A Short Guide to Long Island and the New York Metropolitan Area

For more information about Long Island, visit Wikipedia.

Transportation/location

Hofstra University is in Hempstead, New York (Nassau County, Town of Hempstead), located very centrally in Nassau County. Part of the University is in the Village of Hempstead, part in Uniondale (an unincorporated section of the Town of Hempstead) and a smaller part still in East Garden City.

To Hofstra's immediate west is the Village of Hempstead and the Village of Garden City, as well as the unincorporated areas of West Hempstead and Franklin Square. Southwest is Malverne, Lynbrook and Rockville Center.

To our east is East Meadow, Levittown, Bethpage, Farmingdale, and to our north is Garden City, Carle Place, Westbury and the Salisbury section of Westbury.

All areas seen on this map are a 5 - 20 minute drive on side streets. During rush hour, travel may take longer.

Hofstra University is in the middle of one of our nation's oldest suburban areas. Parkways (divided highways that allow only passenger vehicles) offer the easiest access. The Meadowbrook Parkway, which goes north from Jones Beach to the Northern State Parkway in Carle Place, is less than one mile east of Hofstra. A few miles south, the Southern State Parkway flows east from the Belt Parkway/Cross Island Parkway to its western-most point of Great River in Suffolk County. A few miles north, the Northern State Parkway begins in Smithtown, Suffolk County, and in Queens, merges with the Grand Central Parkway and ends in Astoria, Queens at the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278).

http://www.iloveny.com/info_center/pdf/map_metro_nassau_suffolk.pdf

The Suffolk County border is about a 20 - 30 minute drive from Hofstra. Western Suffolk, a suburban area, gives way to Central Suffolk, a less dense suburban area, and finally the East End, which is made up of three distinct resort areas: the Hamptons, an upscale mixture of villages and water recreation; Montauk, a seashore resort area; and the North Fork, a quieter area made up of vineyards and seaports.

http://metrocommute.com/index.html#top for live traffic information for the entire New York metropolitan area

New York's Department of Motor Vehicles
http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/index.htm

Hofstra University is about 25 miles from Manhattan, about 7 miles from the Queens border, and 20 miles from Brooklyn. However, traffic around the New York metropolitan area can be heavy and travel times vary. Hofstra University is accessible by Nassau County Bus and the Long Island Rail Road. A Hofstra shuttle bus (the "Blue Beetle") picks up from the Hempstead train station each hour, as well as the Mineola train for selected rush hour trains.

http://www.mta.info/lirr/ for schedule and fare information on the railroad

Transportation around Long Island and New York City

Bus and Railroad Information - information for NYC transit, Long Island Railroad, Long Island Bus, Metro-North Railroad, bridges and tunnels can be found on The Metropolitan Port Authority (http://www.libus.org). Subway and city transportation maps can be found at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority website at http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm (The MTA has authority over the NYC subway and bus system, the Long Island Rail Road, Metro North, the commuter line for Connecticut and upstate New York, and the Long Island Bus.)

Airports - Information on how to get to/from the airports, getting around the airports, airlines, airport terminal services, other airports and tourist information can be found on The Port Authority of NY & NJ (http://panynj.gov/). Airports include JFK International Airport and LaGuardia Airport (both about ½ hour from Hofstra.)

Mac Arthur Airport - In Suffolk County and is often a good option. Information on airlines, flight tracking, car rentals, hotels, transportation, directions to the airport, weather, phone numbers for the airlines, transportation and accommodations can be found on MacArthur Airport (http://www.macarthurairport.com/index.shtml).

Ferries - Information for ferries to/from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Block Island, Shelter Island and Fire Island can be found on Long Island, New York Ferries (http://www.webscope.com/li/ferries.html).

Shopping

Hofstra is about 2 miles south of Old Country Road (an east-west road) in Carle Place, and Glen Cove Road (a north-south road that merges with Clinton Street in Hempstead.) A very large concentration of malls and shopping plazas is located in this area, including Roosevelt Field Mall, the Source Mall at Fortunoff, and hundreds of other restaurants and retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Sports Authority, Costco, Ruby Tuesday, Chili's, Macaroni Grille, Cheesecake Factory, Legal Sea Foods, Houston's, Target, Home Depot and Babies-R-Us.

• http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=102 for information on Roosevelt Field.
• http://www.longisland.com/shopping_malls.php a guide to all Long Island major shopping malls

Schools

There are about 150 small school districts on Long Island, in addition to many private and parochial school options. New York City is managed by a central school district. New York State produces report cards for each school district. The most recent "school report cards" for 2004-2005 are available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/repcrd2005/home.shtml Generally, Long Island schools are considered some of the finest in the United States, and individual high schools and school districts are regularly ranked in places like U.S. News and World Report. Long Island school districts generally also spend more money per pupil than school districts in New York State and in the United States.

Finding housing

Deciding where to live and whether to buy or rent is probably one of the most challenging aspects about living on Long Island. A few things you should know:

• In the New York metropolitan area the renter pays the broker fee for rentals. This is different than many areas of the country, in which the owner pays the fee, and should give you some indication of the demand on rental housing.
• There are few rental communities in Nassau County that feature amenities. Many rentals are two- and three-family structures.
• In Queens, there are more rentals available in a mix of types of buildings, but they are frequently owner-owned cooperative apartments.
• If you are interested in exploring some real estate resources, the following sites may be helpful:
  • www.newsday.com (Long Island houses for sale, some rentals)
  • www.liherald.com (South Shore Nassau County, you may have to get the paper)
  • http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/ (The Long Island section of Craig's List)
  • http://newyork.craigslist.org/ (Craig's List New York also has separate sections for Queens and Brooklyn)
  • http://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/index.html (also great for buying and exploring neighborhoods
  • www.mlsli.com Multiple Listing Services of Long Island, also includes Queens
  • http://www.liagent.com/ This real estate broker's site has some useful relocation tools
  • For population information check out the population survey at Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) (www.lipower.org)
  • For a history of the towns try LI History.com | Long Island Our Story http://www.longisland.com/www_frame.php?http://www.lihistory.com
  • http://www.danielgale.com/content/Page.asp?PAGE=dgarmain is another broker website that has put together a number of resources about relocating.