Any liberal or progressive towns in Nassau/Western Suffolk? (Hempstead: homes, neighborhood)

[AlexisT]

I love LI - I mean that the ethnic profile of Westbury UFSD is substantially different from that for the village.

Westbury village:
61.62% white
22.65% black
4.72% Asian
5.95% other
4.73% from two or more races.

Hispanics of any race were 18.85% of the population.

Westbury UFSD:
1% white
39% black
58% Hispanic
1% Asian.

Census data can be found on the Census Bureau site or Wikipedia, but they're done by village or hamlet, which does not correspond to postal or school district boundaries (and many do not exist according to the post office). School district breakdowns can be found at http://www.nystart.gov/publicweb. Look at the Accountability and Overview Reports for each district or school.

Dix Hills/Melville is not walkable (there's no "town" as such, and little shopping) and the train is a hike. School district is very good.

Achieving a 1hr door to door is extremely difficult, and stations aren't often walkable. The only places you can achieve 1hr door to door, unless you live and work by the stations, are in Western Nassau and are generally over your budget. Although, Port North might come in to sell his town (Port Washington) to you But I don't know what the market is like there, so I can't say.

Babylon has a nice town, and the schools are fine, but the train ride alone is an hour at least unless you can time it to catch the express. It's not as overwhelmingly white as many towns, but it's not particularly diverse either (SD is 84% white). Crooks will tell you it's ideal, but he also thinks you can commute from Rocky Point!

Huntington is cute, liberal, has a very nice shopping district, and is within budget but you'd have to drive to the train. Schools are middle of the road. Commute would be the sticky point: 1hr to Penn, plus driving time to the station.

The ugly fact about Long Island is that once a district exceeds 20-25% black/Hispanic, people start talking about how the district is going downhill. Half Hollow Hills is one of the few exceptions... and this may be because a good chunk of the black students come from one particular area (Wheatley Heights) that has always been minority.

[azzurrony]

Diversity is more than just race. I don't think someone should choose a town based on whether or not there are too many white people in it. In fact, that's pretty disturbing. You should choose a town because it's beautiful, safe, has good schools, a strong sense of community, great facilities, nice commute, etc.

I also think it's good to spend part of your life in areas which may not hold the same politics as you. If you are a Republican, don't be afraid to live in Manhattan or Europe. Do your best to understand the other side. If your a Democrat, don't be afraid to live in conservative districts.

I think this is really part of the problem with our political system today on both sides. People tend to segregate themselves politically, associate only with "like minded people" and develop such a closeminded attitude about their own political positions. That creates an inability to compromise and gets things done.

[fastpitch73]

I did consider Port Washington, but it does seem a bit out of our range. I might keep that on the short list.

I do agree, azzurrony, that diversity is about more than just race. I really appreciate your making that point. And, I have lived most of my life in conservative/republican towns, and much of my family holds these views. Now that I have a choice of where I live, I do feel most comfortable around like-minded people. And I feel comfortable that my child is among other children being raised by like-minded people. That doesn't mean that I don't respect and tolerate other's opinions. In fact, my political and social leanings are based largely on tolerance.

So far, Valley Stream does seem to hit the mark in terms of cost, commute, walkability of town, and, less so, regarding diversity and political bent. It's a good place to start, I suppose. If there are any others that I've missed that might fit this bill, I really appreciate hearing about them.

Thanks, everyone, for your advice!

[Crookhaven]

I didn't realize a NYC commute was imperative.

Babylon has more to offer than any of the towns mentioned on this thread but I wouldnd call it progressive.

I picked Stony Brook 3V for the University and the fact that it is the heart of progressive liberalism in Western Brookhaven.
(Brookhaven Dems call 3V home)
If you are looking for a more urban experience (closer to NYC etc) Valley Stream has plenty to offer. Good schools too.

Crooks

Originally Posted by AlexisT

I love LI - I mean that the ethnic profile of


Westbury UFSD is substantially different from that for the village.

Westbury village:
61.62% white
22.65% black
4.72% Asian
5.95% other
4.73% from two or more races.

Hispanics of any race were 18.85% of the population.

Westbury UFSD:
1% white
39% black
58% Hispanic
1% Asian.

Census data can be found on the Census Bureau site or Wikipedia, but they're done by village or hamlet, which does not correspond to postal or school district boundaries (and many do not exist according to the post office). School district breakdowns can be found at http://www.nystart.gov/publicweb. Look at the Accountability and Overview Reports for each district or school.

Dix Hills/Melville is not walkable (there's no "town" as such, and little shopping) and the train is a hike. School district is very good.

Achieving a 1hr door to door is extremely difficult, and stations aren't often walkable. The only places you can achieve 1hr door to door, unless you live and work by the stations, are in Western Nassau and are generally over your budget. Although, Port North might come in to sell his town (Port Washington) to you But I don't know what the market is like there, so I can't say.

Babylon has a nice town, and the schools are fine, but the train ride alone is an hour at least unless you can time it to catch the express. It's not as overwhelmingly white as many towns, but it's not particularly diverse either (SD is 84% white). Crooks will tell you it's ideal, but he also thinks you can commute from Rocky Point!

Huntington is cute, liberal, has a very nice shopping district, and is within budget but you'd have to drive to the train. Schools are middle of the road. Commute would be the sticky point: 1hr to Penn, plus driving time to the station.

The ugly fact about Long Island is that once a district exceeds 20-25% black/Hispanic, people start talking about how the district is going downhill. Half Hollow Hills is one of the few exceptions... and this may be because a good chunk of the black students come from one particular area (Wheatley Heights) that has always been minority.

[CoolaTroopa]

Valley Stream South is in the Top 20 for Long Island schools and has a lot of what you're looking for- Central and North are not much behind South.. all of them are definitely in the top half.

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by CoolaTroopa

Valley Stream South is in the Top 20 for Long Island schools and has a lot of what you're looking for- Central and North are not much behind South.. all of them are definitely in the top half.

They're no 3V or HHH but certainly very good and a decent value as well.

I think my new VS friends have gotten me to change my tune about the area.
The locals on this board really seem to love it.

Crooks

[Smash255]

As mentioned Valley Stream is a very diverse area, and I think it is fairly liberal as well (Obama won rather easily there). Many of the liberal areas on LI that are somehwat diverse tend to have fairly large Asian populations, but aren't that diverse when it comes to its African American and Hispanic populations. Southern portions of the Great Neck area (Walter, before you jump I'm talking about the entire vicinity and not just the village itself) and the Roslyn area and East Hills are very liberal. Jericho, Woodbury, Syosset, and Plainview (basically the areas gerrymandered out of King's district and into Israel's district) are all fairly liberal. Other liberal areas though much less diverse are southern portions of Bellmore and Merrick.

[grant516]

I don't think anything in Nassau is as liberal as Maplewood, or New Paltz, or Santa Cruz or whatnot... these are all 'family-minded' communities for the most part.

I'm sure that isn't an awful thing completely and you won't see any lynchings at your local neighborhood- but at the same point you're not likely to find too many local vegan restaurants or rainbow flags in front of any coffeeshops or whatnot.

I don't understand why everyone here is talking about race. I don't think that has anything to do with social liberalism. Many all-white neighborhoods are quite progressive, and plenty of racially diverse areas can be quite conservative about certain issues.

[fastpitch73]

Yes, grant516, I'd have to agree--big difference between diversity (ethnic, religious, etc.) and political leanings of a town. Which district # is Valley Stream South? Does it include the area around the village. If my husband (and perhaps soon myself) didn't commute to NYC every day I would definitely consider Stony Brook.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by fastpitch73

If my husband (and perhaps soon myself) didn't commute to NYC every day I would definitely consider Stony Brook.

The districts that serve VS South are predominantly Valley Stream 24 (which also serves the Village area to the north of Sunrise Highway) and Hewlett 14(which serves a small and more southern area of VS South). Hewlett 14 is a better school in terms of statistical performance, but you will have much higher property taxes than VS 24 and your kids will be going to school almost exclusively with children who are not diverse nor liberal, but are from a highly white and conservative area.

Curious as to what makes you interested in Stony Brook. It cannot be described as diverse in terms of racial/ethnic makeup and actually smacks to me of a place that only gets called liberal and progressive because there is a university and college students are mostly liberal and progressive, so perhaps the population "looks" like it is because there are so many college students there. However, college students are transient and most leave the area for good in a few years (to be replaced by different mostly liberal and progressive college kids). Although maybe you just like college towns and being around students. Nothing wrong with that!

I think the heart of Stony Brook, which is the permanent residents, could be better described as leaning on the conservative side (even the professors), with a few that might appear to be liberal and progressive because they do things that are "trendy" when viewed by other conservatives, like adopt children of different races, but even their values are generally more on the conservative side. At any rate, here are the C-D stats:

Races in Stony Brook:

White Non-Hispanic (89.8%)
Chinese (3.1%)
Hispanic (2.4%)
Black (1.2%)
Asian Indian (1.2%)
Two or more races (0.9%)
Korean (0.6%)