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Walter, I'm not too sure. Unfortunately, and I think the usual RE agents who post will agree with me, there are 2 families all over across the island who are not legal 2 families, yet they are blatantly so. My mother just moved from my childhood home because a HUGE hoe went up across the street from her. 9' foot basements with full windows and and outside entrance, a side door with a walkway, and the front door. Turns out the owner had a 2 bedroom on the first floor, 2 bedroom in the basment, and he was in a 3 bedroom on the top floor. It was a single family dwelling according to the town. 7 cars parked on the streets, and five children attending the schools. I also knew of a family who had legally made their home a 2 family; however, the addresses were the same. This was all in Nassau, so I have no clue what is required there. But it is all over the place.
While a young couple may not be able to afford to buy their own single family home, they will be able to finance an extension on a parents' single family home, and as more and more single family homes are converted into multi-generational homes, the population will continue to rise.
Sorry Walter, even though its seems like a good idea, my dream life didn't include living with my parents. My parents also had three kids, should we all run extensions from the main house(one on each side, and one out the back of their colonial).
I think it will all even out eventually. The people who need to leave will and the ones who want to stay will. Generations are dying and the pull to stay on LI will begin to fade as more and more people move on. My parents stayed because their parents stayed and so on. As my dad now faces retirement and my grandparents are dead, they will move off the Island. My inlaws are doing the same. This will make room for new buyers.
I also don't think that LI will see the crazy increases in real estate for quite some time. I don't think housing prices will come down that much, but I don't think people will see the crazy increases of the past.
Being an educator, I'm all for earning nice salaries; however, I see the big problem in tenure. Example: I have an aunt who has been working in Nassau for over 30 years. She's sick of the job, done with the job, but riding it out further to increase that pension. She takes a bogus class for a weekend seminar at a University, and that gives her a couple of college credits, which in turn gives her another couple of thousand on top of her salary. Which, of course, ties into the pension. I understand salary bases according to steps, but what is with this extra money she earns from these weekend classes? This is money that could have been applied toward the hiring of another educator. I expect to get attacked for saying this, but your classroom ratios could be lower/more sports, langauage and music teachers hired if districts weren't paying the salaries of the end-of-the-line teachers who are maximizing their pensions.
Sorry Walter, even though its seems like a good idea, my dream life didn't include living with my parents:D.
Economic reality has a way of altering a "dream life".
When the price of a single family home exceeds 3X the family's annual income, the choice will be to either relocate to where a single family home costs no more than 3X the family's annual income or to increase the family's annual income by bringing in other generations of the same family, who will finance the cost of expanding the house.
Every generation living in their own, separate, single family home was a unique situation that occurred as the U.S. standard of living rose rapidly, but now that the U.S. standard of living is growing less rapidly, the return to the more normal multi-generational home, the situation that existed until the post-WWII period, will, once again, become the norm.
What I have noticed, particularly this year, is the topic of "excessing teachers" has taken hold in an increasing number of districts. So in response to some of Mr. Greenspan's posts about population growth I would have to disagree. I am aware of at least three, affluent and middle class districts, that are excessing a number of teachers as their elementary school rolls drop. Why? Word on the street is that the heavy burden of taxes has limited the size of people's families. Additionally, younger couples are starting their families outside of the region and the communities are not turning over with new families as often as they had in the past. Maybe this means school tax burdens will at least start to stagnate (hands clasped in prayer). In my district the school tax levy increase is zero; of course it is also not a reduction , which we could all use, given I am in the heavy tax Township of Smithtown. In my better half's school district they are excessing 12...many tenured.
For true savings on school costs it all starts with healthcare. Contributions need to go up and more reasonable plans need to be put into place for new hires...high deductible plans, higher contribution to premiums, etc.
Taxes were one of the reasons we moved and the main reason my parents and in-laws moved 10 and 15 years back. Taxes are just another problem that has plagued the Island for decades that nothing was ever really done about.
First.. you need to consolidate all the special districts, town.. blah blah blah. We've sliced and diced LI into so many sections and sub sections to the point it's absolutely ridiculous. All this is so that there can be "local control". I have to laugh when people argue about having "local control" over their block, neighborhood.. then pick up the paper and read about those "politicians" and divisions withint he divisions that have been basically "steeling" money from all of us.. which shows we hvae NO control.. obviously.. as our taxes our WAY out of hand.
Consolidate allt he school districts into 2.. Nassau and Suffolk.. this would eliminate there being 6 billion school boards with people on the boards who dont' know how to negotiate themselves out of a paper bag!! That.. and the teachers union.. being one CENTRALIZED union pretty much has all the small UNCENTRALIZED school districts by the proverbial ..well you know..those things that dangle between a man's legs..LOL. I'm trying to be humerous while stating facts folks.
Good points! That could save a lot of money. God knows Newsday uncovers so much brazen theivery in these little special district fiefdoms and in the school districts on Long Island that who knows how much more is going on! While the NYC Dept of Ed has its problems, you certainly don't see the level of brazen thievery going on that goes on in Long Island school districts.
As for the idea that LI should become the 51st state, I say "no thanks" because guess who will jump in the driver's seat? All the people milking the system now who have connections. That would make me move away from LI.
That and an income tax for Nassau (and Suffolk) County. Reason? The proposed income tax that is supposed to offset high property taxes for residents here will at first appear to be "good." But then the property taxes will climb again anyway and the people feeding at the public government troughs of Long Island will have another hand in our pockets via an income tax.
Remember when LILCO was taken over by LIPA, which was supposed to be this "non-profit corporation" who promised that LI would no longer have the dubious distinction of being the place with the highest electricity costs in the nation? Well, yeah, it was all "rah rah rah" when we got back those dinky $50 "rebate" checks, etc. But what happened in the long run? We STILL have the highest electricity rates in the nation. How did it stay the same when they promised that by moving from a "for profit" company like LILCO to a "non-profit" company like LIPA the prices would go down? The cost of whoever's feeding at the trough NEVER goes down, that's why. I agree that consolidating and eliminating a lot of the excess, over-represented bodies with "administrative" positions that are duplicates of 1,000 others on LI feeding at the trough is the best way to cut taxes. I also agree that it's easier said than done.
Last edited by I_Love_LI_but; 05-14-2008 at 09:43 PM..
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. My parents also had three kids, should we all run extensions from the main house(one on each side, and one out the back of their colonial). 
Teacher excessing has begun
, which we could all use, given I am in the heavy tax Township of Smithtown. In my better half's school district they are excessing 12...many tenured.
