Roosevelt Field (New York, Perry, York: neighborhoods, to buy, cinema)
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It's pretty bad...yeah. A lot of the stores are closing or downsizing. Saturday in Nine West there was a mouse running wild in the store. So lovely & just what I needed during shoe shopping.
Mice in that mall are nothing new, I remember seeing them years ago, back when there was a card shop next to Sbarro's by Macy's (a long time ago).
Not so much the stores changing, but Azzuro had it right...
alot more thuggy type, loitery types hanging around. Alot.
The average shoppers a few years ago (like myself) are now the minority of who is strolling around in there. This was not just one occasion either...I have had it, esp on a weekend. I could not believe it was RF mall and it's very disturbing to watch it take a turn for the worse.
I remember how much better Roosevelt Field was when it was under Pembrook management. They are the ones that decided to make the mall more upscale, adding the 2nd level and Nordstrom. It has gone downhill since it was sold to Simon Property Group. Simon brought in more low-scale stores that geared to the thugs.
There are alot of gangs that hang out in the mall, I am even seeing illegals there as well now. Does the NCPD even have that substation in there anymore? I used to see NCPD patrols at the mall but not anymore. But don't worry, the Security Guards there ride on Segways to keep you safe!
I've been going there since the mid 90's. The "bad crowd" was there then...and they're there now. I haven't really noticed an increase. And you're right...hanging out at the mall all day is a cheap and easy way to kill a saturday.
I would agree, the thug crwod has always been there, but I think there's less shoppers now so thats why ppl are seeing it more. That and the decline of the Westbury area.
It's b/c the buses are pretty much mostly bringing in people from those areas. You generally do not see people from areaa like Roslyn riding the bus to the mall. If they did away with that, perhaps the clientele would improve?
No, dont blame the buses. Alot of these thugs have cars and drive like maniacs in the garages, blasting rap music and screeching wheels.
Look at what happened to Broadway Mall after they removed the buses. The mall actually got worse.
Smith Haven Mall has loads of buses serving it, and it doesn't have a bad crowd other than some "metalheads" or "rockers", which I dont see as often as I used to, esp since they remodeled the mall. Simon owns this mall as well but seems to do a better job maintaining it.
And yes I see alot of kids from Roslyn taking the bus to Roosevelt Field.
I've lived in GC for 12 years - far longer than the WalMart has been there. Take a look at the eastbound Northern leading to the s/b Meadowbrook any weekend. YOU may not think people are influxing from Queens, but they are. I don't ever venture over there on weekends past 10 a.m. - that whole Old Country Road/Glen Cove Road/various malls is off limits unless I have a dire emergency that can only be served by a trip to the mall. One of many reason we bought on the west side of town, also.
Yes, ALOT of traffic from Queens. The Meadowbrook & Northern always backs up, esp in weekend evenings heading west. Alot of those people are also going to Jones Beach, hence the reason for it's decline as well.
Alot get off at Glen Cove Rd, and then the left turn light onto Old Country (which has always been messed up) backs up past the LIRR overpass.
If I have a good bus driver he will go around the cars and save us 10 minutes!
I respect everyone's post. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion about how towns (or malls) have changed. I live in Queens, have family in LI, and can't pretend to know everything. If I was a victim of crime, or if my 'hood had gone downhill I can't promise how I'd react. I don't think any posters here mean any harm.
I go to RF all the time. i don't wanna be too general but I can't help but see a mix of chronic pessimism, xenophobia, paranoia, racism, and utopianism among some of the posters. And I'm a regsitered Republican ......
In regards to the utopianism...what do you expect to see in a parking garage elevator, lace and lillies? Kids hanging out at the mall? OMG! When was this mythical age when RF was perfect?
As someone who's there all the time: the idea of feeling unsafe in that mall is utterly ridiculous!
I crossed with I LOve LI BUT once on this board but I applaud her for being a white person to go to Green Acres. It's a nice mall......White people can't take the postion that minorities "improve" and the refuse to be around them. Goes both ways. I'm not a very good person but I go to Green Acres all the time too.
Thanks for listening.....
I do not feel unsafe at Roosevelt Field, in the mall anyway. The parking garages are another story.
The only mall on LI I have ever felt unsafe at is South Shore Mall. And that was years ago.
Roosevelt Field has some problems, and they are more due to Simon Property Group's lack of maintanance than changing demographics. Roosevelt Field still remains LI's most successful shopping mall despite that. Smith Haven may have been remodeled, but it's food court is kinda small and it really needed a better, more extensive renovation and expansion project. Walt Whitman is the most upscale mall, but it lacks alot of stores, and there's no food court.
Broadway Mall is an utter joke, the only reason I go there is for Arby's. Sunrise Mall was run into the ground by it's previous owner, and its been a very uphill battle for Westfield to fill space there. Again, the only reason I go there is for Arby's. Westfield had its hands on South Shore for longer, and tried to bring in more trendies and upscales by bringing in Lord and Taylor and a rather nice renovation, but it, unfortunately is located smack-dab in one of LI's largest and worst barrios.
Green Acres...I haven't been there in years. I'm suprised so many folks go to RF from Queens, as the Queens Center Mall underwent a rather nice renovation not that long ago, but it's still a city mall.
New Jersey has much nicer malls than here, Garden State Plaza puts RF to shame easily. Plus you have the super-upscale Riverside Square, medium market Paramus Park, and the new value oriented Bergen Town Square.
And Palisades Center aint that far to the north. Down south you have Freehold Raceway Mall which is also beautiful. Considering LI has a higher average income, our malls sure do suck compared to NJ. Only downside with Bergen County is their blue laws.
Do you ever feel threated by them? You may not like them but you never have to doubt your safety around them.
Groups of what appear to be thug types, yelling and screaming to cause scenes purposely, yes that makes one feel unsafe. So the two do not compare. I know you are trying to make a point but I don't feel it's a valid one. Odds are the lace and lillies kids from GC won't bother you when strolling through a mall, shopping and hanging out. Groups of thug types, who clearly want to puff out their chests and cause scenes that cause heads to turn, way more likely looking for confrontation and way more likely to be a safety concern. So safety is far different than simple taste issues.
I guess I should just say you win. "Thugs scream safety, quality of life, and I want them to keep coming in droves to a mall that used to be a quite peaceful place to shop." Is that better? But I won't lie, and this is just not the truth.
You are terrified of the loud black people inside of the mall, I am terrified that we have a mall named after Walt Whitman. Which is more valid? I can't say....
In any case, I don't go to malls. If I did, I seriously doubt I would poo poo my pants because some 14 year old kid wants to recite lyrics to a Jay-Z song a few decibels too loud for Sunday mass.
My suggestions for your situation, however:
1) Go somewhere else
2) Shop online
3) Move off Long Island
You are terrified of the loud black people inside of the mall, I am terrified that we have a mall named after Walt Whitman. Which is more valid? I can't say....
In any case, I don't go to malls. If I did, I seriously doubt I would poo poo my pants because some 14 year old kid wants to recite lyrics to a Jay-Z song a few decibels too loud for Sunday mass.
My suggestions for your situation, however:
1) Go somewhere else
2) Shop online
3) Move off Long Island
You are extremely right. I will be going somewhere else. I will never step foot in that mall again on a weekend afternoon or evening. The mall will lose plenty of business if all the people like me (actual customers, not just loiterers) stop going. That's precisely how things/towns decline. The mall won't improve b/c thugs are hanging out there. As for moving off LI, I think that is a weak retort. Thugs/riff raff, etc, only cause the decline, yes, on the same island you live on. You too should be concerned. Bottom line, riff raff/thugs, illegals, etc do not improve an area EVER and anyone who cares about where they live/property values, safety, etc should be concerned as the demographics shift too.
You are terrified of the loud black people inside of the mall, I am terrified that we have a mall named after Walt Whitman. Which is more valid? I can't say....
In any case, I don't go to malls. If I did, I seriously doubt I would poo poo my pants because some 14 year old kid wants to recite lyrics to a Jay-Z song a few decibels too loud for Sunday mass.
My suggestions for your situation, however:
1) Go somewhere else
2) Shop online
3) Move off Long Island
You want to give us the impression you are a thug, then we will see you as one. So you get what you ask for.
Bottom line, I prefer to stay away from those who choose to act with no self control, self regard or regard for others who don't want to hear the screaming, the commotion, etc. I wont go to a rap concert/show. So why would I want to have my family and I surrounded by that atmosphere in a mall? And there you have it...the beginnings of the decline. Me leaving will add to the decline, them increasing will further the decline. Safety won't improve, time and time again this is a proven fact.
You find a way to challenge pure fact, history simply repeating itself. You are grasping at straws, really, to compare GC kids to thugs. That's quite a stretch. And yes, the odds are if one group of kids were going to drum up trouble that could affect other customers in the mall, let's take a guess who that might be? The 15 year old group of girls or the thugs screaming/looking for a rise out of someone? Do the math. It's an easy one.
Last edited by Glad2BHere; 09-15-2009 at 12:14 AM..
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but I go to Green Acres all the time too.
Roosevelt Field elevators..death-traps!
