Moving to Uniondale LI (Hempstead, Elmont: ethnic, diverse, good)

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Hi, mom lived in Uniondale for 60 years and only recently passed away. I grew up there and lived there till I was married. My mom's house was on Fall Avenue, off of Uniondale Avenue and just north of Park Avenue. The area has had a section of black people living in it from it's onset, near the Smith Street School which backs up to the Southern State Parkway. It has always been better than Hempstead, Roosevelt (worst) and Freeport. It is pretty large in that where we lived you couldn't walk to Hempstead Turnpike where the Coliseum or Hoffstra were. The homes that my mom lived in are very well taken care of and the neighborhood is more, I would say, Hispanic, than Black. The Black people who do live there do a very nice job of keeping up their houses appearances and are always fixing them up. Same with the Hispanic homeowners. They are also very nice to one another and were always helping my mom. I know several teachers who teach in the Smith Street school and although there are some minor problems they report, they are not afraid to teach there. I would not call it a ghetto by any means. The stores themselves, however, are very limited in what they sell. Most are Caribbean deli's or bars or Hispanic in nature. I didn't attend Uniondale High School or Turtle Hook as I went to Catholic School in Uniondale too, Maria Regina, which has since changed it's name. That area of Uniondale near Front Street and north, still seems to look good as well. It is exit 21 on the Southern State and therefore, close to Jones Beach, Point Lookout, Roosevelt Field Mall, and for a trip into New York City. Houses are cheaper there then say Westbury, or Garden City, Levittown, Bellmore, etc. As far as safety goes, I guess it depends on the area. My mom was robbed once but it was like 20 years ago. It was only once, and that happens all over the island. My aunt lives in Garden City and she was robbed several times from people coming over the border from Hempstead. I can't say we were afraid to be outside even in the last two years or walking around in the neighborhood. A lot of the people who lived there purchased their homes back in the early 50's from Keanne the homebuilder and stayed put and had their children grow up with them. I know my mother's whole neighborhood was all the original people until they began dying and new people moved in. They were mostly of German descent. My mom and dad worked and attended St. Martha's School, and we got a decent education there. Hope that helped.

[HAIN IT]

I lived there since 1969 moved out in 1990, went back 2 weeks ago the place is not the same and it is very dark.

[CoolaTroopa]

I know the OP posted this a while back but I'd like to point out that Elmont is probably a better choice.

[rocafeller05]

Why, the sun was not out when you were there?

Originally Posted by HAIN IT

I lived there since 1969 moved out in 1990, went back 2 weeks ago the place is not the same and it is very dark.

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by CoolaTroopa

I know the OP posted this a while back but I'd like to point out that Elmont is probably a better choice.

if Elmont is a better choice, then cripes, uniondale is a lot worse than I thought...b/c Elmont is pretty freakin' bad. My mom grew up there and it once VERY nice. Sad what has happened to all these once-nice towns.

OP, if you are considering uniondale, I would rent not buy...only b/c due to the "not-so-good" status of the town, you may run into trouble trying to sell. I would say the nieghbourhood isn't looking at much of a drastic improvement any time soon.

Good luck on your search.

By the way, East Meadow is a really great town and it's close to Uniondale. I know they do have condos there, maybe worth checking out. Seems like a better bet.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

Sad what has happened to all these once-nice towns.

OP, if you are considering uniondale, I would rent not buy...only b/c due to the "not-so-good" status of the town ...

By the way, East Meadow is a really great town

To be or not to be ...

a hamlet!

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by Walter Greenspan

To be or not to be ...

a hamlet!

cripes, greenspan, give it a rest already

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

cripes, greenspan, give it a rest already

Jiminy Cricket, Jdawg8181, how's about using correct geographic terminology?

[CoolaTroopa]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

if Elmont is a better choice, then cripes, uniondale is a lot worse than I thought...b/c Elmont is pretty freakin' bad. My mom grew up there and it once VERY nice. Sad what has happened to all these once-nice towns.

OP, if you are considering uniondale, I would rent not buy...only b/c due to the "not-so-good" status of the town, you may run into trouble trying to sell. I would say the nieghbourhood isn't looking at much of a drastic improvement any time soon.

Good luck on your search.

By the way, East Meadow is a really great town and it's close to Uniondale. I know they do have condos there, maybe worth checking out. Seems like a better bet.

East Meadow is a better choice by far.. but I thought it was more expensive than Uniondale/Elmont.
I'd suggest Levittown but it's far from any railroad station.

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by CoolaTroopa

East Meadow is a better choice by far.. but I thought it was more expensive than Uniondale/Elmont.
I'd suggest Levittown but it's far from any railroad station.

It is def. more expensive than Uniondale but OP didn't give a budget range or anything, so I suggested it. Levittown is a good one too.