I really dont know why some ppl think LI is great (Brookhaven: hotels, houses)

[mishigas73]

I grew up on LI, and from my perspective, it wasn't soon enough for me to get out of there.

My "neck of the woods", was a microcosm. A microcosm whose boundaries ended somewhere in Manhattan, *if* that far away. This area was, according to many people I knew, the be all, end all, of their world.

From an early age, I thought that there was something a wee bit "off" about this mentality. So, as soon as I could, I packed my bags and *gasp* moved 250 miles away....going to college with very few of "my own kind". It was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I am thrilled for the perspective that I gained from it.

I'd never look down on my parents for having made the choice to live where they did. A safe "community", a top-10 school district (at the time), but I was also happy for them when they decided to leave LI behind in their retirement.

As far as why people "like LI", the reasons have been stated on this thread already. More power to them if that's where they want to be. But, for me, the "rest of the world" that I have seen since moving from there has only served to reinforce the idea that LI isn't for me.

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

Didn't need to.. it was a good post.

...I feel a need to hug you based on our past discussions . I hope things work out for you and your family. I went to undergrad in Lancaster County PA, always thought I could live there. Definitely an area to look into if PA is one of your choices.

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by Jrprofess

...I feel a need to hug you based on our past discussions . I hope things work out for you and your family. I went to undergrad in Lancaster County PA, always thought I could live there. Definitely an area to look into if PA is one of your choices.

As long as it's not the Poconos...that place'll be like the South Bronx in the next 5 years. Bad news.

[ncc1701]

Originally Posted by GCGuy

As long as it's not the Poconos...that place'll be like the South Bronx in the next 5 years. Bad news.

5 Years! r u kdding. Have you visited the Fernwood "Resort" recently? It ALREADY is the south Bronx. Total GHETTO Route 209 = Grand Concourse Version 2

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by GCGuy

As long as it's not the Poconos...that place'll be like the South Bronx in the next 5 years. Bad news.

I have been looking into PA.. and am DEFINATLEy staying away from the Poconos..

[TeaJay]

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

I have been looking into PA.. and am DEFINATLEy staying away from the Poconos..

I have yet to visit them, but my brother and sister in law live in York. They love it, and the proximity to Baltimore and DC is good (too far for commuting, I think, but great for day trips). They just bought a gorgeous townhome for a little over $100k. Might be worth looking into.

[fopt65]

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

I have been looking into PA.. and am DEFINATLEy staying away from the Poconos..

Just remember that Lancaster County's school districts are set up identical to LI's system.....many individual districts funded primarily by property taxes. If you didn't like this system on LI, then it might not be for you in PA.

I too, have been looking at that area, and am finding similar yearly percentage increases in their school budgets as LI,( although PA still does have a smaller overall tax bill). Make sure the transplants won't drive the cost up due to new, bigger schools, or you'll be in the same boat as here.

[LIMA]

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

I grew up here and LI is in a fast decline.

For one.. the LIRR thing WILL never happen.. yeah they all think it's a great idea until the "not in my backyard" attitude kicks in.. people here are too afraid of change or any positive growth.

LI is becoming Queens.. particularly Nassau County.. there's just too many people, not enough affordable housing.. not enough affordable RENTAL housing for it's college grads, etc. It's a HUGE problem.. but again, we all know it's a problem but if affordable housing IS suggested the community get up and arms and say "not in my neighborhood".. god forbid the word "affordable" gets put in front of anything and the snobby LI'rs immediately think their town will become the projects.. meanwhile they don't realize that the idea is to make it affordable for their children from middle income homes to live here after college , etc. So instead some builder comes in and wins out the space for commercial buildings to be built.. yeah citizens are against that too.. but they're given the argument that "it will lower your taxes".... which it may slightly.. but still.. our taxes are ridiculous and keep goingo up and up and up regardless..

LI is too expensive.. but I hear Westchester is too. I'm looking at PA.. I have a lot of exploring to do. I'm born and raised here.. and now have a son .. but we don't see our future here AT ALL.. there's just no quality to our life.

The problems here stem from govt we have, poor poor planning, in fact **** poor planners.

Affordable housing could work if it's done right...

But look at yaphank as an example of what levy and his band of mental patients want to do...
Yaphank in total is less then what they want to stick in a small area surrounded by, pardon the words, ****...

This mental patient who's name is morgo...wants to stick 2000 houses in this property that is heavy industiral zoned and surrounded by it, and dumps, and a compost plant and the land is contaminated. Foley says' he'll rezone so people can live in ****.....
This mental patient morgo was the affordable housing head man in charge of planning, planning catostrophes and now levy gave him a promotion to chief deputy exc of suffolk county... (i want to rip someones head off)

How many of you voted for levy...oh i know he is great, he TALKS about the issues, he is making changes... sob i still see the same as it ever was all over, they made new laws to stick it to people rather then fix the problem, he talks about stuff people want to hear, nothing done about the many issues that can be handled and made changes to..lots of talk... He see's the motorsports community being treated like the new thing to be racist against and he say's and talks, fools them like everyone else with TALK, lots of words, no action...

Now we have a island that is full of idiots that vote for idiots, im afraid how many are going to vote again for these same idiots, and now possibly another clinton to further undermine this country....oh great! wondeful... i was hoping for a suicide bomber on long island a few weeks ago when clinton was here...not to kill clinton though, to kill the idiots standing on line for his stupid book that may vote for his wife...

These problems will not go away , nothing will change, and they aren't learning from any of there past mistakes, instead they just keep making more.

There is no quality here, they don't know what quality is, quality is surely not 2000 houses stuck between 2 dumps and jail and fire training stations and contaminted land...

Quality would be a few houses mixed in here and there within other neighborhoods, or houses that foreclosed and let them use them for affordable.....but then i got a problem with this bs hand out **** for everyone..

Oh your farm (flower growing junk, sod, other bs) is failing oh hey we'll give all kinds of millions for a few acres so no one can use it for as long as you want to continue trying to do something with it (at our expense)

You need a house, damn let me help you get one....sure forget that guy over there that broke his damn ass for years and years to get his, the new way is you cry a little river and we come to the rescue....

Well when mom and pop is going out of business someone better make damn sure there is a hand out for them too....oh what's that they don't have property to preserve....well preserve there store and building, it's been here for umpteen years...oh that doesn't work, yes sir i did call it discrimination, does it bother you....it damn well should...what's that you say...there is a difference...sob i fail to see it... You preserved that guy's sod farm from going under and funded him millions to keep going, right! oh i can't use that property though...i can ride my bike on it...oh i can't...well i don't see the difference, i can look at it, oh and it'll stay like that , just the way it is now, oh wonderful, so that will be the new poison here eventually all this land we can look at...well **** i can look at her store if you spend the money to preserve that too jacky.

[omigawd]

I don't find anything "great" about Long Island... absolutely nothing. Beaches? So what... how often do you REALLY go to the beach? Pine Barrens? I've never been and have no desire to.

Long Island is 100 miles of overpriced nothingness surrounded by shopping malls and congested traffic.

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by LIMA

The problems here stem from govt we have, poor poor planning, in fact **** poor planners.

Affordable housing could work if it's done right...

But look at yaphank as an example of what levy and his band of mental patients want to do...
Yaphank in total is less then what they want to stick in a small area surrounded by, pardon the words, ****...

This mental patient who's name is morgo...wants to stick 2000 houses in this property that is heavy industiral zoned and surrounded by it, and dumps, and a compost plant and the land is contaminated. Foley says' he'll rezone so people can live in ****.....
This mental patient morgo was the affordable housing head man in charge of planning, planning catostrophes and now levy gave him a promotion to chief deputy exc of suffolk county... (i want to rip someones head off)

How many of you voted for levy...oh i know he is great, he TALKS about the issues, he is making changes... sob i still see the same as it ever was all over, they made new laws to stick it to people rather then fix the problem, he talks about stuff people want to hear, nothing done about the many issues that can be handled and made changes to..lots of talk... He see's the motorsports community being treated like the new thing to be racist against and he say's and talks, fools them like everyone else with TALK, lots of words, no action...

Now we have a island that is full of idiots that vote for idiots, im afraid how many are going to vote again for these same idiots, and now possibly another clinton to further undermine this country....oh great! wondeful... i was hoping for a suicide bomber on long island a few weeks ago when clinton was here...not to kill clinton though, to kill the idiots standing on line for his stupid book that may vote for his wife...

These problems will not go away , nothing will change, and they aren't learning from any of there past mistakes, instead they just keep making more.

There is no quality here, they don't know what quality is, quality is surely not 2000 houses stuck between 2 dumps and jail and fire training stations and contaminted land...

Quality would be a few houses mixed in here and there within other neighborhoods, or houses that foreclosed and let them use them for affordable.....but then i got a problem with this bs hand out **** for everyone..

Oh your farm (flower growing junk, sod, other bs) is failing oh hey we'll give all kinds of millions for a few acres so no one can use it for as long as you want to continue trying to do something with it (at our expense)

You need a house, damn let me help you get one....sure forget that guy over there that broke his damn ass for years and years to get his, the new way is you cry a little river and we come to the rescue....

Well when mom and pop is going out of business someone better make damn sure there is a hand out for them too....oh what's that they don't have property to preserve....well preserve there store and building, it's been here for umpteen years...oh that doesn't work, yes sir i did call it discrimination, does it bother you....it damn well should...what's that you say...there is a difference...sob i fail to see it... You preserved that guy's sod farm from going under and funded him millions to keep going, right! oh i can't use that property though...i can ride my bike on it...oh i can't...well i don't see the difference, i can look at it, oh and it'll stay like that , just the way it is now, oh wonderful, so that will be the new poison here eventually all this land we can look at...well **** i can look at her store if you spend the money to preserve that too jacky.

Local politicians in LI do not have a history of proactive and strategic planning. I see Levy as a relative upgrade over the disaster of the Republican machine for years because he at least appears to be excrutiatingly penny-pinching on certain things...which is a welcome change. And again, I am only saying he is a "relative" improvement. And right now he does just talk about certain issues but at least he sometimes says something concrete; which is why he raises the ire of immigrant advocates and others because unlike other town and county leaders he flat out said he would never fund a day laborer structure with taxpayer money. It ws at least nice to hear, but everyone of course is waiting for his response to solving this community-damaging issue. There has been no solution offered.

I think part of the problem is looking at areas like Yaphank to provide affordable, transitional, or young professional housing. It is an area convenient to little of the industry on the island. Why not a consortium of town and village planners to leverage some of the depressed local downtowns as housing to address some of this issue. Continue the work in Patchogue, Bayshore, etc. Drum up small downtowns like Kings Park and stretches of mixed use commercial areas along mid-island in Hicksville, Mineola, etc. Allow for loft-like conversions of commercial buildings in and around 110 and in areas of Hempstead. And then map surface transportation that makes sense to support these plans. Make it some sort of green program, get both county leaders to seek fed funding to be an example of smart growth and go from there...