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Hi all! I have been reading this forum for a while now hoping to find out information on some towns that I am researching. Please help me by giving me information on these towns and/or by directing me to more sources of this information. I'm not sure where else i should be looking for information other than here and "Google."
I've been "looking" at houses on mlsli and it seems that the only places where I can manage to afford a home and the property taxes are Hempstead, , Roosevelt, Inwood, Elmont, and Uniondale. I am considering Lawrence, Inwood, and Elmont but need more information. Most of my family lives on LI (Huntington, Kings Park, Woodbury, Plainview) and I know that I cannot afford those towns. I also know that I do not want to live in Roosevelt or Hempstead.
A littlle about me----I currently live and work in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and cannot afford to buy a home in this neighborhood. In fact, I cannot afford to buy a home in most neighborhoods in Brooklyn, except for the undesirable ones. My husband works in Manhattan and we have a ten-year old and a one-year old. I was born in Long Island but my family emigrated from Haiti. My husband is from Guyana but moved to the South Bronx when they came to the US.
Is anyone able to provide a comparison of Inwood, Lawrence, and Elmont given the information I have told you about my family? I don't want to ramble on much more so please let me know if I left any pertinent information out.
Thanks so much in advance for any and all input.
P.S. I think I may have to open my search to Queens but I guess I will ask the same questions there.
Last edited by daviine; 05-25-2008 at 02:19 PM..
Reason: spelling mistakes
Most of Lawrence is VERY expensive. Inwood is the cheapest of the 5T, but given the schools situation in Lawrence (where Inwood goes) I would avoid it. Also, I've never liked the commuting situation from the 5T. I used to work there and it's a shlep.
(Short version of schools situation: Lawrence has gone Orthodox, the schools are on the slide and the Orthodox and non-Orthodox battle it out on the school board.)
Thank you. I had heard a little about the school situation in Lawrence/Inwood but aside from forums like this one, how else would I find this information out?
Specifically, how exactly is the Lawrence Union Free School District "on the slide"?
Everyone complains about their school district property tax, and in the Lawrence Union Free School District they now have an elected school board that is attempting to make school district property taxes lower by rationally examining and eliminating superfluous costs. Isn't that what everybody wants from their school board?
Results have gone down, primarily, and because there are fewer students from Lawrence and Cedarhurst, students from Inwood (a much poorer area) are making up an increasingly large share of the student population. In fact, one of the main Orthodox complaints was that they paid such high taxes and the district wasn't even that good.
It's not just about "superfluous costs"; it's viewed, by both sides, as a fight over a limited pool of resources. The money issues are not really about "reducing waste" except insofar as that means lower taxes for a population that does not use the public schools and has very high tuition bills.
(I would like to say, upfront, that I am NOT anti-Orthodox--in fact I attend an Orthodox synagogue. And the behavior of the non-Orthodox in this brouhaha was as bad or worse as that of the other side. Nonetheless, I don't believe it's a good situation for someone to be moving into if they're planning on using the public schools.)
One example in 2006 when the orthodox Jewish dominated school Board passed a series of rules that permitted orthodox Jewish children to receive free busing while the rulings denied the non-orthodox Jewish and Christian children from obtaining the same free busing to their own schools. And it all was financed by state tax dollars mostly from a predomently non-orthodox jewish state population!
I would recommend the part of Elmont that goes to Valley Stream schools. Valley Stream schools are neither the best not the worst and many say they are pretty good. The houses are affordable: the school taxes are high but this would seem to be a priority to you and you do get substantial tax benefit.
My friend just sold a handyman's special in Elmont/Valley Stream 13 schools for under 150k! It's a nice neighborhood off Dutch Broadway with lots of older whites and hard-working immigrants.
Elmont isn't bad, I would stay away from Hempstead tpke heading west. I also like Lawrence...look at other towns...don't limit yourself to those in the post. You may be surprise at what you can afford now a days..strike while the iron is hot
One example in 2006 when the orthodox Jewish dominated school Board passed a series of rules that permitted orthodox Jewish children to receive free busing while the rulings denied the non-orthodox Jewish and Christian children from obtaining the same free busing to their own schools. And it all was financed by state tax dollars mostly from a predomently non-orthodox jewish state population!
Dee62, do you also find it unfair or wrong when non-Orthodox school boards in other school districts:
< > Have pageants in their school auditoriums in December for the Christian holidays but nothing in September for the Jewish holidays ...
< > Provide Gentile food in their school cafeterias but do not provide kosher food ...
< > Allow their district's sports teams to play on Friday night and Saturday, automatically excluding some Jewish children from participating ...
And, these school district activities are all financed or subsidized by state tax dollars, some of which are paid for by a Torah-observant Jewish state population!
Dee62, do you also find it unfair or wrong when non-Orthodox school boards in other school districts:
< > Have pageants in their school auditoriums in December for the Christian holidays but nothing in September for the Jewish holidays ...
ah yes the annual Christmas pageant. I remember it well. Wait a sec...I don't because we never had one.
Quote:
Provide Gentile food in their school cafeterias but do not provide kosher food ...
Good point. If the shools are going to have priests come down to the kitchen and bless the meatball subs and tater tots...then they should get some rabbis in their too. Oh wait, that doesn't happen either.
Quote:
Allow their district's sports teams to play on Friday night and Saturday, automatically excluding some Jewish children from participating ...
it's also a pain for muslims who must participate during ramadan. Of course, nobody is forcing them to attend a public school that plays during those times. There are in fact schools that adhere to there traditions.
The busing issue referenced above is nothing like any of these scenarios.
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. I also know that I do not want to live in Roosevelt or Hempstead. 
Busing
