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Old 02-04-2011, 09:00 AM
 
186 posts, read 710,516 times
Reputation: 80

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti View Post
When I first moved to Cold Spring Harbor, in the 80s, the library was this drafty little old house on the corner of 25A and Shore Rd (now houses exhibits for the Society of Preservation). Major charm, with books to the rafters, quite literally , and drafty in the Winter, but they outgrew it and then leased space on Goose Hill Rd in an empty elementary school. School population continued to increase and both the demand for a larger library as well as the end of the lease approached - along with the knowledge that the lease would NOT be renewed because the facility was once again needed by the SD.
That was the beginning of what is now a fabulous library on Harbor Rd, overlooking CSH Harbor.

Yet even when it was this quaint little library nobody thought the CSH SD was lacking...
Just because the Elwood libary is still in its infancy, doesn't mean the SD is lacking, does it?? Just my 2 cents...
That was thirty years ago, a lot has changed. You can't compare those facilities to modern day institutions. We are in 2011 and Elwood still has a library in a shopping center? Clearly the district is lacking somewhere...
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Old 02-04-2011, 10:38 PM
 
93 posts, read 242,075 times
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Salem Ridge has underground springs (I know that is not the proper term) so you would need to get a french drain in the basement. Now, the entire basement does not get wet but leaks in one corner with heavier rainstorms.

It is built on what was potato fields. A lovely area where the new residents totally redo the homes. It used to be that a home was never for sale there but as the older generation moves out, the younger homeowners who rebuilt are moving again. Two homes on neighboring streets were completely knocked down and a new home built.
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Old 02-05-2011, 10:12 AM
 
Location: NY metro area
7,796 posts, read 16,354,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by franaissance View Post
Salem Ridge has underground springs (I know that is not the proper term) so you would need to get a french drain in the basement. Now, the entire basement does not get wet but leaks in one corner with heavier rainstorms.

It is built on what was potato fields. A lovely area where the new residents totally redo the homes. It used to be that a home was never for sale there but as the older generation moves out, the younger homeowners who rebuilt are moving again. Two homes on neighboring streets were completely knocked down and a new home built.

There have been at least 5 homes that have been razed and rebuilt on neighboring streets.
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Old 02-05-2011, 11:33 AM
 
592 posts, read 914,147 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by franaissance View Post
Salem Ridge has underground springs (I know that is not the proper term) so you would need to get a french drain in the basement. Now, the entire basement does not get wet but leaks in one corner with heavier rainstorms.

It is built on what was potato fields. A lovely area where the new residents totally redo the homes. It used to be that a home was never for sale there but as the older generation moves out, the younger homeowners who rebuilt are moving again. Two homes on neighboring streets were completely knocked down and a new home built.

Potato fields? Has anyone ever extensively tested the soil? I realize much of LI is former potato fields but when it is confirmed it's quite scary... could be pesticide central.
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Old 02-07-2011, 01:40 PM
 
Location: NY metro area
7,796 posts, read 16,354,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti View Post
...

Libraries aside, there IS a difference between both Old Chester Hills and Salem Ridge, both in location and residents - best to talk to current residents of both and see for yourself with whom YOU identify more! JMHO

...
You've piqued my curiosity. What's the difference between the two areas?
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Old 02-07-2011, 02:03 PM
 
7 posts, read 16,264 times
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Default Salem Ridge and Old Chester Hills

Salem Ridge is a very nice area, and we looked at several homes there before choosing one in Old Chester Hills. One factor in our choice was the relatively flat character of most of Salem Ridge, as well as the potential for more traffic flow. With only three entry points, Old Chester Hills seemed safer from the standpoint of traffic. Also, the fact that the southern border of Old Chester Hills is Berkeley Jackson County Park, a 100 acre passive park (somewhat like a nature preserve) gives a similar heavy mature tree canopy to Old Chester Hills. All of that helps to make this community more tranquil, and you then add the beauty of the rolling hills that were created many millennia ago by the glacial moraine that terminates in Berkeley Jackson. There is also an active civic association which was formed in 1956, adding to the sense of community here, with numerous annual programs for kids, and others for adults or families.

As to Harborfields School District versus Elwood School District, there are proponents for both, and if you look at test scores over the years, you will see some overlapping and dips and rises for both. Elwood has done some dramatic things over the past five years, and that has included an upgrading of administrators and good teacher hiring, as well as bringing in state of the art technology improvements (more and more important as kids go on to college and out into the modern workplace). Additionally, as a parent of a developmentally disabled child, I am happy to report that Elwood has made dramatic improvements in Special Education during the past ten years, and that this district it is now better (in my opinion) than most of the surrounding districts, with the possible exception of the historically superior, and much larger, Half Hollow Hills district.

As to libraries, most people probably do not realize that until about ten years ago, State law was different, and it allowed residents of any school district without a library to pay a fee to use the libraries within other districts. Since Elwood is the physically-smallest school district in the Town of Huntington (Cold Spring Harbor is smallest in terms of number of students), most Elwood residents were happy to use libraries that were within a very few miles of their home, and library choice was usually determined by where one lived in the district. The relatively new Elwood Public Library is now in a very convenient location at the intersection of Elwood Road and Jericho Turnpike, and people can still use libraries located in other school districts, and the Elwood Public Library can also obtain for district residents books, DVD's, CD's, and other media by inter-library loan.

So, both areas are nice, but we greatly preferred Old Chester Hills and remain very happy with the decision we made fifteen years ago.
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Old 02-07-2011, 04:54 PM
 
7 posts, read 16,264 times
Reputation: 16
Default Clarifying comment

In re-reading my earlier post, I realize my comment about Elwood School District, and the Half Hollow Hills School District, and by inference other school districts, could be misconstrued by the construct of the final part of the second paragraph. I intended to say that Elwood School District is now the best among surrounding districts (again, in my opinion) in Special Education, with the possible exception of Half Hollow Hills. We have enough experience and comparative dialogue on that point to reach that conclusion, but lack the depth of experience to make an overall assessment of Elwood versus other districts, other than by test score results.
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Old 02-07-2011, 10:49 PM
 
1,917 posts, read 7,082,203 times
Reputation: 597
Quote:
Originally Posted by chetstash View Post
Potato fields? Has anyone ever extensively tested the soil? I realize much of LI is former potato fields but when it is confirmed it's quite scary... could be pesticide central.
Was it really potato fields? I thought it was just a wooded area. Also, pesticides from farming do not last 50 years, not to my knowledge. Regardless, Salem Ridge is one of the best places anyone could invest their money in for sure.

BTW, this thread is over 3 years old. Funny how there are so many bumps of old threads regarding Old Chester Hills and/or the Elwood district. Many are by brand new posters as well. Someone has an agenda, that's clear.
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