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However, the FACTS tell us that crime is rampant in Hempstead.
Just because you can drive through the area in broad daylight and not suffer any ill effects is not a ringing endorsement. Even the worst crime rate in Nassau isn't going to be like Afghanistan...
If you'd like to see what makes Hempstead a bad area, just go for a walk on the heights any night of the week after dark. You can try the same test on MLK, at Linden and Linden, on Terrace Ave, or on Gladys or Albemarle.
As a single female, if you can afford living elsewhere, why not. I don't see the point....I am female, back in those days when I had to do apartment shopping, I had to look around area a lot.
I drive through Franklin every week, and yes, I do lock my door when I drive through that area. I didn't see people selling drugs or shooting each other, but you know you won't walk around that area 10pm tue night.
Terrace and Hilton Ave in the vicinity of Fulton Ave.
The police do undercover prostitution stings there every summer. You can google it and find articles from Newsday. I think they arrested around 50 people last year in one night.
The west area of the village of hempstead borders the actual west hempstead and garden city. It is beautiful in that area. Some really nice old properties that are well maintained. It's so strange when you have opulence bumping up against poverty.
Hempstead, Roosevelt and Freeport are the armpit of Nassau County.
Although they may all have pockets of nice areas, the good does not outweigh the bad.
Furthermore, if you wanted to buy house in the upscale area of Hempstead that borders on West Hempstead and Garden City, you are looking at a good $20k in property taxes when your Garden City counterpart is paying around $12k for a nicer house and a school district that isn't abysmal.
Hempstead is a microcosm of all the things wrong with our country at this moment. In the village you will find rampant and blatant political corruption and cronyism, the lowest of socioeconomic conditions along the lines of West Virginia Appalachia and a huge population of illegal aliens that make no effort to hide their presence.
The upscale area you refer to is known as "Cathedral Gardens". I think you may have the taxes backwards. Garden City homes are generally more expensive and incur higher property taxes. Hempstead properties also generally gets a larger STAR tax reduction compared to GC, which helps to lower taxes.
I happen to live in that section my taxes are closer to 12k-13k. My house was also probably ~200k cheaper for the same type of property in Garden City.
I can't dispute that the schools and the crime problem of Hempstead. I can say I generally feel safe and crime is as much of an issue as experienced by the million dollar homes in GC that border Hempstead, which are few steps up the street from where I live. (I know, GC benefits from the GCPD, but how proactive are police depts in general in protecting against home burglaries?)
It is unfortunate that the problems of Hempstead affect some of the surrounding towns - it is one of the draw backs of having so many redundant layers of government in Nassau county. Everyone wants to live in the best possible town, but don't realize when their neighbors have problems then so do they. I don't have an answer for it - just an observation.
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