Baldwin NY. To buy or not to buy???? Help! (Oceanside: appointed, for sale)

[nygirl2517]

Hello....
I am possibly purchasing a co-op in the Baldwin area... Just South of Sunrise Hwy... off of Grand Ave... close to the LIRR. I am hearing all sorts of things from people.... some people say I shouldn't do it and other people say it isn't that bad. Does anyone know anything about this area? I notice most of the forums focus on Baldwin North of Sunrise. How about the area between Sunrise and Merrick Rd?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Wes927]

Hi there. can the moderator "bump" you to the post below?

http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...ng-buying.html

Anyway the thread has a lot to interest you.

[nygirl2517]

Thank you!

[LIgirl74]

When my husband and I were shopping for co-ops and condominiums, we found a wonderful development in Baldwin. The co-op was amazing and we just loved it. BUT we drove through there at night and did not like what we saw. Then I started hearing bad things about Baldwin. Note, this area was south of Sunrise, not too far from Grand Boulevard. Therefore, we ended up buying a condo in Farmingdale.

Have you driven through the neighborhood at night? If not, you should do this and make your own judgment. Good luck.

[nygirl2517]

LIgirl74-
We probably are talking about the same co-op. I am supposed to sign a contract but I have driven through there several times at night, and it is iffy. I am SO disappointed, it is such an amazing deal and I am struggling with the idea of letting it go. I have asked a lot of people in the area what they think of the neighborhood, and everyone just shrugs and says "it depends." NOT very encouraging lol! It will break my heart to let this one go, it seems all I can afford otherwise on LI as a single person is a small studio.

[grepman]

Originally Posted by LIgirl74

When my husband and I were shopping for co-ops and condominiums, we found a wonderful development in Baldwin. The co-op was amazing and we just loved it. BUT we drove through there at night and did not like what we saw. Then I started hearing bad things about Baldwin. Note, this area was south of Sunrise, not too far from Grand Boulevard. Therefore, we ended up buying a condo in Farmingdale.

Have you driven through the neighborhood at night? If not, you should do this and make your own judgment. Good luck.

Can you elaborate on exactly what you saw that you didn't like? Thanks.

[LIgirl74]

Quote:
Originally Posted by nygirl2517
LIgirl74-
We probably are talking about the same co-op. I am supposed to sign a contract but I have driven through there several times at night, and it is iffy. I am SO disappointed, it is such an amazing deal and I am struggling with the idea of letting it go. I have asked a lot of people in the area what they think of the neighborhood, and everyone just shrugs and says "it depends." NOT very encouraging lol! It will break my heart to let this one go, it seems all I can afford otherwise on LI as a single person is a small studio.

I actually replied to the other post regarding Baldwin and this is what I wrote:

I totally understand how you feel. My husband and I loved the place and the development. Honestly, if I were you, I would not buy in that area. I know it's hard to let it go but trust me, there will be others out there. Are you looking just on the south shore? I live in Farmingdale and there are a lot of co-ops and also, not sure how much you are looking to spend, there are a few condo's for sale in my development, including mine that range from $255k to $289k. My development accepts cats so you would not have to worry there. Also, our maintenance fee is cheap, it's $161. This is why my husband and I ended up not buying in Baldwin. It's just a really iffy area and Farmingdale is not questionable like Baldwin. Like I said, not sure of your price range but there are lots of co-ops for sale in my area and I believe some of the developments allow cats. I have 3 cats and I would NEVER let anyone talk me out of not taking them with me. They are my family. If you need any more info on Farmingdale, let me know. I honestly, would not sign the contract as Baldwin is only getting worse and you don't want to be stuck in a bad area years down the road.

ETA: I saw you stated that you need to be near the train. My condo complex and a few co-op buildings in Farmingdale are in walking distance to the train.

[LIgirl74]

Originally Posted by grepman

Can you elaborate on exactly what you saw that you didn't like? Thanks.

Sure. When drove through the area at night it looked a bit ghetto when we went up Grand Avenue. I personally would not have felt safe walking the streets there at night and that was a sign to me that it was not the proper area for us to buy at the time. We had also heard negative things about Baldwin when we mentioned the co-op and area to a few people.

[rhmart]

Read the replies to the inquiry about moving to Baldwin. Very interesting, but I gotta tell you that they are more than borderline racist. It's amazing how folks suddenly see all these flaws in a neighborhood once more people of color move in.

Will have lived in Baldwin 19 years come this June; my daughter graduated from the H.S. in 2007 and my son is currently a sophomore there. IMO it's remarkable how much the hamlet has NOT changed over the years. The area is probably more congested than it used to be b/c more two-earning couples moved in which can mean more than one car parked in the street and overall higher levels of traffic.

But aside from these observations, it appears that many of the replies were colored (pun attended) by posters' prejudices. Yes, there have been problems at the H.S., but name me one high school -- even in Long Island's affluent areas -- that hasn't had its share of problems. Do we not remember what happened at Mepham High in Merrick a few years ago? Did anyone hear that Oceanside has an alarmingly high STD rate? Or that there have been incidents at Rockville Centre's South Side High School that manage not to have been widely reported, probably because the village has its own police force? I know of what I speak.

So you see, much of what's been said about Baldwin really comes from folks' lack of comfort with being around people of color not a serious deterioration in the neighborhood. Almost 90% of graduates get their Regents Diplomas, and a significant percentage obtain more prestigious diplomas.

I do agree that Rockville Centre (RVC) is a very nice area and that its schools are highly rated. And, the village does have a nice walkable downtown area. However, it is not very diverse and, perhaps more important to the budget concious, it's very expensive. Generally, speaking you have to spend upwards of $600,000 -- yes, even in today's market -- for a starter home, e.g., three bedrooms with 1.5 to two bathrooms, but the house might still need a fair amount of work.

Oceanside is less expensive than RVC, and I believe its schools perform well, though not as well as RVC's. It's more expensive than Baldwin and a lot less diverse.