Houses are half in, half out

From the Daily News:

The Brown family lives in a house divided: When they walk inside, a left turn puts them in Queens - and a right in Long Island.

The border between city and suburb bisects their 1,500-square-foot Colonial-style home, giving the Browns the best of both worlds along with twin addresses: 247-27 137th Ave. in Rosedale, Queens; and 103 Gold St. in Valley Stream, L.I.

"The kids sleep in Queens," says mom Myrna Brown. "And we sleep in Long Island."

Brown, husband Lawrence and their eight kids are among 84 homeowners living in Splitsville, with one foot in New York City and the other in Nassau County.

The residents in this strange parallel land straddle Rosedale and Valley Stream, Little Neck and Great Neck, and Floral Park and New Hyde Park.

Along with two addresses, the "suburb slickers" often share two school districts - and the chance to shop for cheaper utilities, cable rates and car insurance based on their home field's advantage.

Illegal conversions a problem in Great Neck

From Newsday:

Dozens of Great Neck residents, frustrated and frightened by conditions that they say stem from illegal housing in their neighborhood, are asking for help from village officials and Nassau police.

Village Mayor Ralph Kreitzman and Capt. Sean McCarthy of Nassau's Sixth Precinct told more than 50 Steamboat Road residents at a meeting last week that they're aware of issues such as drug use and illegal housing in the area, but added it will take time for the problems to be addressed.

One resident, Dee Campbell, spoke of a three-block area between George Street and Potters Lane where she said dozens of men usually stand in groups in front of a deli during the day and disrupt the community by drinking alcohol and urinating in public, selling and using drugs, and harassing girls and women.

"I'm concerned mainly for the safety of the kids," said Campbell, who has four school-aged children. "They're afraid and I'm afraid."

Campbell's son, Sean, 11, told the mayor that the loitering men keep him from walking alone to the deli.

Many residents pointed to housing in the neighborhood as the source of the trouble. One house, they said, is occupied by more than 20 people who fill the structure, from the basement to the attic.