"Urban rejects" priced out of NYC are clearly absorbing Nassau (and now W. Suffolk), are our Wonder Years behind us? (Hempstead: house, neighborhoods)

[Crookhaven]

This came up on another thread and I think its time for some locals to speak up.

Whaddaya think, is this good news for our fair Isle?

Our parents came out here for very different reasons (QOL/Safety/Open Space). Now folks are coming out because they cant afford Queens.

I guess NYC has to deal with our "Suburban rejects" AKA our young people.
Old schools Nassau is selling and running out to Suffolk (or going Tarheel).

What the hell happened?

Discuss and debate.

Crooks

[Rachael84]

Well, I lived in Queens for a while, but spent 75% of my life on Long Island. We much prefer raising kids on Long Island. It's not that we can't afford Queens; we could. I just wouldn't send my kids to the schools there. I also missed LI a lot while living in Queens. So, I wouldn't call myself an urban reject. A lot of people are like me--they just prefer raising a family in the suburbs.

[twingles]

Originally Posted by Rachael84

Well, I lived in Queens for a while, but spent 75% of my life on Long Island. We much prefer raising kids on Long Island. It's not that we can't afford Queens; we could. I just wouldn't send my kids to the schools there. I also missed LI a lot while living in Queens. So, I wouldn't call myself an urban reject. A lot of people are like me--they just prefer raising a family in the suburbs.

I could be wrong, and I don't want to speak for Crooks, but I don't think this is what he means. I think he's talking about people born and raised in the city, not people who lived there for a year or 2 after college before returning to LI.

I think you are right Crooks. I think our parents came out here looking to build a life, build town/villages/hamlets, looking to be good neighbors, etc etc. I feel like the current crop just wants to move Queens eastward. Nothing wrong with Queens, but that's not the basis on which LI was settled. People wanted a suburb, and that's why they came out here. I also see a lot of a "screw 'em if they don't like it" attitude, no effort to be neighborly or assimilate. All of this along with ridiculous increase on COL over the last say 10 years is really dis-heartening. Not sure if we're screwed or not, but the LI my kids are experiencing is not the same LI I experienced as a kid, and it goes a lot deeper than not being able to let them outside alone to play.

[Rachael84]

^^I actually lived in Queens as a little kid, then moved to LI, then back to Queens.

[grant516]

There is a very small sector of industry on Long Island, and with bullhock like the MCTMT (Metro Commuter Tax)- I wouldn't expect anything new to start popping up.
With the internet in full boom, less and less people need to rely on the urban setting of Manhattan for work.

The traffic is awful, the public transit costs an insane amount, the local colleges aren't top notch Tier 1 schools.

... so I'd say - yes, Long Island's hay-day is behind it.

It's expensive, and you don't get much for what it is- aside from apparently top notch public schools, and police response. Which is well appreciated on one hand, and complained about via taxes on the other.

In any event, when was the last LIRR station built... the last midrise? ... the last bridge... stadium ... museum ... downtown renovation (per "hamlet"/village). When's the last time you've seen a new couple from another state buy the house next door cause they've heard such nice things about LI?

I think of these things as signs of progress in a City. While Nassau is no city, it is one of the most densley populated counties in the US- in fact, If NYC's legal population is made of 5 merged boroughs, as they have an overall governing body; Nassau County's "townships" aren't all that different. Town of Hempstead is like the 12th biggest "city" in the whole country.

LI is pretty anti-progress; and that's going to come around and bite it in the ass eventually. The suburbia that once existed here (with big yards, nice neighborhoods, pleasurable driving) had a population cap, once that cap becomes exceeded you need to restructure. That part may not happen in my lifetime.

It seems like the North Shore is much more immune to these issues, because I think of areas like Syosset, CSH, Manhasset- where what I'm saying would be completely false- but i'm not familiar enough with these ultra-premium areas past history to really speak about it.

[RiddleMeThis]

Originally Posted by grant516

There is a very small sector of industry on Long Island, and with bullhock like the MCTMT (Metro Commuter Tax)- I wouldn't expect anything new to start popping up.
With the internet in full boom, less and less people need to rely on the urban setting of Manhattan for work.

The traffic is awful, the public transit costs an insane amount, the local colleges aren't top notch Tier 1 schools.

... so I'd say - yes, Long Island's hay-day is behind it.

It's expensive, and you don't get much for what it is- aside from apparently top notch public schools, and police response. Which is well appreciated on one hand, and complained about via taxes on the other.

In any event, when was the last LIRR station built... the last midrise? ... the last bridge... stadium ... museum ... downtown renovation (per "hamlet"/village). When's the last time you've seen a new couple from another state buy the house next door cause they've heard such nice things about LI?

I think of these things as signs of progress in a City. While Nassau is no city, it is one of the most densley populated counties in the US- in fact, If NYC's legal population is made of 5 merged boroughs, as they have an overall governing body; Nassau County's "townships" aren't all that different. Town of Hempstead is like the 12th biggest "city" in the whole country.

LI is pretty anti-progress; and that's going to come around and bite it in the ass eventually. The suburbia that once existed here (with big yards, nice neighborhoods, pleasurable driving) had a population cap, once that cap becomes exceeded you need to restructure. That part may not happen in my lifetime.

It seems like the North Shore is much more immune to these issues, because I think of areas like Syosset, CSH, Manhasset- where what I'm saying would be completely false- but i'm not familiar enough with these ultra-premium areas past history to really speak about it.

very well said! rep points!

[LLOJ]

Do you guys think that this has lead to a rise in graffiti and gang violence? I was talking to some friends that live in Brentwood the other day and they said that the two have gotten worse over the years, but I'm wondering if the "Urban rejects" maybe took those habits with them when they left "Queens".

[ckhthankgod]

Here's an interesting article that kind of gets into what has been mentioned by the OP: American Murder Mystery - The Atlantic (July/August 2008)

I think it might have an effect on some parts of L.I., but it depends on the people that are coming to L.I. too.

[suzook]

I grew up in Queens until I was 21. I moved out to Suffolk because it was cheap. I dont think I "ruined" the neighborhood. In fact, of the 3 homes I have owned out here, I improved each one. They were run down dumps. I redid each one, and made it an "asset" to the neighborhood. Yes, I agree there are some "ify" people from the city, but there is plenty of white trash out here already.

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by twingles

I could be wrong, and I don't want to speak for Crooks, but I don't think this is what he means. I think he's talking about people born and raised in the city, not people who lived there for a year or 2 after college before returning to LI.

I think you are right Crooks. I think our parents came out here looking to build a life, build town/villages/hamlets, looking to be good neighbors, etc etc. I feel like the current crop just wants to move Queens eastward. Nothing wrong with Queens, but that's not the basis on which LI was settled. People wanted a suburb, and that's why they came out here. I also see a lot of a "screw 'em if they don't like it" attitude, no effort to be neighbory or assimilate. All of this along with ridiculous increase on COL over the last say 10 years is really dis-heartening. Not sure if we're screwed or not, but the LI my kids are experiencing is not the same LI I experienced as a kid, and it goes a lot deeper than not being able to let them outside alone to play.

Precicely.

Go Jets

Crooks