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I know many people that literally have no choice but to leave.To other states with jobs that pay equal sometimes more than what they pay here.People in my age group(mid twenties)have to live with their parents due to unaffordable rent and home prices.I'm 24 and if i did not live with my mother and fiance i would never be able to survive.Even with three incomes we JUST get by.And we very rarely go out.It is extremely difficult.We do nothing but work our asses off and come home.And im not saying this in a means to bash LI it's just the truth.I know many people feel the same.In my opinion i only see it getting worse and more expensive.Not to mention the congestion,traffic,rude obnoxious people.And for what...let me guess the beaches?The $10.00 fee you have to pay to try to find a spot on the gross overcrowded sand?Give me a break.
I know many people that literally have no choice but to leave.To other states with jobs that pay equal sometimes more than what they pay here.People in my age group(mid twenties)have to live with their parents due to unaffordable rent and home prices.I'm 24 and if i did not live with my mother and fiance i would never be able to survive.Even with three incomes we JUST get by.And we very rarely go out.It is extremely difficult.We do nothing but work our asses off and come home.And im not saying this in a means to bash LI it's just the truth.I know many people feel the same.In my opinion i only see it getting worse and more expensive.Not to mention the congestion,traffic,rude obnoxious people.And for what...let me guess the beaches?The $10.00 fee you have to pay to try to find a spot on the gross overcrowded sand?Give me a break.
As with so many of these types of postings I am always curious as to where you actually live...Long Island is a big place. Just curious if your frustration is based on living in Franklin Square or Baiting Hollow.
The point which I replied to was that by bringing in a high speed train, people would be able to work in NYC and buy affordable homes on the east end, which would be more accessible due to the high speed train.
If the area becomes more densely populated and wealthier (as you suggest) the problem we currently face would only become more pronounced: lack of affordable housing.
Yes, the population continues to grow and people need to live somewhere. But to suggest that everyone wants to live in densely developed neighborhoods which share a common green, or that people want to live in apartments and condos is wrong.
To suggest that someone move out west to live on farmland is just as bad as people suggesting we build out LI until there is no space. People in Vermont can tell you that they are experiencing an influx of flatlanders who are buying up subdivided farmland, building homes and driving up the cost of homes in those areas. To those of us who want to make money on our homes, we say that's a good thing. To people who live in areas which they are being taxed out of (due to these new homes driving up values) it is a bad thing. Where do these displaced native Vermonters go?
We see that happening to LIers -- how many of us have seen friends and family move because taxes are out of hand and homes aren't affordable?
There is a balance which needs to be achieved. Building things up to the max is not going to retain the people LI loses.
I have no objection whatsoever with building up our infrastructure and optimizing what we have, adding where there are deficiencies. Given the high cost of fuel in addition to pollution concerns, it behooves us to develop an extensive mass transit system which would enable people to move about LI.
Affordable housing developments should be constructed in areas adjacent to major corridors -- close by for ease of commute, quick access to/from train, decreasing the need for a car. Sprawl is not the answer.
Rather than breaking new ground, there are plenty of areas which should be 'recycled and reused -- like the once proposed Pilgrim State Heartland model. Progress on redevelopment of Pilgrim State Hospital complex in Brentwood | Real Estate > Commercial & Residential Property from AllBusiness.com (http://www.allbusiness.com/real-estate/commercial-residential-property/8912365-1.html - broken link)
Large corporations need to be attracted and those here need to be retained. Long Island has to move away from being a bedroom community for NYC; we will never be free of it completely, but it wouldn't hurt to bring more professional corporations as well as manufacturers out here. LI needs to be able to sustain all of it's residents many of whom it has been failing miserably.
so many excellent points made here. We need to attract and keep young people. It will be hard to improve mass transit though - look at the opposition
regarding the third LIRR track to Hicksville .
The remaining open space in Suffolk must be preserved. Nassau and western Suffolk is where mass transit needs much improvement. Travel around on Nassau buses lately?? They are packed...there is NO ROOM. They dont run often enough and get stuck in traffic. Here's a simple solution. Have buses travel in dedicated lanes and have traffic light priority (buses never have to wait for red lights). Buses in Nassau need to run every 3-5 minutes on most routes. On the LIRR there needs to be a 3rd track between Floral Park and Hicksville, and the Ronkonkoma line needs to be 2 tracks. Electrify to Port Jefferson, Speonk, and Oyster Bay. Remove grade crossings on the main line between Floral Park and Hicksville.
With better LIRR and very frequent bus service more ppl WILL leave their car at home or live without one altogether.
Improving mass transit in suffolk is very, very difficult because of the low density. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Either you can have low density building, which means everyone travels by car and you sit in traffic, or you can have higher density building (FWIW, Hempstead has 3x as many people per square mile as Huntington!) and the ability to put mass transit in. Nassau is in a much better position to improve things, but there are enormous cultural hurdles (try getting most LIers to take a bus if they can afford a car!)
LI is actually not that bad, traffic wise. I've been to Atlanta, Houston, and southern California.
As with so many of these types of postings I am always curious as to where you actually live...Long Island is a big place. Just curious if your frustration is based on living in Franklin Square or Baiting Hollow.
This is a great thread to read through. I find it interesting how some passionately argue a point emphasizing how they favor or oppose an idea because of the greater good. In reality, their agenda is a bit less altruitic and more about advancing an agenda the would benefit them directly. Don't take this as a shot to anyone in particular, just an observation. I am certainly guilty of this as well.
On topic, if you build infrastructure out East for an easy city commute, you have guaranteed a population explosion and a change to the rural character of Eastern Suffolk. If you do not build infrastructure, some will move out East and commute, the population will rise but much more slowly. Which is worse, a quick and well planned reinvention of towns out east or a slow and methodic population climb that leads to weak infrastructure? I don't pretend to know the answer.
If I lived out East and did not work in the city I would be passionately against expansion. If I lived out East and commuted to the city, I would probabally support expansion just as passionately.
This is a great thread to read through. I find it interesting how some passionately argue a point emphasizing how they favor or oppose an idea because of the greater good. In reality, their agenda is a bit less altruitic and more about advancing an agenda the would benefit them directly. Don't take this as a shot to anyone in particular, just an observation. I am certainly guilty of this as well.
On topic, if you build infrastructure out East for an easy city commute, you have guaranteed a population explosion and a change to the rural character of Eastern Suffolk. If you do not build infrastructure, some will move out East and commute, the population will rise but much more slowly. Which is worse, a quick and well planned reinvention of towns out east or a slow and methodic population climb that leads to weak infrastructure? I don't pretend to know the answer.
If I lived out East and did not work in the city I would be passionately against expansion. If I lived out East and commuted to the city, I would probabally support expansion just as passionately.
Right on the money.
I do think that Nassau and Western Suffolk need infrastructure improvements. Putting a hub in Yaphank, however, is a recipe for another 20 miles of sprawl out east.
If it's going to happen, why not plan for it? Yes, home prices in eastern suffolk will increase with a high speed train into manhattan, but additionally home prices in western suffolk might come down a bit, given western suffolk would now be the long commute into manhattan. Additionally, people in nassau won't overpay to live in nassau and have a short commute, then can live in eastern suffolk as well. If you increase the supply of homes with a short commute to manhattan holding the demand steady, the prices of homes will fall. Yes, eastern suffolk will lose it's rural nature, but such is life. As someone said earlier, I'm sure Manhattan was rural in nature at some point in time as well and there were people who were opposed to that changing.
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Hmmm..
