What happened to Hempstead? (New York, Yonkers: low crime, dorms, neighborhoods)
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I knew of some illegal basement rentals in white plains and it still exists. They were occupied by mostly young professionals just getting out of college looking for an affordable place to live, but there were also other Hispanic families living in basement apartments. I have no idea if they were legal.
I did not notice any major criminal gang activity in white plains, but I hear about plenty of violent crime happening in Hempstead. Nassau county in general seems to have much higher crime rate than westchester.. atleast from what I read in Newsday. Robbery in Manhasset, Stabbing in Garden City, Heroin in Massapequa.. upper middle class / middle class areas in Long Island does not seem to be immune.
Hempstead's downfall can be attributed to a number of factors:
1. Political corruption--Local officials did not properly invest in the town and create an environment for it to thrive.
2. Certainly the mall and the loss of business hurt the community in the 60's and 70's.
3. The village zoned too much low income housing in the 60's and 70's. Sure, there was a need for it, but too much of it compared with surrounding towns meant that Hempstead became a dumping ground for the poor and less educated.
4. The influx of illegal immigrants and latin gangs is really hurting Hempstead as others have mentioned. The village turns a blind eye to the flophouses that house the illegals and the result is a rise in crime and obviously a fall in the schools.
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How to turn it around? Well, I think you have to build more MIDDLE income housing. You have to attract young middle class educated people to the area who want new hip and affordable housing. I think you have to attract artists, hipsters, musicians, etc. There have to be pioneers that are willing to live in the village and turn it around by opening up small business and making it more attractive.
Finally, the village has to CRACK DOWN hard on the illegals and the flophouses. They have to seek them out and go after the landlords. No affordable housing = less illegals.
Just looked at newsday. Shooting in Freeport ( 2 dead), Stabbing in Huntington Station(1 dead), Stabbing in GC/Hempstead(1 dead), Armed Robbery in Baldwin.. all within one week. Scary times..
Just looked at newsday. Shooting in Freeport ( 2 dead), Stabbing in Huntington Station(1 dead), Stabbing in GC/Hempstead(1 dead), Armed Robbery in Baldwin.. all within one week. Scary times..
Hempstead went downhill a long time ago. Hofstra was established in 1937 and has obviously expanded a great deal, especially from 1980-2000. Hofstra actually has kept that part of Hempstead from getting worse. They used to have student housing in the apartments on Fulton Ave., but they still have some archives/library in a building on Fulton. Roosevelt Field is a contributing factor to the decline of the shopping/business district, but not the sole cause. When A&S closed, that was the last straw. I used to work for the Sam Ash Headquarters in Hempstead, not the store, their main offices and the warhouse. After A&S closed, Sam Ash moved out of there too. The district court and some other courts are still in Hempstead and I guess that helps a little.
Malls don't always attribute to downfall of an area though. Short Hills mall hasn't ruined Short Hills in any way...
Hempstead's downfall can be attributed to a number of factors:
1. Political corruption--Local officials did not properly invest in the town and create an environment for it to thrive.
2. Certainly the mall and the loss of business hurt the community in the 60's and 70's.
3. The village zoned too much low income housing in the 60's and 70's. Sure, there was a need for it, but too much of it compared with surrounding towns meant that Hempstead became a dumping ground for the poor and less educated.
4. The influx of illegal immigrants and latin gangs is really hurting Hempstead as others have mentioned. The village turns a blind eye to the flophouses that house the illegals and the result is a rise in crime and obviously a fall in the schools.
---
How to turn it around? Well, I think you have to build more MIDDLE income housing. You have to attract young middle class educated people to the area who want new hip and affordable housing. I think you have to attract artists, hipsters, musicians, etc. There have to be pioneers that are willing to live in the village and turn it around by opening up small business and making it more attractive.
Finally, the village has to CRACK DOWN hard on the illegals and the flophouses. They have to seek them out and go after the landlords. No affordable housing = less illegals.
Excellent post, I agree with most of it. Though I cannot speak to the levels of low-income housing... I just don't know that much about the subject.
I grew up in Hempstead; We moved into the house where my parents still live back in 1965, the year I was born. Growing up in Hempstead in the 1970's, I remember going to shop downtown with my family and what a pleasant experience it was. We would have relatives from the Carribean come in quite frequently and they always made a point of shopping downtown. I remember a bustling Main St & Fulton Ave. Grant's store, A&S, Sam Ash etc etc.. . Of course the Village wasn't perfect, there were some crime issues back in the day. Things really did decline with the introduction of Roosevelt Field, but that was just part of the picture. My perception was that there was a lack of initiative (or maybe just a lack of ability) from the local government to do things to keep businesses there. There were some lame efforts (anyone remember when they added the median on Main St., only to tear it down a few years later?), but it all seemed half-hearted. Politicians only seemed concerned about 2 things: Money and keeping thier jobs. We had the same mayor for nearly 20 years! 20 years of unfulfilled promises.
There also does not seem to be any real focus on the quality of live issues mentioned here. Crime, of course, is a major problem. I note in another thread about the concerted effort the Garden City police make to watch the Hempstead border. The Village has it's own PD, but you never see them. Violence had been a regular part of Hempstead life for most of my time there, yet I never heard a word about a real, focussed effort to confront the issue. At this point, they probably don't have a large enough force to do much at all.
The previous poster also makes mention of the large number of illegals in Hempstead. Unfortunately, it is/was inevitable that illegals will flock to where ever it is cheapest to live. A crackdown on the LANDLORDS is what is needed here. Enforce the law as it stands, and it would be less of a problem. However, as long as busineses are willing to employ illegals, they are going to live somewhere.
The community itself shares some blame in this also. Too many people turn a blind eye to crime. Why, I'll never understand. These very same folks are, more often than not, the victims of these crimes. There also so much less of a sense of community than there was years ago. Growing up, we knew almost all of our neighbors. We looked out for one another. We cared about what happened in our neighborhood & the whole village. We worked with our neighbors to resolve conflicts. Maybe this still happens, but sadly not in my old neighborhood. My folks still live there, and there's barely that community feeling any more.
Anyway, this is getting long-winded. I dont' think that anything will get better in Hempstead until the community itself starts demanding more of their represetatives; Making sure that they are focussed on making real improvements, such as those mentioned azzurrony...
Malls don't always attribute to downfall of an area though. Short Hills mall hasn't ruined Short Hills in any way...
That's exactly what I said! RF was not the sole reason for Hempstead's decline. Other posters have echoed that same sentiment on this thread. Please read more carefully and, young lady, stop being so confrontational towards my posts. I provided you with the information that you requested pertaining to Hofstra.
That's exactly what I said! RF was not the sole reason for Hempstead's decline. Other posters have echoed that same sentiment on this thread. Please read more carefully and, young lady, stop being so confrontational towards my posts. I provided you with the information that you requested pertaining to Hofstra.
How was that confrontational? I personally don't think RF had ANYTHING to do with Hofstra's decline- it isn't even in Hempstead! Apparantly I'm not allowed to disagree with anyone on this board?
I personally don't think RF had ANYTHING to do with Hofstra's decline- it isn't even in Hempstead!
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RF isn't in Garden City, either!
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