The first night sleeping in our new Lynbrook home was significant, my family of four resting on mattresses splayed throughout the floor. I felt myself constantly turning over to look at the front door, a window slot with no covering. I recall finding it so bizarre, almost unsafe in the awfully quiet village. It was a lot adjusting to the odd fencing laws and tight-knit, small-town life that came to everybody else so easily. I was accustomed to the clatter of the passing trains at night and low-flying airplanes, various sounds spooking me throughout the night in the typical culture of Queens. Coming to Lynbrook was almost surreal; it felt like the life I had always seen in the media but never fully understood. There was always something about the town that I have noticed since entering that makes it different. “Lynbrook charm” as I often call it, is how I explain the strange, small-town phenomena that seems to appear here time and time again. Upon entering the middle school, I realized how many people had similar experiences to mine, leading to the question: What makes Lynbrook so special? Others also new to Lynbrook were happy to share their thoughts on this.
There were no traffic lights in my town; they didn’t exist.”
— Juanita Martinez, Class of 2027
The first serious part of Lynbrook that would impact my life would be my time at Lynbrook South Middle School. Alexandra Brooks, a freshman who attended Lynbrook South, shared her experiences as a new student when entering the eighth grade. “I thought: ‘Oh my god, I’m gonna get lost in this school,’” said Brooks, after being asked her first impressions. “It’s very quiet here, and where I came from was very loud. I moved from Howard Beach. Adjusting was a bit of a process, but I got used to it,” added Brooks. I can relate to the adjustment period, moving to Lynbrook from a house a mere few blocks away from Brooks’ Howard Beach home. Lynbrook’s overall school structure is different, especially in comparison to schools in highly populated areas. It was bizarre and confusing having such a small building with so few rooms. It was unclear to me where the cafeteria even was, why we referred to our designated lunch area as the “General Purpose” room. The school being smaller somehow made it confusing, but navigable at the same time. Albeit odd, there was something homey about it, the way the students connected with each other and their teachers, or how I made a group of friends my first day there. “I enjoy it here,” Brooks concluded.
Freshman Kristina Stelmashchuk had a similar experience when she moved here in the seventh grade. “I came from the Ukraine. I liked the teachers [in Lynbrook]; they were nicer than the ones in my school. [Lynbrook South] was much, much smaller,” she said. “We had big sidewalks, like super big.” Stelmashchuk explained that she came from the city and noticed the difference here from her school in Ukraine. “I remember in a class [in Ukraine], a girl asked the teacher to explain, the teacher said, ‘I explained it last time! Why didn’t you listen before?’” Like Stelmashchuk, I found myself having relationships with teachers in a way I had never before experienced. In my old schools, I always had my favorites, but here, every teacher I have had has undoubtedly had a positive impact on me. Lynbrook schools prioritize their students, who are showered with a special amount of individual assistance. Could this be what makes the town unique? “I like [Lynbrook], but I think it’s a little bit small, and [it] doesn’t have many places to go.” Stelmashchuk said. This is something other newcomers can agree with. While living in a small town has its pros, many of the same few things are placed throughout this town: pizza, bagels, ramen, with same hum of the Long Island RailRoad. This, however, is one of the things that makes Lynbrook what it is.
Juanita Martinez, a freshman who recently came from Colombia, spoke about her introduction to the town. “My first impression [was that Lynbrook] was calm, it was a pretty town, and the people were nice,” she said. “The people take care of the town [here]. There were no traffic lights in my town; they didn’t exist,” added Martinez. Martinez’s experience shows it is easy to forget what Lynbrook has to offer, what makes suburban life so sought after. The suburban aspect of Lynbrook was another thing that distinguished it from the other areas my family looked at moving to. As a community, town members speak up, vote, and opt to do the right thing. When events happen, if neighboring towns are in even the most trivial danger, the entire town is informed. The community works to keep the town clean, to invest in its schools, let alone something as simple as traffic lights. Imagine Lynbrook without traffic lights!
So many things differentiate Lynbrook from other places. Lynbrook’s overall culture, local businesses, and clean sidewalks help make it a home. There are many things that make Lynbrook special, many which surprised new residents; however, their experiences and observations might help those who have always lived here embrace this town even more. Lynbrook is undoubtedly extraordinary, so try to appreciate some of the “Lynbrook charm.”
