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Although I have never been to Mastic, Mastic Beach or Shirley (exception: Smith Point beach), honestly I have not heard great things about the area in general. However, there were/are places in Nassau that had a "white trash" reputation for decades (example: Levittown), and due to the housing bubble, are now on the upswing because young working couples, some professional, are moving there for first homes as that is all they can afford. So why can't an upswing happen for M, MB and S? It's possible.
When I would ask what's wrong with those places, I would get answers concerning Section 8 and welfare dumping and governmental authorities securing housing for sex offenders in the communities. So I would guess that the biggest problem in the area are the ABSENTEE LANDLORDS who are out to make a quick buck. Look how the absentee landlords screwed up North Bellport, for example.
Hearing that Mastic Beach is becoming a Village is good news. I would say the first thing the new mayor has to do is make some very strict housing ordinances and crack down on the absentee slumlords who are housing the undesirables, who in turn are dragging the place down. The less absentee landlords and their dirtbag tenants, the more decent people will be attracted to and/or stay in the communities.
As for the slinging around of the term "white trash" on Long Island in general, if you think LI has white trash you haven't been out much in the rest of the country! What we call dirtbags around here are actually of a higher quality than the real white trash hillbillies out there in America. Nothing on LI can compare. I am not kidding. Watch the jail shows. In prisons in all the other states there are tons of white hard core criminals in jail ... a significant proportion of inmates; distinctly UNLIKE LI jails (and probably the NYS prison system too). The jails around here are not full of white bikers, white supremacists, and white methamphetamine dealers and addicts like out there in the "real America."
The degree/severity of white trashiness when it comes to all LI'ers is nowhere near that of other areas in this country! If you don't believe me, just turn on your TV and watch the following programs:
"Southern Fried Justice" (TruTV)
"World's Dumbest: Loonies in the Boonies Edition" (TruTV)
"Lock Up" (MSNBC)
Now that is WHITE TRASH nobody in their right mind would want to live near, and they're an EPIDEMIC in other parts of the country compared to anywhere on LI.
When we have filming by "COPS" and other law enforcement reality shows on LI or they make a "Police Women of Nassau County" and/or "Police Women of Suffolk County," then I will take that as a sign to reassess my position. No TV producers are coming to Shirley or the Mastics to film all the crime, just like they are not coming to other parts of LI. Long Island has a shortage of shirtless, sleazy white guys for the cops to deal with compared to the rest of the country or the crime reality TV craze would have hit here, especially considering a lot of LI is in the TMZ. The last thing I heard about them doing was 1 measly episode of "Speeders." Wow! How trashy!
Good luck to those trying to make Mastic Beach a better place!
Mastic-Shirley doesn't have what Levittown has LOCATION. It's a heavilly populated area buffered from other parts of Long Island by the pine barrens and the LIE. It's an area to itself and would be a better fit in Chenango or Broome counties rather than Suffolk county.
I agree, about our version of white trash and ghetto areas. We call Lakeview and Uniondale ghettos but what ghettos have homes costing $300,000 plus.
Careful now...some posters will accuse you of being uneducated because you do not share their view that Shirley is a place where Rainbows spontaneously appear and leprechauns skip down the street defecating gold coins.
It really is astonishing that, 9 out of 10 people who I know that reside in Shirley would readily admit the area is an s-hole and merely move there to acquire a "starter home" and plan to eventually move away. Then, a vocal minority comes along insisting this is a wonderful area and they are going to make it even better. It's like being a cheerleader for a team that has a 1 and 16 record.
I never accused you of being uneducated, and what's astonishing is the amount of people who are willing to be so condescending. I never said it was a wonderful area where rainbows spontaneously appear... or maybe your just still being condescending. I did say that it was a nice area with a few bad elements and pockets of bad areas that has shown marked improvement.
being a cheerleader for a team that has a 1 and 16 record is no different than being a Mets fan these days.
I worked as a cab driver in the area. I'm sure you have seen the little monument of the cab driver killed for no apparent reason at the Mastic-Shirley train station. I knew that person. I've lived all over the Island and less than desirable parts of the city. I would say that Mastic-Shirley is a step down from Calverton Hills. A place I resided for a year. I've driven down a majority of the streets of those towns, dealt with many of its residents and will say it has a larger share of lowlifes and deadbeats than the typical towns of Long Island. At least Calverton has some redeeming qualities such as its beautiful farms. Mastic-Shirley cant say that, its waterfront is even a wasteland or should I say swamp with all the mosquitoes. Today I live on the north end of the Wm Floyd Pkwy and rarely go south of the LIE for good reason. That place has a loooong way to go before it's a decent place to live and raise a family.
It sounds like you were a cab driver here maybe ten years ago or longer, Although there are still lowlifes here I never see them on my block or in the surrounding areas, perhaps along certain parts of neighborhood road and a few pockets here and there where there is still section 8 housing
no different I may add then going a few miles from Huntington Village and ending up in Huntington Station. The neighborhoods near the train station there are far worse than anything out here.
The little tiny beach In Mastic Beach may not be so nice but I can be at Smiths Point in 5 minutes which is a VERY nice beach
Long Islands Marshlands border the shoreline of Mastic beach and I suppose that is a matter of perspective on whether or not you appreciate nature. To each his own. As far as Mosquito's I have been bitten more in my mothers backyard in Huntington Bay than in my own back yard where I am about the same distance from the water. I cant speak about Shirley so much I haven't really taken a good look west of William Floyd Parkway so I don't know about that area.
Mastic Beach has serious potential.
It may just turn around
Instead of just continuing your crusade, calling us all white trash and insisting that none of us work, buy all our food with food stamps and live in trailers
why dont you just try being nice
It sounds like you were a cab driver here maybe ten years ago or longer, Although there are still lowlifes here I never see them on my block or in the surrounding areas, perhaps along certain parts of neighborhood road and a few pockets here and there where there is still section 8 housing
no different I may add then going a few miles from Huntington Village and ending up in Huntington Station. The neighborhoods near the train station there are far worse than anything out here.
The little tiny beach In Mastic Beach may not be so nice but I can be at Smiths Point in 5 minutes which is a VERY nice beach
Long Islands Marshlands border the shoreline of Mastic beach and I suppose that is a matter of perspective on whether or not you appreciate nature. To each his own. As far as Mosquito's I have been bitten more in my mothers backyard in Huntington Bay than in my own back yard where I am about the same distance from the water. I cant speak about Shirley so much I haven't really taken a good look west of William Floyd Parkway so I don't know about that area.
Mastic Beach has serious potential.
It may just turn around
Instead of just continuing your crusade, calling us all white trash and insisting that none of us work, buy all our food with food stamps and live in trailers
why dont you just try being nice
No, last year. That memorial isn't even 2 years old. Go to the train station it should still be there. To prevent living in places like Mastic I work two jobs.
Instead of just continuing your crusade, calling us all white trash and insisting that none of us work, buy all our food with food stamps and live in trailers
why dont you just try being nice
I have never seen a trailer park in Mastic. I have seen them in Speonk and East Hampton. The only places on Long Island where I've seen people use an EBT card for food was in my hometown of Hauppauge at Waldbaums and a 7-eleven in Mineola. Many of the people in your town do have a "white trash" mentality. Far too many of its residents have asked me where to buy drugs and are often times loitering around the train station, stores and bars around town for no apparent reason. Many conversations have been about ways to get something for nothing. The town has a lot of serious problems. Good luck with trying to fix them but I agree with Shenna, it's a hopeless cause.
BTW, I see nothing wrong with the government giving a starving family basic food needs. It's no different than getting an unemployment check. Stop confusing desparation with a lowlife mentality. I know quite a bit about the welfare system after having a relative who spent 6 months on it. What they provide and the BS to obtain it wouldn't be worth it to the average lowlife. They would be better off collecting UI or SSI checks.
I have never seen a trailer park in Mastic. I have seen them in Speonk and East Hampton. The only places on Long Island where I've seen people use an EBT card for food was in my hometown of Hauppauge at Waldbaums and a 7-eleven in Mineola. Many of the people in your town do have a "white trash" mentality. Far too many of its residents have asked me where to buy drugs and are often times loitering around the train station, stores and bars around town for no apparent reason. Many conversations have been about ways to get something for nothing. The town has a lot of serious problems. Good luck with trying to fix them but I agree with Shenna, it's a hopeless cause.
BTW, I see nothing wrong with the government giving a starving family basic food needs. It's no different than getting an unemployment check. Stop confusing desparation with a lowlife mentality. I know quite a bit about the welfare system after having a relative who spent 6 months on it. What they provide and the BS to obtain it wouldn't be worth it to the average lowlife. They would be better off collecting UI or SSI checks.
Well then, we have alot in common except for maybe our view of my area
That corner on 27 and William Floyd has pawn shops and check cashing places... Plus it is close to the tracks...
I think you are talking about my post on the homeless shelter. You really should quote your responses. You have to travel further south. It's a very large Colonial, there are no other houses next to it.. It's a men's shelter but you can only tell once you enter.
Someone mentioned a town that gets dumped on, that by far would be Riverhead. Riverhead has several halfway houses. A men's homeless shelter on W.Main and a women's shelter on Northville. To make it worse they also have the sex offender's shelter also in the Riverhead area. It's actually in Riverside. This in itself explains the large transient population in Riverhead.
I'm not sure how people feel about family homeless shelters but if you live in Medford, Rocky Point or Middle Island say hello to your neighborhood homeless shelter. When you see these people embrace them with compassion. They have really fallen on hard times. It makes me cry when I see those little children.
Well then, we have alot in common except for maybe our view of my area
Yes, we probably do. Mastic is not the worst place on Long Island and I do agree that the worst of the area is by the train station and Neighborhood Rd. Its bad apples just overshadows what's good in the town.
ex. Pathmark= bad apple
That other shopping center with The Gap= decent and thriving
Who gets noticed, Pathmark. I don't even remember the name of that other shopping center.
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Mastic is not the worst place on Long Island and I do agree that the worst of the area is by the train station and Neighborhood Rd. Its bad apples just overshadows what's good in the town. 
