Hunting for apts this weekend... plan of attack?

you should also check out long island city or astoria . much easier to get to mid town too . but its in queens .

Hate to tell ya this, but you're not going to be likely to find much available for June 1 until after the beginning of May. People do apartment-hunting here maddeningly late; having lived in a college town where you had to line up a place for August 1 by the end of April, it drives me crazy when I have to hunt for apartments and don't know where I'm going to be living in three or four weeks.

I just moved, so last month and the month before I was dealing with all this stuff. I ended up going with a broker because CL didn't have many no-fee apartments in my price range and the ones I did look at were downright frightening.

Try to get a place that's rent stabilized if at all possible, unless you feel relatively certain you only want to stay a year or two. With market rate apartments, your landlord can jack up your rent all he/she wants and there's not a thing you can do about it (my own move was prompted by my old landlord wanting me to pay another $250 a month when my lease came up for renewal, after already increasing it by $100 the year before). And do archive searches here for your broker's name, the landlord or realty company, and the block each place is on -- I found out about several brokers to avoid this way, and I was able to find out which areas were sketchy and dangerous and which areas were safe. In Crown Heights, it's generally safer and nicer in the northern and western parts of the neighborhood.

Good luck!

Subject: Re: Anyone familiar with this area?

swimbtfly wrote: Is anyone familiar with the neighborhood around St Johns Pl & Franklin Ave? How is it? There is a place there that looks promising (maybe).

Thanks for all of your help and opinions, as always.

go ask around the ch boards http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4

Subject: Re: One more time...

swimbtfly wrote: OK, so this place is actually is Prospect Heights proper.

Can anyone tell me anything about the area on Bergen Street between 6th and Carlton? Safety of the park, the block in general. Thanks very much.

It seems to be a nice block. I walk down it everyday to the train which is right on the corner. It is also on the same block as a precinct and around the corner from a fire house. The park is used by lots of people during the day and there are usually some pretty big basketball games on the weekends. Parking is really hard there especially because of the precinct. It doesn't seem to be a very quiet block.

Police sirens, no, fire engine sirens...absolutely. Even better, if the fire trucks pick up enough speed going down Dean St., it rattles the cars, setting off their alarms. But you get used to it and its not really all that bad. These are not reasons to NOT take an apartment if you see one you like and can afford.