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February 20, 2009
Advice on Moving to Greenwood?
My family and I are considering moving to Greenwood (21st street) from Cobble Hill. We love our current neighborhood, but are desperate for more space for our growing family. Can anyone tell me about their experience living there, if it is safe, a good area for kids, and if there is a good community for families?
Comments
I tend to think each block in that area has a different feel so your experience is going to depend on which aveneues you are living between on 21st.
In my personal opinion, its not as family friendly/good for children as the better parts of Cobble Hill but its not bad either. A lot of old timers mixed in with some new comer youngsters mixed in with the random loud degenerate hanging out at the corner.
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 20, 2009 9:05 AM
Thanks for the feedback. We're looking between 4th and 5th avenue......
Posted by: haleyc at February 20, 2009 9:11 AM
quote:
"random loud degenerate hanging out at the corner."
:-/
*r*
Posted by: PitbullNYC at February 20, 2009 9:51 AM
I think in the next few years families like yourself will pick up and move to Greenwood and Sunset Park b/c as you said the housing is more spacious for a growing family and cheaper. I think it's a bit rough around the edges now, but like Mrs.Limestone said, each block can be different.
If you have a car, then defintely move out there as you could always drive back to CH or park Slope. Also there have been some cafe/restaurant openings on 6th avenue and like 17th/18th streets so perhaps the crowds are already starting to move out there.
good luck!
Posted by: gemini10 at February 20, 2009 10:02 AM
We moved out here just under a year ago. We were living in the North Slope before that. It's a really great neighborhood for young families-- namely, you can buy a house with a yard for your family for what it would cost or an apartment in any of brand name brownstone neighborhoods, it's next to park slope, gowanus, and red hook, and it's safe.
Another plus is that if you do have a car- hamilton ave, prospect expressway, bat tunnel and belt parkway are all really great ways to scoot in and out of the city and bypass a lot of the traffic that you deal with in other neighborhoods.
We really love the quiet and the mix of buildings. We've found that there are a ton of young families here. There's an active community at slope park on 6th and 18th. There are two really good coffee shops. The public school on 18th is very highly rated. Prospect Park is close by. If you work downtown, the M/R train is great for commuting.
When we moved here is was with a little trepidation- our frame house is old and needs a lot of work. The neighborhood looks a little scruffy, and we thought that it felt 'far.'
What we've found is that we love it more than we could have expected-
We've found it to be pleasant and safe. When we lived in the North Slope- we'd often walk to the south slope to go out, to shop, etc... now we still walk over to the South Slope, but we also walk around our own neighborhood a lot. The topography is very nice, the peeks at the water and the statue of liberty are great. The funny little houses and shacks are not to everyone's taste, but I really like the feel.
We find that the people on our block are very friendly- a lot of old timers who like to chat. There are also just a many young families and we find that we know more people here than we ever did in our old neighborhood.
Posted by: Park Place at February 20, 2009 10:25 AM
Great neighborhood. I agree with Mr. Limestone, block to block there can be a huge difference in the architecture, vibe and neighbors. Still a good mix of working class and middle class folks. Newer South American/Mexican population, mixed with old-time Polish and Italian families and ex-pats from all around Brooklyn like yourself.
21st St. is a fine block, albeit ongoing construction projects. 5th Ave is slowly catching up with the South Slope and you'll be close to transportation at the R on 25th St, as well as the new C-Town on 25th and 4th and Eagle Provisions on 18th St.
Looking at a house or new construction?
Posted by: Action Jackson at February 20, 2009 10:40 AM
anyone know what the rents are over there?
studios/1 br's?
Posted by: gemini10 at February 20, 2009 10:46 AM
I like it over there, and there are some good schools too. The one thing that gives me pause is the large electrical station - I tend to be wary of electrical fields and would not want to live so close to one. But that said, I have no real data on either this particular station or its dangers, but for me personally it was enough to abandon our search over there.
Posted by: WTbound at February 20, 2009 10:54 AM
Greenwood is a wonderful place to live. I've lived here for the past 10 years and absolutely love it. The train is close by and the 5th Ave bus is reliable. I find it to be a safe place.
Gemini10 - I have a 1br and I pay $1,050 a month, but I've been told recently that my rent is below average.
Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at February 20, 2009 11:15 AM
While I don’t live in Greenwood, I am at the outer limits of the south slope so go there often.
If you have or want a car and you’re coming from CH as we did, “PARKING”,”PARKING”,”PARKING”. It sometimes brings tears to my eyes.
The Electrical station is kinda ominous as WTbound pointed out, but is on 24th btw 6th / 7th.
You can actually buy devices that measure what these stations emit. google “electric and magnetic fields’
Posted by: jasetheace at February 20, 2009 11:28 AM
I hope you're not buying that 600K greenish house on that block with the slanted floors. I looked at that place and even the broker representing the house told me not to buy it.
Posted by: JAE at February 20, 2009 1:00 PM
I lived there for two years with kids. Very positive experience. Safer than many areas, decent schools, parking, lots of families, good ethnic mix.
Posted by: jawbreaker at February 20, 2009 1:12 PM
I have a couple friends in Greenwood Heights (including one on 21st Street), and while the community is nice, the quality of the housing stock is... variable, at best. The NY Times featured a Greenwood Heights property that turned out to be uninhabitable after purchase, due to "renovations" by the previous owner. My friends both found unpleasant post-purchase surprises in their own homes.
So, the best advice, in all home puchases, is to pay top dollar for that engineering inspection.
Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at February 20, 2009 3:32 PM
"The NY Times featured a Greenwood Heights property that turned out to be uninhabitable after purchase"
B.C., That was hardly due to the neighborhood and everything to do with the fact the building had no foundation. The buyer was an idiot...though the rehab they did turned out very nice. As was the second one they did.
Housing stock is what you make of it, inspect it and pay for it.
If you want a fixer-up-er, you find something for $750, while a nicely redone flip will start at $950...and those prices are nuts! Ah, back in the day when you didn't need to crack $500K.
Posted by: Action Jackson at February 20, 2009 5:25 PM
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