When we started talking to the residents involved in the lawsuit, we were eager to know more about their lives before they came to the United States. Our story begins with the experiences of the residents of 150 Secatogue Avenue in Farmingdale. In this episode, the “Secatogue Nine” recount their traumatic journeys from their native countries in an effort to start a new life in Long Island, New York. 

Social unrest, domestic abuse, and gang violence are only a few examples of the trauma they experienced in their native countries. Facing such adversity, they made the courageous, and often life-altering decision to journey to America in hopes of escaping these experiences. How did these families come to settle in Farmingdale? What were the circumstances like back home? And what made them eventually leave their families behind and risk the long journey to the U.S.? 

Learn more at qpli.hofstra.edu

This five-part podcast is the product of a multi-disciplinary collaboration between the National Center for Suburban Studies, the Law Reform Advocacy Clinic at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, and the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication’s online hyper-local news site, The Long Island Advocate.