Life on Nassau-Queens line can be messy

For the most part, Richard Gordon has enjoyed life on the edge.

There was an instance years ago, however, when his property's precarious positioning on the border of Long Island and New York City caused things to get messy.

Sewage seeping into his unfinished basement in Nassau County was found to be the result of a sewer-line clog in Queens, he said.

"Basically, sewage was leaking into the basement for a week before we could get the two organizations together to figure out whose responsibility it was," said Gordon, 48, a resident of Lawrence and Far Rockaway. The city ultimately solved the issue because the blockage was in Queens, he said.

The border between Nassau County and Queens is a winding and complicated one, in some cases, splitting boulevards and even residences. About 100 land parcels, including Gordon's, sit directly on the line, according to the Nassau County Assessor's office.

Residents, business owners and experts interviewed by Newsday agreed the barrier isn't something they take notice of on a day-to-day basis.

"It seemed to me that good parts of the border zone were similar on both sides, contrary to the stereotypical images of it dividing suburban LI from urban NYC," said Patricia Caro, professor of geography at Nassau Community College, who studied the border's history.

That rings true for Bellerose's Jericho Turnpike, which is bisected by the border. Before its 2005 renaming, the thoroughfare was called Jamaica Avenue on its city side and Jericho Turnpike on its suburban side.

"It's an invisible border when you get down to it," said George Frank, co-owner of wedding-supply shop Mr. Ribbon Too on the Queens half. "I used to be on the board that tried to change the name and we put up signs that said, 'Two counties, one town.'"

Not that there wasn't a rift during the years-long legislative process. "There were a lot of racial tensions," said Frank, 59, reflecting on some neighbors' arguments that naming the whole street Jamaica Avenue could lend too urban a connotation.

Relations have improved considerably, agreed Antonio D'Anna, 50, owner of Italian eatery Arturo's, located on Jericho Turnpike's Nassau County half. "We're Bellerose. That's what we're standing on. This side and the other side, we're one community, Bellerose."

Though just yards apart, Frank and D'Anna's businesses have different ZIP codes.

Uwe Enke also has two different ZIP codes -- both for the same house.

The border bisects his living room, so the 77-year-old retired engineer "legally" has two addresses -- one on Glenwood Avenue in Long Island's Great Neck and another on Glenwood Street in the city's Little Neck.

"I have considered myself as living in both counties," Enke said. "The only trouble is if I get a new mailman, my mail gets lost."

Because his land parcel is split 50-50, Enke pays property taxes on one half to the city and the other half to Nassau County, where he griped that the dues are four times as high.

The math may hurt Gordon a little more, as 65 percent of his property is on Long Island while 35 percent is in Queens. His family sleeps and eats in their Lawrence house and play in their Far Rockaway backyard.

"A lot of people think it's strange," said his wife, Sarah Gordon, 39, "but we think it's kind of interesting."