Bed Stuy info for family w/kids

anonymous

My husband and I are not very familiar w/Bed Stuy and are in need of some helpful input from current residents or people who know the neighborhood well. We currently live in Prosp Hgts and are looking for a house. We have two young kids, so we are mainly interested in safety, neghborhood parks/playgrounds, transportation, and having other young families around. I know that Bed Stuy covers a big area, but are there certain blocks where more families w/kids are moving to? Is Stuyvesant Hgts a suitable area for us? Anyone familiar w/Decatur St. by Marcus Garvey?

Thanks, any info is greatly appreciated!

electricgreek

sounds like your interested in buying 100 decatur ... how was the open house yesterday ???

stuyvesant heights is great for famlies

A /C trains only a few blocks away

starbucks comming to restration plaza soon . .

BTW i own a brownstone on decatur between marcus garvey and lewis . my brother owns a brownstone on decatur between lewis and stuyvesant ave . so i know the area VERY well

i own more brownstones in bed stuy and stuyvesant heights aswell . if you like you can email me @ [email protected] .. btw that's just a name im far from being a slumlord

anonymous

i have two young children and our family lives in bed stuy, on the border of clinton hill. it is a good area, and is getting even better. it's a short walk to underwood park, the best playground in clinton hill. the amenities are coming- a new bakery, heavenly crumbs just opened on franklin. there's bistro lafayette, also on franklin. quincy/greene/lexington/gates are all great choices. good luck!

anonymous

The clinton hill boarder is much different than bed stuy itself. My roommate just got mugged for the 4th time on the corner of stuyvesant & bainbridge (yes that's the "heights" and the area where the houses are trying to sell for 1.6). She is not a meek target. My boyfriend who's over 6'2, my old roommate and another male friend have also been mugged on that same street within the last 6 months. There are a lot of projects in the area, it's the 11-16 yr old kids that you have to watch out for. They are fearless. If I had children, i would move.
Hope it helps

anonymous

i wouldn't be discouraged to the last poster...people can and do get mugged everywhere- yet when it happens in bed stuy people are like, "OOOHHH SCAAAARRRY!" really now! if i were you i'd move into the areas listed before-it's a better location, the houses are beautiful, and the area is fine. go see for yourself! stuy heights is too far away.

anonymous

Mugged 4 times on the same corner? Wow, why not avoid that corner.
I've been here 5 years and had no trouble on that or any other corner.
I avoid 11-16 year olds anywhere in the world.

boygabriel

Anonymous wrote: Mugged 4 times on the same corner? Wow, why not avoid that corner.
I've been here 5 years and had no trouble on that or any other corner.
I avoid 11-16 year olds anywhere in the world.

haha, me too. when i see a pack of aimless kids of ANY race I try to avoid them. teenagers act stupid. all races of teenagers.

anonymous

The corner is Bainbridge and Stuy. That block where they are asking 1.6- 2.1 million for those brownstones. The park is the entrance/exit to the subway. There is no avoiding those kids who wait until you walk up those stairs from the subway. The locals are not the targets...
I have lived in the area for many years. I RUN to and from my car when i come home late at night. I DONT take the train after 10PM.
I don't own a dog because I'd have to walk it. I live there because I can afford to LIVE in NY. The size of my place is also a bonus although I would never raise a family there. Every time we have to call the police for a mugging they tell me to move because of the crime in the area. If I was a brownstone owner in the area I would also not tell the woman to move her family in to up the value of my property. I would move to LI or NJ.

anonymous

Subject: Crime/Stuy

Every time we have to call the police for a mugging they tell me to move because of the crime in the area.

The police tell you to move? Sounds like a major part of the problem to me. I also can't imagine those who just plunked down $1.6MM-$2.1MM to move into the neighborhood accepting that as an answer from the police.

nicolamj

Subject: Re: Crime/Stuy

Brooklyn Boy wrote:

Every time we have to call the police for a mugging they tell me to move because of the crime in the area.

The police tell you to move? Sounds like a major part of the problem to me. I also can't imagine those who just plunked down $1.6MM-$2.1MM to move into the neighborhood accepting that as an answer from the police.

That is because all the uniform cops live in the suburbs of Long Island and the city = crime in their mind. When my apartment (in FG) was broken into, I asked the cop what I could do to make my apartment safer, he actually suggested I move to Long Island. When I told him that 99% of all my experiences in Brooklyn have been good and this was the first bad thing that has happened to me since I moved here in 2003, he looked mildly surprised and admitted that he "only sees the bad stuff."

Sorry to go off topic, but it bugged me.

anonymous

I've lived in Stuyvesant Heights for a little over two years. I use the Utica Avenue stop all the time. If you use common sense and keep an eye out for troublemakers, you shouldn't have a problem. Late at night I try to make sure that someone else is exiting the station with me. About a year ago I did see a pack of teenagers outside the station a lot - but I haven't seen anything recently (knock on wood).

anonymous

BedSty boasts the highest # of unemployed men and the highest block level of prison time in the city.
I think it's a great move for your family!

anonymous

much of this thread is very disappointing. it's very typical for people who have no first hand experience with an area to throw out meaningless statements that they've read or heard elsewhere. many parts of bed stuy are absolutely gorgeous, thriving, wonderful places to live with families. parts are not. we live between bedford/franklin-on greene. this is a great area. i agree that bed stuy needs to be renamed into smaller areas, in the same way that every other nabe has. the western edge of bed stuy is a good choice, as is stuy heights, although it is much further from the city. the middle section is underserved by the subway, and is not as safe. remember, no one wanted to live in clinton hill/ft. greene only a few years ago...puulleeaasse.

boygabriel

Anyone who takes neighborhood/moving advice from "guests" has questionable judgment.

IMHO.

isla

Anon, good point, this is a huge area. There are many different areas. I am not as familiar with the area mentioned.

I have a child and live off Bedford by the G. I feel safe, the kids are great, lots of cool people, parks, a public pool, small cafes, close grocer. Works for me. My neighbors are cool, people are nice, the corner store man gives me credit. I really like the area. Sure it is still up and coming, and there is an element you won't find on the UES. But it is a great neighborhood with lots of great people. I have not been disappointed by my move here. I can't say enough good things about it.

anonymous

Boygabriel,
Funny BOY. I live in the area. Have been for 5 years. The heights to be exact. You are male of which you will never have a clue how it is to fear for your safety. I love my neighbors. I attend my block association meetings. They are not what I fear. It's the thugs on Mal X.. and the ones who live in the projects near by. I live on a great block but it's only one away from chaos. That one block does not prevent them from coming to my block..I have been and have felt threatened. I have been living in NY for 10 years. Lived in the village & the slope before I moved to the hood. I work in the city - downtown. I am very aware of my surroundings. I am street very smart. That's the problem. It's a feeling of security I don't have while in my current neighborhood that I've never had before. I deal with it because my place is big, cheap and beautiful. I do hope it gets more diversified. I want this woman and her children to move in but I'm not going to lie.

anonymous

isla is right-cool folks of all flavors, families, art students, etc... the area that she's talking about is, in my opinion, the next "hot spot-it's such a no brainer-clinton hill next door, bedford ave brings you smack in the middle of williamsburg & then there's crown heights on the other side of atlantic (also a good place to look) & it's still close enough to the city, unlike stuy heights. if you look hard, you can still find a house for under a million, but that'll change...

anonymous

anon wrote: it's still close enough to the city, unlike stuy heights. if you look hard, you can still find a house for under a million, but that'll change...

Just to defend Stuy Heights, its served by the A express which is one of the fatest lines into the city. I'd match the A train from Utica against many of the C stops that are 'closer' to the city.

anonymous

Subject: The "BAD" side

My wife and I live in the "BAD" section of bedstuy. We bought in the eastern end near bushwick at greene avenue between lewis and stuyvesant. We are served by the J train. Wev'e been living here since 04. We were in stuy heights for two years before that. Yes there are gangs of little hooligans and other thugs about. But we've never been mugged although we've gotten verbal comments on rare occasions. I grew up on the upper west side near harlem so I know the correct posture for the street and you guys should too. Do not look down and ignore the hooligans. Look at them and let them know you know they are there. If they think they can surprise you or sneak up then they may think you are an easy target, Look up, straight ahead when you walk the neighborhood. Say good mornign etc. They're your nieghbors and you should treat them that way. Once they know you are local they will ignore you. If you do need to call the cops on them you know where they hang out and where to send the police. As far as buying goes-if you wait untill the hood is completely gentrified you will not be able to afford it. I for one hope the neighborhood keeps some of its neighborhood quality.

If anyone else lives in this area of Bed-stuyI would like to hear of your experiences.

anonymous

Subject: Re: Crime/Stuy

nicolamj wrote: [quote=Brooklyn Boy]

Every time we have to call the police for a mugging they tell me to move because of the crime in the area.

The police tell you to move? Sounds like a major part of the problem to me. I also can't imagine those who just plunked down $1.6MM-$2.1MM to move into the neighborhood accepting that as an answer from the police.

That is because all the uniform cops live in the suburbs of Long Island and the city = crime in their mind. When my apartment (in FG) was broken into, I asked the cop what I could do to make my apartment safer, he actually suggested I move to Long Island. When I told him that 99% of all my experiences in Brooklyn have been good and this was the first bad thing that has happened to me since I moved here in 2003, he looked mildly surprised and admitted that he "only sees the bad stuff."

Sorry to go off topic, but it bugged me.

Remember...cops aren't urban planning professionals of any kind. They're mainly working & middle class L.I. boys that couldn't go the college route. You do the math.