The part of Rocky Point that 'doesn't count'
Median income of hamlet skewed by U.S. Census Bureau oversight
5 comments below
By all accounts, the people who live on Caddy Place are residents of Rocky Point. So, too, are the people of nearby Deepdale Drive and Rock Hill Road.
All these residents have 11778 Zip codes. Many of them frequent the nearby Waldbaum's shopping center. Their kids attend Rocky Point High School.
Though they live very close to the Sound Beach line, they are without question from Rocky Point.
Not according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bureau, which will publish its findings in the 2010 U.S. Census, does not consider the streets west of Hallock Landing Road to be part of the Rocky Point hamlet.
This might seem like an insignificant fact, a minor oversight in an extensive report that provides people with loads of social and economic data about the country's many small communities.
"It's the most affluent pocket of Rocky Point and it doesn't count," said Rocky Point resident Drew Martin, a former civic association president who recently contacted Rep. Tim Bishop's office to bring the issue to their attention. "It's Rocky Point and not Sound Beach at all, except for what the census tells us."
What troubles Mr. Martin most is what this means to the median income data that will be released in this year's census.
"We are incorrectly losing our most high income area to Sound Beach, when in truth both towns recognize that area as Rocky Point," Mr. Martin said. "Household income will have an impact on the overall demographics of our town and will influence who moves here and what types of businesses decide to do business here."
The wealth of certain pockets of communities throughout Long Island can be easily seen online in interactive maps organized by the Long Island Index, a project that gathers and publishes data on the region. Maps of each community can be divided to show which of the neighborhoods in that hamlet are most densely populated, which have the highest concentration of younger and older residents, which areas are the most racially diverse and which have the highest and lowest median incomes.
All of this data is compiled from the U.S. Census.
Between 30 and 40 percent of the households in the part of Rocky Point considered Sound Beach in the census have household incomes greater than $100,000 annually. No other part of the hamlet falls into this same grouping.
In the most densely populated portions of Rocky Point, only about 20 percent of all households have annual incomes above $100,000.
The median income for a household in Rocky Point was $52,463 when the previous U.S. Census was released in 2000, which Mr. Martin argues could have been significantly higher if the neighborhood west of Hallock Landing Road was counted as Rocky Point. The median household income for Sound Beach was listed as $60,851.
Mr. Martin feels failure to correct the boundaries will again give an inaccurate portrayal of Rocky Point.
"Income has gone up since then," Mr. Martin said. "The value of the land has gone up, too; it's just not going to be reflected in the data."
Jon Schneider, area director for Mr. Bishop (D-Southampton), said his office has been looking into the matter, which he said marked the first time in the congressman's tenure that such a complaint has been lodged.
Mr. Schneider pointed out that Rocky Point is a census designated place, which means its census boundaries have no legal standing and are really only used as markers for the census. For example, the information given about Rocky Point in the census does not impact the amount of financial aid the area might receive from the federal government.
"But if you're looking at that data, you are not necessarily getting the most accurate reflection of [Rocky Point]," Mr. Schneider acknowledged.
Which is what troubles Mr. Martin, and others whom he's shared this information with.
Mr. Schneider said the congressman's office has contacted the census bureau and will attempt to have the boundaries redefined.
Eric Alexander, executive director of Vision Long Island, a nonprofit smart-growth planning company that has done visioning work in Rocky Point, agreed that census data does "carry the weight in terms of [people studying] economic data."
But Mr. Alexander said he doesn't think the census boundary oversight would have as much impact on the health of the redevelopment of Rocky Point as other factors.
"It's going to take zoning and sewers to get the income [Rocky Point] needs," he said.
Mr. Alexander also said he believes the community needs to come together as one voice to successfully redevelop its downtown. "You have to market yourselves," he said.
But it's the marketing effort of Rocky Point that Mr. Martin is concerned can be damaged by the census.
"We want to show people what Rocky Point really is," he said.
gparpan@northshoresun.com
The North Shore Sun is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. The North Shore Sun does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The North Shore Sun. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Service and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
5 comments found
census : 2/8/2010
Is there anything that common resident of RP can do? Is there someone that we should contact to make sure that our collective voice is heard?
Census : 2/6/2010
Definitely.
People look at that stuff before they come to town.
Now it makes sense why Wal Mart wanted in.
Also it looks the Sound Beach has been getting a bump from the weathiest part of RP for years.
Keep in mind there are plenty of people making money off of cheap real estate in Rocky Point.
I hope they get it right this time. This is a great little town.Most of the folks I know here are not by any means lower income.10-20 years ago maybe...but now. not so much.
Census : 2/5/2010
This is why you can't take this Census seriously. For so long Rocky Point has gotten a bad rap. It probably hurt real estate values over the years.
Sign : 2/5/2010
LOL - great post! I always thought the placement of that sign was ridiculous. I realize it is right before the "main business district"; however, RP starts several miles before that sign...I shouldn't be surprised though, if they can't plan roadways and developments, how can they be expected to place the sign correctly?
RP boundries : 2/5/2010
Maybe the census people were confused by the sign at the western end of the 25a bypass that says "Welcome to Rocky Point"
