can someone explain to me amityville?

i see the house prices are low.. that you can get a newly built house cheap...

but i also see the 38% poverty rate in amityville and like 28% in north amityville... and i also see there is a trailer park somewhere...


how safe/unsafe is it to live there.. if you live near the border and use private schools...??

thank yOU!

THere is a trailer park South on 110.
My Best friend grew up in amityville techincally. Although his house is a 1/4 at most from teh massapequa mall. His area was really nice!
I know people in Amityharbor which is really nice!
The schools though, not so nice! Although my BF did go there and he came out in once peice

I used to live in Amityville on Ketchum Avenue many moons ago..

Anything South of Merrick Road (Montauk Hwy) is very nice. Nice big homes with front porches, and some homes are right ont he canals.

North of Merrick Road is iffy.. not as nice.

The school district is not one of the best. Most of the ppl in the neighborhood send their kids to Catholic Schools..but it's all a matter of preference and if you can afford to send your kids to a private school.

My Mom lives in Amityville- *slightly* North of Merrick Road in a beautiful community. Yes, there are good and bad parts of Amityville- there's a trailer park on Routh 110 in North Amityville. I would say, anywhere SOUTH of Bayview Avenue is good- and of course on the water the best.

The town of Amityville is so cute, nice shops, etc..

Yes, the schools aren't as 'good' as neighboring districts like Massapequa (where I went and grew up) but that is because a lot of people cannot afford to live in Massapequa and also because Massapequa's school disctrict practically pushes all people of color OUT of the school district and into Farmingdale, Plainedge or Amityville (pretty crappy, right?).. When I went to H.S. in 'pequa there was not ONE person of color there... all white & 10 asian kids..

I personally wouldn't have any problem sending my kids to school in Amityville- (which was Long Island's first integrated community). Children need to learn that the world isn't all white and all rich.

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Posted by Sassyz75

Yes, the schools aren't as 'good' as neighboring districts like Massapequa (where I went and grew up) but that is because a lot of people cannot afford to live in Massapequa and also because Massapequa's school disctrict practically pushes all people of color OUT of the school district and into Farmingdale, Plainedge or Amityville (pretty crappy, right?)

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Just curious - how exactly would a SD do this? I agree that Mass. is mostly white but many towns on LI are like that....i can't see how a SD actually pushes minorities out of their district

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Posted by Teri

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Posted by Sassyz75

Yes, the schools aren't as 'good' as neighboring districts like Massapequa (where I went and grew up) but that is because a lot of people cannot afford to live in Massapequa and also because Massapequa's school disctrict practically pushes all people of color OUT of the school district and into Farmingdale, Plainedge or Amityville (pretty crappy, right?)

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Just curious - how exactly would a SD do this? I agree that Mass. is mostly white but many towns on LI are like that....i can't see how a SD actually pushes minorities out of their district

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I grew up in Massapequa as well, and went to MHS (class of '90) and I can say In the 4 years (9th - 12th grade) I never saw to many minorities. Even when I went to Birch Lane Elementary or Ames JR High.

I dont know how true it is, and it's all hear say but, I heard that real estate companies do not show houses to monorities in South Massapequa.. When I heard this I was completely DISGUSTED!! but, unfortunately I'm sorry to say that it's true. It's not the SD that has the say, but I think it stems from the ppl that live there and the ones who sell their homes. I'm sure it's all politics, and not one of the many subjects I like to get involved in.

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Posted by Teri

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Posted by Sassyz75

Yes, the schools aren't as 'good' as neighboring districts like Massapequa (where I went and grew up) but that is because a lot of people cannot afford to live in Massapequa and also because Massapequa's school disctrict practically pushes all people of color OUT of the school district and into Farmingdale, Plainedge or Amityville (pretty crappy, right?)

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Just curious - how exactly would a SD do this? I agree that Mass. is mostly white but many towns on LI are like that....i can't see how a SD actually pushes minorities out of their district

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I don't know HOW they do it, but they do.. like you can have a Massapequa address and a Massapequa zip code, but if you live North of Jerusalem Ave you go to Plainedge and if live slightly East of Carmen's Rd you go to Amityville. If you own a home ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE JR. HIGHSCHOOL you aren't in the school district, you are in Amityville.. crazy, right?

I grew up in Massapequa as well and my family is still there....and attended SD #23 all of my life. I know a lot of younger people who grew up in Mass are buying homes in Amity Harbor (because they cant afford Massapequa) which is right on the water and looks alot like Massapequa - the houses are well kept and nice too - very pretty area. There are some bad parts in Amityville too - one I remember is Albany Ave - used to be a well known drug dealing street - not sure anymore if it is. I know the school district is not rated good either, I knew a few kids that went there that transferred out to Catholic schools - lots of drug problems, lack of school programs, just not good etc. A HS boyfriend of mine who lived on Ketcham off Merrick used his aunts address to attend Massapequa HS. The stigma of Amityville is one that is known locally and not something you can find online, lets just say its not considered the best town in the eyes of surrounding towns like Massapequa because of the crime and bad schools(I remember when I used to hear about people getting shot all the time in Amityville and lots of property vandalism) . Maybe it is getting better now and if you dont mind a bad school district or sending to private schools, you can get a nice house in Amity Harbor..

I agree about Massapequa schools- it is VERY homogeneous - too much in fact. But I do think it has better programs too (like after school sports, tons of clubs, etc), I think its one of the best on the south shore probably due in part to the high taxes. I fully believe in integration as well but I also believe in a quality public education and I just dont think Amityville is providing it yet. This is a dicey topic but I do think some of Massapequa's residents are somewhat racist, but there are alot of towns on LI like that...its a sad fact.

Also- Plainedge is pretty homogeneous too though...

South of montauk is gorgeous Million dollar homes. I would not recommend North side. Amityville.

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Posted by lullabella

My parents Live on the water in AMityville too and the area is gorgoeus. Their taxes are 21,000 CRAZY when the schools are so poor. I might send them to grade school but not high school.

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All those people that live by the water- imagine if they ALL sent their kids to the public school- don't you think the school would be better then? With those types of people having their kids in there they would FORCE the schools to shape up.

It's sad, but the people that live in the trailer parks I'm sure are NOT going to have a lot of pull, but the people on the water and in all of the Victorians do.

I grew up in Farmingdale which is right next to Amityville and yes the town is cute and the houses near the water can be beautiful but there is only one school district and the stigma is pretty accurate as far as I ever knew. I just bought a house in Massapequa and kept getting thrown by the great prices while I was searching in 'east massapequa' basically this means amityville schools and usually iffy areas, guess you get what you pay for, but the house prices are crazy! I am lucky to have found something when we did and am actually plainedge school district which is also good. I am right on the border for massapequa and plainedge school districts so I could probably make a case out of it when the time comes but all the elementary schools are good and the area is a great quiet neighborhood. I have actually heard from teachers in the area I am better off in Plainedge schools where the teacher to student ratios are smaller yet massapequa being a larger district has great sports so guess its a trade off. Who knows, I hear Massapequa isnt as good as it used to be but I got years before it really is an issue, something to think about.

Hope this helps

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Posted by verdila


I agree about Massapequa schools- it is VERY homogeneous - too much in fact. But I do think it has better programs too (like after school sports, tons of clubs, etc), I think its one of the best on the south shore probably due in part to the high taxes.

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This is not the first time I heard a comment like this about Massapequa's high taxes. I dont quite understand it b/c I have friends and family that live in Merrick, Malverne, Wantagh, just to name a few areas that all have similar or HIGHER taxes than us - on comparable houses.

I know from living fairly close to the area that North of Sunrise highway and south of Southern State parkway around Rt 110 does not look like too great an area. Soth of Sunrise actually looks nice, lots of property and some very interesting houses. My mother has a friend who's daughter lives just south of Sunrise and she very happy.