North Merrick Questions (Hempstead, Union, East Meadow: houses, neighborhoods, buyer)

[logan2k]

We've been looking at purchasing a home and considering North Merrick. Having driven through the area, it seems like a pretty nice place. After speaking with some agents, they mention there are some areas to stay away from but not sure specifically where they mean.

I don't particularly care for the the close proximity to Uniondale/Roosevelt, any reason to be concerned about this, or info on the 'areas to stay away from'?

Also wanted to know how North Merrick school district stacks up (Calhoun HS) with North Bellmore, Bellmore and Wantagh school districts (other areas we are looking in).

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[Wes927]

There are absolutely no questionable neighborhoods in North Merrick. It's a charming middle to upper middle class area with a great deal of civiv pride but very unpretentious.

The area west of Merrick Ave. (between Merrick Ave. and the Meadowbrook Pkwky) is a tiny bit less desirable to some. The homes are a bit smaller and the population is a bit more working class. But it's still a charming area and very nice. Any issues that roosevelt may have do not spill over the Meadobrook Parkway. Roosevelt isn't so bad but the parkway is like the Berlin Wall nonetheless.

An interesting area is the "Tiny Town" area of 100 year old smaller homes on circular streets just north of Camp Avenue. Another very charming area. Tiny Town (http://www.lioddities.com/Bygone/tinytown.htm - broken link)

The schools have a very good rep. Very acdemically serious. My sister's kids are in Old Mill Road Elementary.

Good Luck

[Walter Greenspan]

The geography of North Merrick can be confusing because none of the places in North Merrick have a "North Merrick, NY" mailing address.


For those who may not be familiar with North Merrick:

North Merrick is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the center-west part of the Town of Hempstead in the central-south part of Nassau County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of North Merrick in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of East Meadow; on the east by the Hamlet of North Bellmore; on the south by the Hamlet of Merrick; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Roosevelt and the Hamlet of Uniondale.





North Merrick is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet name in their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of North Merrick have a "Merrick, NY 11566" and "Bellmore, NY 11710" mailing address.


For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County): http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[Chrisk327]

I call BS. there is always less desireable areas. the area between merrick ave and the pkway is one of them due to the proximity to Roosevelt. Also, I've heard rumors of school rezoning. I can't beleive that it would actually happen, but possible.

Another common term or "Tiny Town" is "the campgrounds" nothing particularly wrong with it, but I wouldn't live there. Streets are well... tiny, houses close together etc.

Merrick stacks up well against Bellmore. SD wise its about the same from my feel, maybe a slight bit better. Actual streets I would say are street by street basis.

Wantagh I think is slightly nicer than merrick or bellmore overall. However, certian areas of each town are much nicer than other areas of the same town. Merrick woods, wantagh woods, etc etc so nothing is universal. I personally am looking in Wantagh, Merrick, Bellmore, and Seaford. There are streets in every one of those towns I wouldn't buy on b/c of the mix of houses in the block traffic congestion, etc

[sean sean sean sean]

I call double BS. Maybe living a few blocks off Meadowbrook Road isn't as desirable as living in a $2 Million monument to excess right on the bay, but it's still a lot more desirable than most places on LI. Wes is right, the parkway might as well be the Great Wall of China.

[Chrisk327]

There is a buyer for every house.

[Interlude]

Originally Posted by Chrisk327

I call BS. there is always less desireable areas. the area between merrick ave and the pkway is one of them due to the proximity to Roosevelt. Also, I've heard rumors of school rezoning. I can't beleive that it would actually happen, but possible.

How exactly would that work, considering Calhoun HS, Merrick Ave MS and Camp Ave school are all between merrick ave and the parkway?

Quit rumormongering. I grew up in Garden City and always heard misinformed stories about certain streets being under threat of rezoning to Hempstead. I'll bet people in Dix Hills hear about streets being rezoned to Wyndanch. Ain't happening.

You'll find that in Long Island, there are many nice towns that border on not-so-nice towns. You pretty much have to be in some of the more exclusive parts of the north shore to avoid this.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Interlude

How exactly would that work, considering Calhoun HS, Merrick Ave MS and Camp Ave school are all between merrick ave and the parkway?

Quit rumormongering. I grew up in Garden City and always heard misinformed stories about certain streets being under threat of rezoning to Hempstead. I'll bet people in Dix Hills hear about streets being rezoned to Wyndanch. Ain't happening.

Re-zoning and re-districting are two very different things.

While it is extremely difficult to impossible to change the borders of a school district, it is relatively easier to change the attendance zones within a school district. The former requires approval by the State Legislature and a majority of voters in each of the two or more school districts involved while the latter only requires a simple majority vote of the school board.

[Interlude]

By attendance zones I assume you mean which school within the district students are sent to? If so then again I don't see how that would work in this particular instance since, geographically, the west side of Merrick already attends the west side schools.

Unless I'm misinterpreting, in which case I invite correction.

[llama8]

Merrick is very nice, but I would stay away from any homes right on the border of undesirable towns. When I was looking at homes there, you would be surprised at how close to some not-so nice areas you could be. Otherwise, the town is great.