Narrowing it down: New Hyde Park, Lynbrook, RVC, Mineola

[KarenBo]

So how is the area of Lynbrook bordering North Valley Stream?

Originally Posted by arangoa79

I lived in Valley Stream which borders Lynbrook and I can say that south Valley Stream is nice. The only bad area is Elmont but you won't even see it unless you go to Home Depot.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by KarenBo

So how is the area of Lynbrook bordering North Valley Stream?

It's the Village of Malverne, not the Village of Lynbrook, that borders the Hamlet of North Valley Stream.


For those who may not be familiar with Malverne:

Malverne is a village (incorporated in 1921) in the west-central part of the Town of Hempstead, in the southwest part of Nassau County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Village of Malverne in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Franklin Square and the Hamlet of Malverne-Oaks; on the east by the Hamlet of Lakeview; on the south by the Village of Lynbrook and the Hamlet of North Lynbrook; and, on the west by the Village of Valley Stream and the Hamlet of North Valley Stream.





The Village of Malverne has a different border than does the "Malverne, NY 11565" ZIP Code postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Malverne, NY 11565" mailing address and not be in the Village of Malverne): places that have a "Malverne, NY 11565" mailing address but are not in the Village of Malverne are in the Hamlet of Malverne-Oaks.


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): http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[I_Have_Your_Wallet]

You ask to rate towns against each other, but ...

In Nassau County, the school district, not necessarily the town, your home is located in will make you or break you. Why? If you have kids, obviously that's where their education is going to come from. Even if you don't have kids, the reputation of the school district will affect your property values. Long Island has very high property taxes to pay for the schools and there should not be a bad school district around here at all, considering what people pay in taxes! However, there are a few mediocre and some downright horrible school districts. That being said, you will not get a discount on taxes when your house is zoned into a bad school district! Not at all! Their taxes are high too. So vote with your feet and avoid school districts with bad reputations. I am sure to get a few complaints from other posters as to how people should not avoid school districts with bad reputations because that will only make them worse in the end, but in my way of thinking, it's shape up or ship out. Maybe the school districts with the bad reputations will DO SOMETHING to better themselves if they are shunned. Right now they collect the same high taxes as better school districts do, so what incentive is there to improve?

I don't know a lot about Mineola and New Hyde Park, but I do know the Herricks school district is excellent and is rated higher than the Mineola school district (which is not one of the really "bad" school districts in any case).

As for Rockville Centre, you want to stay in either the Rockville Centre (#1 choice) or Oceanside (#2 choice) school districts. Do not buy a home in the Malverne school district.

As for Lynbrook, you will want to stay in either the Lynbrook (#1 choice), Hewlett-Woodmere, East Rockaway, or Valley Stream 24 (good district with good activities, test scores, graduation rates, kids going on to college rates, etc., but the town is multi-racial and multi-cultural, so some people on this board will challenge my recommending it as when your kid gets to the high school level, s/he will be going to class with some darker faces, albeit solidly middle class ones).

Once again, stay away from the Malverne school district (unless they suddenly decide to cut property taxes in 1/2 or something) when shopping for a house in Lynbrook. The taxes are just as high as in the Lynbrook school district, which is one of the nationally rated schools of excellence, yet Malverne is one of the lower-achieving school districts in Nassau. To make things easier, you could tell the real estate agents to not even show you a house in it. (Real estate agents love out-of-town people who are not familiar with the school districts so they can unload houses that are a difficult sell because of being in a bad school district!)

However, maybe I am too picky. Everybody's different and maybe you could live with it if you found a house you really loved in the Malverne school district. I couldn't. Right now a lot of people in that school district send their kids to private school (and they don't get a discount on property taxes either; they pay full freight like everyone else plus have to pay private school tuition).

If anything, do research on the ratings of all the school districts in towns you are interested in rather than just taking mine or anyone else's word for it!

When searching in other towns, be aware that different school districts usually are involved. Don't assume that all homes in a town (village, hamlet, etc.) will be zoned into the school district that is the same name as the town.

PS: You cannot change the school district your home is zoned into. They will not do it and people have tried. So remember you are stuck with the school district that the home you buy is already in.

[maisy123]

Originally Posted by I_Have_Your_Wallet

You ask to rate towns against each other, but ...

In Nassau County, the school district, not necessarily the town, your home is located in will make you or break you. Why? If you have kids, obviously that's where their education is going to come from. Even if you don't have kids, the reputation of the school district will affect your property values. Long Island has very high property taxes to pay for the schools and there should not be a bad school district around here at all, considering what people pay in taxes! However, there are a few mediocre and some downright horrible school districts. That being said, you will not get a discount on taxes when your house is zoned into a bad school district! Not at all! Their taxes are high too. So vote with your feet and avoid school districts with bad reputations. I am sure to get a few complaints from other posters as to how people should not avoid school districts with bad reputations because that will only make them worse in the end, but in my way of thinking, it's shape up or ship out. Maybe the school districts with the bad reputations will DO SOMETHING to better themselves if they are shunned. Right now they collect the same high taxes as better school districts do, so what incentive is there to improve?

I don't know a lot about Mineola and New Hyde Park, but I do know the Herricks school district is excellent and is rated higher than the Mineola school district (which is not one of the really "bad" school districts in any case).

As for Rockville Centre, you want to stay in either the Rockville Centre (#1 choice) or Oceanside (#2 choice) school districts. Do not buy a home in the Malverne school district.

As for Lynbrook, you will want to stay in either the Lynbrook (#1 choice), Hewlett-Woodmere, East Rockaway, or Valley Stream 24 (good district with good activities, test scores, graduation rates, kids going on to college rates, etc., but the town is multi-racial and multi-cultural, so some people on this board will challenge my recommending it as when your kid gets to the high school level, s/he will be going to class with some darker faces, albeit solidly middle class ones).

Once again, stay away from the Malverne school district (unless they suddenly decide to cut property taxes in 1/2 or something) when shopping for a house in Lynbrook. The taxes are just as high as in the Lynbrook school district, which is one of the nationally rated schools of excellence, yet Malverne is one of the lower-achieving school districts in Nassau. To make things easier, you could tell the real estate agents to not even show you a house in it. (Real estate agents love out-of-town people who are not familiar with the school districts so they can unload houses that are a difficult sell because of being in a bad school district!)

However, maybe I am too picky. Everybody's different and maybe you could live with it if you found a house you really loved in the Malverne school district. I couldn't. Right now a lot of people in that school district send their kids to private school (and they don't get a discount on property taxes either; they pay full freight like everyone else plus have to pay private school tuition).

If anything, do research on the ratings of all the school districts in towns you are interested in rather than just taking mine or anyone else's word for it!

When searching in other towns, be aware that different school districts usually are involved. Don't assume that all homes in a town (village, hamlet, etc.) will be zoned into the school district that is the same name as the town.

PS: You cannot change the school district your home is zoned into. They will not do it and people have tried. So remember you are stuck with the school district that the home you buy is already in.

Here are the links to the Malverne state test scores. Certainly not one of the lower achieving districts on LI. A couple of disappointments-4th grade ELA and 8 th grade ELA but overall respectable and continuing to trend higher.

Howard T Herber Middle School Test Scores - Malverne, New York - NY

Maurice W Downing School Test Scores - Malverne, New York - NY

Davison Avenue Elementary School Test Scores - Lynbrook, New York - NY

[TomMoser]

Originally Posted by KarenBo

So how is the area of Lynbrook bordering North Valley Stream?

Lynbrook does not boarder North Valley Stream. One area that you might like in Lynbrook is called Westwood. It's at the north end of Lynbrook, boardering both Valley Stream and Malverne.

[house.searcher]

Hi XL600R, I'm looking to buy in the Mineola area, by Wilson Park. What areas of Mineola are plagued with gang problems? Thanks in advance for any info.

Originally Posted by XL600R

Avoid Mineola. There are gang problems with MS13.

[Seann]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

Lynbrook does not boarder North Valley Stream. One area that you might like in Lynbrook is called Westwood. It's at the north end of Lynbrook, bordering both Valley Stream and Malverne.

Not trying to be a know-it-all or anything, but Lynbrook does border North Valley Stream (along Merrick Road).

There is nothing wrong with that, imo, as Valley Stream along Merrick Road is a good area.

Also, I don't mean to go off on a tangent; actually I do: Where are the campaign offices for both presidential candidates in Nassau County? I'm having a hard time finding this info.

[house.searcher]

I'm looking to buy in the Mineola area, by Wilson Park. What areas of Mineola have gang, or other quality of life, problems? Thanks in advance for any info!

[LI/Queens]

If you want to keep in under $500k for a house that does not need a lot of work- go for Lynbrook. FYI : two train lines run through the station on Sunrise Hwy. On the north side a.k.a Westwood you have a station but it does not get as frequent service. I grew up in Lynbrook - solid school district but I would not rave about it. My husband and I ended up buying a house in RVC with O'cide schools because nothing in Lynbrook that suited our needs/likes was available at the time. RVC also has cheaper water and electric No LIPA!!!

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Seann

Not trying to be a know-it-all or anything, but Lynbrook does border North Valley Stream (along Merrick Road).

While Merrick Road may be in the north part of the Village of Valley Stream, the Hamlet of North Valley Stream is north of that area, and while the Village of Lynbrook may border the north part of the Village of Valley Stream, the Village of Lynbrook does not border the Hamlet of North Valley Stream.


For those who may not be familiar with North Valley Stream:

North Valley Stream is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northwest part of the Town of Hempstead, in the west part of Nassau County, along the Nassau/NYC (Queens County) line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of North Valley Stream in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Elmont and the Hamlet of Franklin Square; on the east by the Village of Malverne; on the south by the Village of Valley Stream; and, on the west by New York City (the Nassau/Queens County line).





North Valley Stream is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet name in their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of North Valley Stream have a "Valley Stream, NY 11580" 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): http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html