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They're free to play

In these four enclaves, kids can still roam or just enjoy hanging out

BY DONNA ROGERS | Special to Newsday

November 28, 2008

Dave and Karin Peterson walk with Keira, 1, and Grant 4, along Pasture Lane in the Country Club section of Roslyn Heights. (Newsday Photo / Audrey C. Tiernan)

The days where parents shooed their school-age kids outside unsupervised to roam their suburban neighborhoods in search of adventure are mostly gone. The frenetic schedules of today's children - full of activities, from soccer clinics to science camps - don't always leave unstructured time to enjoy the things they seem to like best: jumping in the leaves, taking walks, biking or just hanging out.

The following are some neighborhoods that allow - even, encourage - free play. And the best part: There's something in each of these places for the grown-ups too.

Summerfield/Holtsville
Why it's great for kids. "Moving to this neighborhood is something you do for kids and for yourself," says resident Kelly Choulis-Auffret, a licensed associate broker with Coach Realtors in Smithtown. She, her husband and three kids, now 13, 10 and 4, moved to this gated community (it's manned 24 hours a day) of 440 ranches and Colonials seven years ago. Since then, she says she's made some of her closest friends here. That's because amenities and activities for the kids get the parents involved, she says. "It's everything I ever wanted," says neighbor Karen Garcia, 38, who moved here in January with husband, Joe, and their four children (ages 15, 14, 12 and 3). The presence of children and slower-moving traffic is what got Karen Garcia, a stay-at-home mom, hooked, she says. On summer evenings, her family - sometimes together with 10 others - plays kickball, football or basketball on a nearby dead-end street.

Amenities. The community has a pool with a lifeguard that stays open until 8 p.m. every day in season, as well as tennis lessons offered by a pro (on a fee basis), a playground, holiday parties (including a December tree-lighting ceremony), teen dances and a movie night. There also is an on-premise child care center. The homeowner's association even hosts nights out for adults.

What's for sale. Two- or three-bedroom ranches with about 2,000 square feet; three- and four-bedroom Colonials with 1,800 to 3,200 square feet; the houses have 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 bathrooms.

Price range. $500,000 to $700,000, with taxes ranging from $9,500 to $12,500 (homeowner association common fees are an additional $189 a month).

Recent sale. $545,000 in July for a 2,300-square-foot, four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath Colonial

Northport Village
Why it's great for kids. A block from the Lewis Oliver Dairy with a petting area run by the nonprofit Friends of the Farm, Samantha Condolff, 34, a stay-at-home mother, and Joe Condolff, 44, a police officer, take their daughter, 21 months old, and newborn son to meet other kids, feed the animals and then go for a walk. "It's a learning experience that a lot of kids don't get," says Joe Condolff.

Amenities. The couple's Victorian home is about a half-mile from shops and restaurants and a mile from a marina, dock, park and playground. Northport has village and town beaches and a playhouse that performs children's theater.

What's for sale. Pre-20th century homes to a few new houses, and everything in between.

Price range. From $469,000 for a cape to $2.3 million for a new house with a water view

Recent sale. A four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath Victorian built in 2007 sold in June for $735,00

Old Norgate section/East Hills
Why it's great for kids. "My two boys who are school age love to play outside," says Nina Mandelbaum, 39, a stay-at-home mother. "It's a great spot for that. " The winding, picturesque streets of the Old Norgate section, built in the early 1950s, are in a four-block-by-six-block enclave used mainly by local traffic. Mandelbaum's children and their friends use her front lawn to play all kinds of sports. Last winter, on a snow day holiday, residents iced over the front lawn like a pond and were able to skate. "They were in heaven," Mandelbaum says. The Park at East Hills, only a few blocks away from her house, has been "a tremendous boon to the whole area," she says.

Amenities. The 50-acre park has one of Long Island's largest leisure outdoor swimming pools, a toddler pool, six tennis courts, a nature and jogging trail, a dog run, and a bike, rollerblading and walking path.

What's for sale. Ranches to capes to Colonials

Price range. About $700,000 to $1.8 million (the latter for new construction). Taxes range from $7,000 for a cottage to $23,000 for a six-bedroom, 4 1/2-bath Colonial.

Recent sales. Expanded ranch with four bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths for $1.295 million sold in November, as did a ranch with three bedrooms and two baths for $615,000.

Roslyn Country Club section / Roslyn Heights
Why it's great for kids. The Roslyn Country Club section offers "a tremendous sense of community," says Dina Goldman, 62, a recently retired director of a pension and health fund. She and husband, Neil, 65, an importer-distributor, raised their son in this quiet community of about 670 homes with gently winding tree-lined streets and a playground. She says you see kids on bikes, roller blades and scooters, as well as parents pushing strollers on the sidewalks or even "in the middle of the street because there's very low volume traffic. " Though it's bordered by Roslyn and I.U. Willets roads, the "S" section (so-called because of streets with names like Shadetree and Shepherd) has only four access roads in or out.

Amenities. Developed by William Levitt as an upscale community in the late 1940s and early '50s, the oversized properties with towering trees provide a sense of shelter and privacy, Goldman says. Yet they're actually part of an urban community within walking distance to stores, a Long Island Rail Road station, a park and an elementary school. "Levitt was brilliant when he laid these out," Goldman says.

What's for sale. Ranches, expanded ranches, Colonials and splits.

Price range. From the $700,000s to $2.7 million

Recent sale. A five-bedroom, 5.5-bath Colonial sold for $2.05 million in August; a four-bedroom, three-bath Colonial sold for $845,000 in September.