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I used to LOVE Slipped Disc, and drove out there from Suffolk county on a regular basis. Too bad they are closed....and I feel bad that I am part of the problem. I buy pretty much everything on iTunes or Amazon now. No point in buying a whole CD if you don't like all the songs, the CDs take up space (especially when you have 600+ of them!) and you can't beat the convenience of getting your music immediately right from your iPod. The times have really changed. Used to love Tower Records too....RIP.
Me too.
Looks like they have a decent online presence now.
It's not supposed to be a perfect or exact analysis, but I do strongly believe that the changing economics have brought the illegals here and have led to the downfall of many towns and the overall quality of life.
Many towns which have had alot of knockdowns with new McMansions have become new enclaves for the wealthy. The whole Rt.347 corridor into Miller Place is a great example, used to be more blue collar and less population. Now it's heavily congested with new developments of McMansions everywhere, and the new construction and landscaping jobs bring day laborers. And dont forget the Hawkins ave corridor, McMansions everywhere after turning south from Rt.25! Lake Grove is now full of more North Face wearing, Starbucks drinking, Range Rover driving yuppies.
Go to areas without many McMansions that are more blue collar like many communities in Ocean County,NJ. There's only really one ghetto area there and that's Lakewood, which is further north near the wealth in Manalapan (Monmouth Cty), which has seem a huge building boom of McMansions.
That's why I've been doing my trips to Ocean instead these days as it's the only escape to the annoying place LI is becoming.
A walk through downtown Toms River is refreshing with no men hanging out and all the signs in English.
Stronger Pinelands laws prohibit mass developments like that have destroyed much LI's forests. There are some McMansion developments in Berkeley Township and Barnegat, but they are more sparse than ours.
Allright! Love the Lake Grove shout-out, didn't know it was so high class over here! In all seriousness, it is a real mixed area - all sorts of housing ranging from the inexpensive to 600k+ homes. Not truly high end, but still pretty nice. It's a place where any income could buy something - which I think is a good thing.
Allright! Love the Lake Grove shout-out, didn't know it was so high class over here! In all seriousness, it is a real mixed area - all sorts of housing ranging from the inexpensive to 600k+ homes. Not truly high end, but still pretty nice. It's a place where any income could buy something - which I think is a good thing.
I agree, I think Lake Grove and Nesconset have remained fairly right sized.
Theres some pockets of the Village that have been McMansioned to death but theres also some Levit stock and olds LG by the mall.
Why do you and JIW assume that Baldwin and Valley Stream are the "Twin Cities" of Nassau County? How is that even logical?
There are significant areas of town that are run down. Part of Valley Stream is run down, by the train station, mall, and Merrick Rd. I will say Grand Ave in Baldwin looks worse than anywhere in Valley Stream. The parts of VS that are worse aren't in the village, but I think we'd need Walter for the fine details.
His thought that every brown person is an illegal shows the lack of common sense. That in itself pretty much is enough to disregard all of his "investigating" as pretty much biased bs. Not to mention the idea that an area caters to more of an International mix with its shops, restaurants, etc doesn't make the area ghetto either.
As far as Grand Avenue area, its one very small section of Baldwin. It surely isn't indicative as Baldwin as a whole, as JIW tried to portray in that video. Not to mention just not looking very nice does not = ghetto. Much like some stretches of Hempstead Turnpike, the area itself might look kind of ugly, but the area itself is fine and isn't a ghetto.
Always taking it out of context. I see white, black, brown, yellow people all who speak english and wear regular clothes everyday. The illegals I refer to wear dirty clothes, backpacks, and loiter around. Many just happen to have brown skin, but I just see their behavior.
Where do I mention race? I just see a bunch of people that have no respect for our laws and loiter on the streets like they own them and show no desire to become Americans. Has nothing to do with their skin and everything to do with their attitude.
I'm sick of ppl like you trying to turn it into a racial thing! I dont care from where you come from or what you look like but when you come to America you have adapt. These people dont adapt, they take over.
Always taking it out of context. I see white, black, brown, yellow people all who speak english and wear regular clothes everyday. The illegals I refer to wear dirty clothes, backpacks, and loiter around. Many just happen to have brown skin, but I just see their behavior.
Where do I mention race? I just see a bunch of people that have no respect for our laws and loiter on the streets like they own them and show no desire to become Americans. Has nothing to do with their skin and everything to do with their attitude.
I'm sick of ppl like you trying to turn it into a racial thing! I dont care from where you come from or what you look like but when you come to America you have adapt. These people dont adapt, they take over.
I have seen people of all races wearing dirty clothes. Have you ever seen a Construction Worker??
Seriously, we know with you its all about the people with brown skin, or those who happen to not speak English. Not speaking English doesn't mean they are illegal either.
John in Westbury has no idea what he is talking about. Valley Stream is NOT ghetto. Demographically the village has changed over the past 15 years, but socioeconomically it has not. The median household income is in the 90 - 100K a year range and is on par with any middle class area of Nassau County. Drive around VS and the neighborhoods are well kept and clean. The only exception are the areas bordering Rosedale along Hook Creek Boulevard and that area has always looked like that since I was a kid in the 1980s. The Village of VS has a very strict code enforcement and I think that's part of the reason the Village has stayed so nice.
Regarding the video, there is too much of this code word of illegal being used for minorities, especially Hispanics. But it should be obvious that most minorities are not illegal.
Also, in order to prove his point, the video exaggerates the rise and decline of certain neighborhoods too much. For instance, the areas north of Smithtown like Head of the Harbor, Nissequogue, Old Field and Fort Salonga did not become "rich" only in the last 15 years. They have been wealthy for a long time.
At the same time, places like Elmont and Uniondale did not suddenly go downhill overnight. Maybe they were better 15 years ago, but the handwriting was already on the wall.
The one thing I agree with the maker of the video is that certain communities, usually the older ones, become the home of poorer people looking for work in the surrounding areas. Some of them are in fact illegal and this is what happens when you are looking for cheap labor. But that does not mean they all are illegal.
Keep in mind that a hundred years ago, it was the poor Italians not the Hispanics who were moving into certain towns on Long Island. Before them it was the Irish. And they were all looked down upon and blamed for ruining the neighborhood.
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In all seriousness, it is a real mixed area - all sorts of housing ranging from the inexpensive to 600k+ homes. Not truly high end, but still pretty nice. It's a place where any income could buy something - which I think is a good thing.
