Eastern Parkway and Portal St

Crown Heights is a great place to live. I agree that the address you mention isn't really Crown Heights, it's 2 miles away from what I consider Crown Heights greatness.

I only have two words...Good luck!

Crime in Brownsville, at least shootings and homicides, have been incresing over the last 8 years or so.

I wouldn't live over there if I was white. There is nothing on that block. It's in a cut, with houses on one side, if memory serves me right, and the train on the other. Not a good look.

If your ruff and tuff and all that stuff, go for it. he he hehe

My opinion regarding Eastern and Portal...

brooklynleather wrote: Are you from NYC at all or is this your first place? My best advice is to take it back, if possible, and look in QUEENS. I might be one of the few Queens advocated on this boards. I wish I could get my friends to visit me there and/or move with me there, but there is some stigma attached to it because it isn't "cool" like Brooklyn. It's dumb, but much of Queens is really beautiful and safe.

With how much time you spend vacillating on Brooklyn, why don't you just throw caution to the wind and tell your friends that you don't care if they think you live in a "cool" place or not and live where you want to?

brooklynleather wrote: Anyway since this is a Brooklyn message board - yes, Eastern Parkway *is* beautiful and parts of it are safe, but most of it isn't really.

Parts of it are safe, but most of it isn't really? WTF?

brooklynleather wrote: I just looked at a 3 bedroom for 2250 on Eastern Parkway and Franklin - may still be available. Not a fabulous area, but definitely in better shape that this place you just looked at.

Oh, it is _so_ totally not Fabu there then?!?! I need some contact info for this official "cool" committee so that I can make sure my living arrangements are up to snuff. Gawd FORBID I *not* be KEWL enough for YA!

But yah, in all serious, I would *definitely* prefer that YOU not move around EP and Franklin. Thankyouverymuch!

brooklynleather wrote: I would say most of EP is pretty sketch, despite being beautiful. Do we need to look at crime stats collectively?

You go girl.

And when you get there, keep going.

brooklynleather wrote: Run down buildings, drug dealing, crime. On my "fabu" meter that isn't the highest rating,t hat is my correct.

Glad you've got the neighborhood nailed. You should get along _perfectly_ with my good friend KWAC.

brooklynleather wrote: But thanks for being so aggressive and weird towards someone you don't even know.

And thank _you_ for denigrating a whole neighborhood in a city that you don't even _want_ to live in but for that your _friends_ would think you not "cool" if you moved to Queens.

Sigh.

Whatchuwant wrote: I personally feel MUCH safer on EP at night than I have, say, anywhere north of EP and the "sketchiness" you speak of on EP is vague and misleading.

Why you gotsta start bagging on _my_ neighborhood now???

Can we not show some Crown Height solidarity here and bag on the Slopies?

Or- how about some Brooklyn solidarity and bag on the Queenies?

Mamacita wrote: MOD NOTE: Daver no personal attacks.
The Rules people.
http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3319

She started it. Duh.

I'll try to be more fabulous!

King without a crown wrote: Daver, you are a little nastier on this thread then your usual charming self.

Er, oops.

King without a crown wrote: May I suggest a cup of coffee before you post and maybe even try a little vagina, it might help improve your morale.

Why, you got some? Coffee, that is.

Fine. I'm sorry for accusing you of having your head up your butt brooklynleather. It reflects poorly on me, and I'm sure your nose is far to high in the air to have that happen anyway.

In any case, I wish you luck in your apartment hunt in Brooklyn, and I hope that you may someday live where you like and not feel like you have to settle for where your friends think is "cool."

I bid you adieu.

Mamacita wrote: I have to agree, man. I've been catching up on threads this morning and you have been pretty nasty. What's wrong? Your usually the guy that diffuses fights with some humor not the guy that starts them :scratch:

See what happens when he misses a scheduled midnight bike ride? At least he didn't use his attack lolcats this time.

In today's NY Sun...

Franklin Avenue Changes as Crown Heights Attracts New Residents
By PAULA ROTH, Special to the Sun | September 11, 2008

A main thoroughfare in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood, an increasingly powerful magnet for recent college graduates and young professionals seeking affordable rent and access to mass transit, is undergoing a transformation. The bodegas, hair salons, and fast-food restaurants lining the section of Franklin Avenue that runs between Eastern Parkway and Atlantic Avenue, on the western boundary of Crown Heights, are slowly being replaced by organic markets, cafés, and clothing boutiques.

"Williamsburg has moved over here," Anthony Fisher, whose family has owned Fisher's Supermarket on the corner of Lincoln Place and Franklin Avenue since 1981, said recently. The market has begun stocking organic produce, and even organic beer, to satisfy the growing demand from health-conscious residents.

As rental prices rise in other areas of Brooklyn, such as Williamsburg and Prospect Heights, young New Yorkers are moving eastward into Crown Heights in search of more affordable homes, according to a sales agent at Lang Realty, Joseph Brikman. "The same thing you'd find in Prospect Heights, the same amenities, you can get for at least $300 cheaper in Crown Heights," he said. On average, a one-bedroom in the neighborhood is about $1,200 a month, compared with as much as $1,700 a month in Prospect Heights.

Retail rents are also cheaper on Franklin Avenue than other Brooklyn shopping streets. To rent a storefront on the Crown Heights thoroughfare costs about $2.50 a square foot. In comparison, retail rents in Prospect Heights range between $3.50 and $4.50 a square foot, according to a commercial broker at Woodbury Real Estate Solutions, Sonni Woodbury.

"Over the next five years, it's going to become like Boerum Hill's Smith Street or Park Slope's Fifth Avenue," the co-owner of a recently opened beer garden in the neighborhood, Matthew Roff, said of Franklin Avenue. The beer garden, Franklin Park, launched in April on St. John's Place, and is now a popular gathering place for newcomers, longtime West Indian residents, and chasidim, who mingle around picnic tables in the leafy, brick-walled courtyard. Mr. Roff is planning to eventually double the 2,000-square-foot space that once was a garage with a litter-strewn yard.

Around the corner, the Point de Couture boutique features up-and-coming designers. "I wanted to bring a little SoHo to this area," the owner, Emanuelle Christian, said. She opened the space last year in a storefront that was being vacated by a tax accountant.

Chadon Bell launched his tattoo parlor, Brooklyn Ink Spot, at Franklin Avenue and Park Place in 2006. "I'm into the culture of ink, and people moving into the neighborhood are obviously into it," he said, adding that the business is seeing its sales increase by about $2,000 a month. Over the last two years, Mr. Bell said, police patrols and sweeps of drug dens have encouraged merchants to open more stores in the area.

While the retail scene is rapidly changing, there is also a transformation in the residential market. A shopkeeper who owned a variety store at the corner of Eastern Parkway and Franklin Avenue for 21 years, Eli Mazon, is now developing the building into an eight floor, 62-unit rental building. The project, which is set for completion in the spring 2010, will include studios, and one and two bedrooms, in addition to commercial office space. While the rents have not yet been finalized, the development, which will also boast a garage, gym, and doorman, will range from $2,000 a month to $3,500 a month.

"There's a massive change on Franklin now and I wanted to be part of that," the owner of Bristen's Eatery, Carleen Haughton, said. The café, on Franklin Avenue and Sterling Place, serves salads and paninis named for local streets and boasts a spacious backyard, where Ms. Haughton, who moved from Clinton Hill in March, hosts outdoor concerts.

http://www.nysun.com/real-estate/franklin-avenue-changes-as-crown-heights-attracts/85610/

Lock yo doors!

Mamacita wrote: [quote=King without a crown]
Daver, you are a little nastier on this thread then your usual charming self. May I suggest a cup of coffee before you post and maybe even try a little vagina, it might help improve your morale.

I have to agree, man. I've been catching up on threads this morning and you have been pretty nasty. What's wrong? Your usually the guy that diffuses fights with some humor not the guy that starts them :scratch:
I'm just trying to help you and KWAC find something to agree on, ya know, trying to foster goodwill amongst y'all.

The park is scenic, especially in the Fall, but be careful, as one of the most horrific crimes (still unsolved, as far as I know) I've heard of occurred in that park (see NYT article below).

Regarding local retail, it's mostly bodegas, corner stores, Chinese and West Indian restaurants, stuff like that. There used to be a corner deli on Eastern Parkway and Portal, but I'm not sure if it's still there. The immediate area is mostly residential.

I'd strongly advise against taking casual strolls north of Eastern Parkway (e.g. Buffalo Avenue, Lincoln Place, etc.). Very rough, unless you're a gun owner.

Parks Dept. Crews Will Check Locks on Bathrooms and Playgrounds in Wake of Rape

By LYDIA POLGREEN

Published: December 8, 2002

The City Parks and Recreation Department plans to institute roving crews to check whether park lavatories and playgrounds are locked each day, after a 23-year-old woman was gang-raped in a Brooklyn park bathroom little more than a week ago.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said yesterday that the crews would check playgrounds, bathrooms and other park facilities at the end of each day to make sure they have been secured. Park attendants are currently charged with locking up at the end of the day; the new crews will check to see that this is done.

As a result of the attack, Mr. Benepe said, he will also require park managers to take periodic tours with police precinct commanders to find out whether crime is a problem in their parks at night.

The only sign yesterday of the violence that unfolded in Lincoln Terrace Park in Crown Heights on Nov. 29 was a ''wanted'' poster fastened to green brick. The poster offered a $12,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the capture of five men who beat and raped the 23-year-old woman and robbed her and her 16-year-old nephew.

The victim has a limited memory of the attack, officials said.

The police have released sketches of three of the young men.

The stark horror of the seemingly random attack stunned the neighborhoods that surround the park, a leafy oasis at the intersection of Crown Heights and Brownsville.

Yesterday, as children played in the blanket of snow covering the hilly park, many residents were angry. ''If this was Central Park the police would have a huge presence here,'' said Nick Dillon, who was walking with his wife, Dawnmarie, and their 1-year-old daughter. ''They would still be treating it like a crime scene. But here it is like nothing happened. This is Brooklyn. We were lucky to even make the newspaper.''

The attack victim and her nephew were walking home from a friend's house at 11 p.m., taking their usual shortcut through the park, the police said. Five men approached them and demanded money. One of the men had a razor. The woman and the boy handed over what little cash they had, but the men beat them and forced them into a nearby restroom.

There, in the dank concrete lavatory, the men made the two strip, locked the boy in a toilet stall and set upon his aunt, raping her in turn.

After the attack the men ran away; the woman and her nephew ran to their house, which is nearby, and called the police.

The lavatory should have been locked at 4 p.m., according to parks department policy. Mr. Benepe said an effort was under way to figure out why the attackers were able to get in. The park attendant locked the door with a padlock, Mr. Benepe said, but the day after the attack the lock was still on the door, possibly indicating that the shackle did not go through the hasp on the sliding bolt lock properly.

The attack came as the city is experiencing a 6 percent increase in the number of rapes being reported, even as overall crime has continued to fall, dropping by more than 5 percent this year.

That increase in rapes has puzzled police officials, who pointed out that only a tiny minority of cases involved an attacker stalking an unknown victim. Far more common, and harder to prevent with conventional crime-fighting strategies, police officials say, are rapes in which the attacker and the victim know each other.

Whatever the cause of the increase, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said last week that he was considering reorganizing the detective units that investigate sex crimes.

The rape victim is recovering from her injuries, which included severe bruises, the police said.

''She was very distraught,'' Salvatore Magaddino said at a news conference last week. ''She was psychologically traumatized. She is doing better now.''

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call (800) 577-TIPS.

J-Tron,

So sorry to hear that you are still going to move into this place. Seriously this is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS neighborhood. High crime, no amenities and filled with drug dealers. Why would you still go for this rental when there are so many MUCH safer parts of Brooklyn that you and your roommates can live in? I know you're looking for inexpensive rent but is it worth risking your safety for. As everyone has said, the area where this apartment is located is in Brownsville/Ocean Hill which has been a rough neighborhood for decades.

Take care and try to be safe.