By Anthony Rifilato
As a successful graphic designer working for big marketing and advertising agencies, the 34-year-old Baldwin High School graduate hit all the hot spots and trendy restaurants. He networked with industry professionals, brushed shoulders with actors such as Vince Vaughn at parties, and dined with celebrities like Queen Latifah.
Like many young people who grow up in Baldwin, Randazzo had big dreams, and after he graduated from Manhattan's School of Visual Arts, the budding artist moved to L.A. with his girlfriend in 1997. "Celebrities are everywhere, and we met so many people in L.A.," said Randazzo. "It was awesome, going to all the beach parties, going to Sky Bar. It was kind of like the movie 'Swingers.' Everyone had their own car and drove around from one party to the next."
But after he and his girlfriend married and had two children, Randazzo said, they yearned to be closer to their family, especially after Sept. 11, 2001. "We said, 'Let's think about a move back,'" he recalled. "Once you have kids, you think about them more than yourself, and we felt it was important for them to be around their cousins, aunts and uncles."
So, in 2005, Randazzo returned to Baldwin with his family and started his own graphic design and marketing agency called Hitstate, continuing to work for big-name clients such as Sony and ESPN. "I kind of live and work in the virtual world, so I can work with anyone anywhere," he said. "It's great now, because I can be around my family and friends."
Randazzo is one of many young people who real estate agents say are returning to Nassau County and, more specifically, to the communities in which they grew up. And while they are hardly reversing the trend of young people leaving Long Island, a number of real estate professionals say they are seeing more people like Randazzo come back to Baldwin and nearby towns to be closer to their families or to raise their own.
"A lot of my clients are people who are moving back," said Erik Mahler, 30, owner of Mahler Realty in Baldwin, who grew up in town. "A lot of these people are my friends who I grew up with, so I know firsthand."
Sandy Boci of Sailing Home Realty in Baldwin said that the trend has ticked upward in recent years. "People are moving back, definitely," said Boci. "Their roots are here in Baldwin and their families are here. I know of a few teachers at Meadow Elementary School who used to live here and have moved back. As a Realtor, this is something that definitely comes up. Ten to 15 years ago, [Baldwin] was very old. Now younger people are coming here, people with families."
Real estate agents say there are no statistics on people who are returning and buying homes, and that while some do come back, many more young people are moving out of the county. Pearl Kamer, an economist with the Long Island Association, an organization aimed at unifying the region in order to strengthen Long Island as a place to live, work and do business, said that from 2000 and 2005, 65,000 people between ages 25 and 44 left Nassau and Suffolk counties, according to the American Community Survey, which is coordinated by the U.S. Census Bureau.
"Young people can't afford the high taxes or housing," Kamer said. "They may come back from college for a while, but they can get better salaries elsewhere."
It is no secret that Nassau County is losing young people. During last fall's election campaigns, candidates ranging from Hillary Rodham Clinton and Tom Suozzi regularly called for more affordable housing and other initiatives to keep people from leaving the county and the downstate region.
But while many young people move away, there are still those who return to Baldwin, willing to deal with the high taxes and cost of living. "Some people grew up in a tightly knit family and figure they'd spend a little extra to be near their family," Kamer said. "Many come back, but may inherit their parents' home or have a special business or housing situation. But I think it's the exception rather than the rule."
Joe Gomes, a loan officer with Family Home Finance Corp. in Baldwin, said that while he sees more people struggling because of the high cost of living on Long Island, some do return. "They're not moving back in droves, but it is happening," Gomes said. "They try to stay within a town or two of where they grew up or where their family is. But we see that once they get out, it's tough to get back in because it's expensive. And the people who have bought homes are doing everything they can to stay in."
A buyer's market
Realtors say that for younger people looking to buy in Baldwin or nearby towns, the current housing market is actually in their favor. Interest rates remain low, at 6 percent, and Realtors say that right now those looking to buy have the edge. There are currently 260 homes on the market in Baldwin, Mahler said, compared with 193 in Oceanside.
Housing prices are dropping as well. According to Prudential Douglas Elliman, the average price of a home in Nassau County was $586,401 in the fourth quarter of 2006, down 5.6 percent from the previous year's average of $621,445. In Baldwin, the average price of a home is just over $440,000, Boci said, though many homes in Baldwin Harbor and around the community fetch over $1 million.
"Baldwin is such a nice town that you have many sections, such as the area next to Rockville Centre, or in Loft Estates, that consist of stone tudors and colonials which are really beautiful," Boci said. "Then you have the modern homes on the waterfront with an open bay. The most popular homes right now are on the waterfront."
Randazzo said he purchased a three-bedroom English tudor by Silver Lake for $500,000, calling the price reasonable. "Once we moved back we looked at homes, and the market was good," he said. "We looked around Nassau County, but we found this house and it was just perfect. The size of the yard is huge and there is a big family space."
In 2006, the county saw a 13.5 increase in home sales over the previous year, though Mahler and others said that potential home buyers have become savvy, and are ignoring homes that are overpriced. Unlike 2003, when demand was at its highest, real estate agents say that overpriced homes are languishing on the market.
"Buyers became smarter," Boci said. "A lot of homes are overpriced right now, because the sellers think they are going to get 2005 prices, but it's not going to happen. It was just overblown."
Baldwin and a dream
Those who are returning to their hometowns are taking advantage of the current market. Like Randazzo, Laura Hetzel, who graduated from Baldwin High in 1989, recently moved back to the area to start a business and to be closer to her family. After attending Hofstra University, Hetzel said, she landed a great job as a comptroller of a medical practice in Forest Hills and bought an apartment.
Her fiancé, Joe DiTillio, dreamed of opening a restaurant someday. Since Hetzel's family still lived in Baldwin, the couple came to visit often, but hated the commute from Queens. Hetzel said they happened to find the ideal location for a pizzeria in the Baldwin Shopping Plaza on Sunrise Highway, however, and in 2005, they opened Amore Mio Pizzeria and Restaurant.
"It worked out so perfectly that it was in Baldwin, because my family is still here and all of my friends," Hetzel said. "It was such great luck that we found that place."
DiTillio and Hetzel took the next step last month, when they bought a small colonial with three bedrooms and two and a half baths for $360,000 in Oceanside. And the couple found that many of their neighbors are young people who are just starting a family. "Nearly every person on my block is under 40," Hetzel said. "One of my neighbors bought his parents' house and is raising his kids there."
Hetzel said that the house she bought with DiTillio was on the market for $469,000 for nearly six months, but the seller lowered the price because no one was willing to pay that much. "We made an offer that day," Hetzel said. "That house was on the market much longer, I think since August."
Though Hetzel and Randazzo said they are enjoying life back in the community where they grew up, Kamer and others said that more needs to be done to keep young people on Long Island: creating more affordable housing, alleviating tax burdens and making it easier for those who leave towns such as Baldwin to return. "Our problem is that we can't accommodate our own children and grandchildren," Kamer said. "We're trying very hard to keep our young people here."
Comments about this story? Baldwineditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
