Tag Archives: Backgrounder

Malverne Backgrounder

Posted on September 28, 2013 by john.friia

Malverne, a one square mile village in southern Nassau County on Long Island, holds an interesting story of its history and residents. According to the 2010 United States Census, the estimated population is around 10,000 that are predominantly Caucasian and a small percentage of minorities.

Previously known as Norwood, resident wonder where the name Malverne derived from. In 1913, Alfred Wagg and Ernest Childs were one of the first residents of Norwood, but according to village records they wanted to change the name to make it a unique place to live. At the time there were many Norwoods in New York State and they rallied residents to submit new names. Childs suggested to name the village after a town he visited and feel in love with in England named Malvern. Residents agreed to the name and added and extra “e” at the end to make it Malverne.

Governed by a Mayor and Board of Trustees this village also has its own police department, fire department, volunteer ambulance corp, historical society and civic association. The main goals of all these departments are to maintain the small town feel within the community. The Malverne Police Department has experienced controversy in the past decade focusing on the high wages and the pay for illegal overtime pertaining to federal holidays. Exposed by Newsday the police chief was forced to resign and John Aresta, was appointed as the new chief. The current mayor is Patricia Ann Norris-McDonald who has the followed the footsteps of her father and former mayor. The Board of Trustees includes Deputy Mayor Joseph Hennessey, Trustee Michael Bailey, Trustee John O’Brien and Trustee Patricia Callahan.

When Malverne was incorporated in 1918 the village was meant to be a place for the Jewish faith, but as time passed different congregations became welcomed in the village. There are many different houses of worship including, Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, Grace Lutheran Church, Bridge Church of the Nazarene, and the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. There was a Malverne Jewish Center located Hempstead Avenue, but in 2012 it closed and the Bridge Church took its place. Every year during Thanksgiving all the churches come together a share an ecumenical service, where all the church leaders give sermons to all the residents.

As people stroll down Hempstead Avenue, they will notice the business district of Malverne. Comprised of all small businesses there are a large variety of stores in Malverne from the independent movie theatre to the bakery and to the numerous restaurants.  According to the Malverne Merchants and Professional Association, there are over 800 registered businesses in Malverne and this organization helps promote a better business environment and keeping the small town charm within the village. During autumn,both the Malverne Merchants and Professional Association and the Malverne Civic Association work together to organize the annual country fair that many residents look forward to.

The Malverne Civic Association and the Malverne Historical Society are actively involved with the community and host events throughout the year. Wanting create comradely with other residents the Civic Association hosts an annual Getting to Know You function, wine tasting, and assistant the village on their annual Lighting of Malverne. The Historical Society holds their annual holiday gala, which is one of the highlights of the Lighting of Malverne.

Children that reside in Malverne are zoned for either Malverne School District 12 or Valley Stream School District 13. The Malverne School District includes students from Malverne and Lakeview, which is has a large population of African Americans. Many of the Malverne families that reside within District 12 decide to send their children to private elementary schools and high schools. During the 1960’s, as segregation within schools disbanded the Malverne School District was not as easily integrated as others in the area. Newspapers reported the NAACP held marches for integration of the district and explained the extent the Board of Education attempted to do to stop it. Eventually the state mandated that both Whites and Africans American attend the Malverne school district.

This small village is home to one of the last working farms in Nassau County. On the corner of Ocean Avenue and Hempstead Avenue the residents have come to love Grossman’s Farm. During its peak of popularity the hottest commodity was the farm grown corn on the cob. However, once the last Grossman passed away the farm ceased operations and became defunct, until the Nassau County Land Trust purchased the property. In 2012, the farmed changed its name from Grossman’s Farm to Crossroads Farm at Grossman and has continued the tradition of organically grown food for residents and any that stops by.

For prospective buyers Malverne could be an ideal place to start a family with all the necessary amenities nearby. Even though the village offers a lot to its residents, there is one downfall the high taxes. According to the census, it be concluded that this is an affluent community with a median income of $115,000, a poverty rate of 0.7% and nearly 95% of the population attended college or a higher level. Taking every detail together it creates an interesting story of what Malverne is.

Hempstead Avenue - Malverne

Hempstead Avenue – Malverne

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Hempstead Backgrounder

Posted on September 25, 2013 by NIRVANI HARRIRAM

The Town of Hempstead is the largest township in the United States at 1,426 square miles. It includes 22 incorporated villages and 50 unincorporated areas. A 2010 consensus recorded a population of 795,757. It would be best to focus on a microcosm of this township; Hempstead Village, or “The Hub.”

Hempstead Village is considerably small at 3.68 square miles but it has a population of 53,891 people, making it the most populated village in New York. Needless to say, the area is congested. As written in The New York Times (2008), the 1960’s construction of Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City ran shops out of business. CBS Local News recently reported the disdain that Hempstead residents are expressing over a possible expansion of Roosevelt Field and Green Acres Mall.

This gentrification process is taking place in many areas of the township. Supervisor Kate Murray expressed plans for sustainable projects in the Adopted Budget Report for 2013. These projects included bringing construction jobs, solar fueling stations, and a recreational center for special needs kids. Hempstead Village is underrepresented in this vision. Not all of Hempstead is at the forefront of sustainability. The village has other concerns such as gun violence.

Reverend Al Sharpton and the National Action Network organized the Justice for Trayvon Martin Rally, a vigil held in 100 cities. On July 20th people in the community of Hempstead, predominantly clergy members, gathered with a message of “No justice, no peace.” The town also assembled for a peace rally for victims of gun violence.

It is important to take a closer look at the population of Hempstead Village. Within the township, the white race is the highest at 518,756. The total black population is 125,724. Twenty percent of the township’s black population is in Hempstead Village at 26,016. They are the most prevalent race, followed by Latinos at 23,823, Other at 12,284, and whites at 11,788. There is a small population of Asians, Native Americans, and mixed.

According to a 2013 consensus, the median age is 32 which is relatively young. However, a little over half of the population has a high school degree at 65 percent and only 16.5% have a Bachelor’s degree or higher. In 2009, the median household income blacks earned was between 10 and 20 thousand a year while whites earned between 60 and 75 thousand. In 2007, there were 3,594 firms that spanned the 3.8 square miles of the village. There may be a correlation between low motivation for higher education and a high esteem for entrepreneurship.

There is a  disparity between the predominant black and Latino populations with males and females in the village. There are 10,945 family houses where 5,311 are husband-wife and 5,634 are considered “other.” The latter group is divided. There are 1,396 homes where there is a male who is without a wife while there are 4,238 homes headed by a female without a husband. It would be interesting to know if that number of single women were mothers raising their families without husbands. There are more Latino males in ratio to females at 13,008 to 10,815. Similarly, there are more black females  to males at 14,463 to 11,553. Five percent of the population has remained mixed over the past few years. There may be a cultural bias between the races here with the black population adjusting to the influx of the Latino population. Almost half of the population now has a language other than English spoken in the home.

 

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Parkchester Community Background

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Earl Mays

Located in south central Bronx is Parkchester. It is a residential community situated on 121 acres of land and made up of 160 buildings. The complex was built from 1939-1942 and contains about 12,000 apartments. Approximately 40,000-45,000 people call Parkchester home. Parkchester’s website has the median income at around $50,000. According to the Social explorer, out of this population there are about 10,024 apartments that are rented and 2,926 apartments that are owned. There are also about 377 vacant apartments. The neighborhood is fairly diverse. The largest cultural group is Latinos making up 61 percent of the population. The second largest group is Whites comprising about 26 percent. African Americans make up about 20 percent. There have been an increasing number of people of Bangladeshi descent in the community. This cultural group makes up about 15 percent of the population.

Females have a high concentration making up about 52 percent of the population. Males make up about 47 percent. The median age is about 36.  People under 18 years old make up about 29 percent of the population. There are seven schools in the area which include PS 106, Bronx Charter School of Excellence, Castle Hill Middle School, St. Helena Elementary School, St. Raymond’s Elementary School, St. Raymond’s Academy for Girls, and St. Raymond’s High School for Boys. There are a total of two Catholic churches, a Baptist church, a synagogue, and two Mosques located in the area.

The neighborhood has a distinct shopping area known as the Yankee Mall. The major stores include Macy’s, Starbucks, Walgreens, Sprint, AT&T, Dress Barnes, Footaction, GameStop, New York and Company, two Chase bank locations, Bank of America, HSBC Bank, Sovereign Bank, Applebees, Ellie’s Diner, Popeye’s, Burger King, Portabella, Rainbows, Radio Shak, Sleepees, Subway, Zales, Payless, Kid’s Place, Children’s Place, Metro Optics, seven bodega’s, six Chinese food restaurants, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, Little Ceasar’s Pizza, Step Ins Restaurant, A Jewelry store, two cleaners, five supermarkets, 4 barber shops/beauty salons, Blink Fitness, American Beauty School, a record store and a Post Office that service most of the general area in zip code 10462. There is a Carter’s currently being built. Also, the are currently about six vacant commercial locations in the area.  The American Theater which has been in the community since its opening in 1943 closed its doors on September 16, 2013. This is the second theater closing in community board 9. Whitestone Cinemas also recently closed down last month.

The community also offers many services to its residents. It has its own security and maintenance forces. It also has the Kid’s bay boys and girls club for it youth. The area is a transportation hub. Parkchester has its own train station on the no. 6 line. It also has several buses that pass through the area such as: the Bx 4 and 4A, the Bx 39, Bx 36, Bx 22, Bx 40, Bx 42, the Q44 and M6 express bus. Despite these amenities, residents that own cars have difficulty finding parking. Other community issues include the closing of businesses that have long been in the community in order to make room for big name stores. Based on the Social Explorer, Parkchester is the start of the more economically affluent side of the Bronx stretching to Throggs Neck. Increasing rent prices is another potential community issue. The quality of education in the community is also a common issue throughout the Bronx and the area.

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