The Other Side of Prospect Park

anonymous · May 2006

I have to move out of my apt in the north slope since, sadly, my building is being sold. I looked at a nice apt on Ocean ave facing the park. The building is around the corner from the Prospect Park Q stop (Lincoln Rd) and I was wondering if I would feel safe getting home late at night. Does anyone have any experience with that area, which is Lefferts Gardens if I'm not mistaken?

quijibo · May 2006

it is a dangerous area.
it's been on the upswing gentrification wise for a while now
but it's still a tough climb

i used to live on bedford and winthrop.
saw a few stabbings.
some looting.
always some trouble.
always....

and yes. the area is lefferts garden.
but i'd call it crown heights.
or flatbush

if you're used to the slope
this will be a rude awakening...

anonymous · May 2006

I had no idea it was that bad. I hoped that it was just a lower income area with decent people around. How long ago did you live there? It sounds like I shouldn't sign the lease to that place tonight and look for another week.
The north slope will be a hard act to follow, but rents are out of control, even for a single professional like me.

armchair_warrior · May 2006

its a high density area of tons apartment buildings and would take along long time to get it gentrify. thats why i brought into prospect heights instead. plus safer

.

quijibo · May 2006

Subject: Re: The Other Side of Prospect Park

amalfi wrote: I had no idea it was that bad. I hoped that it was just a lower income area with decent people around. How long ago did you live there? It sounds like I shouldn't sign the lease to that place tonight and look for another week.
The north slope will be a hard act to follow, but rents are out of control, even for a single professional like me.

i lived there 2 years ago, for economic reasons.
i had high hopes initially but it was just too much
as soon as i was able to financially leave -- i did.

there are plenty of good people living there
but they're outnumbered by young people who don't know better than to cause problems

friendlypitbull · May 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/20060428_HOMICIDE_MAP.html

Look at the Brooklyn South Map -
in terms of homicides its not E.NY or Bed-Stuy but it is a lot different than Park Slope.

carol street · May 2006

Actually, Ocean and Lincoln isn't that bad, but then bad is relative. Its not Ocean Hill/Brownsville, but definately not Park Slope though either. Many of the blocks between Lefferts south to Hawthorne, between Flatbush and Nostrand are getting gentrified (not Park Slope though), and there are some really beautiful houses on those streets that are getting bought up by, well, gentrifiers. There are also quite a number of apartment houses on the main avenues (Flatbush, Bedford, and Nostrand) that are definately not getting gentrified. I'd say most of the population lives in these apartment houses.

There aren't really a lot of supermarkets over there, and it gets a little scary late at night. You aren't too far from the train. Did I say it isn't Park Slope?

Where it REALLY gets bad is when you go south of Hawthorne or Winthrop. Flatbush is particularly scary on that strip between Parkside and Tilden. I've walked through there quite a number of times in the evening (I'm a middle aged white male...with a fair amount of experience living in bad neighborhoods since the 1970s), but I wouldn't do it on a daily basis. There is a lot of violent crime around there. Also stay away from Ocean south of Parkside...some gorgeous old apartment buildings there, but it is quite dangerous. I don't know why Ocean was the fist to get bad, but it was even really bad (maybe even worse than now) when I used to hang around Flatbush in the late 70s. You used to be able to buy nickle bags of reefer in every Trinidadian and West Indian grocery store!

Good luck.

quijibo · May 2006

one day. on flatbush near lincoln. i saw a guy, hispanic, getting hauled out of a sneaker store into an ambulance. he was drenched in blood

he'd been stabbed by 3 neighborhood kids.

the spanish guy had been selling pot from the street corner,
which unfortunately belonged to this gang of kids.

so they chased him. the spanish guy ran in to the sneaker store.
the kids ran right in. stabbed him a few times. and ran out.

and that was it.

the spanish guy was dead on the spot.
i never found out if the kids were ever arrested

it ain't park slope...

steve · May 2006

You know reading this thread and looking at the crime map just makes me wish for waves of gentrification to take place on the other side of the park.

What a shame that people are living in fear over there.

phbaby · May 2006

friendlypitbull wrote: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/20060428_HOMICIDE_MAP.html

Look at the Brooklyn South Map -
in terms of homicides its not E.NY or Bed-Stuy but it is a lot different than Park Slope.

Is it wrong that my first thought was "Look, crime is going up in Staten Island. One more reason not to go there"?

carnivore · May 2006

http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=354

anonymous · May 2006

Subject: the other side

Now I'm really confused. The thread carnivore posted is pretty upbeat about the area, not at all like what I've been reading here today. sigh. The couple who own the coffeeshop near the subway love it there. They've lived there 2 yrs, but couldn't tell me about the neighborhood at night since they have little ones and probably don't go out late at night anymore. The building's super says it's a safe area. I'm about to check it out myself. Thanks for all your responses!

armchair_warrior · May 2006

best just walk around the area and know whats it about. walk during the day. during the afternoon and during the night. do it weekdays and weekends. since you'll spend alot of time there.

anonymous · May 2006

Wow I have friends who live over there and nobody has ever said it was that dangerous. They even have kids of various ages. I always felt it was too congested and loud.

Why not look over in Kensington? It is very safe over here and there are lots of different kinds of people. The downside is that we need a bookstore and another restaurant and you are stuck with the F train. The upside is there is a strong neighborhood feel on each block with true socioeconomic diversity.

quijibo · May 2006

yes. it's best to check it out for yourself. both day and night

when living there, i found that i spent a lot of money on taxi rides
to the other side of the park. it kinda negated the cheaper rent

if you have a car, you can lead a more insular life
and won't need to ineract often with your neighbors
this is what my ex-landlady, who still lives there does.
she rides her car to the other side of the park for everything
minimal interaction with neighbors and local businesses. insular.

every year, for the caribbean day festival,
she gets the hell out of the neighborhood for the weekend
the parade is coming up. i guarantee you there'll be at least 1 stabbing/shoting.
no joke

besides the safety concerns it's also a question of quality of life
if you're a white male, be prepared for taunting by the local youths
a lot of taunting. while living there i just kept telling myself
"at least i'm not white"

you should also check out the crown heights board on this forum
and make up your own mind
good luck

armchair_warrior · May 2006

i used to travel to that area alot. i had friends and ex that lived there and wasnt a nice area for me anyway

. being asian.

kingsenton is nicer and as cheap

. but as the other poster said f sucks unless youre just going to and from work. weekends are like dead. windsor terrace is like park slope on the nicer side of the park. but you probably already know that. also try prospect heights.

linusvanpelt · May 2006

Quijibo--

Just curious: why cab rides? On the Q you're in the North Slope/Prospect Heights in one stop; BAM in another stop, etc. True, that doesn't help you for South/Center Slope or Smith Street, but still leaves a lot of options.

Agree with the other advice here but only thing I would add is, when reading up or soliciting opinions, make sure you distinguish between greater PLG (which you will be in) and the more gentrified Lefferts Manor enclave of single-family homes (which you won't be in). Good luck.

homeowner · May 2006

I think you need to spend some time around there before you make a decision. I live in crown heights and but I don't think the neighborhoods are comparable. Lots more apartment buildings right off the park than there are in CH proper which means greater density and a lot of folks who aren't as personally invested in the places where they live. I consider that to be flatbush/lefferts.

Its a predominantly west indian neighborhood and if you've never lived in or around one, it may take some getting used to. Also, there is always a lot of traffic on Flatbush, Ocean, Empire, Parkside,etc which may impact your enjoyment of the neighborhood. In terms of crime it appears from the map that its way more dangerous to be a black man living around there than to be any other ethnicity or female, but again, you need to do some personal assessments and make your decision.

The PLG area proper (where the single family houses are located) is much quieter and low key. That's the area that's home to black and white middle class professionals. People call it gentrified because white folks are moving in, but I don't think that there is much difference between the old guard and the new arrivals other than race.

As with all things, YMMV. Spend some time in the neighorhood, walk around and talk to people and see what you think. Its definitely not the same as the west side of the park, but it may work for you.

The Other Side of Prospect Park

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories