Moving cross town

snowboarding

Hey, so I lived in Crown Heights/Prospect Heights for about two years and I have a roommate moving out so now I am looking at a place in Bushwick, its the Morgan ave stop on the L.. any insight/comments in this area?? I am not all that familiar w/ this part of BK..

thanks

anthonycm

No opinion on the neighborhood itself, but for years, until recently, I used the first L stop in Manhattan. If you work in Manhattan, with regular office hours, and you'll be depending on the L, you might want to hop on it a few times during those times of days to see if you really want that to be your primary mode of transportation. It's a very crowded train (and often not consistent on the weekends).

rtraindweller

The L can indeed be hellish on morning commutes. But you're the 6th stop in from Manhattan so it won't be as bad as the poor folks at Bedford. Depending on where around that part of Bushwick ya are you're also not terribly far from the JMZ either. There's more and more places opening up around there lately. Life Cafe on Flushing is a great spot to check out for brunch and whatnot.

asharpsilence

Subject: Re: Moving cross town

snowboarding wrote: Hey, so I lived in Crown Heights/Prospect Heights for about two years and I have a roommate moving out so now I am looking at a place in Bushwick, its the Morgan ave stop on the L.. any insight/comments in this area?? I am not all that familiar w/ this part of BK..

thanks

my buddy just moved over there not too long ago and she loves it so far! great parties, fun people!
good luck

caaahyoko

The morgan stop has definitely become its own little self-contained community. Aside from Life Cafe and Wreck Room across the street, you've got AdHoc art space, Cafe Orwell, and Archive Cafe, English Kills, Roberta's, Kings County, Urban Jungle Vintage, and a falafel place just opened up. The only thing I've heard people complaining about is that the main grocery store, Brooklyn's Natural, jacked up their prices recently. There's even more stuff that I'm probably forgetting now...suffice it to say you won't be bored.

rtraindweller

Good call on Kings County there! A great place to scope out. I haven't spent a significant amount of time down in that little nook between Wburg and Bushwick proper but it definitely is it's own little self contained area that is building up over the past few years. And with the L and proximity of the J and lotsa buses it's easy enough to get elsewhere in the broader Bushwick/Wburg area. Thought ya don't haveta go far and there's more than plenty in walking distance in either direction.

snowboarding

Great, thanks for all the help. I have only really been to the area in the evening so it is sometimes hard to tell whats around/open etc. I have heard the horror stories on the L so I will definitly take some 'practice ' runs and see how it goes.

The neighborhood I live in now is relatively safe, I have had some problems in the 2 yrs I have been there (mugging, and more than one break in) so I am also hoping that maybe it is a little safer ? Not sure. But it does seem like there are more people my age over there (24), so I am hoping it will create a stronger community w/ more common interests.

Any thoughts?

rtraindweller

Yea it's definitely got a growing number of people in that age group. The L can a nightmare at times, but other times it can be great. It was rated the best line in the system by the last rider poll.

snowboarding

Sweet, well I am going to look at the place tonight. Hope it looks good!

asharpsilence

good luck!

snowboarding

Yep ,just went and looked at the place the other night. It was very sweet, its an old converted warehouse type studio. Filled out the application and just waiting to here back.. fingers crossed.. thanks again for all the help

rtraindweller

Good luck with! What block is it?

snowboarding

It is over on white and cook off of varet st. I should hear back from the owner on monday if all my application/credit check went over okay. Then the place is mine, I guess I can move in as soon as Feb. Which will be sweet. I went down there today and had a wonderful lunch at Roberto's

rtraindweller

You made an excellent choice there. Such a great hidden gem. Well all the best in getting the place!

wisco

the L is actually quite good. there was recent late night track work in manhattan, but it may be over. the L is now automated and cars come quickly. i take the L and the JMZ and find both fast and reliable. it's not a big deal.
also, as an above poster pointed out, if you get on in bushwick, it's not that crowded. it's really only crowded between bedford and union sq in the mornings, but that's a short trip. actually, i don't even think it's that crowed cause i used to live off the 6 which was impossible in the mornings. i find the evening rush to be more staggered and there are fewer riders.

rtraindweller

Well I beg to differ about the only btw Bedford and Union Sq heh. When I first moved up to Greenpoint I used to take the L from Graham Ave. It was fine in August until classes started up for all the students. Then holy hell. There was days I had to let 4 trains pass by before I could fit. And very often it would have to go express from Lorimer to Union Sq (which was fine by me cause I'd take it to 8th Ave) but damn. I said goodbye to it about two weeks into September and have been taking the G to the 7 since then.

Aside from that though, it is probably one of the best trains in the system, at least on the B division lines (the 7 is the undefeated king of the A division). The fairly accurate arrival time signs are great and they're starting to introduce train location monitors so waiting passengers can see where exactly on the line the next train is.

wisco

sorry you had a bad time, but i have never not gotten on the L. hear you on the g to the 7 tho.

rtraindweller

A lot of it of course also depends on when you're getting on the train. My roommates take it much earlier than I do and never have anything bad to say about it. Though I more than often get a seat on both the G and the 7, and sittin' down is pretty alright 8)

snowboarding

fyi- got the apartment and I'm moving in on the 15th. Yay, one more person to add to the crowded L! I'm tiny though, so don't worry

rtraindweller

Hah. Congrats on the new place and hope you enjoy the neighborhood!