Is "White Flight" over on LI? (Hempstead, Islip: how much, homes)

[56 Fighter]

Why/how did Hempstead change so much?

[suzook]

its a shame about hempstead. I was working on elmwood st, of of greenwich and there were some beautiful homes there.

[AlexisT]

1) Racial steering, which meant that Hempstead became entirely black (and later black/Hispanic) while Garden City (next door) stayed lily-white. Even if you could have afforded to buy in GC, in the '50s and '60s, you wouldn't be shown houses there unless you were white and Christian. (As well as racial segregation, LI was segregated by religion at that time and still is to some extent, though that divide has been more fragile.)

2) Roosevelt Field Mall killed the shopping in Hempstead Village (and ultimately did a lot of damage to Garden City as well).

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

In the early sixties, we kids used to love to go to Hempstead Village on the bus from Roslyn on Friday nights because there were actually stores that were OPEN. John's Bargain Stores and Woolworths. What could be cooler?

Nancy, when I was in grade school my mom used to work part-time, from 10 am to 1 or 2 pm, in the W.T. Kress store in Hempstead! Do you remember that one?

The three "dimestores" in Hempstead were Woolworth's, Kress, and Kresge's. I can't recall whether all three of them had soda fountains but I know that at least Woolworth's did because I remember having egg creams there.

Here's a question for you: Which store was it that had the pet department with the canaries and parakeets on the lower level? Was that Woolworths? I think it may have been but can't remember precisely.

[nancy thereader]

Well, I know that the Woolworth's in Bayshore had birds so they probably all did .They all had those U-shaped counters where you could get a grilled cheese sandwich, fries & a strawberry ice cream soda for $1.10. A gourmand , I was not.

It was so much fun to shop there at night for us (pre-teen) kids without our parents around, especially . We thought of it as almost a city because of all the lights and the stores being open late which they were not in Roslyn Village. It was so exciting. There were no malls , I don't think then. No enclosed ones, anyway.

[fred5]

Long Island is probably one of the most segregated places in the country. A NY Times article labled LI as the most segregated suburb in NY. Look how school district maps are drawn out for example, and how neighborhoods are steered a certain way. When you live there it's pretty obvious.

[scottzilla]

Originally Posted by fred5

Long Island is probably one of the most segregated places in the country. A NY Times article labled LI as the most segregated suburb in NY. Look how school district maps are drawn out for example, and how neighborhoods are steered a certain way. When you live there it's pretty obvious.

Oh, and if a school district contains any of those areas, it's considered "Bad". I'm fascinated that teh more white a district is, the "Better" it is.

[Jrprofess]

Originally Posted by fred5

Long Island is probably one of the most segregated places in the country. A NY Times article labled LI as the most segregated suburb in NY. Look how school district maps are drawn out for example, and how neighborhoods are steered a certain way. When you live there it's pretty obvious.

It did not take an NY Times article to note that fact...just sit on a train line for an extended period going into and out of the city. Each stop denotes the ethnic makeup of the surrounding area. And to the earlier poster that noted middle class (upper middle) ethnic families such as African American and Hispanic do not bother moving here because of the dynamic, I agree. I have close friends of both persuasions who moved south (Virginia-African American) and west (Latino) for that exact reason. Both with PhDs. I laugh when those who have only lived here make such broad-based assumptions that if "they" could afford it, they could live in a more desirable area. For the most part "they" do not even bother because they do not want to raise their children in such a segregated area. This does not dismiss the obvious socio-economic issues for many minority communities, but unfortunately there are a lot of "Vinnies" and "Sean's" on the island who assume all blacks and hispanics are a reflection of what they have experienced on LI (I am speaking from my own experience, given I look like a "Sean" and they have no problem sharing their thoughts with me at bbqs, soccer games, etc...). I have had three black bosses (egads!!), with the lowest degree earned being a law degree. My own homogenous upbringing made a lot of my transition to the work world a steeper learning curve than I expected.

In my opinion this is a struggle if you live in an area like Smithtown, which I do, which is very homogenous but an area I do like. How do you balance the perspective of your children that there are people of all shapes and sizes in the world...especially when you enter the work world.

Stepping down off of soap box,

JRP

[nancy thereader]

Do you suppose that it will ever change, jrp?

[fred5]

Originally Posted by scottzilla

Oh, and if a school district contains any of those areas, it's considered "Bad". I'm fascinated that teh more white a district is, the "Better" it is.

Definetly. You can see comments on this message board where certain areas are considered the "bad" part of town, when there is really nothing that "bad" about the area.