The Maine Maid Inn, Jericho, New York

 

For those of us who grew up in the Jericho Syosset area, that were fortunate enough to be taken to the Maine Maid Inn by their parents and on special occasions are witnessing a disturbing event.  The Inn has been closed now for over 14 months.  In 2007 it was purchased by a group that owned restaurants specializing in Indian cuisine.  One day, a few of us old timers walked into the Inn, turned right to go into our favorite bar room on Long Island; over 100 years old, the original plank flooring, fireplace and wood bar with foot rail.  Talk about a complete shock, the doors to the bar were closed and padlocked.  We went to the hostess to ask “What Happened!”, she said the bar wasn’t making any money so they decided to close it.

 

Fond memories, fantastic friends, fellowship, camaraderie, all wiped out instantly. It was bad enough when the salad nicoise with walnut dressing was taken off the menu, then this. The Inn was a great meeting place for the boys from the Brookville Country Club, the Syosset/Jericho Kiwanis, regulars at the happy hour, which served hot and cold hors d'oeuvres,  fantastic French doors that opened to a patio surrounded by greenery, flowers and most of all history. 

 

I gathered together a bit of information, some of which came from the research I am doing on the Long Island Indians.  Please read it and those of you who have memories, please share them.  By the way, the Maine Maid Inn building is not on the historical registry.  Could you imagine someone coming in, buying the property, knocking down the Inn and building another office building that we don’t need?  Those of you interested in helping me accomplish preserving this building please contact me at my e-mail, jim@lexjim.com. 

 

Enjoy the history!

           

            Located at 4 Old Jericho Tpke in Jericho, NY is the site of the Maine Maid Inn.  Prior to this property becoming a residence, inn and restaurant, it was part of the Matinecock land.  The Matinecocks inhabited most of what we now know as Nassau County’s North Shore of Long Island.   A deal was made in 1648, wherein Welsh settler Robert Williams, purchased a large portion of the land, including the future site of the Inn, from the Matinecock Indians.  This newly purchased area became a center of the Quaker religion. 

 

            In 1789, the Maine Maid Inn building was constructed.  It originally housed the Post Office founded by Post Master William Guthre in 1802.  But the building the Quakers knew as the Maine Maid Inn does not stand at this site; it is actually one of the structures that encompass the Milleridge Inn.  The original Maine Maid Inn was the home of Mary Washburn Willets and used as a Quaker meeting house.  Very few know it as anything other than the Milleridge Inn. 

 

Approximately ten years after the post office was founded, Valentine and Abigail Hicks moved into the future site of the Maine Maid Inn with their children.  They were extremely important members of the Quaker community.  Valentine Hicks was President of the Long Island Railroad and the town of Hicksville was named after him.  As earlier stated, they were prominent in the Quaker society. It is well noted that the Quakers were some of the first to release their slaves starting in the late 1700’s.  It seems that the Hicks family used the Inn to assist slaves that had escaped.  It was known as a major stop for the Underground Railroad and it is said that the portal still exists today. 

 

            There is much discrepancy between when the Maine Maid Inn became an inn and restaurant.  While everyone agrees Valentine Hicks remained in residence until he passed away in 1850, there are some who say it became the Inn shortly after his death.  Others attest that the home remained a private residence until 1930, becoming a restaurant in the 1940’s, while others claim it did not become the Maine Maid Inn until 1950, one hundred years after Valentine’s death.  Regardless of when it opened, the Maine Maid Inn was a piece of history to be experienced and enjoyed.  You could walk the floors that Abigail Hicks may have rushed down while tending the slaves, view the original paintings that hung on the Hicks’ family walls, touch and be touched by the times gone by.  

 

            Those days are over.  When you drive by it now, the most noticeable thing is the for sale sign.  You talk to most people in the Jericho and Syosset area and you find out how big of a staple the Maine Maid Inn was in there lives; just about everyone has a story, a memory.  I look forward to hearing yours.

 

"Copyright 2010 by James Balletta"

Posted via email from lex realty's posterous

Woodbury Real Estate History

Beginnings:
Woodbury was part of the large land purchase that Welsh settler Robert Williams made in 1648 from the Matinecock Indians. Woodbury and Syosset were an area generally known as East Woods, used initially the way the Indians did, for hunting. By the mid-1700s, a small number of farmers began to cultivate land in the area. The center of the community was a tiny schoolhouse, notable mainly because poet Walt Whitman taught there for the 1837-38 school year. The tiny community remained isolated, connected only by old Indian paths to Cold Spring Harbor and Jericho until the railroad arrived in nearby Syosset in 1854. In time, that attracted more farmers to the area, who saw the large markets of western Queens, Brooklyn and New York.

Learn more about Woodbury Real Estate and its history.

"Copyright 2010 by James Balletta"

Posted via email from lex realty's posterous

Brookville Real Estate History

Beginnings:
When Oyster Bay Town purchased what is now Brookville, NY from the Matinecocks in the mid-1600's, the area was known as Suco's Wigwam. Most pioneers were English, many of them Quakers. They were soon joined by Dutch settlers from western Long Island, who called the surrounding area Wolver Hollow, apparently because wolves gathered at spring-fed Shoo Brook to drink. For most of the 19th Century, the village was called Tapentown after a prominent family. Brookville became the preferred name after the Civil War and was used on 1873 maps.

Read more about Brookville Real Estate and its history.

"Copyright 2010 by James Balletta"

Posted via email from lex realty's posterous

Syosset, New York Real Estate History

Beginnings:
The heavily forested hills south of Oyster Bay were among the lands used for hunting by Matinecock Indians during the hundreds of years before European settlers arrived. It was too far from the shore to serve as a settlement for Indians, but occasional discoveries of arrowheads are indicators that Indians used the woods. Indeed, the name Syosset may come from the Indian word Suwasset, which means "place in the pines." Robert Williams, a Quaker, purchased this land in 1648 from the Matinecock Indian Tribe. The Quaker farmers who settled in nearby Jericho confined themselves to that area for a number of years. Eventually, some Dutch families did clear the Syosset land in the mid-1700s, and a small, isolated farming community was established. By 1824, a few businesses, including a small hotel, made up Syosset's core.

Turning Point:
Syosset was connected to the rest of the world in 1854, when the Long Island Rail Road built a spur north from Hicksville. The access to New York agriculture markets attracted more farmers to the area, and a commercial district formed around the train station. A post office was established in 1855. Farming remained the dominant trade until shortly after World War II, when the community's larger population triggered an expansion of the business district on Jackson Avenue. After the war, the housing shortage made it profitable for farmers to sell the property developers.

Giving the Slip:
On those rare occasions when Theodore Roosevelt wanted to elude the press and some politicos he returned to Sagamore Hill in Cove Neck, he would take the train to Syosset instead of Oyster Bay, and ride his horse home through the woods.  Today Sagamore Hill is a National Landmark and is open to the public.

 

Today:

Real Estate values in Syosset range between $450,000 for 3 bedroom homes to multi-million dollar estates in Syosset and the incorporated villages of Laurel Hollow, Brookville, etc.  These incorporated villages have a minimum of 2 acre zoning. Due to the close proximity of New York City, 50 minutes via the Long Island Railroad, it is a tranquil retreat for those in the financial and business arenas.  There are many recreational facilities in the Syosset area including public and private golf courses, country clubs, State, County and Town parks.  Sun and fun is a mere 4 miles away at the beaches and campgrounds.

 

The Syosset School System, which encompasses all of the 11791 and 11797 zip code, is one of the most outstanding school districts on Long Island.  If offers a broad curriculum catering to both the gifted and those with special education needs.  Further information regarding the Syosset School District is available at their website syosset.k12.ny.us. There are 2 Middle Schools, H.B. Thompson and Southwoods, with Syosset High School situated on 74 majestic acres in North Syosset.

 

Real Estate in Syosset enjoys a comprehensive retention of value due to the excellent school system and proximity to Manhattan.  Additionally, over the years the business district has broadened in both the financial and business services.  The anticipation of the 800,000 sqft shopping mall will have a positive effect on real estate taxes as well as provide opportunities of employment for both the young and the old.

 

Syosset Hospital, which is a part of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health Care System, is centrally located with an outstanding emergency room and a dedicated staff of doctors and nurses. 

 

Lex Realty boasts many lifelong real estate associates.  For further information contact James Balletta a resident since 1948 and actively participating in Real Estate for over 50 years.

 

"Copyright 2010 by James Balletta"

Posted via email from lex realty's posterous

Long Island Realtor and Ronald McDonald House

Many of us take for granted the little donation jars on countertops or the checks we may write to various charitable organizations. You drop in some change or write a check and it becomes a thing of the past. Few of us have the opportunity to experience first hand how wonderful these groups are such as Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park, NY.

This is one of those stories from Frances Diesu, Associate Broker at Lex Realty in Syosset, NY;


On July 17th, my grandson, Mike, had a skateboarding accident which caused the need to remove part of his skull in order to stop the bleeding and reduce the brain swelling. Initially he was at Huntington Hospital and then moved to Schneider Children's Hospital. It was through Schneider that we were introduced to the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island, located in New Hyde Park.


The staff at the Ronald McDonald house was friendly, helpful, polite, courteous and eager to help. My family was able to use the facilities at the Ronald McDonald House for many days and it was a welcome place to stay in a time of great need. It allowed us the opportunity to take a break and recharge in a homelike environment while remaining in close proximity to Mike.


Mike is being released from the rehab center he was moved to from Schneider Children's Hospital. He will be coming home after making amazing progress on his road to recovery.


Thank you,
Frances Diesu
Lex Realty

Much thanks to the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island. The success of this organization is due to donations which enable it to thrive. There are local chapters in 52 countries around the world and 8 Ronald McDonald Houses in New York State alone. So the next time you see a Ronald McDonald House donation box remember every little bit helps a family stay closer to a child in need and may one day help your family.

Hidden Dangers of the Virtual Tour for the Home Seller

One of the marketing tools used by realtors in an attempt to sell your home is the virtual tour. What happens is an outside company comes in and creates basically a panoramic movie allowing the viewer to virtually walk through the interior of the home. At first I thought, well it could have value. But after consideration and the 50 years of experience I have, I knew a movie is not the same as being physically there.

When a buyer calls and has a conversation with the realtor, in the absence of a virtual tour, obviously the buyer asks questions rather than coming to conclusions while watching the tour. This develops an empathetic relationship between the buyer and the realtor. What it really does is save time for both realtor and buyer since the realtor now understands what is important to the buyer.

Today this marketing tool may lead to disastrous consequences. The economy being what it is, the last thing anyone would want to do is divulge the contents of their home and where they are located to a potential criminal. These tours provide the layout of your home, windows, doors, means of egress and ingress, potential hiding places, closets, etc. Also visible are the inhabitants, their ages and whether or not there are young children. The tour takes you outside to show off the beautiful grounds, privacy, proximity to other homes and the affluence of the neighborhood.

What a wonderful gift!
A blueprint for the criminal!

State of New York Medicaid System

Recently I uncovered some information regarding the Medicaid system in the State of New York. Here is what happened; a naturalized citizen, arranged to have her mother brought to the United States with a Visa (I assume). The mother lived in her daughter’s house. Obviously the mother was unemployed since (1.) She couldn’t speak English and (2.) The daughter was providing for her. Not having any money or bank account in the State of New York, you are eligible for Medicaid.

The mother falls, breaks her hip and is brought to the local hospital where an operation is performed. The mother was agitated and angry, kept trying to get out of bed and eventually fell on the floor breaking the hip again, 2nd surgery. She remained in the hospital for recovery for a period of 2-3 weeks but plateaued and as with normal health insurance the hospital said she must go to a rehabilitation facility. For hospital charges, medications and doctors, she was billed NOTHING. She then went to a nursing home/rehabilitation center approximately the third week in September 2007 where she has remained until the present. Now she has a private room with a seating area, has learned to play Mahjong and participates within the party atmosphere. Of course there are back rubs, snacks; you know the same as we get with our health insurance.

The total bill so far is NOTHING. You and I would probably be paying at least $4,000 per week and we would be dropped by our insurance carrier between 2-3 months (and I know I’m being extremely kind).

Do you think that the State of New York’s present financial condition was affected by their Medicaid policy? Remember that the Medicaid program is offered to anyone whether a citizen or immigrant coming into the state system.

What a screwed up system. No Problem, WE pay for it.

In 2008-2009 the NY State Medicaid spending will be $46.3 BILLION,

a 2.7% increase from 2007-2008