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Oh definitely, VS is not illegal barrio and it's mostly a nice area. But Baldwin and VS both have relatively high ESL student %'s in their elementary schools, average is 5-12% in those 2 districts (source https://www.nystart.gov/nystart/u/index.do) . 1 in 40 people in NY is an illegal (500k/20M). It's a good bet that Baldwin and VS have between 5-12% illegal populations vs areas like "white Merrick and white Wantagh" having <1% illegals. Combine that with the fact that flophouses are evident in some parts of each town, the bodegas and thriving check cashing/money wiring stores are almost a sure sign of this. Combine that with your personal intuition of an area that you visit and it's really not hard to figure out if it has an illegal problem.
Obviously John jumps to conclusions Smash, that every brown person is illegal -- we already know that. But he's got some common-sense and a lot of what he sees is indicative of a high illegal presence in an area. People can make estimations, just like the census workers are doing (these are not highly trained workers, they're regular people just like us). And I'd definitely say that Baldwin / Grand Ave section is run down and close to ghetto. That doesn't mean Baldwin is entirely bad or VS is bad if it has a couple bad sections though.
Yeah, I'm not sure if John really believes that 100% of these towns are illegal residents. That would be foolish, but 5%+ would be a problem though. These census workers are estimating the same way any of us would. I'm sure there were census workers that were completely oblivious to signs of illegals in an area. I do believe most of the census data for areas that have low illegal populations is fairly accurate.
To follow up to my last post here ^^
Quote:
Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean
That wouldn't be good for anyone. If that were preferable to having hard data from an official government agency, we could do things like just sit here all day and say stuff like "Westbury seems to have a lot, or at least ONE notable, person(s) who are scamming NYS disability payments because of some bogus psychological trauma that allegedly involves involuntarily defecating on buses when many Hispanic males are aboard them."
Oh definitely, I agree with that. I just don't want to make this thread about JIW.
I question sometimes how someone with anger mgmt issues can really claim a disability, considering he seems fairly normal intelligence wise, quick to jump to conclusions and travels around the LI and NJ area just fine. I unsubbed to him after he was complaining about people not shoveling, yet refused to shovel his own walkway at his apt because he didn't have a shovel. He complains about the same people in SUV's that are paying for him to live here which is really hypocritical.
And I'd definitely say that Baldwin / Grand Ave section is run down and close to ghetto. That doesn't mean Baldwin is entirely bad or VS is bad if it has a couple bad sections though.
Why do you and JIW assume that Baldwin and Valley Stream are the "Twin Cities" of Nassau County? How is that even logical?
Once again, Valley Stream does not have an illegal mexican, central american or south american problem.
I was mostly speaking of Baldwin by Grand, but you should reread the the post including the first sentence: "Oh definitely, VS is not illegal barrio and it's mostly a nice area."
The "white merrick / "white" wantagh mention was a just a joke after I saw an odd post here>
The homeless guy wandering seaford/pequa is a decent guy, not sure why you're picking on him or how he harms the community?
Oh definitely, VS is not illegal barrio and it's mostly a nice area. But Baldwin and VS both have relatively high ESL student %'s in their elementary schools, average is 5-12% in those 2 districts (source https://www.nystart.gov/nystart/u/index.do) . 1 in 40 people in NY is an illegal (500k/20M). It's a good bet that Baldwin and VS have between 5-12% illegal populations vs areas like "white Merrick and white Wantagh" having <1% illegals. Combine that with the fact that flophouses are evident in some parts of each town, the bodegas and thriving check cashing/money wiring stores are almost a sure sign of this. Combine that with your personal intuition of an area that you visit and it's really not hard to figure out if it has an illegal problem.
Obviously John jumps to conclusions Smash, that every brown person is illegal -- we already know that. But he's got some common-sense and a lot of what he sees is indicative of a high illegal presence in an area. People can make estimations, just like the census workers are doing (these are not highly trained workers, they're regular people just like us). And I'd definitely say that Baldwin / Grand Ave section is run down and close to ghetto. That doesn't mean Baldwin is entirely bad or VS is bad if it has a couple bad sections though.
Yeah, I'm not sure if John really believes that 100% of these towns are illegal residents. That would be foolish, but 5%+ would be a problem though. These census workers are estimating the same way any of us would. I'm sure there were census workers that were completely oblivious to signs of illegals in an area. I do believe most of the census data for areas that have low illegal populations is fairly accurate.
His thought that every brown person is an illegal shows the lack of common sense. That in itself pretty much is enough to disregard all of his "investigating" as pretty much biased bs. Not to mention the idea that an area caters to more of an International mix with its shops, restaurants, etc doesn't make the area ghetto either.
As far as Grand Avenue area, its one very small section of Baldwin. It surely isn't indicative as Baldwin as a whole, as JIW tried to portray in that video. Not to mention just not looking very nice does not = ghetto. Much like some stretches of Hempstead Turnpike, the area itself might look kind of ugly, but the area itself is fine and isn't a ghetto.
Illegals have always been included in the Census data. Also JohninWestbury is long been known for his tendency to think every person with brown skin is an illegal. While I certainly don't disagree that illegals are a problem in some areas, the idea that every Hispanic person you see is an illegal is ludicrous.
"Illegal" is the new term that scared people use for someone different than them.
These scared little people are made from the same stock of people that complain about each new immigrant group that moves to America for piece of the dream. It was the Italians and Irish Catholics that were demonized before them, the Germans and Irish Protestants before them, and so on and so forth since the birth of the country. The fact is that they move here because it pays more than where they are from and they will do things for cheaper. Try to get a kid to shovel your driveway and you'll see what I mean. My nephew told his father he would do it for $100, nice! I'd rather hire a day laborer to do it for $20, because nothing is as American as cheap unskilled labor!!!
You do not know what you seem to think you do when it comes to Valley Stream and I would appreciate it if you would not make "good bets" and "guesses" about it from your computer desk chair in Massapequa.
Our ESL is NOT primarily spanish as you assume, but mostly asian languages.
We have one check cashing store and it has been around for a very long time ... well over a decade. As for bodegas, would that include the polish deli on Rockaway Avenue? What about the thai place on Central Avenue? Is the chilean bakery/restaurant a "bodega" too? Is the new Indian fusion restaurant one? I don't see anything wrong with having restaurants that serve international foods in town.
Give me the addresses of the EVIDENT "illegal alien flophouses" in Valley Stream and I will take them to village hall. We work hard as a community to keep this from happening and we have strict standards for homeowners to adhere to.
At least we don't have bums wandering the neighborhood like Massapequa does (see Matthew 7:5):
Once again, Valley Stream does not have an illegal mexican, central american or south american problem.
As a past critic of VS Ive actually gone into to the village lately and found it to be really charming.
Homes look loved.Good sense of pride in ownership, town spirt etc
(And the former home the the Greatest record store on the island.Slipped Disc). Slipped Disc Records - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I think much of the "bad news" comes from stuff up at/near the mall.
I think its pretty cool to see a relatively integrated community shine like VS.
For WLI ...I get the draw.
As a past critic of VS Ive actually gone into to the village lately and found it to be really charming.
Homes look loved.Good sense of pride in ownership, town spirt etc
(And the former home the the Greatest record store on the island.Slipped Disc). Slipped Disc Records - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I think much of the "bad news" comes from stuff up at/near the mall.
I think its pretty cool to see a relatively integrated community shine like VS.
For WLI ...I get the draw.
Crooks
TY Crooks!
We try!
I used to love that record store too!
What's going on over by the mall is mostly people from the 5 boroughs. We have the absolute closest Walmart to NYC and people come in droves on the weekend from all over, even from as far as Staten Island and the Bronx.
What's going on over by the mall is mostly people from the 5 boroughs. We have the absolute closest Walmart to NYC and people come in droves on the weekend from all over, even from as far as Staten Island and the Bronx.
No doubt in my mind thats what it is.There was a period of bad news for VS that definitely pointed in that direction once you drilled in.
I think with all that was built up on the Belt by the landfill theyll be less and less draw to W Nassaus shopping.
Its solid that you have a local village for ordinances zoning etc.
VS absolutely makes sense if youre looking for a Suburban backdrop on the fringe of NYC.
Good little town. Elmont is a totally different story and I wouldnt mention them in the same breath.
I definitely prefer most of Queens to all of Elmont but VS would be on my shortlist if I needed the convenience of access.
No doubt in my mind thats what it is.There was a period of bad news for VS that definitely pointed in that direction once you drilled in.
I think with all that was built up on the Belt by the landfill theyll be less and less draw to W Nassaus shopping.
Its solid that you have a local village for ordinances zoning etc.
VS absolutely makes sense if youre looking for a Suburban backdrop on the fringe of NYC.
Good little town. Elmont is a totally different story and I wouldnt mention them in the same breath.
I definitely prefer most of Queens to all of Elmont but VS would be on my shortlist if I needed the convenience of access.
Crooks
I used to LOVE Slipped Disc, and drove out there from Suffolk county on a regular basis. Too bad they are closed....and I feel bad that I am part of the problem. I buy pretty much everything on iTunes or Amazon now. No point in buying a whole CD if you don't like all the songs, the CDs take up space (especially when you have 600+ of them!) and you can't beat the convenience of getting your music immediately right from your iPod. The times have really changed. Used to love Tower Records too....RIP.
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