Bed Stuy - Do or die? still?
Hey all, My wife and I looking into Bed-Stuy as a place to buy our first home. There is a stigma attached with bed-stuy, but from our experience walking around on the weekends, it appears to be a beautiful part of brooklyn. are there any areas in bed-stuy that you all think we should avoid?…
Hey all,
My wife and I looking into Bed-Stuy as a place to buy our first home. There is a stigma attached with bed-stuy, but from our experience walking around on the weekends, it appears to be a beautiful part of brooklyn. are there any areas in bed-stuy that you all think we should avoid? any help appreciated.
Yes, do your homework. Drive around, talk to neighbors and even police men/women to get their insight(I certainly did). I’ll admit that I was SCARED to death when we purchased our home…moved from a lovely coop in forest hills gardens in queens and before that lived in Kentucky my whole life!
We too laugh now at how nervous & apprehensive we were before the move. Been here one year and last summer was quite ‘lively’ and this summer has been pleasantly peaceful. Not sure what this is due to, but we’re not complaining. We love our brownstone and even love that it’s in Bed Stuy!
Best of luck!
BTW: wine store opening up on the corner of Macon and Throop in September–from the woman who owns and runs Olivino in Clinton Hill.
well, it looks like i don’t need to say much after all of these insightful comments, but i will say that my family has been living in the “westbed” part of bed stuy, near bedford/nostrand for a little over 6 months now. we bought our first house here and say every day that we made a great decision, and frankly, laugh at ourselves for questioning it so much. we are lifelong new yorkers by way of fort greene, and we find that this neighborhood embodies the qualities that we like about ny-brooklyn in particular. it is diverse-it is urban-it is many, many people living together very differently from one another, and yet sharing that experience- our block association is a true melting pot of amazingly interesting folks-doing a great job in trying to keep this community strong and safe. the do or die thing is 1989…this is brooklyn 2007.
Two years here and loving it. I’d advise you to look in the southern end of the neighborhood – anything close to the A or C train. The “brownstone belt” to the south has a great community feel and some truly glorious housing stock. Stuyvesant Heights is booming, of course, and so are some of the historic-but-not-landmarked blocks more towards the west (the “Bedford” part of Bed-Stuy) just past the Tompkins Ave. retail corridor. And even further to the west, you’ll find some great blocks near the Clinton Hill border (which may actually be Clinton Hill by now if the RE agents have their way).
Ditto to what other posters have said about the general tone of friendliness. This is not the anonymous NYC that exists elsewhere. This is a place where you get to know your neighbors and yes, occasionally band together to combat things like noise and trash, or coordinate block parties and greening efforts. If you move here with a respectful, friendly attitude, you will know more neighbors here within your first week than you did after years in your old place. If you forget to move your car for street cleaning, your neighbors will ring your bell when they see the cops coming. This feels like home to me, and honestly, if I won the lottery tomorrow I would probably stay here rather than move to one of Brooklyn’s higher-priced bobo enclaves.
Every neighborhood has positives and negatives about it. Bed Stuy is no different. There is much change happening as far as new restaurants, businesses and housing being developed etc. but there have always been homeowners who take pride in the community they live in.As with any community, there might be some bad apples in the bunch, but the majority of residents mind their own business and are among the working class.I c also echo the sentiment that you should visit not only on the weekends but different times of the day, morning , afternoon and evening. I have a home in Clinton Hill as well and the same can be said of that area Crime exists in every community nowadays. I read a few days ago of the poor man in Bayridge who went to the store for some milk at 11 pm and stumbled back to his house and collapsed. He had been stabbed and succumbed to his injury. Random acts of violence and crime is rampant nowadays. You have to be aware of your surroundings no matter where you live. You learn to take the good with the bad as long as the good outweighs the bad. Good luck.
Every neighborhood has positives and negatives about it. Bed Stuy is no different. There is much change happening as far as new restaurants, businesses and housing being developed etc. but there have always been homeowners who take pride in the community they live in.As with any community, there might be some bad apples in the bunch, but the majority of residents mind their own business and are among the working class.I c also echo the sentiment that you should visit not only on the weekends but different times of the day, morning , afternoon and evening. I have a home in Clinton Hill as well and the same can be said of that area Crime exists in every community nowadays. I read a few days ago of the poor man in Bayridge who went to the store for some milk at 11 pm and stumbled back to his house and collapsed. He had been stabbed and succumbed to his injury. Random acts of violence and crime is rampant nowadays. You have to be aware of your surroundings no matter where you live. You learn to take the good with the bad as long as the good outweighs the bad. Good luck.
Also Just to set the record straight you do not have to live in Stuyvesant Heights section to be in the quote good section . There are other parts of Bedford Stuyvesant that are nicer that some parts of Stuyvesant Height such as Macdonough to Howard Decatur to Howard , Hancock to Marcy drive around and see for yourself.
Hooray for barrels with flowers on Halsey St.
11:38 OP here
When I said sough first year – i was refering to constant noise, trash, etc on the block. There was one particular house that attracted crowds at all hours of the day and were dealing drugs. Its been over a year where that house was sold and converted to three apartments which are occupied. Even though its a bus block, it has become quieter, cleaner and greener. There is block party this weekend.. and kids play outside now.