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I have been a visitor of the forum but never really posted before. I am a young male in the early start of my healthcare career strongly considering buying a starter home to raise kids in in the Village of Valley Stream (the SD#30). Walking and driving through the residential areas you see well kept homes/properties, people investing further into their property and you get a sense that the neighborhood is safe/not in decline/low crime. Reading previous threads about the area give mixed messages regarding this. Am I missing something? I will say that walking into many of the shopping areas along Central Ave and the area by the train/GA Mall didnt seem to match the 2010 demographic census as there were more African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians and less Caucasians than the statistics stated. Is this the sole reason why some people would advise against the area ? "diversity"?
I know its impossible to tell and only time will... but based on the general trend so far for the last 20-30 years... I am interested to hear your opinions/thoughts on this along with what you think the future projections are for valley stream in terms of population growth, demographic changes, property appreciation/depreciation, town developments, etc.. for the next 10-15 years? Thank you for your time.
My business is based in Valley Stream - off Rockaway Avenue and near Sunrise Highway. The majority of our customers are from the 11580 zip code. It is fairly diverse, with a hispanic, african american and older generation white mix community. Houses are well maintained and people are investing into their homes. However, where our office is, our trucks have been broken into several times in the past couple years - prompting cameras and better lighting for overnight protection. Personally, I would not move into that area, unless its 11581 zip code (North Woodmere). SD #14
High property crime rate. Robberies and muggings to a lesser degree. The problem is the proximity to Queens. The people that actually live in VS are ok, it's the dirt bag element from across the border that come in and cause problems.
High property crime rate. Robberies and muggings to a lesser degree. The problem is the proximity to Queens. The people that actually live in VS are ok, it's the dirt bag element from across the border that come in and cause problems.
I'm living in South Valley Stream for decades and have never had a problem here. The neighbors are quiet and neighborly, houses are well kept, the schools rank in the upper 50% percentile, I keep my car in the driveway and have never had a break-in here.
My area (Gibson) was recently removed from the dangerous zone of the flood map and moved to safe Zone X. No flood insurance needed.
The Town of Valley Stream is strict and has a policy of no-nonsense. Cars are to be removed from the streets at night, or else they're ticketed. This prevents homeowners from creating illegal rentals, and it works. We don't have that problem here.
As for break-ins, my car was broken into and small things were stolen while parked in Oceanside and Cedarhurst. How about that?
Valley Stream has become more diverse, there really hasn't been any increase in crime, and from a socio-economic standpoint it is the same. It was middle class when it was heavily white, and it is middle-class now that it is more diverse.
I was born and raised in VS. I highly recommend going east a bit more to Lynbrook SD or Bellmore/Merrick. It's not a town I would want to raise my kids in anymore.
I have been a visitor of the forum but never really posted before. I am a young male in the early start of my healthcare career strongly considering buying a starter home to raise kids in in the Village of Valley Stream (the SD#30). Walking and driving through the residential areas you see well kept homes/properties, people investing further into their property and you get a sense that the neighborhood is safe/not in decline/low crime. Reading previous threads about the area give mixed messages regarding this. Am I missing something? I will say that walking into many of the shopping areas along Central Ave and the area by the train/GA Mall didnt seem to match the 2010 demographic census as there were more African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians and less Caucasians than the statistics stated. Is this the sole reason why some people would advise against the area ? "diversity"?
I know its impossible to tell and only time will... but based on the general trend so far for the last 20-30 years... I am interested to hear your opinions/thoughts on this along with what you think the future projections are for valley stream in terms of population growth, demographic changes, property appreciation/depreciation, town developments, etc.. for the next 10-15 years? Thank you for your time.
Valley Stream gets a bad rap because it's the first village on the Nassau side of the border and because some pockets of North Valley Stream more closely resemble Queens than a Long Island village. The Green Acres Mall draws most of its shoppers from Queens, which would explain your observations.
Be aware that Valley Stream is very large when compared to neighboring villages and has several distinct areas with different personalities. The Gibson area in South Valley Stream/Hewlett is a very tight-knit, neighborly area with a walkable train station (Gibson). Mill Brook (fka Green Acres, south of the mall) is also a tight-knit area with a very active community group. Can't speak for North Valley Stream or other areas from first-hand experience, but I grew up with and know plenty of people who came through VS North and Central High Schools, and I've never heard from them any of the complaints about crime and whatnot that are commonly cited, often by people from outside Valley Stream.
Rockaway Avenue is the main "downtown," and while it doesn't have the food/nightlife offerings of Rockville Centre or even Lynbrook next door, it does offer a few small restaurants, a coffeehouse and a decent pub. There is a very active community group run by a young VS Central HS graduate who also co-owns the Sip This coffeehouse on Rockaway. The group has been very influential in new projects in the village, most notably the resurrection of the annual Rockaway Ave street fair and the addition of a dog park near Village Hall.
As far as projections, the village government has tried to hop on the apartment/LIRR/walkable downtown trend, which of course has many proponents and critics. There is an apartment complex going up on the corner of Sunrise Highway and Rockaway; another "luxury" complex a few blocks away has been up for a while but has been slow to fill, I think. Another apartment building next to the Gibson train station has been on the agenda for years but has met lots of community resistance.
I've been living in the Gibson section of VS now for over 2 years. I do read a lot of negativity here about the town but don't see why. I can't speak for the other sections of Valley Stream but I'm very happy where I am. My neighbors are great. I love the commute due to the short train ride and easy walk to the station. The schools (SD14) are wonderful. When we first moved in, we asked neighbors who have been around a while about crime, and they said its pretty much non-existent. In one of my neighbors 20 year history of living at his home, he only knew of 1 break in, and the owner suspects it was committed by the contracting crew he hired to do some work at the house.
We feel very safe here and think its great value (though wouldn't mind having lower taxes, ours are currently just under $13K).
As to the demographics, it is very diverse where I am. Which to me is another plus.
One thing about VS Central SD is that if you are a renter, even if you produce a legimate rental lease, they will send someone to physically inspect your home to ensure that a child is living at that home. I was told that now the same procedure applies if a parent applies to the district for busing to a private school, but I do not have positive verification of this information. Many people have tried to falsely enroll their Queens children in the schools and the schools use all kinds of protocols to find that out. If discovered, the student is kicked out, pronto.
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