Otis in the Suburbs (1 Viewer)

[corpcow]

I've found that Cutter Bug Free Backyard spray works better than citronella.

Thats what I use and it works great. The one that hooks up to your hose.

Spend one evening outside with a thermacell unit running and I guarantee you'll never mess around with all that stuff again. I've bowhunted in southern Georgia in early September with swarms of bugs and Mosquitos around me and a thermacell next to me. Not one bite and it clears the area. We use one all summer long on our back deck and never have a problem. All friends/neighbors who come to our house end up buying them as well. They work

Can you recommend one? I'm looking and only see one that goes on your belt and a lantern looking one.

My yard becomes inhabitable once the summer really kicks in.

Edit.. I think I found itThermacell

Just oredered 3 of em with replacement cartridges from Amazon - Looks like a lot of good reviews too

I'm going all out this summer - Spray every few weeks plus these things... I think we have some swamps in the area.

Yep, that's it. I have one of the lantern style ones that we use on the deck (keeps our entire 2 level deck free from bugs) and we have 2 of the hand-held units like you bought. You will be very pleased.Otis: Here is the company website: http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/home-away-specials.asp They run on little butane cartridges and replaceable pads that have a chemical that is found in chrysanthemum flowers. It emits a very light wisp of smoke that does wonders. Turn it on 15 minutes before you're going to hang outside and no more bugs.

This morning sprayed that Cutter stuff everywhere. Also got a couple citronella candles and this Off thing where you burn this coil of stuff and it lets off a smoke and lasts four hours. Burning that now. But I will keep my eyes peeled for this Thermacell thing.

Spent some time this weekend on the North Fork (NOFO) and then at a local BBQ in south nassau where the host said "ohhhhhhhhh I never get bugz!!!!!"

The bugs are definitely nippin... people were breaking out the OFF and Avon stuff.

CAN'T WAIT! for my shipment! I kept saying.... Damn..... If I only had my thermacell unit.

We don't have outdoor furniture yet, and our "patio" is pretty plain right now (just a block of concrete that we are going to rip out and replace with pavers, etc). But, I bought the Thermacell based on reviews here. It may even travel with me, we're going out to the North Fork in July actually...Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or?? I didn't realize you were a LI guy. I grew up in East Meadow.

 

[corpcow]

We painted the trim the same color as the walls with hardwood floors.

OOF

http://imageshack.us/m/829/2118/img0768mg.jpg

So white trim would have been better?????

1000 times better, friend.

Sorry...forgot to mention that i do have a light colored trim on the walls with custom painted orange patterns.

Love that.... very modern.

 

[corpcow]

Corpcow > nice place dude

This. All those awesome moldings and wainscoting make me hate our place and realize how much more work it really needs.

That is some fancy stuff, but it gets to be a little too ornate for my taste. You've also got a little one running around. You need something a little more kid-friendly. I'm in the same boat. We're looking at houses currently.

I wouldn't say our house is "fancy" or "ornate". For what it's worth, most of the homes in our community have that kind of "trim" and we're probably the only ones that don't have kids... so if you were thinking about putting it in I wouldn't worry for a little one.

 

[ArcticEdge]

We painted the trim the same color as the walls with hardwood floors.

OOF

http://imageshack.us/m/829/2118/img0768mg.jpg

So white trim would have been better?????

1000 times better, friend.

Sorry...forgot to mention that i do have a light colored trim on the walls with custom painted orange patterns.

Typical liberal bull#### apartment.

 

[bostonfred]

"]http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/953/cidkpckz4jeqp.jpg"]

Typical liberal bull#### apartment.

I can't believe I'm laughing at an ArcticEdge post.

 

[shuke]

You've also got a little one running around. You need something a little more kid-friendly. I'm in the same boat. We're looking at houses currently.

:hifife:Never thought I would see this post from Mr. Pickles to Otis.

This is like some bizzaro world post.

 

[Reaper]

I've found that Cutter Bug Free Backyard spray works better than citronella.

Thats what I use and it works great. The one that hooks up to your hose.

Spend one evening outside with a thermacell unit running and I guarantee you'll never mess around with all that stuff again. I've bowhunted in southern Georgia in early September with swarms of bugs and Mosquitos around me and a thermacell next to me. Not one bite and it clears the area. We use one all summer long on our back deck and never have a problem. All friends/neighbors who come to our house end up buying them as well. They work

Can you recommend one? I'm looking and only see one that goes on your belt and a lantern looking one.

My yard becomes inhabitable once the summer really kicks in.

Edit.. I think I found itThermacell

Just oredered 3 of em with replacement cartridges from Amazon - Looks like a lot of good reviews too

I'm going all out this summer - Spray every few weeks plus these things... I think we have some swamps in the area.

Yep, that's it. I have one of the lantern style ones that we use on the deck (keeps our entire 2 level deck free from bugs) and we have 2 of the hand-held units like you bought. You will be very pleased.Otis: Here is the company website: http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/home-away-specials.asp They run on little butane cartridges and replaceable pads that have a chemical that is found in chrysanthemum flowers. It emits a very light wisp of smoke that does wonders. Turn it on 15 minutes before you're going to hang outside and no more bugs.

This morning sprayed that Cutter stuff everywhere. Also got a couple citronella candles and this Off thing where you burn this coil of stuff and it lets off a smoke and lasts four hours. Burning that now. But I will keep my eyes peeled for this Thermacell thing.

Spent some time this weekend on the North Fork (NOFO) and then at a local BBQ in south nassau where the host said "ohhhhhhhhh I never get bugz!!!!!"

The bugs are definitely nippin... people were breaking out the OFF and Avon stuff.

CAN'T WAIT! for my shipment! I kept saying.... Damn..... If I only had my thermacell unit.

We don't have outdoor furniture yet, and our "patio" is pretty plain right now (just a block of concrete that we are going to rip out and replace with pavers, etc). But, I bought the Thermacell based on reviews here. It may even travel with me, we're going out to the North Fork in July actually...Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or?? I didn't realize you were a LI guy. I grew up in East Meadow.

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

 

[corpcow]

Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or??

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

Nice. We used to go all the time when we were in Brooklyn. We're planning a trip back in early July. Lenz, Sherwood House, Sparkling Pointe, Paumonok, McCall, Comtesse Theresa and Schneider( and Onabay which Schneider makes now) are our favorites. We tend to avoid Martha Clara et al I will miss the Tasting Room though.... Charles was awesome, though I did hear he's at the Comtesse Bistro now.

Pro-tip: Hit up Michael's Liquor Store in Riverhead - much, much better prices on most of the wines.

 

[Reaper]

Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or??

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

Nice. We used to go all the time when we were in Brooklyn. We're planning a trip back in early July. Lenz, Sherwood House, Sparkling Pointe, Paumonok, McCall, Comtesse Theresa and Schneider( and Onabay which Schneider makes now) are our favorites. We tend to avoid Martha Clara et al I will miss the Tasting Room though.... Charles was awesome, though I did hear he's at the Comtesse Bistro now.

Pro-tip: Hit up Michael's Liquor Store in Riverhead - much, much better prices on most of the wines.

Oh. You're a professional.

We do know Dr Dan from Pindar and he hooks us up. Went to a crazy party at Duck Walk a few years back.

We need to learn those off the beat places.

On this trip we were looking more for the Picnic / Live Music thing while I kicked a ball around with my daughter as the girls got tanked.

The Busloads of Bachelorette parties are welcome to me and part of my entertainment.... I send the little one into the crowd looking to meet "The Princess" with her Tiara and all and they love it.. Good Times.

 

[corpcow]

Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or??

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

Nice. We used to go all the time when we were in Brooklyn. We're planning a trip back in early July. Lenz, Sherwood House, Sparkling Pointe, Paumonok, McCall, Comtesse Theresa and Schneider( and Onabay which Schneider makes now) are our favorites. We tend to avoid Martha Clara et al I will miss the Tasting Room though.... Charles was awesome, though I did hear he's at the Comtesse Bistro now.

Pro-tip: Hit up Michael's Liquor Store in Riverhead - much, much better prices on most of the wines.

Oh. You're a professional.

We do know Dr Dan from Pindar and he hooks us up. Went to a crazy party at Duck Walk a few years back.

We need to learn those off the beat places.

On this trip we were looking more for the Picnic / Live Music thing while I kicked a ball around with my daughter as the girls got tanked.

The Busloads of Bachelorette parties are welcome to me and part of my entertainment.... I send the little one into the crowd looking to meet "The Princess" with her Tiara and all and they love it.. Good Times.

Ha... fair enough. The off-the-beat places are relatively easy to find - just look for the "No Limos" signs. Many are (literally) not on the map because they don't pay to be part of that.We LOVE Greenport though. Awesome little town. Some of the restaurants are a bit overpriced for what they are, but some good stuff there too. We used to only stay one night, so we'd do a B&B that allowed it slightly out of town, but since we'll be there three nights now, we're doing Harborfront which is that little hotel in the middle of town.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

before

after

:style:

oolz

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or??

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

Nice. We used to go all the time when we were in Brooklyn. We're planning a trip back in early July. Lenz, Sherwood House, Sparkling Pointe, Paumonok, McCall, Comtesse Theresa and Schneider( and Onabay which Schneider makes now) are our favorites. We tend to avoid Martha Clara et al I will miss the Tasting Room though.... Charles was awesome, though I did hear he's at the Comtesse Bistro now.

Pro-tip: Hit up Michael's Liquor Store in Riverhead - much, much better prices on most of the wines.

:blackdott:

 

[Otis]

:VIP:

Village Mayor stopped by last night with a bottle of wine in hand, and an out-of-date town booklet, to welcome us to town. Very nice guy. Wife and I chatted with him for a few minutes. I indicated that Otis might have some interest in running for the Board of Trustees at some point to get involved in local governance, and he invited us down to the town hall meetings to sit in and see what goes on. I half had the impression he was dropping by to check us out and to warn us of all the local town rules. Maybe they noticed that we lopped down a half dozen trees...

The one thing that we are realizing in a big way is that we are the youngest people in our local village. I know the surrounding area has lots of young couples like us, but in this village everyone is in their 40s/50s and beyond, and most have kids who are older teens. We've seen a few younger kids in the area, but I get the impression there aren't too many.

We still haven't met a few of the neighbors, but we're getting to it one bit at a time. The suburbs are a crazy place. The only time one of my neighbors knocked on our apartment door in Brooklyn was two weeks after we moved in, the day after we had a party, to ##### me out about all the noise.

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

 

[bostonfred]

I half had the impression he was dropping by to check us out and to warn us of all the local town rules. Maybe they noticed that we lopped down a half dozen trees...

 

[Otis]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

 

[bostonfred]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

So it's like a homeowners association? Have any of the other village people invited you to swing by?

 

[urbanhack]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well.

Did you grow up in a house?

 

[urbanhack]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

So it's like a homeowners association? Have any of the other village people invited you to swing by?

it's more like a small town than an assoc.

 

[bostonfred]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

So it's like a homeowners association? Have any of the other village people invited you to swing by?

it's more like a small town than an assoc.

So you have to be a member of the village if you want to live within its confines, they require that your house look a certain way, but they offer extra services for which they take a fee, and they have an elected board that decides how to use that fee. How is that different from a homeowner's association aside from words like "tax" vs. "fee"?

 

[Otis]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

So it's like a homeowners association? Have any of the other village people invited you to swing by?

it's more like a small town than an assoc.

So you have to be a member of the village if you want to live within its confines, they require that your house look a certain way, but they offer extra services for which they take a fee, and they have an elected board that decides how to use that fee. How is that different from a homeowner's association aside from words like "tax" vs. "fee"?

I guess when you put it that way it is sort of similar. I usually think of "homeowner's associations" as being part of a condo, or some kind of condo/housing development. Here it's more just a very small and local government -- there is a court, a village clerk, a village judge who presides over minor village matters nobody really cares about, a mayor, etc. etc.

 

[urbanhack]

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN YOUR VILLAGE??

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN YOUR VILLAGE??

I'd guess a few hundred and a raccoon.

 

[mr roboto]

villages are what some areas call cities. In the Chicago suburbs, Arlington Heights, Lake Zurich, Palatine etc. are all 'villages.'

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

how do people not know what a village is? is this reverse Otis shtick?

just a different level of government. village, town, city, county, state, federal, etc.

 

[bostonfred]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

So it's like a homeowners association? Have any of the other village people invited you to swing by?

it's more like a small town than an assoc.

So you have to be a member of the village if you want to live within its confines, they require that your house look a certain way, but they offer extra services for which they take a fee, and they have an elected board that decides how to use that fee. How is that different from a homeowner's association aside from words like "tax" vs. "fee"?

I guess when you put it that way it is sort of similar. I usually think of "homeowner's associations" as being part of a condo, or some kind of condo/housing development. Here it's more just a very small and local government -- there is a court, a village clerk, a village judge who presides over minor village matters nobody really cares about, a mayor, etc. etc.

Is it considered desirable to live in a village? Or is there a stigma like there is with HOAs? It sounds like a good realtor trick to me. Oh this isn't swamp, it's a wetland. That's not a HOA, it's a village.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

Sounds like a commune to me. Who is their leader?

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

New YorkIn New York State, a village is an incorporated area that differs from a city in that a village is within the jurisdiction of one or more towns, whereas a city is independent of a town. Villages thus have less autonomy than cities.A village is usually, but not always, within a single town. A village is a clearly defined municipality that provides the services closest to the residents, such as garbage collection, street and highway maintenance, street lighting and building codes. Some villages provide their own police and other optional services. Those municipal services not provided by the village are provided by the town or towns containing the village. As of the 2000 census, there are 553 villages in New York.There is no limit to the population of a village in New York; Hempstead, the largest village in the state, has 55,000 residents, making it more populous than some of the state's cities. However, villages in the state may not exceed five square miles (13 km²) in area. Present law requires a minimum of 500 residents to incorporate as a village.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_%28United_States%29

 

[corpcow]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

So it's like a homeowners association? Have any of the other village people invited you to swing by?

it's more like a small town than an assoc.

So you have to be a member of the village if you want to live within its confines, they require that your house look a certain way, but they offer extra services for which they take a fee, and they have an elected board that decides how to use that fee. How is that different from a homeowner's association aside from words like "tax" vs. "fee"?

I guess when you put it that way it is sort of similar. I usually think of "homeowner's associations" as being part of a condo, or some kind of condo/housing development. Here it's more just a very small and local government -- there is a court, a village clerk, a village judge who presides over minor village matters nobody really cares about, a mayor, etc. etc.

In PA, there's a lot of homeowner's associations, because a lot (like my own) are planned communities. So, it's all houses and we maintain/own the land, but there are guidelines (no parking in street, no RVs, #### like that). WE pay fees (in our case for clubhouse, pool, snow removal, etc), but this is different than property taxes. The HOA has nothing to do with garbage pickup or other muni services.You'll see some of this, but less in Long Island just because there are less planned communities.

 

[Koya]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

So it's like a homeowners association? Have any of the other village people invited you to swing by?

it's more like a small town than an assoc.

So you have to be a member of the village if you want to live within its confines, they require that your house look a certain way, but they offer extra services for which they take a fee, and they have an elected board that decides how to use that fee. How is that different from a homeowner's association aside from words like "tax" vs. "fee"?

It is different because the Village is a municipal entity. HOA may have a board, a Village has a government (and elected officials).FWIW, Villages are not all the same as well. Aaron pointed out Hempstead (I believe it's actually the nations most populous village), which has its own police, fire and most important of all, zoning abilities. I grew up in Sea Cliff, which had its own mayor and local ordinances, but utilized Nassau County cops, and the Town of Oyster Bay (in which Sea Cliff is located) was the zoning body of authority.I am not sure the situation in O'town - don't recall seeing them having police cars but I could be wrong or the County might patrol the major roads that I usually drive on and I don't believe they have zoning authority either. But as a Village in this neck of the woods, there will be severe limits on property rights in regard to going willy nilly on ones property (like cutting down trees!)

 

[Otis]

how do people not know what a village is? is this reverse Otis shtick?

just a different level of government. village, town, city, county, state, federal, etc.

Thank you.

 

[Otis]

SUCK IT VILLAGE! THOSE TREES ARE LONG GONE!

 

[Koya]

how do people not know what a village is? is this reverse Otis shtick?

just a different level of government. village, town, city, county, state, federal, etc.

Thank you.

PS - there are also "Hamlets" which are essentially census tracks and sometimes school districts. They are otherwise an unincorporated area within a Town (and Towns are like Counties essentially. Some "Towns" on Long Island have hundreds of thousands of residents and are then made up of villages and hamlets, with two cities on Long Island).

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

how do people not know what a village is? is this reverse Otis shtick?

just a different level of government. village, town, city, county, state, federal, etc.

Thank you.

Because some of us live in areas that do not have "Villages."

 

[Koya]

Otis = One of the Village People.

(you guess which one)

 

[bostonfred]

SUCK IT VILLAGE! THOSE TREES ARE LONG GONE!

Were the tree carcasses still all over your front yart when the village people came?

 

[belljr]

how do people not know what a village is? is this reverse Otis shtick?just a different level of government. village, town, city, county, state, federal, etc.

up until a few years ago I had no idea that a village was an actual government entity, I never had them near me growing up

 

[belljr]

Someone explain all of this "village" stuff. TIA

I grew up in a village like this one as well. So we're in a certain county, and then there is a township in our vicinity. But we are within a separately incorporated village in the middle of all that -- so the county and township don't govern us for things like local ordinances -- instead, the village does. We pay extra property taxes directly to the village as well. There are some additional perks, like better services, a smaller, more quaint community, etc., but you're paying a little extra in taxes to fund the local services. They are big on keeping the charm and character of the village, so you aren't allowed to just go and build one of those giant Sopranos mcmansions, or reside your entire house pink etc. You need to get approvals for lots of things that may not require approval elsewhere, but the end result is it keeps the character of the village intact over time.

So it's like a homeowners association? Have any of the other village people invited you to swing by?

it's more like a small town than an assoc.

So you have to be a member of the village if you want to live within its confines, they require that your house look a certain way, but they offer extra services for which they take a fee, and they have an elected board that decides how to use that fee. How is that different from a homeowner's association aside from words like "tax" vs. "fee"?

I guess when you put it that way it is sort of similar. I usually think of "homeowner's associations" as being part of a condo, or some kind of condo/housing development. Here it's more just a very small and local government -- there is a court, a village clerk, a village judge who presides over minor village matters nobody really cares about, a mayor, etc. etc.

In PA, there's a lot of homeowner's associations, because a lot (like my own) are planned communities. So, it's all houses and we maintain/own the land, but there are guidelines (no parking in street, no RVs, #### like that). WE pay fees (in our case for clubhouse, pool, snow removal, etc), but this is different than property taxes. The HOA has nothing to do with garbage pickup or other muni services.You'll see some of this, but less in Long Island just because there are less planned communities.

That's how ours is in Souther NJ here. I hate it but ours is very lenient. You can only have a certain type of fence, shed etc etc. I pay like $200 a year for BS management fees and snow removal. Everything else is town. However I have had the HOA cut down some trees for me so that has been worth it. We are technically not allowed basketball hoops in the street but our HOA looks the other way.It's not bad on the surface but like I said ours is pretty laid back. It's only for "big things" you need approval

 

[Giant Wooden Badger]

SUCK IT VILLAGE! THOSE TREES ARE LONG GONE!

Were the tree carcasses still all over your front yart when the village people came?

NTTAWWT

 

[Otis]

SUCK IT VILLAGE! THOSE TREES ARE LONG GONE!

Were the tree carcasses still all over your front yart when the village people came?

Negative. All incriminating evidence was hauled off a week or two ago. Except for a bunch of tree stumps...

 

[ODoyleRules]

villages are what some areas call cities. In the Chicago suburbs, Arlington Heights, Lake Zurich, Palatine etc. are all 'villages.'

:represent:

 

[Redwes25]

Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or??

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

Nice. We used to go all the time when we were in Brooklyn. We're planning a trip back in early July. Lenz, Sherwood House, Sparkling Pointe, Paumonok, McCall, Comtesse Theresa and Schneider( and Onabay which Schneider makes now) are our favorites. We tend to avoid Martha Clara et al I will miss the Tasting Room though.... Charles was awesome, though I did hear he's at the Comtesse Bistro now.

Pro-tip: Hit up Michael's Liquor Store in Riverhead - much, much better prices on most of the wines.

Oh. You're a professional.

We do know Dr Dan from Pindar and he hooks us up. Went to a crazy party at Duck Walk a few years back.

We need to learn those off the beat places.

On this trip we were looking more for the Picnic / Live Music thing while I kicked a ball around with my daughter as the girls got tanked.

The Busloads of Bachelorette parties are welcome to me and part of my entertainment.... I send the little one into the crowd looking to meet "The Princess" with her Tiara and all and they love it.. Good Times.

Ha... fair enough. The off-the-beat places are relatively easy to find - just look for the "No Limos" signs. Many are (literally) not on the map because they don't pay to be part of that.We LOVE Greenport though. Awesome little town. Some of the restaurants are a bit overpriced for what they are, but some good stuff there too. We used to only stay one night, so we'd do a B&B that allowed it slightly out of town, but since we'll be there three nights now, we're doing Harborfront which is that little hotel in the middle of town.

I am a regular to the North Fork and hit up the vineyards as much as possible. Two other ones I like are Shin and Lieb (for White only) but this is a very good list.

 

[Otis]

STATUS REPORT !111one

The work at Camp Otis continues full throttle.

Called a contractor to come in and gut the downstairs half bath/powder room and also tear up the nasty linoleum kitchen floor and just refinish the hardwood floors underneath (he said it won't be more than 500 bucks to add the kitchen floor portion of this on, so why not -- we aren't redoing the kitchen for at least a couple years, and this could make a nice difference in the interim). The contractor will come in this week to get us an estimate on all this. For a 5 foot by 5 foot bathroom, I can't imagine it will be much -- we need to tear up the linoleum (it smells like moisture/mildew has collected underneath it -- pretty nasty, which that, combined with an ant problem in there, are what prompted us to make this a priority), demo the walls and put up new sheetrock, new tile floor, a fan/vent, replace a small window, and we'll buy a toilet and sink/vanity for him to install. What's a guesstimate on the bathroom portion, keeping in mind we are doing very basic stuff? I'm hoping 2-3 grand-ish, and around 2 days' worth of work? Or am I in dreamland and looking at a 5k+ job?

Other work in progress:

-- Painter starting tomorrow. We're considering having him add the kitchen cabinets to the list of things he is painting, in line with our "temporary" kitchen rehab (we'll also hit home depot and find out about a cheap granite countertop alternative, as well as Otis doing his second ever tile backsplash himself BOWTIEZ). Expected completion 5 working days.

-- Siding guy hopefully starting later this week (I'm thinking more likely next). Expected completion 7 working days.

-- New masonry guy coming in Saturday AM to give us an estimate on a new front stoop and tearing out the rotten wood deck in the back in favor of a patio/walkway. If he can get started soon, expected completion, I am assuming, is probably 2 days or so given scope of work. My ballpark, in-my-own-mind estimate is around 6-8k for everything (5k for the patio, 2k for the front stoop, give or take).

-- Landscaper coming back in this weekend to give an estimate on planting some privacy trees (likely Leyland Cypress) along the back of the house. Hoping he can get to this sooner rather than later, though I fear he will see the slope we are working with, all the tree stumps and roots there, and tell us it's a no-go. We'll see.

If all goes off on schedule, in just a few weeks it will be like a completely different (and way nicer) house. Fred or someone will ##### about us painting over the ugly wood ceiling in the den, but that's ok.

In my spare time I've been replacing all the light switches and outlets, one at a time, with new Z-wave controllable outlets, and hooking them up to our wireless home automation network. Right now I've only got about 5 or 6 lights set up, but they're working well. Also have the front door deadbolt automated like this as well -- nice to lock the door on the way out with the push of a button, or unlock it from the iphone in the car before coming in with the baby and packages and not having to fumble around for keys, or to check from the iphones while we are away or from bed at night to make sure it is locked. Need to do the same with the back door as well now. Also need to get the rest of the lights installed (I haven't electrocuted myself yet, but give it enough time...), as well as the sprinkler system, and a couple other odds and ends...

We will be fully operational soon gang. Just in time for mid-summer.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Get em oat!

Tell me more about those door locks, sounds pretty cool. Can you put the garage door opener on such a system as well?

 

[corpcow]

Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or??

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

Nice. We used to go all the time when we were in Brooklyn. We're planning a trip back in early July. Lenz, Sherwood House, Sparkling Pointe, Paumonok, McCall, Comtesse Theresa and Schneider( and Onabay which Schneider makes now) are our favorites. We tend to avoid Martha Clara et al I will miss the Tasting Room though.... Charles was awesome, though I did hear he's at the Comtesse Bistro now.

Pro-tip: Hit up Michael's Liquor Store in Riverhead - much, much better prices on most of the wines.

Oh. You're a professional.

We do know Dr Dan from Pindar and he hooks us up. Went to a crazy party at Duck Walk a few years back.

We need to learn those off the beat places.

On this trip we were looking more for the Picnic / Live Music thing while I kicked a ball around with my daughter as the girls got tanked.

The Busloads of Bachelorette parties are welcome to me and part of my entertainment.... I send the little one into the crowd looking to meet "The Princess" with her Tiara and all and they love it.. Good Times.

Ha... fair enough. The off-the-beat places are relatively easy to find - just look for the "No Limos" signs. Many are (literally) not on the map because they don't pay to be part of that.We LOVE Greenport though. Awesome little town. Some of the restaurants are a bit overpriced for what they are, but some good stuff there too. We used to only stay one night, so we'd do a B&B that allowed it slightly out of town, but since we'll be there three nights now, we're doing Harborfront which is that little hotel in the middle of town.

I am a regular to the North Fork and hit up the vineyards as much as possible. Two other ones I like are Shin and Lieb (for White only) but this is a very good list.

Yes, Shinn is good. Their Wild Boar Doe (oof) is pretty solid. Some others were hit and miss for me, especially People love the Coalescence too (one guy when we were there once asked for the "Convelescent", which made me chuckle because a) I just had surgery and b) it's one of the best lines from the Sopranos...). Better prices again at Michael's if they have it.Lieb makes great Pinot Blanc, though I don't care for their reds much.

If anyone wants to meet up, we'll be out there from July 7th-10th, with two other couples.

 

[mr roboto]

villages are what some areas call cities. In the Chicago suburbs, Arlington Heights, Lake Zurich, Palatine etc. are all 'villages.'

:represent:

I'm in LZ man. Love me some NW burbs.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

STATUS REPORT !111one

The work at Camp Otis continues full throttle.

Called a contractor to come in and gut the downstairs half bath/powder room and also tear up the nasty linoleum kitchen floor and just refinish the hardwood floors underneath (he said it won't be more than 500 bucks to add the kitchen floor portion of this on, so why not -- we aren't redoing the kitchen for at least a couple years, and this could make a nice difference in the interim). The contractor will come in this week to get us an estimate on all this. For a 5 foot by 5 foot bathroom, I can't imagine it will be much -- we need to tear up the linoleum (it smells like moisture/mildew has collected underneath it -- pretty nasty, which that, combined with an ant problem in there, are what prompted us to make this a priority), demo the walls and put up new sheetrock, new tile floor, a fan/vent, replace a small window, and we'll buy a toilet and sink/vanity for him to install. What's a guesstimate on the bathroom portion, keeping in mind we are doing very basic stuff? I'm hoping 2-3 grand-ish, and around 2 days' worth of work? Or am I in dreamland and looking at a 5k+ job?

probably the latter. We just redid a small bathroom. Rough plumbing was 3500 (involving some jackhammering) and the rough electrical was 1500. We are doing the tile, sheetrock, and all the connections ourselves. That doesn't include the tub, vanity, toilet, fixtures, new doors, ect.

 

[Otis]

Get em oat!

Tell me more about those door locks, sounds pretty cool. Can you put the garage door opener on such a system as well?

Link

There's more to it than that, since I also have a server set up and HomeSeer software (www.homeseer.com) set up to control/program all the home automation tasks, and also I've been using their HSTouch software to separately design interfaces for the iPhones (and later our iPad). I'm pretty sure there is a "basic" way to use these Kwikset locks (Schlage makes a similar one) without all this hands-on software setup, but I'm just not sure how that works.

 

[Otis]

STATUS REPORT !111one

The work at Camp Otis continues full throttle.

Called a contractor to come in and gut the downstairs half bath/powder room and also tear up the nasty linoleum kitchen floor and just refinish the hardwood floors underneath (he said it won't be more than 500 bucks to add the kitchen floor portion of this on, so why not -- we aren't redoing the kitchen for at least a couple years, and this could make a nice difference in the interim). The contractor will come in this week to get us an estimate on all this. For a 5 foot by 5 foot bathroom, I can't imagine it will be much -- we need to tear up the linoleum (it smells like moisture/mildew has collected underneath it -- pretty nasty, which that, combined with an ant problem in there, are what prompted us to make this a priority), demo the walls and put up new sheetrock, new tile floor, a fan/vent, replace a small window, and we'll buy a toilet and sink/vanity for him to install. What's a guesstimate on the bathroom portion, keeping in mind we are doing very basic stuff? I'm hoping 2-3 grand-ish, and around 2 days' worth of work? Or am I in dreamland and looking at a 5k+ job?

probably the latter. We just redid a small bathroom. Rough plumbing was 3500 (involving some jackhammering) and the rough electrical was 1500. We are doing the tile, sheetroom, and all the connections ourselves. That doesn't include the tub, vanity, toilet, fixtures, new doors, ect.

Why is it costing 3500 bucks for plumbing? All the plumbing is already run into the bathroom, and in the proper locations, so I don't see why this is complicated or expensive?

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

-- New masonry guy coming in Saturday AM to give us an estimate on a new front stoop and tearing out the rotten wood deck in the back in favor of a patio/walkway. If he can get started soon, expected completion, I am assuming, is probably 2 days or so given scope of work. My ballpark, in-my-own-mind estimate is around 6-8k for everything (5k for the patio, 2k for the front stoop, give or take).

square feet for the patio? with a 10x10 patio and a stoop im betting $7,500 to $10,000. 2 days seems awfully light on the labor imo.