The 2012 Long Island Index poll: "Tracking Residential Satisfaction on Long Island" (Hempstead: appointed, apartment)
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The 2012 Long Island Index poll, a 34 page *.pdf file, Tracking Residential Satisfaction on Long Island, tracks residents’ concerns about local life: the high cost of local housing and taxes, the desire to move from Long Island to less expensive areas of the country, concerns about young people leaving, affordable housing, local public schools, local downtowns, transportation, commute time, and overall life satisfaction.
Poll conducted during the fall of 2011 by Leonie Huddy and staff at the Center for Survey Research, Stony Brook University.
When 50% plus of your residents plan on moving in the next 5 years
Easier said than done when underwater or facing high LTV. My wife who is a truer demographic than my punk rock self sees moving with no jobs waiting and renting as anathema. It takes a certain amount of guts and/or desperation to do it and I don't think as many respondents who say they'll leave actually have the fortitude or means to do it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMike50
When 60% plus have trouble paying the rent/mortgage
No argument here. I posted in another thread that 3/4 of the mtg goes to interest and more than 1/3 total mtg goes to taxes. For every $2800 payment, approx. $500 or less actually goes to principal. The rest to the vultures and the taxes and insurance go up every year while the home value declines.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMike50
When 2/3 of your young residents want to leave
I think this was always the case but makes for good fuel for the current arguments. I still cannot conceive how any 20 something could want to live here except in July or August. If ANY intelligent college aged kid spent a few days in Boston, Austin or Seattle, they'd run from this boring place in a heartbeat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMike50
When 50% of the people feel the county is heading in the wrong direction
Taxes, taxes, taxes and rigid clinging to the deathly prescription that is "maintaining our unique suburban culture." Thank dinosaurs like Kate, Pete King and every Repub and Dem in office. Not a forward, modern thinker in the bunch. Why? Because forward, modern thinkers can't get elected because this place is laden with narrow minded NIMBY headed dolts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMike50
When 80% plus think taxes are too high
I think that's a typo. 100% think taxes are too high. The other 20% are union members who are not allowed to admit it even annonymously.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMike50
When 66% feel like there is lack of affordable housing
More backward thinking to maintain the "unique suburban culture." God forbid we'll become "another Queens." Except Queens is thriving and home values going up, up up. LI won't become another Queens, but having some downtowns and apartment buildings and condos near train stations is just intelligent urban planning. On LI it's an "assault on our unique character." It's soooooo stupid. Lock the town of hempstead building dept in a basement somewhere and build 3 nice 10+ story apartment buildings (not complexes, not townhomes, not 55+) at every LIRR stop in Nassau. In 5 years everyone will say, "geez why didn't we do this years ago." Only problem is Im in Levittown and we have no LIRR station. Just good ole tax cash mule Hempstead Tpke. trying to squeeze out a dime with TOH riding it's back.
Pipe Dreams:
1. Thriving downtown areas around commuter hubs.
2. High tech business corridor and incentives for rapid business development.
3. $3k reduction in taxes (school/prop combined).
4. Enough union busting (which I don't really like) to achieve #3.
5. As much consolidation as possible.
How can this be? Only 18% rank Long Island schools as excellent?
Quote:
Overall, Long Islanders are split on the question of whether local public schools provide an equal education to all students. Roughly half believe the schools are at least somewhat equal and half believe they are at least somewhat unequal across school districts. Young people, better educated, and black residents are more likely to see the schools as unequal. One remedy for inequality—the creation of magnet schools—is broadly popular among Long Islanders. Roughly 7 in 10 support their creation. Overall, local residents rate Long Island public schools as of middling value in terms of school quality and cost. Roughly 4 in 10 rate school value as good (38%), roughly 2 in 10 rate it as excellent (18%), but a sizeable minority rate school value as fair or poor (39%).
Pipe Dreams:
1. Thriving downtown areas around commuter hubs.
2. High tech business corridor and incentives for rapid business development.
3. $3k reduction in taxes (school/prop combined).
4. Enough union busting (which I don't really like) to achieve #3.
5. As much consolidation as possible.
While I don't agree with your pessimism on LI (Queens is thriving?? AUSTIN? 105 degrees with no rain for 4 straight months, worst schools in the country in TX) -- I like these pipe dreams. Except I think #5 is a pipe dream; we won't save anything consolidating and will likely worsen services. I know you don't think it can be any worse than ToH, but I'm sure it will be. Look at the other consolidated "County Services" ... are they any cheaper or better-run??
While I don't agree with your pessimism on LI (Queens is thriving?? AUSTIN? 105 degrees with no rain for 4 straight months, worst schools in the country in TX) -- I like these pipe dreams. Except I think #5 is a pipe dream; we won't save anything consolidating and will likely worsen services. I know you don't think it can be any worse than ToH, but I'm sure it will be. Look at the other consolidated "County Services" ... are they any cheaper or better-run??
Like it or not, Queens (and Brooklyn) are thriving. I'm not comparing it as a place to live, but home values are up and taxes low and those are the criteria we've been tossing around on here. I will let the Austin slight go...Until you live in Austin, you can't really comment fairly. Austin is a fantastic city and all the "best of" accolades are right on. It aint perfect but there are points that LI (like San Diego, per the article today) could well adopt.
I understand your point on the consolidation thing. Although I favor it, I actually would stand to lose my job in consolidation. The pipe dream is that if people like ME were hired to manage it, it would show great efficiencies and returns. Instead, it will be a patronage mill where political hacks get appointed to jobs based on who they know rather than legitimately talented people getting hired.
When 50% plus of your residents plan on moving in the next 5 years
When 60% plus have trouble paying the rent/mortgage
When 2/3 of your young residents want to leave
When 50% of the people feel the county is heading in the wrong direction
When 80% plus think taxes are too high
When 66% feel like there is lack of affordable housing =
a recipe for disaster
Quote:
The current survey was conducted by the Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research during the fall of 2011. Telephone interviews were conducted with a randomly selected sample of 810 Long Island residents.
810 respondents is what percentage of the almost 2,850,000 residents of Nassau and Suffolk? It isn't that I am discounting the opinions of those interviewed at all, it's just that it is such a small grouping. Young people (18-34 demographic) made up 22% of the 810 participants. When 2/3 (67% in the study) say they want to leave, it's a total of 119 people.
It is an interesting study, no argument there. I realize it is very time consuming to gather and interpret the data, too. Perhaps I am unreasonable in wanting a larger study group?
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