Intersection of park/7th/flatbush

I live a couple of blocks from there, and IMO its relatively safe, especially if you live on one of the avenues...There's always a lot of relatively slow automobile traffic, plenty of light, and several 24 hour supermarkets, and people walking around (To the bars on Vanderbilt and the slope, to and from the subway, etc) no matter what time it is...

Having said that, it is still NYC and you can get rolled anywhere if you are not careful (I know people who have been mugged on the upper east side in manhattan--supposedly the safest place in NYC), and some of the side streets can feel a little deserted at night, but no more than the rest of NYC...

As many others have said before, come out during any time of day and walk around and see if you feel safe, read the crime statistics, search for previous posts on this board, etc...

In the immediate vicinity of 7th Ave/Park Pl/Flatbush Ave I'd honestly say your biggest danger would be the traffic which hurtles down Flatbush.

P.S. - I suggest using the BQ subway entrance as a way to get across Flatbush on those nights when you might had one too many.

I have to ask this:

Why does it matter if you're white? Gender and on your own, I get. But do you assume that other single females of other colors who are also new to the neighborhood are somehow safer than you? I'm confused as to why this was introduced into the equation.

Is this the apartment for rent right above Gran Castillo de Jagua? I wouldn't worry about the location from a safety perspective, but from a mental health perspective, that apartment would only be appropriate for the most resilient individual. You'll be dealing with all the noise of Flatbush and the subway stop. plus the capoeira place, plus the issues with smells and potentially vermin from the restaurant below (a restaurant I love, and am not disparaging in any way, but that's just something that comes with the territory).

poshspice wrote: I have to ask this:

Why does it matter if you're white? Gender and on your own, I get. But do you assume that other single females of other colors who are also new to the neighborhood are somehow safer than you? I'm confused as to why this was introduced into the equation.

Maybe - shock, horror! - she was just giving as much info as possible to get an accurate answer. Not everything is a racial conspiracy... Grow up.

Ditto on the usual NYC stuff about electronics etc., especially phones and iPods coming out of subways, and about the crazy traffic on Flatbush.

That said, I'd have to add the following:

- The neighborhoods are gorgeous off either side of Flatbush there
- The subway right there is 25 minutes to Union Square, great for commute
- Flatbush has a ton of basic shopping, services, gym, banks etc.
- Vanderbilt Ave and 5th Ave in either direction are now total hot-spot areas for all kinds of restaurants, bars, cafes etc.
- It's also just a few blocks walk to Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and the Brooklyn Museum (currently featuring a great Warhol exhibit)
- Prospect Park is RIGHT THERE, nuff said...

In short, the general area is fantastic for young professionals (and families too, truth be known. But yeah, be wary if it's the apartment Carnivore mentions above).

Good luck, and be sure to come back here for more pointers and to say hello again if you take the place or another nearby.



***edited to add a few more things to the list above

poshspice wrote: This is not Crown Heights circa 1990.

As odd as this may sound to folks here, it seems that a significant part of America -- heck, even Manhattan -- has not yet caught on to this (Brooklyn in general, not this specific area).

Others from elsewhere that are at least somewhat informed have probably heard that amenities, crime etc. vary considerably from area to area, yet find Brooklyn so huge and varied (with so many different neighborhoods) as to be unsure of what's what, and where.

So sometimes a simple question may just be that. And yes, for better or for worse, the customary language in apartment searches (going wayyy back to printed classifieds in decades past) is to list things like SWF (single white female) or whatever.

I'm guessing fewer younger folks remember stalking the news stands Wednesday evenings for the new Village Voice apartment listings, to get a jump on seeing an apartment with deposit in hand before the weekend crowds saw it.

Those sublet and apartment-seeking listings were ALL things like SWF etc. and various other terms and abbreviations, without exception.

poshspice wrote: [quote=PM][quote=poshspice]I have to ask this:

Why does it matter if you're white? Gender and on your own, I get. But do you assume that other single females of other colors who are also new to the neighborhood are somehow safer than you? I'm confused as to why this was introduced into the equation.

Maybe - shock, horror! - she was just giving as much info as possible to get an accurate answer. Not everything is a racial conspiracy... Grow up.


You know what? Chill with the aggression. I accused her of nothing and stand by my question. Her race is an irrelevant qualifier in her safety. This is not Crown Heights circa 1990. The point was not to attack but think about why we assume what we do. A single woman has different safety issues than a single man - a single white woman and a single (insert other race here) woman do NOT. To assume otherwise, consciously or not, is the point of my question, so how about you stop deflecting from an honest discussion about a not always nice topic by shouting Race Card when it makes you uncomfortable. She can speak for herself (if she chooses) but of course, like always, a thread that could've stayed civil ran quickly into the gutter (I don't know WTF is up with these other flaming 7th grade posts on here) so I doubt it and frankly I'm done too. It didn't have to concern you at all if you're that outraged, so next time keep it moving.On the corner the OP mentioned, I can see why one would ask 'why mention race', but out somewhere like.... Bergen and Nostrand... while there are white people walking around they are generally outliers with respect to the neighborhood's general demographic

As such said outlier might be seen as someone with money or an easy target as opposed to someone who looks like everyone else in the neighborhood, and by proxy is more likely to be in the same socioeconomic realm, and therefore not worth robbing

But w/e, that corner is probably as safe as you can get in PH, OP I would def recommend the move