Living Near BQE
We are thinking of buying a place a few houses from the BQE. One of our main reasons is that we can afford a house with a yard. Would sound/air quality be so bad that it wouldnt be worth it? is the constant noise very annoying? Would love to hear from others who live near…
We are thinking of buying a place a few houses from the BQE. One of our main reasons is that we can afford a house with a yard. Would sound/air quality be so bad that it wouldnt be worth it? is the constant noise very annoying? Would love to hear from others who live near the BQE. thanks.
I would guess that near the Gowanus/BQE/Prospect/tunnel interchange area is noisier and dirtier.
But if thinking near BQE near Navy Yard probably not as bad.
IT depends if you are in direct line of site of the BQE. We are close but are buffeted behind other buildings. In our case it is not bad. We hear the hum, sometimes different volumes depending on which way the wind is blowing. Closed windows blocks out everything. As far as air quality, being in NY generally is not great to begin with but haven’t been too concerned because there tends to be a good wind where we are. Some folks who use the air filters speak highly of them.
The front of our place is over the BQE trench, with double-paned windows we don’t hear much noise. Sounds like from some of the other posters it makes a big difference if you’re close to a ramp/exit or something like that, we dont ever hear honking or road work from where we are, it’s more of a white noise. newelyork brings up a good point we do feel vibrations from time to time in our place so you’d probably want to get all the structural elements checked out extra carefully.
sounds like kramer and i have a similar situation. we live about a block and a half from the bqe/hamilton ave and i gotta say in the morning it’s the worst with all the jackass truck drivers honking and that downshifting sound! it also depends on the weather…really!
if it’s kinda of damp out it’s a little louder etc.
otherwise it isnt insanely loud…i still sit outside, sleep well etc. it’s no more dirty than anywhere else in nyc. i love my house so a little noise is tolerable.
Friends of mine live on a block near the BQE in Carroll Gardens and they hate being so close to the freeway because of noise and pollution (I’m not sure if it’s the black dust or just the idea of so many cars so close). There are quiet and affordable areas in Brooklyn with yards that aren’t by the freeway–check out PLG and Flatbush.
Are you looking at the elevated portion of the BQE, or the trenched portion? I was renting a duplex in an 1850s wood-frame, 4 or 5 houses down from the elevated BQE near the navy yard in Fort Greene, for 3 years. The noise was constant, but didn’t really bother me. I didn’t notice any perceivable difference in air quality versus anywhere else in the city.
My main concern in purchasing property there would actually be ground vibration. There was a constant low vibration, which amplified to a shudder every time a large truck drove by on the BQE. This was an annoying feeling, and probably takes its toll in fatiguing the structure over time. The other annoyance was frequent construction noise, as the BQE seems to need perpetual repairs. One benefit though, was the abundant free parking under the BQE!
Despite all, I certainly wouldn’t discourage you from considering the place if you love it. I ultimately found the BQE a tolerable neighbour, and I also kind of enjoyed the slightly remote and semi-industrial feel of the BQE corridor.
I’m the 2nd house away from 3rd Ave/BQE Overpass. You kind of get used to the noise (and the rumbling), but it gets very dirty from pollution, at night, when things are quieter, you hear every noise that much more. We sleep in the middle of the house in a room with no windows. The front and rear of the house which have double paned windows are loud.
For us it’s less the BQE than the traffic on the avenue we’re on that is a truck route for the BQE. There is more honking/traffic noise there. The BQE is white noise, basically. But it’s dirty. And if you’re a corner building, your building will shake a little. One thing to think of: they are doing “improvements” and asbestos removal on parts of the BQE, so there will be a lot of construction the next few years, depending on where you live.
I think this is a bigger deal if you didn’t live in NYC. Where in NYC do you not hear traffic? where is it constantly quiet on a block? It’s the hum of the city no matter where you go.