Hicksville ..YAY OR NAY???? (Hempstead, Oyster Bay: house, buy, school)

[Crookhaven]

Hicksville=Jamaica 20 years ago

crookhaven

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by Crookhaven

Hicksville=Jamaica 20 years ago

crookhaven

Southside was Long Island's ground zero for the crack epidemic 20 years ago. If there's a Hicksville Supreme Team running the streets I haven't heard about it. Maybe you meant Hicksville = Jamaica 70 years ago? The density would have been comparable to present day Hicksville back then....or maybe the country Jamaica? I'm not that familiar with it...

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

Southside was Long Island's ground zero for the crack epidemic 20 years ago. If there's a Hicksville Supreme Team running the streets I haven't heard about it. Maybe you meant Hicksville = Jamaica 70 years ago? The density would have been comparable to present day Hicksville back then....or maybe the country Jamaica? I'm not that familiar with it...

Just in Density not in Dope.
I think comparisons can be drawn for both as the "Heart of the county".

Maybe Im old but I remember suburban Queens as a kid.
(I suspect my son will be saying the same about Nassau someday)

Do allow me to fine tune my point.

Hicksville=Jamiaca in the 70s

Either way ...Nay.


crookhaven

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by Crookhaven

Just in Density not in Dope.
I think comparisons can be drawn for both as the "Heart of the county".

Maybe Im old but I remember suburban Queens as a kid.
(I suspect my son will be saying the same about Nassau someday)

Do allow me to fine tune my point.

Hicksville=Jamiaca in the 70s

Either way ...Nay.


crookhaven

I wouldn't even call Hicksville the heart of the Town of Oyster Bay, just the middle of it. The biggest comparison that can be made is that they both serve as a transit hub for all points east, and are geographically positioned in similar spots within their respective counties.

I also think your recollection might be a little skewed. In 1980, Queens ZIP Code 11432 (which comprises the entirety of Jamaica Center and parts of Briarwood, Hollis and Jamaica Hills) had a population density of around 22,000 people per square mile. Hicksville in 2000 was at 6,057 people per square mile. Nearly four times less dense than Jamaica in it's allegedly suburban heyday. The population also slid in that area during the 70s and didn't grow in great numbers until the mid-90s. The entire borough only has roughly 200,000 more people today than it did in 1970.

That said, there are plenty of suburban parts of Queens to this day - and virtually zero truly urban environments in Nassau. I suspect this will stay the same for many years to come, even as your children are lambasting their "lost suburbia" and the supposed citification of Nassau County and Western Suffolk. The infrastructure does not exist for Hicksville to ever resemble Jamaica Queens. Not now, not 30 years ago, not 30 years from now!

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

I wouldn't even call Hicksville the heart of the Town of Oyster Bay, just the middle of it. The biggest comparison that can be made is that they both serve as a transit hub for all points east, and are geographically positioned in similar spots within their respective counties.

I also think your recollection might be a little skewed. In 1980, Queens ZIP Code 11432 (which comprises the entirety of Jamaica Center and parts of Briarwood, Hollis and Jamaica Hills) had a population density of around 22,000 people per square mile. Hicksville in 2000 was at 6,057 people per square mile. Nearly four times less dense than Jamaica in it's allegedly suburban heyday. The population also slid in that area during the 70s and didn't grow in great numbers until the mid-90s. The entire borough only has roughly 200,000 more people today than it did in 1970.

That said, there are plenty of suburban parts of Queens to this day - and virtually zero truly urban environments in Nassau. I suspect this will stay the same for many years to come, even as your children are lambasting their "lost suburbia" and the supposed citification of Nassau County and Western Suffolk. The infrastructure does not exist for Hicksville to ever resemble Jamaica Queens. Not now, not 30 years ago, not 30 years from now!

The best part about Long Island is that people will fight to the death for what they got.

The worst part about Long Island is that peole will fight to the death for what they think theyve got.

Sorry Sean, Nassau's looking an awful lot like Queens these days and without a Time Machine, I doubt that will change.

Not lambasting.... perhaps you meant lamenting?


Hicksville....Nay.

If I had to do central Nassau...Id check out Bethpage instead.

Peace

crookhaven

[sean sean sean sean]

Originally Posted by Crookhaven

Not lambasting.... perhaps you meant lamenting?

crookhaven

LOL!! I did haha...unfortunately they haven't developed a "spell-check" type function for brain farts yet!

Not fighting clamboy, just trying to add a little fact-based perspective. There are plenty of negatives and positives you could give for Hicksville, but likening it to 1975 Jamaica Queens is a total misrepresentation. That's not helpful to anybody, nothing against Jamaica at all - they are just two completely different worlds and always have been / always will be. The numbers are staggering and really illustrate the difference: You would literally have to go back to the 1930s to find a time when Jamaica's population was on par with present day Hicksville.

Personally, I know I'm in the minority of Nassau residents....but I don't think it would be a bad thing if this county was more like Queens. Town of Hempstead alone is more dense than many well known medium-to-large American cities and has been for a long time. We should start behaving like one instead of living and dying on nostalgia. Fact of the matter, however, is that we've actually lost population since 2000 and the miles of red tape, car-based infrastructure, high cost of doing business and fear of change will likely prevent that from ever happening in both of our lifetimes.

Just curious.....why nay to Hicksville but yay to Bethpage? I always considered them to be pretty similar.

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by sean sean sean sean

LOL!! I did haha...unfortunately they haven't developed a "spell-check" type function for brain farts yet!

Not fighting clamboy, just trying to add a little fact-based perspective. There are plenty of negatives and positives you could give for Hicksville, but likening it to 1975 Jamaica Queens is a total misrepresentation. That's not helpful to anybody, nothing against Jamaica at all - they are just two completely different worlds and always have been / always will be. The numbers are staggering and really illustrate the difference: You would literally have to go back to the 1930s to find a time when Jamaica's population was on par with present day Hicksville.

Personally, I know I'm in the minority of Nassau residents....but I don't think it would be a bad thing if this county was more like Queens. Town of Hempstead alone is more dense than many well known medium-to-large American cities and has been for a long time. We should start behaving like one instead of living and dying on nostalgia. Fact of the matter, however, is that we've actually lost population since 2000 and the miles of red tape, car-based infrastructure, high cost of doing business and fear of change will likely prevent that from ever happening in both of our lifetimes.

Just curious.....why nay to Hicksville but yay to Bethpage? I always considered them to be pretty similar.

LMAO on the brain fart : )

Im still not sure who youre referring to.

I'm not that far off. I remember as a kid Jamaica looking a lot like present day Hicksville and Downtown Flushing looking and awful lot like Huntington Village. My Mom grew up in LIC and they actually swam in the East River when she was a little girl.

I just dont think the years have been kind to central Nassau. Aside from the schools, I cant see how anyone would choose it as an escape from Queens(unless theyre from Corona).Perhaps its a victim of its own success.

If Levittown were to be built today it would most likely be built around the 112 corridor due to the Eastward population shift post 9/11.

I agree with you on the Queens envy. I wouldnt mind seeing Suffolk take a page out of the Nassau playbook.
We despeartely need sewers, sidewalks and better LIRR service.
Robert Moses was wrong.


As for Bethpage, it seems to be a nice little enclave with a great downtown.
It has its own parkway leading to a beautiful state park and ample public transportation (Plus its 5 min from away Hicksville in case you need a Swedish Meatball at IKEA).For working class Nassau, I think its a really great bet.

Hicksville and its cousin Mineola really feel very very very urban to me.

I say nay.


crookhaven

[house2008]

what specific area is considered the broadway mall? any map pictures highlighting that area?

i just recently saw some houses in hicksville. one was near Ikea. one was behind ikea. is that any good area?

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by house2008

what specific area is considered the broadway mall?

Originally called Mid-Island Shopping Plaza, an open-air shopping center, the name was changed to Broadway Mall when it later became a a regional enclosed shopping center: currently, the anchor stores at the mall include IKEA, Macy*s and Target.

For more info: Broadway Mall

[house2008]

walter thanks for the info.

should i consider this area at all or just move on?

are the houses a bit cheaper in this area for a reason?