A Native's View in a Long Review - Long Island (Long Island)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Long Island
Date:	08/11/05 (369 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Varied, diverse, long...an escape from New York City

Disadvantages: Traffic, parts of it are uninspiring to say the least

Are you visiting New York City? I suspect you are planning on visiting shops, museums, tall buildings, and maybe even a big statue of a lady holding a torch. It is, however, entirely possible, that unless you have friends there, the suburbs on Long Island are not part of your plans. But perhaps they should be. After all, The Great Gatsby was set on Long Island.

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History, Geography & Politics
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Long Island is a glacial island. The South Shore is relatively flat, however, the North Shore is quite hilly and rocky - a legacy of the lumps of debris glaciers tend to leave behind. It is also very long - much longer than it is wide (according to Wiki, it is up to 118 miles long east-west, though only at most 20 miles wide north-south). It is vaguely fish shaped - with Riverhead forming, if you like, the fork in the tail, Montauk sitting on the south 'tail fork', and Orient Point at the north.

The Atlantic Ocean is to the south, the Long Island Sound off the north (with mainland New York and Connecticut just across the Sound).

Geographically, Long Island includes Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties, however, Brooklyn (technically called Kings County) and Queens are two of the five boroughs of New York City, and so aren't 'considered' part of the Island either politically or by the residents - so if someone refers to 'the Island', they usually mean either Nassau or Suffolk Counties. This is evident also in the 'area' codes (telephone dialling codes) - Brooklyn and Queens are 718 (generally - I think they may have added another code since I was there), and Nassau is 516, and Suffolk has apparently, in my absence, gained a code of its very own.

Nassau is to the west of Suffolk, and considerably smaller in geographic size, but being nearer New York City, is more densely populated (again, thanks to Wiki, the 2000 population of Nassau was 1,334,544 and of Suffolk 1,419,369 - compare this to the land areas - Nassau having only 166 miles2 of land area and Suffolk a whopping 2,373 square miles).

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Rough Demographics
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People who think of Long Island at all, tend to think 'oh, it's rich.' Well...yes. Parts of it are extraordinarily affluent. Indeed, Long Island apparently possesses the most expensive house in the United States - Three Ponds in Bridgehampton, in Suffolk County. However, it should be noted that many of these mega-homes are either on the North Shore (towns such as Kings Point and Cold Spring Harbor) or in the Hamptons on the South Fork. This is, of course, a sweeping generalisation, and is not a rule, merely a trend.

As a bit of an aside, Garden City, near the centre of Nassau County, is notable for several reasons - it is affluent, it has restrictive zoning laws (even down to what kind of fence you can have), and it directly borders Hempstead. This is interesting because Hempstead is ethnically diverse, and far, far less affluent. The border runs down one road - and on one side of the street, there are large, elegant Garden City homes, with iron street lamps and manicured lawns. On the other side, there are smaller, less kempt Hempstead homes - not slums, by any means, but less...gracious, if you will. It is a very odd street to drive down.

The South Shore of Nassau County is ethnically, religiously and economically very diverse. It contains 'villages' and commuter towns - bays and harbours along side poorer areas. It has some superb schools, and some 'sink' schools. It has fabulous beaches, and terrible traffic. It is the area in which I grew up.

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The Accent and other Long Island Markers
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You certainly know when you're in Long Island. The New York accent is certainly noticeable - VERY noticeable - even by me. As an aside, this summer, I visited a childhood friend who still lives in Baldwin, on the south shore of Nassau County. I was struck by how strong her New York accent is. Then it occurred to me that she must have ALWAYS had the accent. I just didn't notice until I left New York. You can always tell a New Yorker by how they describe 'queuing' - a 'normal' American stands IN line, whereas a New Yorker stands ON line. I have no idea why.

In the 1980s - a decade of mega make up anyway - you could always tell a Long Islander by the sheer quantity of makeup worn by the girls (and I use the word 'girls' purposely - I was in high school at the time). The make up featured much purple.

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General Attractions - a BRIEF summary
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According to LongIsland.com, Long Island boasts 130 museums or more, though some are admittedly of limited appeal - I've been to the Baldwin Historical Museum - great fun...if you like quilts and horseshoes - I've never been to the Ephemera Preservation (Museum of Obsolete Technology) in East Islip, though clearly have missed something (sounds interesting if slightly bizarre).

The Mets are considered the Long Island baseball team (as opposed to the Yankees), and they play at Shea Stadium in Flushing. That is technically, politically not on Long Island, but in Queens (though, of course, strictly geographically, it is the same island). On game days, you can get there via the Long Island Railroad from Woodside.

Long Island boasts restored colonial villages (Old Bethpage - a common field trip for primary school children). There is also the Vanderbilt Mansion Historic Site - so if big houses are your thing, the North Shore is for you. Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay is worth a visit - on the 'Gold Coast' (as the North Shore used to be known), it's kind of the Long Island equivalent of Kew Gardens...but with, of course, a uniquely American slant.

Moving further out to Suffolk County, there are Native American reservations (the Shinnecocks), and wineries on the North Fork. On the South Fork are the famous Hamptons. Oddly, despite a lifetime on Long Island (well...18 years, anyway), I've never been to the Hamptons, though my brother has, and my daughter has the T-shirt. They're supposed to be lovely though. If you really want to be bored, you could take the Long Island Railroad (more on that later) to Amityville just on the Suffolk side of the border on the south shore and visit the infamous house featured in the Amityville Horror. Sadly, though, I am given to understand that the 'eye' windows have been replaced with standard ones.

Back to Nassau, and less extravagant destinations, the South Shore still has a fishing industry. Freeport's Nautical Mile, once a run-down area, has experienced in recent times a re-birth, and has some wonderful seafood restaurants suitable for every budget (try Ekharts for clams, though it is a little...basic. There's a bar. Lots of tattoos on show), tourists shops selling kites and windsocks and the like, LOTS of places selling boats, and, of course, seafood wholesalers. There is even a crazy golf course, and an Italian Water Ice stall.

Long Island, being so long, really has something for many tastes. However, what many New Yorkers will visit the Island for are its BEACHES.

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South Shore Beaches
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I grew up in Baldwin on the South Shore of Nassau County. We could spit to Jones Beach from where we lived. OK, I exaggerate. It was a 10 minute or so drive (Meadowbrook Parkway). As Long Island is glacial, the beaches on the South Shore are of a very fine sand - it surely must be good exercise to walk the sand when it is dry. The water in summer has a bite, but is not cold, and the waves are active, though not really surfing waves (not where I was, anyway - and I was there this last summer). On the downside, Jones Beach is VERY crowded. They are also not free - you generally have to pay to park, and be prepared for a walk between your car and the beach itself. The 'private' beaches are slightly less crowded, but they are only private insofar as you buy a yearly pass for access.

Jones Beach has an arena - it is a very pleasant place to see a concert in the summer. I saw Howard Jones there back in 1985. Wow. Twenty years ago. Go figure.

If you have access to a boat, there are coves and beaches that have no crowds or trash (since you need a boat to get to them). You can find Horseshoe Crabs (they are round, they have a spike for a tail, they VERY old [evolutionary] creatures, and they are not edible. Cool to look at though).

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More About Baldwin - the place I called home
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I grew up in Baldwin. Baldwin is about 40 minutes by train from New York City, and about 20 minutes by car (if you are VERY lucky with the Belt Parkway) from JFK Airport. It has over 23,000 souls as of the last census. Now, I have to admit, Baldwin is not really anywhere you'd visit on purpose, unless you were on your way to somewhere else. As mentioned earlier, the museum is small, dull and pretty interest free. The town has gone down hill even since I lived there - when I was there last summer, I noticed that many shops were either shut or had gone 'downmarket' (supermarkets turning into dollar shops, proliferation of tattoo parlours and so forth). The friend referred to above says that crime has risen and that the quality of the schools has declined (now I realise that this is perhaps a perception, and I do not have the figures to back it up, but for quality of life, perception is important).

I attended Baldwin Senior High School on Grand Avenue. It has the most unfortunate initials - BS HS. There were signs in the corridors forbidding us from 'inappropriate displays of affection.' We had, at the time (I finished high school in the mid 80s) around 2000 students between the ages of 14 and 18. My graduating class had 502 students. At the time, it was considered a decent high school of its type, though clearly not the best on the Island (again, visit the North Shore for that).

Grand Avenue - the main North-South road through Baldwin, is bleak and forlorn. And, worst of all, Nunley's on Sunrise Highway (a large East-West thoroughfare) is gone.

Let me tell you about Nunley's. Nunley's was one of the coolest places on earth - when you're under, say, eight years old (indeed, older if you liked crazy golf). It had a mini roller coaster, a mini Ferris wheel, dinky hand trains (you know, the type you pump yourself), tiny boats...and...the most amazing carousel I have ever seen, before or since. It dates from 1912, and is a superb example of the art of merry-go-rounds. Billy Joel has written a waltz for it, and there are campaigns still to save it. Amazingly, when Nunley's was closed (insurance became too dear, apparently), and torn down, the carousel was kept together (normally, the horses, seats, lions and other creatures that were ridden would be sold off separately - they are worth more that way). The horses had real hair, and you could win a free ride, by reaching out from one of the outside horses (that went up and down) and grabbing the brass ring. I went to Nunley's. I took my daughter to Nunley's, before it shut in 1995. It is a great loss to a community when such a family friendly attraction - indeed, a tradition - is lost.

Baldwin had (and I think still has) economic segregation. By and large, the further south in Baldwin you go, the wealthier you find things. Baldwin Harbor and 'Bay Colony' I think it's called, right on the water, is the most affluent. North Baldwin near the Southern State Parkway is by far less well off.

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Transport
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By Train
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Many parts of Long Island are essentially commuter towns, and the main place to which to commute is New York City - Manhattan specifically. The main form of transport used is the Long Island Railroad (LIRR for short).

The trains aren't beautiful, and not amazingly comfortable, and not terribly cheap (off peak return fare to New York from Baldwin was $13.50 for adults - and that excludes both morning and evening peak times). However, there are a lot of them, and they do serve much of the Island - they are 'third rail' electric trains for much of the Island, though further out, the lines are diesel.

Baldwin is on the Babylon Branch - and I can still remember the route announcements:
"This train stops at Jamaica, Rockville Centre, Baldwin, Freeport, Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Amityville, Copiague, Lindenhurst and Babylon. All other stops, change at Jamaica."

The trains are frequent, and reasonably reliable, though like any major commuter service, has its issues. Like in London (or, indeed, many big cities) the trains can get very crowded at peak times, especially the local stopping services.
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By Road
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You can get there from here - as you might expect, there are lots of roads running through the Island - north/south and east/west, and various permutations thereof. Some of the highways were built by Robert Moses - he pretty much shaped Long Island as a car community rather than one based on public transport, and truly felt that people would enjoy driving for the sake of it with their families (hence the rise of the term 'parkway'.

The Belt Parkway is, along with the M25, truly the world's longest parking lot. From the Verrazano Narrows Bridge linking Staten Island with Long Island (which, by the way, used to have the world's longest suspension span - it's now surpassed by the Humber Bridge), it seems to occupy prime real estate, running right along the water. That's because Moses thought people would enjoy driving it for fun. Heh. It runs along the south and is the main road leading to JFK airport - it merges with the Southern State Parkway once you reach Nassau County. The Southern State Parkway runs along the South Shore of Long Island. The Meadowbrook Parkway visits the beaches. Other notable thoroughfares are the Northern State Parkway, the Cross Island Expressway and the Long Island Expressway.

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Matty's Musings
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Ya know, the only reason I now visit Long Island is to visit friends. However, there are sights I have seen that are worth seeing (Planting Fields, the beaches...) and sights I've never seen that I really should (most of Suffolk County, really). If I had an excuse to go, I'd certainly have a look.

I realise that doesn't sound like an unqualified recommendation, but it is very hard to see your home from a visitor's eyes. This was my attempt.

G'on - have a look. Find out what you're missing.

Summary: A varied area containing suburbs of New York, along with beaches, museums, traffic...