Thinking about moving to Prospect Heights -

cgb72 wrote: so, i saw this place yesterday and the neighborhood was a shit hole! does anyone know if the corner of Park Place and Bedford Ave is considered Crown Heights or Prospect Heights? because the area where the apt was located resembled nothing short of nasty-crap and clearly not what everyone had been describing. i don’t think we were in Prospect Heights. it was run-down, everything was shut at 5pm (not that any of the stores looked to be of any value), cars up on cinder blocks ... it wasn't pretty, charming, quaint etc.... to say it was shit is a huge understatement.

whoa!
i think you should stay in fg
not going to go into to it right now
but i have lived for long periods of time in 2 of the best 'hoods in manhattan
and while it is certainly a change to be here
i am very happy in ch and i am within a block of where you describe

yes, i wouldn't mind feeling a tad safer
and yes, i wouldn't mind better food shopping closer
(but honestly, not if it's like either of the two overpriced, overstocked, generic, pseudo gourmet/natural food stores i happened to wander into in dumbo and williamsburg over the past 2 days)
but i have a beautiful tree lined street,
the combination of low buildings, wide streets and long lots make for great light even on the ground floor
i am not tripping over strollers
it's really quiet
transportation is great
i am an artist and i can afford to live here

just because you ended up in ch when you thought you were going to ph
(don't believe everything you hear, especially when it comes to real estate, this should be a little lesson to check things out on a map perhaps)
doesn't mean you have to bash someone else's 'hood based on one visit

even if you do end up in ph
ch is your neighboring community
and snobby is not a great way to meet people
nor, imho
is it particularly classy

Neene, you expressed my feelings well. I love my (semi) tree-lined brownstone block in Crown Heights. I shop in the super food town on fulton street, a seven (short) block walk. I have Brower park at the corner. I have great neighbors. It's quiet here. We walk to the Brooklyn Museum and bicycle to Prospect Park. I get the 3 train at Nostrand. Neither my wife nor I or others in our building are yet to be victims of any crime, nor witness any in the past 5 years. (But we've heard stories).

Some of you might try to get past (east of) Franklin to see some really nice blocks. That westernmost end of CH between Franklin and Washington is somwhat transitional, and contains a mix of residential and industrial/commercial. Come have a look on this side.

I'd like to add that I got my hair cut yesterday in PH at Benoits Barber Shop on Park Place near Flatbush. Benjamin gave me a nice cut for $12 plus tip.

Yeah, I'm really hating the big one bedroom I'm living in now that would cost almost twice as much in PS. Plus, the fact that all the buildings around me are shorter makes it waaaaaay too sunny in my apartment. Gawd, I wish I was back in my small dark PS apartment with 3 windows that was more expensive than my current place.

CH has some of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen, I'm enjoying exploring every part of it. As for it being dangerous? Don't act like a mark, be aware of your surroundings, don't do foolish shit, and you'll be good.

And neene said it better than I ever could. I agree that you should stay in Fort Greene, CH obviously doesn't live up to your "standards".

A friend told me about this thread and I had a few questions about the area. I'm about to transfer to NY from TX (Coast Guard and damn am I happy to be getting out of this shithole state). I was looking at places around the park because I like being outside so much and I think the park would be nice to be close to and the places I've found cost less than to live around Central Park. I've never been to NYC or Brooklyn before so the area is new to me. I looked at a place called patio gardens on 690 Flatbush Ave. Anyone ever lived there? good or bad experience? Surrounding nabe ok? Also look at a place at 467-475 St Marks Ave. and 32 Lenox Road. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll be living by myself without any children so it gives me some flexibility.