Anywhere But Here
(Yes, I appropriated the title from Monica Simpson’s novel. Sue me.)
Long Island is in trouble. A new study cites a number of factors contributing to the decline in living standards, but of the factors they cite, I seem to recall seeing every one of them in operation while I was growing up there. Lower pay? Industry was moving out fast, even the military contractors at the height of the Cold War. A decrease in development? Well, once the east end filled up with aging pop stars, Yuppies and the lifestyle purveyors they rely on, what did anyone expect? Even where redevelopment was possible, nobody was investing in it, because there was no percentage in doing so. Main Street died on Long Island, and no attempts at resuscitation were ever successful. What’s the biggest problem: the decline in numbers of a younger generation. It’s getting old and tired out there. The effect is an increased marginalization, a growing discrepancy between rich and poor, as usual coinciding in expression with a disparity in ethnic groups. But the evidence of this trend existed there when I was a kid. The study also cites a “brain drain,” but that’s been going on a long time, too (hey, I got out; I think it’s a sign). The major difference, I suppose, is that now there’s a study, and a sense that something ought to be done, that Long Island can be a case study for other suburban areas around the country. Best of luck, but look at it: it’s an island. A long one, with only one way out. Granted, if you never make it further than NYC, you’ve done well, but you’ve got to make your way to the front of the pack if you don’t want to get left behind.