Southeast Garden City -- Help (income, friends, live)

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by azzurrony

... I need some advice on Garden City.

For those who may not be familiar with Garden City:

Garden City is a village (incorporated in 1919) in the north-center section of the Town of Hempstead, in the center of Nassau County, along the Hempstead/North Hempstead town line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Village of Garden City in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Village of New Hyde Park, the Hamlet of North New Hyde Park, the Village of Mineola and the Hamlet of Carle Place, all in the Town of North Hempstead (the North Hempstead/Hempstead town line); on the east by the Hamlet of East Garden City; on the south by the Village of Hempstead, the Hamlet of West Hempstead, the Hamlet of Garden City South and the Hamlet of Franklin Square; and, on the west by the Village of Stewart Manor and the Village of New Hyde Park.





Garden City is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where many of the places with the community name as part of their mailing address are not in the village: places that have a "Garden City, NY 11530" mailing address that are not in the Village of Garden City are in the Hamlet of East Garden City, the Hamlet of Garden City South, the Hamlet of Franklin Square and the Village of Stewart Manor; and, at the same time, there are places in the Village of Garden City that have a "Mineola, NY 11501" mailing address. (The Nassau County county seat is in that part of the Village of Garden City that has a "Mineola, NY 11501" 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): Excellent Long Island Geographic Resource

[sean sean sean sean]

I'll echo what everyone else said...you've got nothing to worry about. Even a house with a backyard that touches the Hempstead border, it's a world apart. I've lived in Nassau County my entire life, Garden City has always been what it's been and has been that way for 150 years. It's never gonna change and always remain desirable because frankly, there's nothing else like it....on Long Island or elsewhere!

I also think Hempstead has a bright future down the road....when it'll happen is hard to say, but it just makes too much sense. Look at the Lower East Side, Williamsburg, Long Island City...even Bed-Stuy and Bushwick now. Who would have thought those places would be "hot" real estate markets 20 years ago? The yuppies and hipsters keep getting pushed further and further east, eventually they'll make their way out here, mark my word!

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by Kbinspections

The day price drop in GC and Hempstead moves in.......I will leave LI.....its just not going to happen.

From your lips to God's ears. I'll meet you on the LIE.

[azzurrony]

Update: We still haven't found a house yet. I've expanded my search to include East Williston...very nice area and only a 5 min drive to Mineola trains. Garden City is still my top choice though.

So, anyways, I thought I would take another drive through Southeast Garden City to check it out more. It was this past Sunday..beautiful weather. My observations:

1. That Hempstead Border south of Meadow is really bad. I saw 2 guys in wheelchairs, and frankly, they were young. Looked like gang related injuries. The Bodega one block away from Meadow is an eyesore.

2. I drove down Garden St. no less, and there where 2 sketchy thug like kids skateboarding down the middle of it blocking traffic. Real turn off there.

3. 2 sketchy guys were walking up Clinton making their way to Stewart. I'm starting to think that a lot of rif-raf use Clinton to get to Stewart and then to the Mall. Disappointing.

If I'm going to spend 800,000+ on a home, that's just not acceptable to me. I wouldn't have a comfort level of even letting my wife jog in the evening.
--

It's going to have to be Mott, Estates, or East Williston in my opinion.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by azzurrony

I've expanded my search to include East Williston...

For those who may not be familiar with East Williston:

Originally known as North Side, East Williston is a village (incorporated in 1926) in the south-center part of the Town of North Hempstead, in the central part of Nassau County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Village of East Williston in the Town of North Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Roslyn Heights; on the east by the Hamlet of Roslyn Heights and the Village of Mineola; on the south by the Village of Mineola; and, on the west by the Village of Williston Park.





East Williston is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the village name in their mailing address: places in the Village of East Williston have a "Williston Park, NY 11596" 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): Excellent Long Island Geographic Resource

[lilibrarian]

I lived on Garden St. for 12 years and then in the Mott Section! To echo others, you have nothing to fear from Hempstead. There are so many young couples and families in that area, even on Meadow Street. I was over by Locust School recently, and I just love that area. Hempstead really started to go downhill in the 70s, and it's never affected GC. You will see Hempstead residents on Clinton or Washington b/c of the bus lines and they are major roads, but hey you can't gate an entire town.

You should check out the good old "Gabby Tabby" (do they still call it that) police blotter thing in the GC News. You may even be able to access it online now. Things happen, for sure, but they happen all over town, and half the time its drunk rowdy teens anyhow.

It's a great time for first time buyers. Close friends just bought right near Country Life Press, and it's small but pristine. I'm so jealous!

[queencat95]

Originally Posted by azzurrony

Ok, I need some advice on Garden City.

I currently live in Plainview, but I'm getting married in April. My fiance, who lives in London, is absolutely in love with Garden City. Frankly, I love it too. To me, it's the best town on Long Island for value, sense of community, great homes, vicinity to city, and great schools.

I've noticed house prices are starting to fall a bit, which of course is good for someone like me who will be in the market this Spring and Summer.

We love the Mott Section, but it's hard to find a home with 4 bedrooms there (need space for when the in-laws from England come). My fiance and I recently saw a wonderful 4 bedroom Tudor on Garden Street. We loved it and the neighborhood. However, I quickly realized it's only 3 blocks from the Hempstead border.

So, we decided to take a drive at night down Boylston (one of the few streets that crosses Meadow and takes you to Hempstead).

It was BAD. Ghetto punks were everywhere and honestly I thought I saw a drug deal. My fiance locked her door. Mind you this was about 6 blocks south of the border, but still!!

---
GCGuy or any other Garden City residents: Can you tell me more about the Southeast area. Is it safe? Is there crime? Robberies? Can my wife jog in the evening in that Southeast section?

Thanks.

I live in the part of Garden City you were questioning and honestly the druggies and dealers pretty much stay put in Hempstead. Occasionally, I saw someone wander over here. One guy asked me to call 911 because he was having withdrawal, but I don't see that on a regular basis. I'm living right on the border and have had no serious problems. It's generally safe and I'm female. Plus, there are couples who have houses here who have small children and are very happy.

The borders pretty much stay within their boundaries.

The part of Hempstead that you mentioned is a war zone. Avoid it at all costs. That's not hard to do even if you live on Boyleston. I had to take the southern state to work when I worked in Suffolk and would take the Meadowbrook off exit 22N so I could avoid going through Hempstead. Now, I work close to the north shore, so I can avoid that area completely.

[queencat95]

Originally Posted by azzurrony

Update: We still haven't found a house yet. I've expanded my search to include East Williston...very nice area and only a 5 min drive to Mineola trains. Garden City is still my top choice though.

So, anyways, I thought I would take another drive through Southeast Garden City to check it out more. It was this past Sunday..beautiful weather. My observations:

1. That Hempstead Border south of Meadow is really bad. I saw 2 guys in wheelchairs, and frankly, they were young. Looked like gang related injuries. The Bodega one block away from Meadow is an eyesore.

2. I drove down Garden St. no less, and there where 2 sketchy thug like kids skateboarding down the middle of it blocking traffic. Real turn off there.

3. 2 sketchy guys were walking up Clinton making their way to Stewart. I'm starting to think that a lot of rif-raf use Clinton to get to Stewart and then to the Mall. Disappointing.

If I'm going to spend 800,000+ on a home, that's just not acceptable to me. I wouldn't have a comfort level of even letting my wife jog in the evening.
--

It's going to have to be Mott, Estates, or East Williston in my opinion.

I grew up not far from Clinton and it was an enviable place to be in. You can't completely expect that no "riff raff" will pass through any area, even the estates on the north shore. The cops in Garden City always question them when they do. It's a very safe town, good schools, a little snobby but if you don't mind that you're ok.

[azzurrony]

Hi Queencat,

Thanks for your input. I understand you can get riff raff anywhere, but the Hempstead border there is a bit too close for my comfort. Maybe it's because I grew up in a suburban neighborhood in PA where we could all leave our doors unlocked and never worry. I know that world doesn't exist anymore, but I personally would not feel comfortable with drug dealers and other thug scum being 5-6 blocks from me.

My hats off to the Garden City police. That is not an easy job. The Meadow St. border has to be the BIGGEST disparity in income that Long Island has.

It reminds me a bit of New Orleans. I used to go to school there and you would have million dollar mansions on St. Charles St. in the Garden District...only to have projects a couple blocks behind with gunfire on a regular basis. Now, I'm not saying Hempstead is that bad, but clearly, Nassau needs to clean it up soon. I've heard they are working on it, so I'm hopeful they will.

[Smash255]

Originally Posted by azzurrony

Hi Queencat,

Thanks for your input. I understand you can get riff raff anywhere, but the Hempstead border there is a bit too close for my comfort. Maybe it's because I grew up in a suburban neighborhood in PA where we could all leave our doors unlocked and never worry. I know that world doesn't exist anymore, but I personally would not feel comfortable with drug dealers and other thug scum being 5-6 blocks from me.

My hats off to the Garden City police. That is not an easy job. The Meadow St. border has to be the BIGGEST disparity in income that Long Island has.

It reminds me a bit of New Orleans. I used to go to school there and you would have million dollar mansions on St. Charles St. in the Garden District...only to have projects a couple blocks behind with gunfire on a regular basis. Now, I'm not saying Hempstead is that bad, but clearly, Nassau needs to clean it up soon. I've heard they are working on it, so I'm hopeful they will.

Some projects are in the works in Hempstead, and in reality Hempstead is really only considered a bad area because its on Long island which has extremely low crime rates. The crime in Hempstead looks bad when you compare it to LI as a whole, but really isn't all that bad when compared to the U.S as a whole