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January 30, 2007
Bed Stuy Safe for single woman?
hi - single woman here looking to buy in bed stuy. i am unfamiliar with the neighborhood and want some feedback on areas where you would say a woman is safe to live alone. Should I aim for near some subway stops and not others? (I don't have a car) I do come home late every so often and would be walking alone. I'd really appreciate street names, specific blocks, etc. if you'd be so kind to recommend them.
josie
Comments
It's always best to be near subway stops . Utica , nostrand stops are the most convenient . Best streets are Macon . Decatur ,MCdonough , Stuyvesant ,Hancock, Halsey... You can walk into brownstone books , it's a cute little book store on Lewis between Decatur and MCdonough. Talk to the lady in there she's very helpful . Plus she lives 1 block away . What is it your looking to buy ? Townhouse or condo ?
Posted by: eletricgreek at January 30, 2007 5:33 PM
hi josie
it's hard because all the stops on the A/C drop you off on Fulton which is a nasty street. The only decent stop is Utica but that's only when the park is open. After 12AM you must walk out onto Malcolm X and it's not safe. The area is Ok if you like your home and dont plan on venturing out too much as you can't. There are few places to eat out + forget take out options or local bars. Once you are home, you're home. i suggest if you move there you also buy a car unless you find a home that is only 2 or 3 blocks away from the train. The brownstones are really nice there and still somewhat lower in price but the area is still very very sketchy. I think more people are starting to come but it's not going to change as fast as they all think because there are still MANY projects in the area. THEY ARE NEVER GOING AWAY.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 30, 2007 5:42 PM
Check out this message board. You should also check out Crown Heights if you are open to Bed-Stuy. They are comprabable in price and you may find a place closer to the subway
Bed-Stuy
http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=6
Crown Heights
http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=4
Posted by: Anonymous at January 30, 2007 5:56 PM
I hope it gets better and I wish for it. I see more diversity coming into the area. With that said, my roommate just got mugged on the corner of Bainbridge and Stuy on Friday night by 4 kids ages 12-16. It was the 4th time for her. My boyfriend has been mugged - big guy over 6'2, my male friend and my old roommate. All before 7PM - all around the fulton park coming off the subway. That area is the best area in bed stuy. The houses are rising but I don't see the police force increasing.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 30, 2007 6:15 PM
I live in BS with my g/f and a female friend and we have not had any problems in the past year that we have been here. It's unfortunate that the above posters have had some bad experiences with some of the younger miscreants that hang around Fulton Park because the majority of the people who live here are wonderful. The area is becoming more diversified but still lacking in the those things that you may have considered staples in the city or other areas of Brooklyn. The upside is that the homes are beautiful and still affordable in comparison to the rest of Brooklyn. Explore the neighborhood at different times of the day and see if you feel comfortable.
Posted by: pluto at January 30, 2007 7:33 PM
You cannot ask that question on this message board. Any truthful answers are attacked as racist.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 30, 2007 8:00 PM
I live near the Nostrand A stop and it's fine. I take the train and walk to Kush (up Fulton, in Clinton Hill). Never had a problem. There are lots of young hipsters on my block who walk or bike home at all hours of the night. They don't seem to have a problem.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 30, 2007 9:35 PM
"You cannot ask that question on this message board. Any truthful answers are attacked as racist."
yours was the very first post that suggested anything of the sort.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 30, 2007 9:47 PM
i am a skinny white boy, and my wife is a skinny white girl. we have lived in bed stuy (off throop stop) for two years, come home late at night, alone, together, with friends--the worst thing that has ever happened to us is that i was called a "fag" and my wife was called a "snowflake".
ps. duh...dont walk through fulton park. its a "hangout."
Posted by: skinny white boy at January 30, 2007 11:41 PM
Well Josie this aint Kansas. Crime is an issue in all of NYC.
Bedstuy is the sure shot way to go if you're looking to get a lot more for your buck and the past year or so the boys in blue have been doing a kick ass job with a show of force.
All home owners are happy!
Posted by: Anonymous at January 30, 2007 11:58 PM
thanks for your input, everyone (this is josie). as for whether i am looking for an apt or a house to buy, i am considering both (if i go the house route i'd have to be landlord because i couldn't afford it on my own). anyone know if any brownstone condo conversions coming on the market soon?
Posted by: Anonymous at January 31, 2007 9:17 AM
My partner and I live on Macon off Ralph- we live near the J. I do not feel comfortable coming home late from the train if I have to walk. However, that being said, my house is gorgeous with detail, and I am able to afford a car. There is always parking near the train station, and near my house. It has been a pleasure living in BedStuy this way... Good luck!
Posted by: Anonymous at January 31, 2007 11:40 AM
Josie--
There's a brownstone condo conversion on MacDonough between Stuy & Lewis in the works right now. It was a gut reno, with everything taken down to the brick. Currently they're in the build up stage. Looks like it will be a duplex. Can't remember the name of the RE agent but there's a huge sign out front with all the info if you're interested. BTW, this block is beautiful, landmarked, and you'd have very nice neighbors.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 31, 2007 12:10 PM
yeah 11:40 what a way to live just..you just live there..you dont LIVE there..that being said you can keep bed-stuy, been there done that and no going back..and yes I am black.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 31, 2007 12:34 PM
http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2006/11/adobe_condos_co.html?comments=10#comments
Here ya go Josie . Looks like these will be on the market very soon .
Posted by: eletricgreek at January 31, 2007 2:14 PM
12:34 im glad you're gone. My property value probably went up after you left.
yes im black too.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 31, 2007 3:35 PM
12:34, it's more important for some of us to be part of community rather than have the amenities and a SENSE of safety. I'm a white newcomer to the neighborhood (over a year now, gotta stop calling myself a newcomer) and I love LIVING in Bed Stuy with my wonderful, wonderful neighbors....whom I feel are always watching my back...unlike my neighbors from Park Slope, who weren't so friendly.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 31, 2007 4:36 PM
12:34 im glad you're gone. My property value probably went up after you left.
ASSHOLE ever here everyone is entitled to their own opinions...Everyone does not have to like what you like? freedom of choice..HELLO America
Posted by: Anonymous at February 1, 2007 8:36 AM
Yes and I will stick by my opinion. I'm glad you left.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 1, 2007 11:22 AM
I'M GLAD I LEFT TOO..
Posted by: Anonymous at February 1, 2007 12:40 PM
Try as u can to clean it up its still a f'd up neighborhood, with some decent blocks
Posted by: Anonymous at February 1, 2007 12:41 PM
"Try as u can to clean it up"
Try? No we will succeed. There's no turning back. You cant even return. I suggest you sit back without spreading hate and watch the dust as the "I need housing broom" goes through each block.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 1, 2007 1:23 PM
Has anyone tried any sort of activism? Community board meetings? Petitioning the police department for foot patrols? Vigilante justice?
Or does everybody in the community just complain?
I know roving gangs of grown men are threatening, but come on - "4 kids age 12-16"?!?!?!? Just give them a spanking.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 1, 2007 2:59 PM
Let me reiterate:
KIDS AGE 12-16??????
What is up with that?
Posted by: Anonymous at February 1, 2007 3:03 PM
The police just released these stats for last year - BedSty is only second to Southside Williamsburg for scariness - BedSty does have less rapes than Los Sures - 23 vs BedSty I think 9. As a 20+ yr vet of Southside I can tell you as things gentified things got uglier in some ways, but better in others. One has to ride the waves with an alertness that wears one down sometimes. Like "will I be shot tonight when I go out to buy pizza?" Very stressful. BedSty also boasts the highest # of unemployed black men and the highest block level of prison time in the city.
- The person that thinks a gang of 12 to 16 year olds "just needs spanked" - is a fool and shows his ass as never havin been on the streets. And "the community" thing is BS too if your shot raped or assaulted on your own block. Liberal white boy blowing smoke up everyone's ass. But every block is different - but thugs like animals don't (usually) shit in their own nest, they stroll over to your block, the block with the cute shorty that just moved in...
Posted by: anon at February 1, 2007 4:10 PM
Yo 4:10 -
I don't know what white boy you're talking about... just because someone writes in multisyllabic words doesn't make them white.
I've been mugged at gunpoint 1 block from my house and I agree - it's not a fun thing to have to worry about, but it's your sense of complacency that's the real problem. I have been on the streets in several cities for my entire life and nobody is blowing smoke up anyone's ass except for you.
And yes, a gang of 12-16 year olds does just need to be spanked. Either by their mommas or by whoever they're harassing on the street. What were you doing when you were 12? Mugging people?
The first time I was mugged at 12, it was by a gang of 12/016 year olds, and you know who stopped them? A little old lady who told them she'd whip their behinds if they didn't get their asses back home and stop messing with people. THAT is community. A LITTLE OLD LADY.
The cliche of "power isn't taken - it's given" is true.
As for your crime stats - crime here is in Bed Stuy is on the decline. Every category in the NYPD's crime stats has dropped except for Grand Larceny and that generally goes up as the affluence of a neighborhood increases (look at the G.L. stats for Brooklyn Heights if there's any doubt of this). Nobody ever said Bed Stuy was great for crime - why do you think we keep saying it's "getting better"? It's because it was worse a few years ago.
And no, thugs DO shit in their own nest. You don't see roving gangs of thugs strolling through the Upper East Side. They're not hopping on the A train to go over to Chelsea to rob some white folks. You see them on Bushwick Ave or Fulton St. at night. And they don't care what color you are. Why do you think the cops designated Fulton as a "strike zone"? Not because of the abnormally low crime.
The whole reason Bed Stuy is turning around is because of community activism. The reason it declined to the point it did was because of a lack of money and hope, but just as importantly because the neighborhood got screwed over by bad policy and lack of community political representation. And I'll head off all the offended comments by saying that, yes, this is a systemic problem. We need to organize though people. That is the only thing that has kept this neighborhood hanging on at all.
So PLEASE go to the community board. Be politcally active. Go to your block association meeting. Work with your neighbors - you have the same interests in mind: having a nicer place to live where you don't have to worry "will I be shot when you go out to by pizza".
If you want to go stick your head in the sand (or somewhere else), it's your choice, but don't think things are going to get better on their own.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 4, 2007 11:53 AM
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