Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Other
- Metro Area
- Long Island
- Politics c. 1860?
- Don’t Know
- Unions, Organized Labor?
- Don’t Know
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Possible
- Was there an ordinance?
- Don't Know
- Sign?
- Don’t Know
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Surely Not
Census Information
| Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | ||||||||
| 1870 | ||||||||
| 1880 | ||||||||
| 1890 | ||||||||
| 1900 | ||||||||
| 1910 | ||||||||
| 1920 | ||||||||
| 1930 | ||||||||
| 1940 | ||||||||
| 1950 | ||||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1980 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 33946 | 149 | ||||||
| 2000 | 36368 | 2714 | ||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Threat of Violence
- Private Bad Behavior
Main Ethnic Group(s)
- Unknown
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
From Michael Winerip, “Steering Blacks Around an Island of White Homes,” NY Times, 12/15/1987:
Realtors are not always the bad guys. In Valley Stream, NY, some realtors did try to show blacks homes, in the mid-1980s. White residents and other realtors threatened them. “‘They have threatened to throw a bomb in the window,’ Harold Klarnet, owner of Town House Realty, testified. ‘This is Valley Stream.'” Elliot Klarnet, a broker and the owner’s son, called VS “‘Probably one of the most biased communities in the nation.'”
The Klarnets had sold real estate in Queens, had black salespeople, “and that this was why they were resented when they moved. Harold Klarnet described taking blacks to see a home here. ‘The neighbors were all out, sunning themselves and making remarks,’ he said. ‘Very, very forward.'”
The state’s lawyer asked, “‘Do you feel it is your duty to inform prospective black purchasers to be aware of Valley Stream?’
‘If there is a potential situation, yes,’ Mr. Klarnet said. ‘I had a door slammed in my face some times.'”
“Q. Have you ever sold a house in Valley Stream to a black?
A: I tried.”
1990: 33,946 total pop.; 149 blacks. Shows that even with a few blacks, suburbs still maintain pretty sundown policies.
2000: 36,368 total pop.; 2714 blacks.