Saving Westbury... (neighborhoods, luxury, high school)

[Anthony314]

I work right down the block from Post Avenue and I must admit, the area did get better aesthetically, but it still has a long way to go before it becomes a "safe" thriving downtown. I always envisioned Post Ave to be sort of like Bell Blvd in Queens. A mixture of all different types of people - lots of young adults - you have the train down the block - bars at night. Unfortunately all the bars on that street are havens for illegals. it is an area which could eventually turn around. You would think with Colleges like Hofstra and Nassau nearby, more young adults would flock to a downtown-type area like Post Avenue.

Last year I really though the area was finally becoming "hip" when a new coffee place opened up in that new blue glass building by the station. And there was also a new ART supply store down the road - both businesses have since left.

One of my complaints about the new look that post avenue as adapted - I think the colors they picked are ugly. That fake Stucco look really looks cheap and it will look like a run down town once the years and weather catches up to it. They should of promoted a more diverse look with different colors. Maybe ban the use of certain sign types - like awnings which all they do is collect bird ****.

Give the town some character.
I get envious when I got to countries like Ireland where they promote diversity amongst the stores. They even give awards to whatever town is the "cutest". I think it's called "Tidy Town Award" Welcome to TidyTowns Ireland

Here in the Town of Hempstead - all the signs need to conform to the same look and if you use a more expensive material for your building , your taxes go up. How is that for discrimination?

Anyways, my other problem with Post Ave is that new park that they built on the corner of Post and Maple. it was a great idea, but designed horribly. I sometimes eat at the Subway right across the street. I really want to sit in the park and eat my sandwich there, but it's not inviting and there is no shade. They didn't even design it to have any shade once the trees grow in. It's horrible. And all the money went towards the waterfall. Who needs a waterfall in Westbury? By next summer there will be a water shortage or there will be some mosquito scare and that waterfall will be turned off indefinitely.

I keep hearing plans about the old movie theater being renovated into a multi-use building with apartments, stores and a community center... well shall see......

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Anthony314

Here in the Town of Hempstead - all the signs need to conform to the same look and if you use a more expensive material for your building , your taxes go up. How is that for discrimination?

The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead, and even if it was in the Town of Hempstead, as a village it would not be subject to the town's signage rules and regulations.

[Anthony314]

Originally Posted by Walter Greenspan

The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead, and even if it was in the Town of Hempstead, as a village it would not be subject to the town's signage rules and regulations.

sorry, my bad. it still looks generic and boring anyways... no character.
I hate that fake stucco!! when will people realize that it looks cheap and tacky!

[Johninwestbury]

I pass through that Plaza at Post+Maple and I can tell you it's not a great experience, especially at night, with a bunch of guys getting drunk on Coronas. I passed through there tonight and saw some guys getting drunk and gambling. The sad thing is there's VIDEO CAMERAS there but I guess they dont crack down on the illegal behavior. I also think the plaza is not supposed to open for seating after dark, but nobody cracks down on that. It's only a matter of time before MS-13, 18th street, and other gang signs appear there.
I cant stand the stucco look either, but the illegals love it, Glen Cove redid their downtown in a similar fashion and you can take a guess what it's like.
I would've rather had some more trees and no waterfall at the Plaza, plus some tables and benches in the shade. It is a shame that the coffee place went out but there just wasn't enough ppl to support it, now it just sits vacant, probably to become yet another bodega. As far as bars I only know of one...the Friars pub and I dont see illegals there. Moderator cut: Please refrain from making blanket statements about immigrants. This is not the forum for that.
. But that's their nature because most of them are here illegally.
Thanks Anthony for seeing the points I am making about our village.
We need folks like you at the meetings, maybe it will force the village to do something about the situation.

[Andysocks]

If LI wasn't so segregated or at least had consolidated school districts (by Town?), it wouldn't be so much of an issue. In Queens, for example, Cardozo High is 20% black and is considered the elite of the non-magnet schools. On Long Island a school being 20% black all of a sudden makes it a war zone and a place you don't want to raise your kids. I mean, look how people talk about Baldwin High on this board, you'd think the school was in the freakin' Bronx.

[Andysocks]

By the way, I don't see how stucco has anything to do with illegals. Have you ever been to Bellerose? Hideous, but hey, it's a free country.

Anyway, I drifted off the topic of Westbury in my last post, but I'll come back. I've been led to believe that on Long Island the tax increase from making your house a legal two-family makes it difficult to keep the rent affordable for tenants. Back when I lived in East Meadow many families I knew rented out rooms or floors without converting their homes into legit two-families because doing so would have killed the economic incentive to rent out in the first place. I could be wrong, but I never knew there was anything wrong with renting out a room of your own property. There's always room-for-rent posts on craigslist, are there not?

[Johninwestbury]

Originally Posted by Andysocks

By the way, I don't see how stucco has anything to do with illegals. Have you ever been to Bellerose? Hideous, but hey, it's a free country.

Anyway, I drifted off the topic of Westbury in my last post, but I'll come back. I've been led to believe that on Long Island the tax increase from making your house a legal two-family makes it difficult to keep the rent affordable for tenants. Back when I lived in East Meadow many families I knew rented out rooms or floors without converting their homes into legit two-families because doing so would have killed the economic incentive to rent out in the first place. I could be wrong, but I never knew there was anything wrong with renting out a room of your own property. There's always room-for-rent posts on craigslist, are there not?

But those are illegal apartments. I agree with you about the taxation system, it is screwed up and actually ENCOURAGES illegal renting, as well as makes legal apartments hard to find. If there were more incentives to folks who would legally convert their homes "flophouses" would be less of a problem.
Of course it's one thing to rent out one apartment...it's quite anothet o have 20-30 people living in a single family home, which is becoming a problem here in Westbury. There will often be bunk beds stacked up on top of eachother, I've seen it first hand in my old building. They took a 1 bedroom apartment and had 10 guys living in there. What was even worse is they used the basement for a fly by night painting operation (painting landscaping ornaments) and the fumes made me sick (there was no ventilation in there).
A "flophouse" will consist of 20-30 "day laborers" and perhaps their families, and often there is a business being run illegally out of there, most likely landscaping. One such business is Moderator cut: name which has trucks and stuff parked at a private single family residence.
Unfortunately towns find it easier to go after somebody who just wants to rent a basement or upstairs to a single person or couple, than after the real troublemakers. But then again that's because the towns don't want to "displace" the cheap labor for political reasons. I am sick of the pandering!

[AlexisT]

The problem is that the towns don't want converted houses at all, which is why the tax and zoning is skewed against it. I guarantee that if you went to a town meeting and proposed a change you'd get people complaining about burden on the schools (never mind that the market guarantees a supply of illegal apartments with an even worse burden on schools since they're not taxed) and changing the "character of the area".

Rentals and higher density housing (except over-55s and luxury developments) are anathema to LI town boards. It's something they need to get over. We're probably moving to Queens for the next year because we can actually get a decent rental (we've just repatted).

[nancy thereader]

I cant stand the stucco look either, but the illegals love it,

Now, how can you make a supposition like that? This is NOT the forum to rant against immigrants . There is one , though, on this very site.

[Kbinspections]

Originally Posted by Anthony314

sorry, my bad. it still looks generic and boring anyways... no character.
I hate that fake stucco!! when will people realize that it looks cheap and tacky!

FYI: Not that anyone cares but fake stucco is called EIFS.

EIFS stands for Exterior Insulating Finishing System.

I not a fan of it but most of the issues are due to improper installation.