Clueslayrsleuth, welcome to the block and to CH. My wife and I have lived in CH for three years and on Pacific between Bedford and Nostrand for about 6 months.
First, the block. It's generally a pleasant, residential block. Neighbors are friendly. We feel safe walking the block and neighborhood. The block itself is changing rapidly. To boot, since we've arrived: a new sushi place, coffee shop, and soon-to-be awesome bar (NoBar) around the Pacific and Nostrand intersection. Also, we just got word that the beautiful St. Barts church on the west end of the block plans to beautify their historic property. And two blocks to the west, at Pacific and Classon, is one of the single greatest recent commercial developments in the North CH area: Thirstbaravin, an amazing wine bar and restaurant that just got a glowing review in yesterday's NYT.
The above notwithstanding, WN's advice is very important in CH and anywhere in NYC really. So is boygabriel's. Be smart, and be nice. And be mindful that there is a very large DHS men's shelter in the Armory on Pacific and Bedford. It's never been an issue for us, but something to be aware of as you get to know and roam the neighborhood.
Re: the neighborhood, also much to love, especially the many new and a couple old establishments on Franklin Ave. Too many to fully recount here, but notables include Franklin Park bar and adjoining Dutch Boy diner-ish burger joint, the new Fishers grocery, the old Kelso Panamanian restaurant, the new (and awesome!) Compare Foods grocery on St. Marks btw Franklin and Classon, the new Chavela's on Franklin, the old Chavella's on Classon, Nam's bodega, their offshoot Pine Tree (and the sushi bar at the back of Pine Tree), Breukelen coffee, Pulp and Bean coffee, and Sweet Basil, a brand new Thai place.
You can find much neighborhood news and info on the above and more at ilovefranklinave.blogspot.com and nostrandpark.com. Between those two blogs you'll get a feel for what's happening on and in between the two rebounding commercial corridors of Franklin and Nostrand. I check them daily.
So in sum you picked a pretty great time to move to the neighborhood.
Welcome!
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We're definitely excited about moving to CH!