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let me clarify what i was looking for. i'm not judging or anything, i'm curious from people who have lived in the area, black, white, brown, green... what have you, if they notice a change demographically and what direction that change is. minority to white, white to minority, about the same... etc.
i dont mind diversity, but if its like a tidal wave and within a few years its much different, then i would reconsider this town in my choices of potential towns.
also, i've seen statistics with VS 30 having as little as 9% white. hard to know which to trust.
OK, well, I grew up in VS, lived there the first 25 years of my life, and moved back there 3 years ago, so I have a pretty good idea of what it's like. I will give you a brutally honest opinion from a white person. I don't know what you are, but this is my honest opinion...Don't move there if you are white, it won't be what you are looking for. It has become very black, hispanic, middle eastern, you name it, and from what I can tell, the majority of the whites remaining are people like my parents who still live there, so you will find a low percentage of young white kids there. Different areas are certainly very different as well. For example, the area around Central Avenue and around Central High School to an extent is very non-white now. South Valley Stream tends to be more hispanic, and the westwood section might have the highest white population left, as it borders Malverne and Lynbrook.
I moved back there 3 years ago because of my familiarity with the town as well as a quick commute to work, but quickly realized my mistake, and am very thankful I was able to sell my home and move. NOW, all that being said, I did NOT feel scared to live there, did not have any problems, and felt generally safe, it's just that it isn't what it was like when I grew up, and I am one of those people (whether you agree with me or not) that want my kids to grow up in an area that resembles the childhood that I had. I would not really want my kids roaming around the streets of VS at night time like we did when I was a kid. I don't know if I would feel safe walking home alone from the train station late at night now like I used to do all the time. Green Acres is a disaster we won't get into now, sure you can shop there safely, but it won't be a pleasurable experience if you are white I can tell you that. I would never send my kids to the high schools right now, I mentioned in another post about taking a trip down Hendrickson Ave after school, well, i certainly would not want my kids having to deal with that on the way home from school...
So to summarize, the white population will continue to decline, while the black and middle eastern populations will continue to rise, I do not think the town will become a ghetto or anything like that, the town is really maintained nicely, but it really was a drastic change to see what happened to the town and it really happened FAST, within probably 10 years. My brother graduated from VS South in 1996 and there were no black kids in his class....now, well check the statistics and you will see what happened.
a very unscientific anecdoctal story, there is a town in NJ, Montclair that is very racially diverse, the school board there has determined that problems begin when any one school becomes more than 28% minority students and they strive to move kids around to keep all their schools at or under that percentage. Take it for what it's worth
OK, well, I grew up in VS, lived there the first 25 years of my life, and moved back there 3 years ago, so I have a pretty good idea of what it's like. I will give you a brutally honest opinion from a white person. I don't know what you are, but this is my honest opinion...Don't move there if you are white, it won't be what you are looking for. It has become very black, hispanic, middle eastern, you name it, and from what I can tell, the majority of the whites remaining are people like my parents who still live there, so you will find a low percentage of young white kids there. Different areas are certainly very different as well. For example, the area around Central Avenue and around Central High School to an extent is very non-white now. South Valley Stream tends to be more hispanic, and the westwood section might have the highest white population left, as it borders Malverne and Lynbrook.
I moved back there 3 years ago because of my familiarity with the town as well as a quick commute to work, but quickly realized my mistake, and am very thankful I was able to sell my home and move. NOW, all that being said, I did NOT feel scared to live there, did not have any problems, and felt generally safe, it's just that it isn't what it was like when I grew up, and I am one of those people (whether you agree with me or not) that want my kids to grow up in an area that resembles the childhood that I had. I would not really want my kids roaming around the streets of VS at night time like we did when I was a kid. I don't know if I would feel safe walking home alone from the train station late at night now like I used to do all the time. Green Acres is a disaster we won't get into now, sure you can shop there safely, but it won't be a pleasurable experience if you are white I can tell you that. I would never send my kids to the high schools right now, I mentioned in another post about taking a trip down Hendrickson Ave after school, well, i certainly would not want my kids having to deal with that on the way home from school...
So to summarize, the white population will continue to decline, while the black and middle eastern populations will continue to rise, I do not think the town will become a ghetto or anything like that, the town is really maintained nicely, but it really was a drastic change to see what happened to the town and it really happened FAST, within probably 10 years. My brother graduated from VS South in 1996 and there were no black kids in his class....now, well check the statistics and you will see what happened.
I agree that the change happened fast (lived in VS for five years).
Unfortunately what you experienced as a child will not be what your children will experience in the future. The reality is that minorities who could afford to move to these areas on L.I. were not allowed for a host of obvious reasons. Now there are a greater percentage of minority folks with the financial means to purchase a home coupled with older folks wanting to sell and "cash-out" their homes. Whala...instant change.
OK, well, I grew up in VS, lived there the first 25 years of my life, and moved back there 3 years ago, so I have a pretty good idea of what it's like. I will give you a brutally honest opinion from a white person. I don't know what you are, but this is my honest opinion...Don't move there if you are white, it won't be what you are looking for. It has become very black, hispanic, middle eastern, you name it, and from what I can tell, the majority of the whites remaining are people like my parents who still live there, so you will find a low percentage of young white kids there. Different areas are certainly very different as well. For example, the area around Central Avenue and around Central High School to an extent is very non-white now. South Valley Stream tends to be more hispanic, and the westwood section might have the highest white population left, as it borders Malverne and Lynbrook.
I moved back there 3 years ago because of my familiarity with the town as well as a quick commute to work, but quickly realized my mistake, and am very thankful I was able to sell my home and move. NOW, all that being said, I did NOT feel scared to live there, did not have any problems, and felt generally safe, it's just that it isn't what it was like when I grew up, and I am one of those people (whether you agree with me or not) that want my kids to grow up in an area that resembles the childhood that I had. I would not really want my kids roaming around the streets of VS at night time like we did when I was a kid. I don't know if I would feel safe walking home alone from the train station late at night now like I used to do all the time. Green Acres is a disaster we won't get into now, sure you can shop there safely, but it won't be a pleasurable experience if you are white I can tell you that. I would never send my kids to the high schools right now, I mentioned in another post about taking a trip down Hendrickson Ave after school, well, i certainly would not want my kids having to deal with that on the way home from school...
So to summarize, the white population will continue to decline, while the black and middle eastern populations will continue to rise, I do not think the town will become a ghetto or anything like that, the town is really maintained nicely, but it really was a drastic change to see what happened to the town and it really happened FAST, within probably 10 years. My brother graduated from VS South in 1996 and there were no black kids in his class....now, well check the statistics and you will see what happened.
You have made it known in the past that you don't really care for diversity and really want no part of it.... To say things like you don't want your kids hanging out around there at night or walking home from the train station at night and not sure if you would feel safe is based off what exactly? other than the color of the people who are near you? You do realize that crime all across Nassau County (including Valley Stream) is lower than it was 15 years ago when the area was much more white...
Out of curiosity would you rather send your kids to schools in the Mastic-Shirley around which is still majority white or Valley Stream??
You have made it known in the past that you don't really care for diversity and really want no part of it.... To say things like you don't want your kids hanging out around there at night or walking home from the train station at night and not sure if you would feel safe is based off what exactly? other than the color of the people who are near you? You do realize that crime all across Nassau County (including Valley Stream) is lower than it was 15 years ago when the area was much more white...
Out of curiosity would you rather send your kids to schools in the Mastic-Shirley around which is still majority white or Valley Stream??
Based off of living there my entire life, you can call that anecdotal, but I call it solid real world evidence. when I was 18-21 and I still lived at home with my parents, I would go into the city every weekend and take the train home at 2:30 in the morning and then walk home from the station, usually half drunk, and never think twice about anything happening to me. That was probably around 1992-1995. After moving back 3 years ago, circa 2004, I would most definitely take a cab home or make sure I parked at the station, I just didn't feel the same confidence in being able to walk home without incident. Whether it be a general sense of uneasiness, or the appearance of sketchy people, I don't know, I just feel there is more of a chance of something happening now as opposed to then. What is the only thing that has changed between then and now? The minority population. That's all I will say.
As far as your last question, I wouldn't send my kids to either school district, they would go to private school, and to go a step further, I would even rather live in VS then in Mastic, I would actually feel less safe in Mastic than I would in VS.
Green Acres has sucked for a LONG time. Certainly all through the '90s. It's not the best example of VS as a whole.
Since the renovations to the mall, Green Acres isn't bad (it's actually nice for the area. Maybe not as nice as Roosevelt Field but nice nonetheless). There has been a lot of new stores there that makes driving there a nightmare but I'll take it if it means having a Bestbuy about 10 minutes away. There are a lot more minorities there than 10 years ago I'm sure but I have never seen fights or violence in the mall at all.
I think some people are living off of a bad experience and letting that dictate how they feel overall. I had a bad experience at Roosevelt Field (with a group of white kids) but I don't think that's a 'bad mall' and still go there when I'm in the area.
Well, to be fair in all my ranting on VS, I really don't think Green Acres is representative of VS as a whole, I am sure a huge majority of the shoppers there come in from Queens, however, the riff raff does venture more into town from the mall, especially by the McDonalds on Rockaway Ave and Sunrise Hwy.
I was surrounded in one of the mall entrance hallways when I was still a teenager by a group of 6 black kids who made me return an expensive pair of sneakers (which were taken out and replaced by $20 ones) and give them the money. I believe one had a knife. what was I to do being a scrawny little white boy? I survived, but man I wish they would have pulled that crap now, I would have beaten every single one of them, then returned the expensive "shoe box" and kept the money myself
To an extent it is sort of like Massapequa Mall not being indicative of Massapequa. both malls border worse areas than the town they are in.
I feel a lot "safer" at Massapequa than I do Green Acres. I make sure I enter on the west side of the mall. Again, this is IMO and from my own experiences.
For those who may not be familiar with East Massapequa
Quote:
Originally Posted by xbure9x
To an extent it is sort of like Massapequa Mall not being indicative of Massapequa.
Especially since the Massapequa Mall is not in the Hamlet of Massapequa: it's in the Hamlet of East Massapequa ("Massapequa, NY 11758" mailing address).
For those who may not be familiar with East Massapequa:
East Massapequa is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the southeast part of the Town of Oyster Bay, in the southeast part of Nassau County, along the Oyster Bay/Babylon town line and the Nassau/Suffolk County line.
Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of East Massapequa in the Town of Oyster Bay is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of South Farmingdale; on the east by the Hamlet of North Amityville and the Village of Amityville in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County (the Oyster Bay/Babylon town line and the Nassau/Suffolk County line); on the south by the Great South Bay; and, on the west by the Village of Massapequa Park.
East Massapequa is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet name in their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of East Massapequa have a "Massapequa, NY 11758", "Massapequa Park, 11762" and "Amityville, NY 11701" mailing address.
For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County): //www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html
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For those who may not be familiar with East Massapequa
