South Freeport (Hempstead, Long Beach, Merrick: crime, co-ops, buying a home)

[Rosalind_75]

from what i read i know the schools don't do very well. does anyone know why? the taxes and village taxes are very high! is there anyone on this forum who owns a house in south freeport? we are thinking of buying a home there but we have read that freeport is horrible. i would really like some help

thanks

[Walter Greenspan]

By "South Freeport" do you mean the southern part of the Village of Freeport or the area that has a "Freeport, NY 11520" mailing address that is not in the Village of Freeport but is in the Hamlet of Merrick?


For those who may not be familiar with Freeport:

First named Great South Woods, the area was later called Raynor South and later still Raynortown after Edward Raynor who settled the area in 1659, Freeport is a village (incorporated in 1892) in the south-center part of the Town of Hempstead, in the south-central part of Nassau County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Village of Freeport is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Roosevelt; on the east by the Hamlet of Merrick; on the south by the Hamlet of Merrick and the East Channel; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Baldwin Harbor and the Hamlet of Baldwin.





The Village of Freeport has a different border than does the "Freeport, NY 11520" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Freeport, NY 11520" mailing address and not be in the Village of Freeport): places with a "Freeport, NY 11520" mailing address that are not in the Village of Freeport are in the Hamlet of Merrick, the Hamlet of Roosevelt and the Hamlet of Baldwin Harbor.


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

[Rosalind_75]

im really not sure. i know the property is south of sunrise hwy and south of atlantic ave and it has a zipcode of 11520.

Originally Posted by Walter Greenspan

By "South Freeport" do you mean the southern part of the Village of Freeport or the area that has a "Freeport, NY 11520" mailing address that is not in the Village of Freeport but is in the Hamlet of Merrick?


For those who may not be familiar with Freeport:

First named Great South Woods, the area was later called Raynor South and later still Raynortown after Edward Raynor who settled the area in 1659, Freeport is a village (incorporated in 1892) in the south-center part of the Town of Hempstead, in the south-central part of Nassau County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Village of Freeport is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Roosevelt; on the east by the Hamlet of Merrick; on the south by the Hamlet of Merrick and the East Channel; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Baldwin Harbor and the Hamlet of Baldwin.





The Village of Freeport has a different border than does the "Freeport, NY 11520" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Freeport, NY 11520" mailing address and not be in the Village of Freeport): places with a "Freeport, NY 11520" mailing address that are not in the Village of Freeport are in the Hamlet of Merrick, the Hamlet of Roosevelt and the Hamlet of Baldwin Harbor.


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 Rosalind_75

im really not sure. i know the property is south of sunrise hwy and south of atlantic ave and it has a zipcode of 11520.

If the property is in the Village of Freeport, it would pay a Village of Freeport property tax.

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by Rosalind_75

from what i read i know the schools don't do very well. does anyone know why? the taxes and village taxes are very high! is there anyone on this forum who owns a house in south freeport? we are thinking of buying a home there but we have read that freeport is horrible. i would really like some help

thanks

Freeport is one of those places that really suffered from the invention of shopping malls. The downtown/Main Street area used to be a prime destination for shopping, dining, bars, etc. but it got hit hard in the 60s and never fully recovered. Blocks of Victorian homes were also demolished during that time for Co-Ops and public housing, now populated largely by families with ESL kids that hurt the test scores. The schools are probably better than they're made out to be, but you're definitely not getting what you pay for compared to virtually anywhere else on Long Island. It's a shame because the majority of the village is still pretty nice, especially everything south of Atlantic....but once you get up near the Roosevelt border that's some rough territory. There's also some other crime and grime mixed in here and there, but on the whole it's still the suburbs. There is a very small section on the west side of Freeport that goes to Baldwin schools, but I don't believe it runs that far south.

If schools are very important to you, I'd say go elsewhere.....but check back in 5-10 years, hopefully it'll be on the up and up. They've got a great start with the Nautical Mile, that place is bumpin in the summer time.

Walter - the only places in Merrick with a Freeport mailing address are Cow Meadow Park and the salt marshes south of it....

[Rosalind_75]

schools are not that important to us right now since we don't plan on starting a family for another three years but we really would like to avoid moving due to bad schools. i hope there is a turn around in years to come. thanks for your input.

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

Freeport is one of those places that really suffered from the invention of shopping malls. The downtown/Main Street area used to be a prime destination for shopping, dining, bars, etc. but it got hit hard in the 60s and never fully recovered. Blocks of Victorian homes were also demolished during that time for Co-Ops and public housing, now populated largely by families with ESL kids that hurt the test scores. The schools are probably better than they're made out to be, but you're definitely not getting what you pay for compared to virtually anywhere else on Long Island. It's a shame because the majority of the village is still pretty nice, especially everything south of Atlantic....but once you get up near the Roosevelt border that's some rough territory. There's also some other crime and grime mixed in here and there, but on the whole it's still the suburbs. There is a very small section on the west side of Freeport that goes to Baldwin schools, but I don't believe it runs that far south.

If schools are very important to you, I'd say go elsewhere.....but check back in 5-10 years, hopefully it'll be on the up and up. They've got a great start with the Nautical Mile, that place is bumpin in the summer time.

Walter - the only places in Merrick with a Freeport mailing address are Cow Meadow Park and the salt marshes south of it....

[deb1chloe]

I grew up in Freeport on the south side, I'm 29 now and back then 15 years ago Freeport was pretty decent. These days now, I would never live there or have my kids go to school there. My parents still have their house but the neighborhoods don't feel as safe as they use to.

[GPH]

I was born and raised in Freeport (Doctor's Hospital) and attended public school from the 70's to early 80's, and I would never send my kids to this district. Freeport has a huge illegal immigration problem, gangs and super high taxes. On a positive note, I do go home often to visit and Woodcleft Canal, or what they call the Nautical Mile is a lot of fun, especially in the summer. I love Long Island but unfortunately wouldn't move back to the Freeport area.

[GigiBowman]

I lived in Freeport for 12 years. We sent our kids to St. Christopher in Baldwin. The Nautical mile area is lovely.

[KellyFG]

My DH lived way south right by the water with a roomate when I met him. I hated going down there, I always felt like I was going to get killed by some guy in a 1987 corolla going 90 changing lanes on Sunrise Hwy. The Merrick road area on the corner of South Long Beach Ave reminds me of the area outside the airport in Cancun. IMO there is so much water surrounding this Island, I don't know why anyone would choose to live there.