edwards Boulevard in honor of the late mayor. After the murder, the city residents passed legislation to adopt a city manager system, which still exists to this day. The city manager is hired by and reports to the City Council. In the 1940s, José Ferrer, Zero Mostel, Mae West, and other famous actors performed at local theaters. John Barrymore, Humphrey Bogart, Clara Bow, James Cagney, Cab Calloway, Jack Dempsey, Lillian Roth, Rudolph Valentino, and Florenz Ziegfeld lived in Long Beach for decades. By the 1940s and 1950s, with the advent of cheap air travel attracting tourists to more distant places, and air conditioning to provide year round comfort, Long Beach had become primarily a bedroom community for commuters to New York City. It still attracted many summer visitors into the 1970s. The rundown boardwalk hotels were used for temporary housing for welfare recipients and the elderly until a scandal around 1970 led to many of the homes losing their licenses. At that time, government agencies were also "warehousing" in such hotels many patients released from larger mental hospitals. They were supposed to be cared for in small scale community centers. The 2.2 mile (4 km) boardwalk had a small amusement park at the foot of Edwards Boulevard until the 1980s. In the late 1960s, the boardwalk and amusement park area was a magnet for youth from around Long Island, until a police crackdown on drug trafficking ended that. A few businesses remained on the boardwalk, attracting bicyclists, joggers, walkers, and people watchers. Beginning in the 1980s and accelerating in the 1990s, Long Beach began an urban renewal, with new housing, new businesses, and other improvements. Today, the city is again a popular bedroom community, for people working in New York who want the quiet beach atmosphere. With summer come local youths and college students and young adults who rent bungalows on the West End; they frequent the local bars and clubs along West Beech Street. Just behind the boardwalk near the center of the city, however, vacant lots now occupy several blocks that once housed hotels, bathhouses, and the amusement park. Because attempts to attract development (including, at one time, Atlantic City style casinos) to this potential "superblock" have not yet borne fruit, the lots constitute the city's largest portion of unused land.

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck Long Beach. As a result of flooding, hundreds of vehicles were destroyed and houses suffered various levels of damage. The estimated cost of all the damage was over $250 million. The city was without power and running water for two weeks after the storm. The boardwalk was also destroyed during the storm. The city began rebuilding the boardwalk with grants from FEMA and the State of New York. The first two block section of the new Long Beach boardwalk reopened on July 26, 2013, and the entire boardwalk opened on October 25, 2013. The final costs of rebuilding the boardwalk were $44 million, of which ca. $39 million were FEMA grants and the final $4.4 million were reimbursed by the state.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.90 square miles (10 km2).

Long Beach has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification, with humid hot summers and cool winters. It is one of the northernmost locations in this climate zone, allowing for the growth of warmer climate plants like Mimosa, Crape Myrtle, Southern Magnolia, and Sweetgum. It is in plant hardiness zone 7b. Precipitation is evenly distributed year round, mostly in the form of rain although snowfall occurs each winter. Long Beach is vulnerable to tropical cyclones. Its climate is tempered by the influence of the Atlantic Ocean.

Unlike most communities near New York City, Long Beach is a high density community. Fewer than 40% of the homes are detached houses, and the city ranks as the 35th densest community in the United States – ahead of larger cities like Chicago, Miami, and Philadelphia. The city is less than 1 mile (2 km) wide from ocean to bay and about 3.5 mile (6 km) long. The city is divided into the West End, home to many small bungalow and some large houses, and the East End. West of New York Avenue, the barrier island is less than 0.5 mile (1 km) wide and West Beech Street is the main east/west commercial street. East of New York Avenue, the island is wider between the bay and ocean and is home to larger more expansive family houses. There is the city's boardwalk, which begins at New York Avenue and ends at Neptune Boulevard. Along the boardwalk are many apartment buildings and condos. The main commercial strip is Park Avenue, which narrows into a small residential strip west of New York Avenue.

The 2010 U. S. census determined there were 33,275 people residing in the city, and the 2019 American Community Survey estimated the population increased to 33,454. At census of 2000, there were 35,462 people, 14,923 households, and 8,103 families residing in the city. The local population was spread out at as of 2010. The majority of the religious population are Christian and the Catholic Church is the largest single denomination. The second largest Christian group is Protestantism and the single largest Protestant denomination as of 2021 was Lutheranism. The third largest religion practiced in the city is Judaism, followed by Islam. Eastern faiths including Hinduism and Buddhism are also prevalent in the city, while the remainder of the population is irreligious or atheist.

According to the USA District Attourney's Office at Eastern New York, gangs present a prevalent criminal threat within the city. In March of 2016, sixteen members of the Latin Kings gang were arrested in connections with narcotics trafficking, in particular, cocaine, crack, "molly", and illegal marijuana. In another instance, 5 men from Long Beach and Hempstead were arrested in Westbury in a gang related shooting In June, 2023, a rapper by the name of YungUsh, whose real name was Shawn Usher, was killed with multiple gunshot wounds near the Channel Park Homes projects as likely a result of gang violence In Long Beach, the most prominent gangs are the P Block Demons, Latin Kings, and the MS 13 Long Beach Lokotes.

The city has a comprehensive emergency services structure consisting of multiple organizations, including the Long Beach Police Department, Long Beach Fire Department, Long Beach Lifeguards, Animal Control and Emergency Medical Services (LBFD), Long Beach Auxiliary Police Department.

The city of Long Beach has an extensive parks and recreation program led by Joseph Brand II. Within the offerings include, but are not limited to the Ice Arena, Summer Camps, Pool, Races and is most well known for its Ocean Beach Park. Long Beach's Ocean Beach Park (OBP) is managed under the supervision of Nichole Landry. All city parks and recreation programs are found online at longbeachny. gov.

The Long Beach City School District serves the city of Long Beach and parts of the Town of Hempstead with one primary high school, one middle school, one prekindergarten, and four elementary schools.

The Long Beach Public Library serves greater Long Beach with the main library downtown and two branch libraries at Point Lookout and the West End.

Long Beach Bus operates a 24 hour municipal bus service with five routes, including three routes serving the city, one overnight circulator route, and one route extending service to Lido Beach and Point Lookout. Long Beach Bus also operates two seasonal trolley routes, East Loop and West Loop. Nassau Inter County Express (NICE) has two bus routes that originate in Long Beach. The n33 does not provide service wholly within Long Beach.

The Long Island Rail Road operates a terminal station at Park Place and Park Avenue with service on the railroad's Long Beach Branch.