Anyone live at The St. John at 795 St Johns Place?

I know that most of the units have been sold, if I am thinking of the right place (the one between Nostrand and Rogers?). They are priced really low but have been decently renovated... We live nearby but that block is still a little rough...

The block didn't seem too bad, but feel free to take my input with a grain of salt, since I've only been over there once. At least you're west of Kingston.

gardengirl wrote: I've never seen any trouble on the block, for what it's worth, but it does seem less quiet than many in the area.

I'm going to try real hard not to sound like KWAC here...

I live just on the other side of Nostrand from here, since April. There have been murders on the street, actually on YOUR side of Nostrand in that time that I have come home to, roads roped off and stuff. I have seen fights in the streets. Chicken Little would say they were large gangs of black youths, but realistically it was more like a couple kids with gobs of other kids egging them on. I have seen drug deals go down on the corner. I have had police officers tell me to get out of the area, that I was the wrong "color" to be on the street there at night. I have heard of people being mugged in the area late at night in the last few months.

OK, there was the anti-Polyanna sentiment for ya.

The flip side is that I like it here. Incidents are few and far between, not an everyday occurrence. I find people as a whole to be very friendly and helpful, even to a clueless white boy with a shaved head. Perhaps ESPECIALLY to one. If you harbor prejudices or automatically assume that a large group of young black men are up to no good then don't fucking move here. You won't be happy, and no one will like to hear you bitch. People sit on stoops. People stand on the corner. And that is what they do. It doesn't they are evil or up to no good. There is a diverse culture in the area, as long as you are into Trinidad, lol. Joke. You can get anything that you need locally. The shops open late. Sometimes they close early, making it a hassle sometimes. The Met right around the corner is OK for food. I usually trek down to Key Foods, it isn't too far and has a much better selection. Prices are cheap. There is a branch library right noear it. People in the area are mostly friendly and black. I have noticed a different contingent moving in during the last few months. And that doesn't mean WHITE, although it definitely includes whites. I have also noticed yuppie type blacks moving in too. To me, they look just as out of place as the white folks. Not to say that white folks are out of place. There are people that are obviously comfortable with the neighborhood, and then there are those that just as obviously are not.

My recommendation to someone considering a move into the area that hasn't lived in an area like this before would be the following: Come and fucking visit. That is it. It is that simple. Take the subway into the area on a Friday night. Walk around for a couple hours and take stock. Come back Saturday afternoon and do it again. THINK about it. If it isn't something you are used to, then consider that YOU are going to have to change your attitude. The neighborhood isn't going to change for YOU, and if you expect it to then you will be disappointed and the object of much derision on Brooklynian.

Er, I guess that is about it. Sorry about soapboxing, good luck, and I hope this helps.