Long Island's changing demographics: What do you think? (Deer Park, Medford: work, house)

[KellyFG]

I don't understand what type of discussion you are trying to get going here.
This area is becoming more & more diverse and there are many more bi-racial people here than in years past, it has been my experience with friends & acquaintances that are bi-racial, they usually consider themselves the minority race rather than both or white. So that is going to affect the numbers, but I don't know why anyone would care or want to discuss this.
If a family moves in my neighborhood & takes care of their home & gets up & goes to work everyday, resides in this country legally & lives with mostly AMERICAN cultural values I don't give a rat's azz what color their skin is or from what country they came.
After all this is the great melting pot.

[TheSeventhBrady]

Why is having a white majority perceived as more desirable than a non-white one? It's like the old "Jews run the media and the banks" thing. If white Christians are largely represented in any particular industry or geographic area, it's taken as "normal" and no one as much as notices or comments on it. But the moment anyone of any other religion, ethnic group or race figures prominently, suddenly they're "taking over" and pose some sort of threat.

This view is certainly provincial, but far from quaint.

[nbres]

Yes and No. It depends on the area. Often the higher class areas will remain higher class. Examples: the Herricks area. The schools are half white and half Asian now, but it is still one of the best - homes are very expensive. Same goes for Half Hollow Hills, Roslyn, Manhasset, Syosset, Jericho, East Williston, and some others. What you have are professional and business owning Asians moving into formerly White (also Jewish) areas. The hybrid area still shares the same emphasis on education, cleanliness, order. Nothing really changes except the census report.

The problem is with the former white working class areas. These areas are seeing a real change. These areas are under real pressure. As white flight takes on a new dimension - whites leaving for other parts of the country now - they are being replaced with blacks and/or hispanics from the lower class areas of Brooklyn and Queens or from neighboring minoity areas. Example: Farmingville. Never a great place, but not bad either - now it is crawling with illegal immigrants. 20 to a house, etc... The problems in Farmingville will spread out to Ronkonkoma and Medford. I think Medford is already changing. Deer Park is now on the cusp of real change. I went down Carlspath the other day and couldn't believe how crappy that general area has become.

So overall the gap in wealth on Long Island is getting worse. The middle class and working class white population is being replaced.

The problem is simple: There are not enough whites moving to Long Island to replace the whites that are leaving Long Island. The shortfall is being made up with blacks, hispanics and Asians. This trend is not going to change.

[GypsySoul22]

I think people start panicking because they are afraid of what 'minorities' may represent.

They look at places in Queens, Manhattan, places that were once nice 'projects' now in total decay and think it might happen here.

No one wants gang bangers or rappers living next door or what they 'represent.' However, Kelly is right. If people take care of their homes and pay their bills and send their kids to school why should color matter?

There are plenty of 'trashy' white people who can drag down your neighborhood and your schools.

[NY62]

Originally Posted by TrudiRose

The issue for me is more socio-economic than racial...I mean, I'm happy to live in an ethnically diverse area if the people are all responsible and hardworking and have jobs and are somewhat educated. If they're crack addicts on welfare, though, then I don't want to live there, regardless of what race they are.

Here's a question: if the ethnic makeup of Long Island is changing, does that also mean the socio-economic makeup of Long Island is changing? The percentage of people who are unemployed, living in poverty, etc.? The percentage of unskilled labor vs. professional people? THAT'S what I'm more interested in, not whether people are white or black or Hispanic or Asian.

Scrap that unskilled worker vs professional people percentage thing that means nothing there are plenty of people in unskilled positions who own homes and pay there bills and provide for there families. sometimes it is the proffesional people who have the kids that are out of hand because they are to busy with there careers to teach them.

[KellyFG]

I disagree, if the "higher class whites of farmingville, medford & whatever other town" as you implied are leaving because they can't afford it but the "less classy" minority people from the city or from other countries are buying the homes & they can afford them....then who's to blame?
Maybe some of the classier white people should have saved some of their equity for a rainy day(now) instead of taking 14 day trips to disney, leasing luxury cars & doing monster sized renos that came with monster size tax & utility increases to their modest homes.
Its survival of the fitest, if the minority groups can thrive here because they work harder, live with extended familes, or whatever other reason, good for them.

[NY62]

people on long Island are freaking out because and lets be honest here we are by far the most segregated just look everyone knows where the areas are hellllllllooooo. that did not happen by accident. we just happen to be behind look at schools in florida 50% white is the norm where do we have that it is either mostly white or mostly black it has always been this way here. right or wrong it is what it is. but that does not mean a black family cant live in a white nieghborhood or viceaversa.

[nbres]

Why whites on Long Island perceive minorities as a danger?

Most of us (meaning whites on LI) are the children and grandchildren of people who had to leave their beloved neighborhoods of Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens. Our Parents and Grandparents had to leave because their neighborhoods became unsafe, the schools went down the toilet, and the quality of life declined. The old neighborhoods that were once Italian, Irish, German, Scandanavian changed in the 1960s and 1970s - those neighborhoods became black and hispanic. Now it is happening again on Long Island. Know your history.

[NY62]

Originally Posted by KellyFG

I disagree, if the "higher class whites of farmingville, medford & whatever other town" as you implied are leaving because they can't afford it but the "less classy" minority people from the city or from other countries are buying the homes & they can afford them....then who's to blame?
Maybe some of the classier white people should have saved some of their equity for a rainy day(now) instead of taking 14 day trips to disney, leasing luxury cars & doing monster sized renos that came with monster size tax & utility increases to their modest homes.
Its survival of the fitest, if the minority groups can thrive here because they work harder, live with extended familes, or whatever other reason, good for them.

thats a first I never heard higher class and farmingville and medford in the same sentence.

[TrudiRose]

We have a severe affordable housing shortage and a major illegal housing problem. Many of those nice houses you see as you check out the Island probably have 3 apartments in them.

Gypsy, thanks for explaining that. One thing I couldn't grasp on this forum was, if it's so expensive to live on Long Island, how can there be so many "undesirables" there? Wouldn't it be all people who can afford it? But what you said clarified it a lot!

Scrap that unskilled worker vs professional people percentage thing that means nothing there are plenty of people in unskilled positions who own homes and pay there bills and provide for there families.

NY, apologies if I phrased that badly, because that totally was NOT what I meant. I'm happy to live anywhere where people are responsible and hardworking and take pride in their neighborhood and pay their bills on time. When I said "unskilled," I meant people who are high school dropouts, not holding steady jobs, etc., living in an area with a lot of graffiti and not caring about it, etc. I phrased that poorly.

NBres, thanks for this post that really summed up what I was trying to say:

Yes and No. It depends on the area. Often the higher class areas will remain higher class. Examples: the Herricks area. The schools are half white and half Asian now, but it is still one of the best - homes are very expensive. Same goes for Half Hollow Hills, Roslyn, Manhasset, Syosset, Jericho, East Williston, and some others. What you have are professional and business owning Asians moving into formerly White (also Jewish) areas. The hybrid area still shares the same emphasis on education, cleanliness, order. Nothing really changes except the census report.

The problem is with the former white working class areas. These areas are seeing a real change. These areas are under real pressure. As white flight takes on a new dimension - whites leaving for other parts of the country now - they are being replaced with blacks and/or hispanics from the lower class areas of Brooklyn and Queens or from neighboring minoity areas. Example: Farmingville. Never a great place, but not bad either - now it is crawling with illegal immigrants. 20 to a house, etc...

THAT'S really my only interest/concern in the changing demographics. Not the specific racial makeup, because as Kelly said, if the minorities can afford the house and pay the taxes, more power to 'em. To me, it's more, are they responsible and hardworking with decent jobs, do they value education, etc.