Two Pittsburghers Moving Out of Their Element
to the chase: I’m a Union Boilermaker, shes a Resident Physician (both in our late 20’s). My girlfriend will be working at a hospital around Flatbush and has no time to look at apartments. Shes counting on me to sniff around and find the best course of action for housing needs (im off of work…
to the chase:
I’m a Union Boilermaker, shes a Resident Physician (both in our late 20’s). My girlfriend will be working at a hospital around Flatbush and has no time to look at apartments. Shes counting on me to sniff around and find the best course of action for housing needs (im off of work currently). We both like the sound of Prospect heights, Park Slope,Carroll Gardens, etc. I think we are looking at spending 2k/month on rent, which from what I researched gives you a fair space in most sects of Brooklyn…for Brooklyn standards anyway. I’m finding it a tad daunting pinpointing the best route. I have a four bedroom,2000k sq ft, Tutor style house in the suburbs of Pittsburgh…this is going to be a big adjustment.
Questions:
-How far in advance should I be looking at apartments?
-I hear about the broker route, but I have a slight mistrust for them. are they pertinent?
-Should I just stay a week, look through classifieds/craigslist, and view apartments?
– I need to possibly work in New Jersey…is getting out of Brooklyn in the morning horrendous?
– I have a car, am I screwed?
– she wants to be at work with a max commute of 20 minutes each way, where to live???
Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated…it nice to see the sense of community on this site…makes me feel better about the move 🙂
Yes, you should be looking in (West) Flatbush, aka Victorian Flatbush and sometimes called Ditmas Park which is more correctly the sub-neighborhood at the South end of the larger Flatbush area. There are frequent buses at day and night along Church Ave that would get your gf a few blocks from the hospital. Flatbush is convenient to the B/Q subways and as others have noted, any easy drive to the BQE via the Prospect Expressway. East Flatbush is closer to the hospital but is less nice.
I’d rather take the Verrazano to get to NJ any day than going through Manhattan, it’s true. The problem is, Italiana, the commute for the girlfriend (which will be a daily commute, not just occasionally as his commute to NJ) would be hellish from Bay Ridge. The N/R is the only subway option there. She’d have an hour long commute with all the train changes and walking.
There are commuter discounts on both bridges he would have to use and it can be a burden but for some people time is money. Just letting him know what his options are. He’s going to have to pay tolls no matter where he decides to live and it might be worth it to him to pay a few bucks more to gain an hour to two hours of his life every day.
I’m not telling him where to live, just giving him options.
I second advice re: stay on same subway line for your girlfriend. What about living in Prospect Lefferts right near the hospital? She could walk, and you could drive.
In terms of street parking – I have been parking an old car on the street since 2002 (Park Slope, Prospect Heights) and while it does have its fair share of scratches, it has not been broken into, and the worst that happened is that someone knocked the bumper off and drove away.
I would look for apartment both with and without brokers. And don’t just use one company, they all have their own listings. I’ve done it both ways.
Note, you don’t pay the fee until lease signing so no obligation on your part until the deal is done. Don’t pay a fee for apartment lists (an old school NY scam). It is legit to pay between $50 and $75 for a credit check once you are the selected tenant. No more. No fees to the super to get you/show you an apartment (also an old-school scam). Basically don’t give anyone any money until the lease signing.
To denton’s point about tolls, heck..if he’s heading out early enough (7am or earlier) and wants to save dough he can stay right on the Prospect Expressway ramp right onto the BQE to the Brooklyn Bridge, cross that and head right up to the Holland Tunnel and over to New Jersey for free.
If he’s passing through anywhere after 8am he’d best off either taking the Prospect–>BQE ramp and cutting all the way across to the Battery tunnel ($5.50) then to the (free) Jersey-bound Holland Tunnel…or sucking it up and paying $13 to cross the Verazzano bridge to SI.
The construction/narrowing congestion on the BQE between the Prospect Expwy and the Brooklyn Bridge would be a no-go any time after 8am, rendering that free route a total waste of time, utterly frustrating every morning.
During rush hour, you pretty much get what you pay for. $13 bucks for a speedy, empty breeze of a reverse commute (eliminating 40 minutes of bumper-to-bumper delay on the free Brooklyn Bridge–> Holland Tunnel outbound route) may just be worth it, so long as you are sure things are okay as usual along that path.
But coming back home through the Holland Tunnel you’d pay $8, and it’d be free for the reverse evening commute back across from Staten Island, so at the end of the day it’s only a $5 difference between sitting in traffic or enjoying open roads.
Don’t forget to tell the OP what the toll is…
Thanks for the info, vinca. Yeah, as I mentioned, my morning drive takes me through there but not to the SI-bound ramp.
But still, even if one made the quick left at the bottom of the Hamilton Ave exit ramp, Southbound 3rd Ave should be pretty empty at or before 7am to get to the next ramp way down, assuming he’s driving earlier as he currently is.
Living in Bay Ridge, I can hop right on the BQE and be on the Verrazzano in 5 minutes during rush hour traffic because its all going the other way. (I sometimes visit my mamma in Staten Island during the week so she can see her grandchildren.)
Bob, it’s not your bad luck. Certain exits and entrances are closed at rush hour to accommodate reverse traffic flow in bus and HOV lanes. See these two sites for traffic advistories: http://bit.ly/bOwKgT and http://bit.ly/bueJRO
Two excerpts:
Gowanus Expressway between 92nd Street and 65th Street:
A contra-flow Manhattan-bound lane is provided from 6am to 10am Monday to Friday for buses and passenger cars with 3 or more people exiting the Upper Roadway of the Verrazano Bridge. Additionally there are three lanes northbound (inbound) and two lanes southbound (outbound). Off peak hour lane closures may occur mid-day and overnight as needed.
Gowanus Expressway between Belt Parkway and Gowanus Canal:
Buses and passenger vehicles with 3 or more people and E-Z pass many use the special contra-flow lane to the tunnel. A special contra-flow lane using the outbound roadway is open from 6am to 10am Monday to Friday with access inbound to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel only. During this time there are two lanes for southbound (outbound) traffic. The southbound entrance from 3rd Avenue at Prospect Avenue is closed from 5am to 11am Monday to Friday. The Gowanus Expressway outbound (southbound) exit to the Prospect Expressway southbound is closed from 5am to 11am Monday to Friday. Motorists should use the prior Hamilton Avenue exit and follow posted detours.