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Ok, so I've read all the Roosevelt threads, but they're a bit outdated. I'm a Brooklyn girl, born and raised in Bed-Stuy, so I'm not a stranger to the "hood" if you will. However, growing up I always felt as if Bed-Stuy had a bad rap due to the issues it went through during the crack epidemic that really weren't truly representative of the community in its entirety. It's always been my home and it's a close-knit community. When my family first moved there, we were welcomed with open arms by the community via one of the churches. The homeowners take pride in their homes and community. We are regular/decent lower middle and middle class people.
Now, I have a family (my child goes to school in Brooklyn). I am looking to move to a more suburban feeling area. I lived in Atlanta for a while and got used to the suburban lifestyle of driving, conveniences like dishwashers etc. Anyway, I looked at Roosevelt because of course the prices lured me in, and saw a beautiful new construction/flipped house. I want to know if Roosevelt just has a bad rap these days or is it (still) truly horrible? When I visited, it was very quiet (I know it's not summer yet) and most homes were well maintained. There were some Hispanics and mostly black people there. Obviously this demographic is not something that will deter me. I saw some stores like Rainbow and what not, but not different from Fulton St. (for those of you who are familiar).
I see a decent amount of new construction/flipped homes going up and I wonder if it is up and coming. Do decent/regular ol' middle class people live there? I would not like to surround myself and my family with shootings, open drug dealing, break ins etc.
I would especially like to hear from people who live or have lived in the area.
The school district was taken over by NYS because it was not performing up to state standards.
There is not much of a commercial tax base, so you might pay more in taxes for a home in an area with social issues as you've described in your post.
You might want to rethink moving to Roosevelt from the school and social issue stand point.
^^^It's between this one and an older home in Cambria Heights. Obviously the Cambria Heights home is nowhere near as nice as the Roosevelt home, but the area is decent...
Also, I read that the takeover was in the 90s. Are the schools any better these days?
Last edited by Classie; 04-17-2015 at 08:37 AM..
Reason: additional info
The 3 worst areas on LI are Hempstead village, Wyandanch, and Roosevelt. I wouldn't touch the latter 2 at all. Hempstead might have 5% livable area near the GC border.
If you are looking for gentrification I don't think you'll find it any of those areas in our lifetime. If anything, I'd look at the village of Freeport. It at least has some bright spots, some charm, dirt cheap electricity, some potential including great transportation, but still plagued with pretty much the same issues as the worst 3.
If you are looking for a more diverse area with better schools and cheaper housing, check out Lakeview (Rockville Centre addresses with Malverne School District). Children attend Malverne schools, which aren't "that bad" and the homes are very nice. I worked in Lakeview in the early 00s and got to know many of the community leaders, and although the neighborhood is not the best, there are definitely people there actively trying to make it better.
If you have kids then you will have to pay for private school ON TOP OF sky-high Nassau taxes.
Remember that a house is an INVESTMENT. A lot of people, ESPECIALLY from minority communities, don't treat it as one...and as a result, even middle class minorities tend to have much less wealth than middle class whites.
A place with failed schools, above-average crime and blighted homes is clearly a bad decision. I don't know what part of Roosevelt you visited but most of it has high numbers of blighted homes. Think about resale value as well, how many people will be willing to buy this house from you if you one day would like to sell? Areas like this don't tend to hold their value well.
If your budget only can afford you Roosevelt then I recommend you either look more east or save up for a couple of years until you can afford to move somewhere decent, so you and your future generations can have a lucrative asset that will bring them wealth and stability.
Good luck
Last edited by JoyfulHope; 04-17-2015 at 10:49 AM..
The takeover was in the early to mid 2000s from what I remember. I would stay away. Lots of gunshots, even today, on that one main road (forgot the name)
Valley Stream and Elmont are definitely much better alternatives compared to Roosevelt. I know for a fact that all of the school districts that serve Elmont & Valley Stream are still very good. However, you can still do much better.
If you're willing to go into Suffolk then there's Wheatley Heights which is not that fairly priced and zoned for TOP-NOTCH schools. Very wise, smart and lucrative investment. Mostly a very beautiful and well-manicured area.
Last edited by JoyfulHope; 04-17-2015 at 11:12 AM..
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