Hello,
Not sure what neighborhood this belongs in but I will be doing a rotation at Wyckoff Medical center and was wondering if the area around Herkimer Street & Kingston Avenue is safe? I found a sublet there and wanted to make sure it was a decent area.
I don't know anything about that corner in particular, but Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights area is pretty safe, no worse than most of the rest of the city.
Your best bet is to walk around the area and just see how comfortable you feel.
Typical rules apply:
Smile, be nice to your neighbors, don't come home fall down drunk at 3 am, if you're a single female, take extra precaution.
I would say move onto that block only if you would like to be a patient at that hospital as a result of being a victim of a crime instead of being an employee. No do not move there.
Hmm. I'd say its Bed-Stuy, but as I consider the Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights border to be Atlantic, it really is right at the separation line.
Kind of agree with Shadow - anything right along Atlantic Ave that far east isn't great. Atlantic east of the Nostrand LIRR station tends to have a very industrial feel, with lots of storage facilities, warehouses and the elevated LIRR tracks right over the roadway. It feels really sparse, as there isn't a lot of reason for foot traffic.
Granted, the length of Herkimer has some really beautiful, classic BK brownstone blocks, but they tend to be further west. I'd probably try to find a place a few blocks away from Atlantic, either north into Bed-Stuy or south into Crown Heights.
shadow said:
I would say move onto that block only if you would like to be a patient at that hospital as a result of being a victim of a crime instead of being an employee. No do not move there.
scare the noob!!!!
Nah .....not trying to scare the noob lol. Just giving an honest answer . Some of these folks come to brooklyn from other places thinking they're in candyland like cattle to the wolves 
Actually, the hospital (Interfaith) is on the block between Albany and Troy. The blocks between Brooklyn and Albany have a number of smaller (3 story) private houses and one large apartment building. The park is used heavily in the summer for both basketball and softball leagues which means that there are plenty of folks coming and going during the day (not always the best if you work the night shift).
The apartment building between Kingston and Albany is backed by the two historic blocks Alice and Agate Ct. which each only run a block, so it used to be pretty quiet. I haven't been in the building in over thirty years so I don't know what its like now.
Speaking very bluntly, if you are a white person moving from the midwest and this is your first foray into urban living, you'll probably find you have very little in common with most of your neighbors and little to interest you in the way of entertainment when you aren't working. Those small blocks and single houses have not been gentrified in any real way yet. On the other hand it is a part of Bed-Stuy that has blocks that end at Atlantic or are cut off from larger streets and the rest of the neighborhood making them places that have much more of a small-town feel (everyone on the block knows everyone else).
One other thing to consider, is that coming from Wycoff at night, it isn't an easy commute. You'll probably be on the bus which can be a nightmare getting across town and is still going to involve some walking. You may want to consider transportation options and think about trying to find somewhere that is right on a bus or train route.
Has the OP given their background? I missed this.
Otherwise:
Is this your first time living in BK?
If you are a single woman it poses different risks than males.
Race & gentrification are an issue, so if you're white, you need to be ready to live in a neighborhood where you're a minority.
The crime is no worse there than in many other parts of Brooklyn. You won't get robbed for being white. The neighborhood is most dangerous for young black males who sell drugs on the street corner at 3 am.
We need to be honest here the 79 precinct is an active precinct.
Homeowner mentions a lack of entertainment but I disagree, this location is within an approximately 10-15 min walk from the following:
Peaches
Therapy Wine Bar
Saraghina
Peaches Hothouse
T-cup cafe
Common Grounds Coffee
Vodou Bar
NoBar - opening very soon
Basil Pizza and Wine Bar
Mac's Landing - opening any day
Mausaic Cafe (w/live jazz) - opening any day
Peaches Hothouse brunch is the greatest thing in human history.
Period.
Good list Ben, thanks!
I have lived a couple of blocks from Herkimer and Kingston for about ten years. I am a 41-year-old white woman.
The two big apartment buildings on Kingston between Fulton and Herkimer often have noisy teenagers hanging out and yelling, and I think there were a couple of shootings (one kid died, he was not the intended target of the shooting) because of conflicts between the young people there. There are usually police officers keeping an eye out.
I think a parks department worker was assaulted (maybe raped) in the park between Herkimer and Atlantic. But that was big news, i.e., unusual. There are lots of people playing basketball there, kids playing at the playground, baseball games in the summer, etc. Sometimes people zoom their radio-controlled cars around the baseball diamonds which makes a really annoying and loud noise, but otherwise it's a pretty nice and well-used park.
Street noise can be pretty bad, especially during the summer, with people honking their horns and blasting their radios. You might also hear the LIRR on Atlantic, but they recently replaced the tracks and it's much quieter than it used to be. You also have the occasional party with people blasting music into the night, but I think you get that anywhere.
People, like anywhere, can be nice or mean to strangers. Usually when I say hello to people on the street, they say hello back. Just a couple of times in ten years I had racist epithets yelled at me. Otherwise, everyone is usually just minding their own business, often polite, sometimes friendly. The usual warnings apply (don't text on your iPhone as you walk, be aware of your surroundings, etc.). If I get off the subway at Kingston-Throop at midnight or 1 in the morning, there are usually enough other people getting off that I feel safe.
The new charter school on Atlantic and Kingston is nice, and I haven't really noticed the increase in teenagers except after school (when the Kingston-Throop station can be crowded).
I think the bodega on the corner of Fulton and Kingston (Charlie's?) is open 24 hours. You are literally steps from the C train at Kingston-Throop, and a short walk to the A express at Nostrand. There are lots of buses right there (B43 up Kingston or down Brooklyn, B25 east and west on Fulton, B44 up New York or down Nostrand, B65 east on Dean or west on Bergen, etc.).
The fruit stand on Fulton and Kingston is good, and the people working there are nice. A block west is Super Foodtown (great grocery store, it has everything), and south of that is a 24-hour 7-11. There's a Duane Reade next to the Super Foodtown, in Restoration Plaza (where there is also a theater, I never went there, and different offices and other stores).
There are lots of hair and nail salons, and 99-cent stores. Also, plenty of fast-food restaurants and wonderful Caribbean places. King's Pizza (Fulton and Brooklyn) is really good. Lots of restaurants deliver to the area (Udom Thai, Sushi Tatsu, Bombay Masala, and more). For a typical, greasy, Chinese restaurant I like Tak King, they have gotten much better in the last few years.
You are not far from Tompkins to the north (Common Grounds coffee shop, La Table Exquise French bakery--seriously ... try the chocolate tart, Peaches Hothouse restaurant--a friend visiting from the UK said brunch there was the best meal he had in NYC, and more) and just a little farther from Lewis to the north-east (Peaches restaurant, Saraghina pizza, neither of which I've been to, and more).
Since Starlite closed there aren't many bar options. Auggie's on Fulton is like another world (everyone was friendly when I went there, but I still did not feel very comfortable). Essence (on Atlantic a couple of blocks east) is nice (I never stayed very late there, I'm sure the vibe changes the later it gets). Applebees in Restoration Plaza has a bar with TVs to watch sports, and it's okay ... it's Applebees. Starlite was the best, and I miss it.
There are lots of new places on Nostrand around Pacific. A new sushi place, soon a new wine bar called No-Bar, I think. North of Fulton is a very nice coffee shop, Ms. Dahlia's. People rave about David's Brisket House, and I love the doubles at Trini Gul, both just north of Atlantic. MAD hardware store on Fulton has a lot of basic home-repair stuff and cheap housewares, and the people working there are nice.
There's so much more (nice realtor on Fulton who will notarize things ... "flea market" on Fulton and Brooklyn looks like it has mostly knock-off bags and sunglasses, I never explored it ... I think there's a farmer's market in the summer, a few blocks east ... Bushbaby coffee shop farther west ... Pacific Oasis, a new cafe with pastries on Pacific ... Apple Radio Cars is a quick car service ... T-cup on Throop north of Fulton--they didn't have their sea legs when I went after they first opened ... ), but you can discover the neighborhood yourself.
There are plenty of things I don't like about the area, including the noise, but there are lots of amenities (not everything, but plenty, you just have to look). To know if it's a good fit for you, you need to check it out, hang out during the day, walk around at night, etc., and see how you feel. Yes, there is crime, but there is everywhere. Just mind your own business, be respectful, and stay aware, and hopefully you will not be involved. To me, the majority of people are working families, lots of kids, just doing their best. If you move in, welcome to the neighborhood!
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