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We have lived in this town for nearly 30 years and have seen mayors as well as, other politicians come and go. All start with big plans only to never see them come to fruition. I get very frustrated with this town. We get some things, (Bobbique's, the Brick House, Pera Bell, etc.) and other things just get voted down (library upgrade, riverfront complete with little shops and places to eat and sit and drink, REAL pool rehab, etc.). They are big here on paving parking lots and putting up a zillion lampposts which look absolutely horrendous and are a laughing stock of the town as its nickname is "the town with the landing strip"! Yes, with the proper leadership and money, it could be as beautiful as Sayville or Bellport along Montauk Highway, Brookhaven hamlet, etc. The taxes we pay are huge, as I and a lot of my neighbors pay, $15,000 a year for what I would deem not worthy of a town that is equivalent to say Stony Brook or Manhasset. It goes to the school salaries mostly. I do live in the Village and so do pay both Brookhaven and the Village taxes which go up steadily. When we bought our ranch style home almost 30 years ago, it was $1,700 a year for our taxes! I live in what most deem the "nicest area" of the town along the Roe Blvd. corridor. I have seen the frequency of the street cleaners decline, the special garbage pickups be not what they used to be, the storefronts empty as the store owners say they can make more in Sayville or Pt. Jeff, not good but true. We seem to attract all the dime stores and pawnships and G & G cheap clothing lines of Long Island. For a while, all store signs had to be of the wooden variety, meaning the nice ones with gold edging, professional, classy signs. Then all of a sudden, that declned and we got homemade wooden signs that were of the "anything goes" variety. Where were our officials when this was happening? When something is done or built which is good for the town, then they jump on the bandwagon and go crazy with it, hence the influx of all the condos. YES, I agree wholeheartedly that they were an improvement over the flophouses and such they replaced, BUT, do we really want a town of all condos? Do they then have to go crazy and put them on every corner of the town? My neighbors, a lot of them in their 70's and 80's, say Patchogue has been doing the same thing from pre-Leavandosky days. Letting the people with huge victorian homes along S. Ocean Avenue, sell off their land only to see tiny homes built on parcels too small. Where again was our politicians who should have been looking out for the overview of what our town would grow to look like? Surely, this wouldn't have happened in say Southampton or Easthampton? When we moved here, we interviewed at least 20 people on streets surrounding our home to see what they thought of the school district,many of them with children themselves, or teachers or active in the community. All loved it and state tests proved that Patchogue was among one of the highest rated school districts on Long Island. That was the early 80's--that is not now. There has been an influx of illegals and lots of drug and gang activity with no end in site. Cheaper homes get people with no money moving in. And, with this economy, more of that will come to Patchogue. It is sad. I know people need homes, but does Patchogue have to be the only town taking all the poor? As I said, I was always one of the people who when confronted with negative comments about my town, was the one who would run to it's defense. But you have to open your eyes at some point. I'm tired of hearing all the talk that "Patchogue is turning around". It's not. I was active in the town and the talk is that the four corners area is still going to be constructed but now with a much lower level of a hotel in my opinion, slated for the corner. I agree the old Swezey's area needs desperately to be fixed, but is a hotel the answer? Who are they planning on using this hotel? Surely Patchogue Village is not a "vacation hot spot" like it once was. People like J. Crew, Starbucks, or anything of value, claim that when they do the research, there is not enough income to warrant them putting up a business here yet a restaurant like Louis the XIV exists with it's higher prices. I grew up in Nassau County near the Garden City/Hempstead border. I fear if someone doesn't see the writing on the wall, then Patchogue might just be well on the way to becoming another Roosevelt, Freeport or Hempstead. They need someone with some sort of taste in preserving and unifying the storefronts as well as, embracing its bayfront. They need a vision and a knowledge of how to apply for government money. I know every one of my neighbors as well as, I, would have gladly paid their taxes if we could have seen something, anything, being done to improve the overall appearance and nature of our little town, but 30 years is a long time to be waiting............JMHO
Yikes, that was one huge paragraph! Thanks for the reply.
We stopped by Bay Village last week. Overall, we were impressed with the condo we were originally interested in, and have so far been impressed with the areas of Patchogue we saw. Driving south on S Ocean Ave was nicer than we expected, and we actually thought the lamp posts lining each side of the street were quite nice. Some empty, unkept storefronts, and some more shady areas, but overall we were pleased. I do plan on investigating the school district further, plus visiting certain area's at night to see what kind of clientele come out to play.
People like J. Crew, Starbucks, or anything of value, claim that when they do the research, there is not enough income to warrant them putting up a business here yet a restaurant like Louis the XIV exists with it's higher prices.
Not anymore! It's becoming (or became?) Lombardi's on the Bay, which is priced a lot more reasonably.
I know, RoleModel, I have clients at my house a few nights a week and whenever anyone comes via N. Ocean, they always remark, "What is UP WITH THOSE lights? They are ridiculous because there are so many of them!" Which of course is always followed with them laughing which makes you feel embarassed for having such a laughing stock in your own town.
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