Tell me about Farmingdale, Floral Park, Massapequa, Glen Cove (Oyster Bay: credit, house)

[Walter Greenspan]

For those who may not be familiar with Massapequa:

Massapequa is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the south part of the Town of Oyster Bay, in the southeast part of Nassau County, along the Oyster Bay/Hempstead town line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Massapequa in the Town of Oyster Bay is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of North Massapequa; on the east by the Village of Massapequa Park; on the south by South Oyster Bay; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Seaford in the Town of Hempstead (the Oyster Bay/Hempstead town line).

Massapequa is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where the majority of the places with the community name as part of their mailing address are not in the hamlet: places with a "Massapequa, NY 11758" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Massapequa are in the Hamlet of North Massapequa and the Hamlet of East Massapequa. Also, complicating the matter even more, the "Massapequa, NY 11758" postal zone is a bifurcated postal zone, with two noncontiguous areas on the eastside and westside of the "Massapequa Park, NY 11752" postal zone.





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

[Samrai309]

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

Wow good post, Samrai, lots of info in there! I've actually never heard of the Floral Park Crest/Floral Park Centre neighborhoods, but I am a little bit familiar with the Queens side....which I know of as everything east of Little Neck Parkway and south of Union Turnpike. I'm a fan of the whole area too, the Nassau County side is definitely unique - it's kind of congested and the houses are on top of each other but I find it's got a very "small town" feel to it. I know Floral Park is named as such because it was the former home of a mail order seed warehouse, and the older developments off Tulip Avenue still have some gorgeous landscaping and a nice tree canopy through the streets...not sure if it's a coincidence or not!

Thanks Sean

I agree with the small town feel type of thing. It amazes me now that I am older because being so close to the NYC line, it has been able to remain somewhat isolated from the city line migration. I do not mean that in a strictly negative way, but you can definitely tell where NYC, or at least the appearance of NYC qualities ends, and Floral Park begins.

You are correct regarding the mail order seed company. My little town had a lot of history. The mail order seed company was run by John Lewis Childs and there is a elementary school named after him, very close to the area where this seed store once stood. As Walter Greenspan stated, FP was known as Hinsdale, before being incorporated into Floral Park. My grandparents/great grandparents actually lived on Hinsdale Ave. There is a lot of architecture spread throughout the town...a lot of the street names have floral and tree names. That is not a coincidence I know that. The other names are probably not that coincidental either. I never realized the Hinsdale Ave street name and original town name. Thanks Walter. The town was apparently a popular stop years ago by the railroad due to all the flowers and trees and such. Fancy pants people came east to smell the roses I guess. I also saw a map once of the town and it is actually broken up into different areas that have names. For instance, north of Jericho tpke from North Tyson Ave (which turns into 260th st as u move north into queens) east to Willis Ave (268th street?)I believe, was known as the "Hillcrest Section" according to a map I once saw. After Willis ave, thats where The Floral Park Centre begins. I cannot remember the other section names.

[Walter Greenspan]

For those who may not be familiar with Glen Cove:

Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County and is located in the north central part of Nassau County. Glen Cove incorporated as a city in 1918 and became independent of the Town of Oyster Bay. Prior to that date, Glen Cove was a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the Town of Oyster Bay, initially in Queens County until January 1, 1899, and since then in Nassau County. Before it was called Glen Cove, the hamlet was called Musketa Cove.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the City of Glen Cove is bordered on the north by Long Island Sound; on the east by the Village of Lattingtown and the Village of Matinecock in the Town of Oyster Bay; on the south by the Hamlet of Glen Head and the Village of Sea Cliff in the Town of Oyster Bay; and, on the west by Long Island Sound.

The City of Glen Cove has a different border than does the "Glen Cove, NY 11542" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Glen Cove, NY 11542" mailing address and not be in the City of Glen Cove): places that have a "Glen Cove 11542" mailing address that are not in the City of Glen Cove are in the Village of Lattingtown and the Village of Matinecock in the Town of Oyster Bay.





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

[Smash255]

Walter, I know you tend to post the same info regarding the various villages, hamlets, etc, over and over again and it is greatly appreciated, but you need to fix the Massapequa Park 11752 reference its 11762.

As far as the areas in question I live in the Massapequa area, while technically East Massapequa, I'm in an area generally thought of as Massapequa Park (11762 zipcode, west of Carmans and in the Massapequa SD). Very nice area, good schools. Born and raised here. the area is mostly middle class, though you do have some more upper middle class and upscale pockets near the water. Prices can range from around $400,000 to 2-3 million (on the bay). If you are in the northern portions, if property taxes are a concern look into the school districts. While they might not be quite as good as Massapequa both Plainedge and Farmingdale are good districts, however without as many comemrcial areas (especially Plainedge) or the higher end homes in the two districts compared to Massapequa to take some of the school tax burden away, the taxes are going to be higher in Plainedge and Farmingdale districts. So if you find a similar size and priced home your better off going with the one in the Massapequa s.d

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Smash255

Walter, I know you tend to post the same info regarding the various villages, hamlets, etc, over and over again and it is greatly appreciated, but you need to fix the Massapequa Park 11752 reference its 11762.

OK. (In this case, I took a short-cut and "copied and pasted" from a previous posting, and thus the error was carried forward, which would not have occurred if I had created the post from scratch.)

[mgcmcw]

I worked in the school district in Elmont. There are parts of Floral park with Elmonts schools but that may be a good thing. Parts of Floral Park go to Stewart Manor Schol which is great (its an Elmont Elelmetary School) and then to Floral Park HS. As a teacher I must say that the Elmont SD has great teachers and wonderful programs. The student then go to a High School District and that has a lot of advantanges. Most towns in Nassau do that that small town feel, especially if you frequent the same places. Most of the school board and politicians are people in the community you see all the time. I saw Alfano (asesmly man) in Gino's pizzaria last week. I think you can find what you are looking for in a lot of places. I have only heard nice thing s about Floral Park. Tulip avenue is nice.

[Nalgatriste]

I just moved from Farmingdale after living there seven years.

The Good stuff

Farmingdale is generally a blue collar type of town, getting more so the further you go from the village. Lots of people who live there have been people who grew up nearby or in town so there is a strong feeling of community. Anecdotally, I can tell you that people do seem to come back after living elsewhere. PTA and school board meetings are well attended, and there are strong sports and arts programs. It can be kind of cliqueish but I think you'll find that kind of behavior everywhere. The commute to NYC is manageable and pretty consistant at about an hour to and from Penn Station. Shopping is convenient with three supermarkets and Route 110's expanding shopping and entertainment options. New Island Hospital is nearby and provides pretty good care for a small place. The convenience of Bethpage golf courses are a bonus if you're a golfer. Child care options are also good. I know that people line up for the program at St. Luke's Lutheran as it is a five day program. I can personally vouch for Farmingdale Methodist's nursery school, which is smaller, less expensive and will take kids in diapers for toddler care. The teachers there are also very caring. The town also has a good library. Main Street is suffering from the affect of having two Wal Marts and a Target in the area, but the restaurants are very good. The Main Street area and the village are pretty well policed. The tap water is average. NYC's water is better but there are also worse ones around. Use as many water filters as you can anyway. With a strong history of defense contracting in the surrounding areas you don't know what's in the ground there.

Why Did I Move?

Complicated answer. The main reason is the same as other Long Island communities: the high property taxes and what you get back for your money. There is also some socioeconomic shifting going on. For the property taxes you're paying you get back an average school system which is disappointing. Farmingdale's school system is middle of the road statisitically in comparison with other LI schools and statewide. There is a Catholic School in the area with dedicated, and I mean dedicated, teachers and parents. If you can afford Catholic School with the tax bill, the parents and teachers at St. John the Baptist De La Salle school are just great. Can't say enough good things about them. Socioeconomically, the community is slowly changing. With the dingier parts of North Amityville to the east you're getting some bleedover of the characters there and their baggage. Shopping at the PathMark on Carmans Road can be scary in a boys in the hood kind of way. To be fair, I haven't seen much evidence of crime going up in my time there. I've heard rumors of gang activity in the main street Route 24 area but haven't seen anything I can tell you about. To their credit/discredit depending on your general worldview, the village government is actively maneuvering against such activity. They have somehow succeeded in eliminating some low income housing by the LIRR station which was, legitimately, an eyesore. South and East Farmingdale being in the furthest outreaches of the town of Babylon and don't get that kind of attention, but didn't necessarily have that specific issue.

The Big Picture
Overall, I would recommend Farmingdale for the small town feel of it and with the knowledge that you can do much worse. If I could have afforded the cost of Catholic School & taxes I probably would have stayed. The closer to the village and Nassau County the better. If you're moving in, aim for the better performing of the three elementary schools. You'll hear stuff about Half Hollow Hills school district, but my research didn't yield much of a difference. You can download the school report cards from the state education department's website. Just read them carefully as they are designed to mislead, but you can get what you need to know. Most of the listings will be with the Weichert Agency which has somehow managed to corner the town.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Nalgatriste

South and East Farmingdale being in the furthest outreaches of the town of Babylon ...

For those who may not be familiar with South Farmingdale:

South Farmingdale is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the southeast part of the Town of Oyster Bay, in the southeast part of Nassau County, along the Oyster Bay/Babylon town line and the Nassau/Suffolk county line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of South Farmingdale in the Town of Oyster Bay is bordered on the north by the Village of Farmingdale; on the east by the Hamlet of East Farmingdale in the Town of Babylon (the Oyster Bay/Babylon town line and the Nassau/Suffolk county line); on the south by the Hamlet of East Massapequa and the Village of Massapequa Park; and, on the west by the Hamlet of North Massapequa and the Hamlet of Plainedge.

South Farmingdale is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet's name as part of their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of South Farmingdale have a "Farmingdale, NY 11735" 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

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Nalgatriste

South and East Farmingdale being in the furthest outreaches of the town of Babylon ...

For those who may not be familiar with East Farmingdale:

East Farmingdale is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northwest part of the Town of Babylon, in the southwest part of Suffolk County (along the Babylon/Huntington/Oyster Bay town line and the Suffolk/Nassau county line).

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of East Farmingdale in the Town of Babylon is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Melville in the Town of Huntington (the Babylon/Huntington town line); on the east by the Hamlet of Wyandanch and the Hamlet of West Babylon; on the south by the Hamlet of North Lindenhurst and the Hamlet of North Amityville; and, on the west by the Hamlet of South Farmingdale and the Village of Farmingdale in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County (the Babylon/Oyster Bay town line and the Suffolk/Nassau county line).

East Farmingdale is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet's name in their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of East Farmingdale have a "Farmingdale, NY 11735" and "West Babylon, NY 11704" 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

[poochiepoo]

All the towns you picked have to be carefully researched. They all have Nice and "Iffy" areas.
AN incorporated village gives you a bit of a safety net.

Franklin square is a convenient commute to NY. Incorporated Village of Malverne is great feels like Mayberry. Check out the school districts.

The bottom line is that YOU have to do your research.

Good Luck