The World According To Janie G: Why Should People Choose to Live in Lynbrook?

When I saw this question being asked on Patch, at first I thought perhaps I would not be the right person to answer this since I have a biased position.

Then I thought no, I would be the perfect person to answer this question. I have lived in Lynbrook since I was 7 years old. That would make me a resident here for just about 51 years, except for a five-year absence when my husband, Stephen, was in the military. He also has lived in Lynbrook for all of his life.

We consider ourselves to have been blessed to have raised our family in the place that we have always considered home. For those of you who can recall the theme song from the TV show, "Cheers," there is a line in that song that says, “Where everybody knows your name.”

That was my experience growing up in Lynbrook. Now that can be good and bad, but as a parent, there is something comforting about your local police knowing your children’s name, and not because they have gotten into trouble in the past. Their children probably were in our children’s same class, the parents know each other from Little League or the Titans, or perhaps their parents are volunteer firefighters in the village.

Having our own police department gives us a uniqueness that can’t be found in other villages. My husband and I could have lived anywhere after he got out of the service but we chose to return back, to where we always felt safe, to where we wanted our children to feel the same sense of security, but most importantly to what we considered to be home.

Some of my fondest memories are of walking home from school and stopping off to see Mike the butcher on Hendrickson Avenue and getting a hot dog to eat for the walk home. I can remember the Stride Rite store on Atlantic Avenue, and Nat the owner, and his very-able assistant Artie’s eyes lit up when we would approach with our parents and they would line the seven of us up for shoes and sneakers.

You also knew all the store owners in the village because that is where your parents shopped: Jacobson’s, Island Cotton, and House of Materials were the places we frequented. And let’s not forget about Woolworth’s and the pastrami sandwiches you could get at the Waldorf Deli. Today, we still shop at Miller's Housewares & Hardware, where Stu and his son carry on the family tradition. And the Lynn Gift Shop is one of my favorite places to spend time — I always leave there with many more cards than what I originally came in for.

Because of our love for this village, my husband and I chose to give back to the community we received so much from. Stephen is an active member of the Lynbrook Fire Department, a former village trustee, and is involved in many other aspects of village life. He is involved in the practical end of things.

I joke with him that I take care of the spiritual end, volunteering my time in any way that can be helpful at Our Lady of Peace Church. This is the same church where my husband and I made our first Holy Communion at, where my husband and I were married, and where our children were baptized and received their sacraments at as well.

Myra Angelo once said “You can’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you gotta be able to give something back.” And we try to live out our lives that way, thankful for all we have received.

It saddens me that in past years so many young people had to leave Lynbrook because they can’t afford to buy a house in Nassau County, between the houses being so expensive and taxes prohibiting them from living here. But some say that may be changing. I hope so. The real estate community might say that Lynbrook is a perfect place to live because of the excellent school district we have, or the proximity to great public transportation we have access to, or even the fact that our police and fire departments are some of the best around.

I say what makes Lynbrook a great place to live is its people.

A quote by Pope John Paul II sums it all up: “A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. You, the people, must give it this soul.” The people of Lynbrook have done an excellent job of this and continue to do this.

And as Dorothy once said, “There’s no place like home."