The City Is the Future of the Suburbs, and Other Heresies:

Fifty-nine percent of Long Islanders could never imagine themselves living in an apartment. Asked which type of neighborhood they preferred—one where you could walk to stores or one that required driving—56 percent said they would rather drive. Meanwhile, only 7 percent agreed that “creating ethnically and economically diverse neighborhoods” was the major advantage of building more affordable housing. Asked what the worst disadvantage was, 20 percent said “bringing in the wrong kinds of people.”

The pollsters asked respondents to choose their favorite downtown on Long Island, and the winner wasn’t even a downtown. The top vote-getter, at 20 percent, was “the mall.”

Also noteworthy for bringing in the wrong kinds of people: the Long Island Expressway.