New to Boerum Hill
My (expecting) wife and I are considering moving to Boerum hill. We found a nice apartment on Dean and Nevins, but haven’t quite figured out the immediate vicinity of the neighborhood. We took a walk around (going east bound towards 3rd Avenue) and were less than enthused with what we saw. Can someone please give…
My (expecting) wife and I are considering moving to Boerum hill. We found a nice apartment on Dean and Nevins, but haven’t quite figured out the immediate vicinity of the neighborhood. We took a walk around (going east bound towards 3rd Avenue) and were less than enthused with what we saw. Can someone please give us the lowdown of the neighborhood — is it safe? are there any areas you should avoid? where do you grocery shop? where is there a good gym? is there any nice park that is in walking distance (and by that I do not mean Prospect Park)?
Also, when you have someone who lives in Williamsburg passing on a second hand story about Boerum Hill, for all you know he is talking about 3rd Avenue and Butler (what essentially most people would call charitably Gowanus but some would argue is Boerum Hill-ish).
And frankly, if the person said BH, I’d think they were talking about Brooklyn Heights.
Anyway, I’d say that Nevins is the boundary of purely residential neighborhoods. From Nevins to 4th Avenue is mix of apartment houses, some row houses, and light industrial. Given this, I think that you will find yourself oriented the other direction toward Smith and Court.
As such, I much prefer the Met food on Smith over Pathmark. Smaller but well stocked with all basics and no lines. Brooklyn Fare is good, esp. if you are taking the A/C.
The school there is PS 38, which is not a bad school in NYC but is certainly not considered as highly as other schools in the area like 282 or 261. Not sure how it compares to PS 20 in Ft Greene.
By parks, what do you mean? Do you mean multiblock affairs — which there is only at FT Greene and Prospect Park, as well as the still developing Brooklyn Bridge park. FOr kids, you are in spitting distance of the PS 38 school yard, which is open for the public to use on weekends with a nice small artificial turf, plus that tiny pocket park on Pacific for toddlers.
@petebkyn lmao
“There’s nothing in the papers about that.” — he didn’t say what year or decade this supposedly happened.
“had good friends in BH that were having a smallish get together when next thing you know, 4 guys with guns attacked the entire group and took everything. no thanks. i don’t give a crap about brick or brown buildings, safety is more valuable. these type of brooklyn areas are not manhattan – there are no doorman standing outside – it can be dark and desolate at night – especially in winter”
I call bullsh!t. There’s nothing in the papers about that.
Brooklyn Fare on Schermerhorn between Bond & Hoyt – good grocery store.
Jesse’s and other corner grocery on Atlantic & Bond – good bodegas.
Building on Bond (at Pacific) – best nabe food/drink/cafe
Keep walking East to 5th Ave, there’s a whole ‘nother restaurant row there. If Smith St is nightlife for 20-somethings, 5th Ave is nightlife for 30-somethings. 4th Ave is also home to some of the newer edgier places – down by Degraw, etc., for ramen, Australian, Ethiopian. Two good bars on 4th between Dean & Bergen, lots more on Smith and 5th.
PS 38 is an average school, which is, sadly, not that great for NYC. Summer nights there is noise in the playground, but the school is working on that. But if you’re only expecting, then all you need to worry about is daycare, and there are many many good options in the hood for that.
Avoid the projects at night: Wyckoff and south from Hoyt to 3rd. I walk through them during the day to get to my daycare, and they are fine.
Fort Greene is the closest proper park. There are quite a few playgrounds. Because you’re so close to 11 subway lines, (and buses) you can get anywhere fast. Investigate buses or bike.
You would close to everything in brownstone Brooklyn.
if you don’t want to live near projects, then do not move to boreum hill – surrounded by the PJ’s there, and the not so good area of north/west Park Slope.
had good friends in BH that were having a smallish get together when next thing you know, 4 guys with guns attacked the entire group and took everything. no thanks. i don’t give a crap about brick or brown buildings, safety is more valuable. these type of brooklyn areas are not manhattan – there are no doorman standing outside – it can be dark and desolate at night – especially in winter.
I live directly across from PS 38. It can be loud–just normal schoolkid noise in the mornings, but also noise from the playground and basketball courts at night–but I’ve never felt any sort of safety issue related to the school. In addition to the grocery stores already mentioned (TJ, Pathmark), there’s one on Schermerhorn directly across from the A train–a little pricy for many items, but has a very nice and reasonable butcher/fish counter.
And Sahadi’s (and the other Middle Eastern specialty stores), a nice vegetable deli, and a mediocre Key Food are also down on Court St by the Trader Joe’s.
I think Prospect Park is actually as close on foot as Fort Greene Park–it’s about a 20-minute walk if you go straight up Flatbush. Also if you go straight down Atlantic Ave toward the water, the new sections of Brooklyn Bridge Park are not that far away. (Not super-close, and if park access is a priority then you might want to look in Fort Greene.)
I think that’s a pretty safe area.
Grocery shopping at Pathmark would be a pain. The public school isn’t good. It’s not dangerous, but you probably wouldn’t want to send your kids there. 261 much better if you can get in there.
(Rob, most elementary schools in NY are k-5th)
The NY Sports Club is nice enough and they have babysitting. The Y is cheap and has a pool. There aren’t any nice parks right there, but once the baby gets moving you should join the little vest pocket park around the corner on Bergen (not free, but cheap and darling and always empty).
If it gives you piece of mind, that girl from Felicity — I’m too old to know her name — lives a block over. Those are pretty nice blocks
quote:
PS 38 is an elementary school. I can’t imagine that much crime being committed by 3rd graders –
well not by the third graders, but definitely by the 6th grades, especially the ones repeating 6th grade for like the third time.
*rob*