The Twin Oaks residential complex is unsanitary and dangerous. It’s time for the University to rid itself of this travesty.
Its location in the heart of Hempstead Village puts it a half-mile from the eastern edge of main campus and more than a mile from academic buildings such as C.V. Starr Hall. The walk through some of the worst parts of the village puts students, faculty, administrators and maintenance workers all in danger of being robbed, attacked or worse.
Economic depravity is everywhere. Small bodegas, fast food joints and laundromats crowd together along Hempstead Turnpike, which is dangerous to drive or walk through at night.
According to Nassau County crime statistics, Hempstead Village had more than 16 times the amount of violent crime in 1998 than its affluent neighbor, Garden City.
The isolation from campus creates an antisocial atmosphere toxic with jealousy towards main campus residents.
Students chronically complain about the lack of amenities. The apartments, which lack any air conditioning, are notoriously filthy and cramped. Twin Oaks residents are not informed of the lack of air conditioning or overhead lighting until check-in.
The rooms are organized in a suite style, with four students crammed into one-bedroom apartments. This is unconscionable.
In order to place four beds into the apartments, the University built “walls”-partitions that don’t reach the ceiling. Real doors don’t exist, and neither does privacy for those who live in the “half-rooms.”
It even costs $450 more than a double room in the towers. A $30,000 per year University cannot house its students in such an acrid building and expect to increase its prestige.
Rumors persist of a sale of the two buildings, and it is time for the University to finally confirm it.