Patricia A.

Valley Fitness

I initially joined Valley Fitness for one reason - unlike other gyms where you workout and you're in a window in full view of the rest of the world, Valley Fitness has it's windows covered, giving a bit of privacy to your workout.

They take the time to give people attention if they want it, while at the same time giving space. I liked the schedule of workout classes. I never had a problem getting time ont he treadmill or stairmaster which were my favorite two machines to use in adfdition to the classes.

However, the prices went up and the place seemed to get more geared toward those who were seriously into working out instead of people like me who aren't really into it, but looking to get some exercise.

I'd recommend the place to anyone.

PROS: privacy, good classes, no trouble getting time on machines
CONS: price went up

Hampton Inn

This is a nice, new hotel within easy driving distance of JFK Airport. The lobby is absolutely gorgeous. The rooms are nicely appointed, clean and bright. The beds were very comfortable. The television received a good selection of channels, enough to keep us entertained for the evening. There was a coffee maker in the room and free wireless/high speed internet was available.

I really liked their breakfast offered as it was beyond just the continental breakfast offered at other hotels - there were hot items as well. There's no pool here, so it might not be good for families, but for people who are traveling who don't care about that it will be fine.

I would highly recommend this hotel in the area - it's really great.

PROS: new hotel so everything is new
CONS: no pool

North Shore Animal League

I liked adopting our dog from North Shore Animal League. They make the whole process quite comfortable. We viewed the dogs our in the public area. Once we saw one we thought we wanted, they let us take her in a private area and see how she would react with our family.

A mistake we made the first time was bringing the whole family. They want to call the house and if everyone is at the shelter there's no one to answer. They also verified that my spouse would consent to the animal the time I took my kids by myself and called him at work.

The animals have a sweet disposition and were flagged correctly. The animals whice were better as the sole pet in a home were easy to figure out and bypass in our case. All of the animals seemed well cared for and the cages were clean.

PROS: makes choosing a new pet very easy
CONS: have to call the house???

Allstate Insurance Co

We've worked with the agents in this office for almost 20 years now. They have always been tremendously helpful with all our insurance needs - auto, home, and life. Any issues which came up were handled in a prompt and friendly fashion.

Their rates were competitive for our homeowner and life insurance policies. However, the auto insurance skyrocketde two years ago when we added a classic corvette to the policy. They could not compete with the great rates we got from another company.

Even knowing we had switched coverage for our autos to another company, it didn't affect the relationship we had with our agent. He still treated us as good as he always had and has helped us out since then with our homeowner's several times.

PROS: great agents, competitive policies
CONS: allstate doesn't want to cover all cars

Astoria Federal Savings & Loan Association

It's nice to walk into a bank and be greeted by the same people over and over again. The tellers here have a very low turnover, so through the years they have come to recognize me. It's an important part of the banking relationship to have a certain amount of familiarity with the customers.

Their checking and savings accouns are very reasonable. The fees schedule is very reasonable compared to other banks int he NYC area. Any time there has been a problem, the staff here has taken responsibility for it and recitified the situation.

The hours are convenient as is the location - right across from the Valley Stream Long Island Railroad Station.

PROS: location, friendliness, competitive fees & rates
CONS: nobody's perfect

Tlc Floor Covering Inc

We had TLC come to our house after construction and lay new carpeting. The carpeting was good - the job has lasted quite well although I think the carpeting on the stairs wore a lot faster than I expected it to (although I do know stairs tend to wear faster).

However, we had vinyl florring laid in our kitchen and bathroom. Our house is on a slab and they knew that. Within a year we could see stains bleeding through underneath the vinyl as well as the edges at the seams lifting up. They came back once and fixed where it was lifting up, but nothing could be done about the stains as it was the glue they used.

I wouldn't trust them again - we redid the kitchen floor ourselves and left the bathroom alone for the time being. However, they either didn't know how to handle our situation or just didn't care if it looked bad after a few years.

PROS: laid the carpeting well
CONS: vinyl flooring lifted and glue stains bled through

Valley Stream Soccer Club

Like any soccer or sports league, there are ups and downs. The commissioners of the Valley Stream Soccer Club have gone to great lengths to try and keep the league a place where the kids have a lot of fun and learn good sportsmanship. Behavior by parents that plagues other leagues isn't tolerated. Most of the coaches who are too competitive have been weeded out, but we found that by the fourth grade level it had gotten too competitive for my a.d.d. daughter.

My older one was slighted from the travel teams for "political" reasons as one coach took all of her daughter's friends on the team. She did enjoy playing out the intramural level for the remainder of her two years int he league before going onto the junior high teams.

While it's not perfect the commissioners do make an effort and listen to the parents. They can't fix everything but they do try to solve situations to everyone's satisfaction.

It's nice to have something fun for the kids, especially when they are younger. I was very pleased with the coaching and the sportsmanship my kids learned while in the league.

PROS: teaches sportsmanship without being too competitive
CONS: problems that are inherent to all sports leagues

American Cool Air Corp

When we re-did our home we put our heating and air conditioning systems in the attic. We also purchased a service contract. Any time we've had issues, we could call on American Cool AIr and they were at our home promptly. Every spring and fall they would check out our system and have it ready for the weather change. When our neighbor had concrete work done and some splashed into our compressors, American Cool Air came out and checked them out and cleaned them - no charge.

Their rates are reasonable. My only complaint was a dispute we had about who was responsible for the humidifier maintenance, which is attached to the system. When we had a problem with that, but the plumber and ACA denied responsibility, although it was ACA who finally did solve the problem.

They did a terrific job on the heating system itself and came back several times when we identified problems in the home. They also helped us with ordering filters.

PROS: helpful & reliable
CONS: needed to figure out exactly what was their responsibility

Cilento Pipeline Plumbing

Cilento did the majority of the work on the new construction on our home. Since I didn't know the exact cost, I could only focus on the work they did. It was done very well - everything they installed worked terrific and we didn;t have a problem with them not showing up or causing delays in our construction. They were pleasant to work with and have in my home.

After the major construction was done, when I would call them I would never have a problem with them not showing or not calling me back. They were reliable and dependable. However, we noticed how expensive some simple things seemed, like replacing a water filter or fixing a leaky sink.

With so many plumbers in the NYC area who do terrific work, we elected to go elsewhere for our work. However, I would say if you want to hire a reliable plumber who stands behind their work and cost is not a factor you will do fine with Cilento.

PROS: good work, reliable, dependable
CONS: expensive

Charles Cox Inc

Whenever we had plumbing issues the last few years, one name which always surfaced was Charles Cox. The previous plumber we used was quite expensive - Charles Cox was reasonable and tries to work with his customers to minimize expenses.

They've fixed running toilets, a faulty switch, and replaced the water filter for us over the years. Every time we've called, they have been prompt and courteous. I would recommend using them to anyone - they were terrific doing work for our church as well, so larger jobs are no problem.

PROS: prompt, reasonable rates
CONS: none