Sunset Park: Land of the Affordable Brownstone
As has been discussed in this space before, Sunset Park offers an impresssive assortment of housing opportunities, especially for those looking to stay below the million dollar mark. Like many nabes now undergoing renaissance, Sunset Park, which stretches south of Park Slope down to Bay Ridge, has seen a big turnaround. One of the city’s…
As has been discussed in this space before, Sunset Park offers an impresssive assortment of housing opportunities, especially for those looking to stay below the million dollar mark. Like many nabes now undergoing renaissance, Sunset Park, which stretches south of Park Slope down to Bay Ridge, has seen a big turnaround. One of the city’s most diverse areas, Sunset Park is also expected to get a lift from the waterfront development projects just getting underway that will include ballfields, lawns and bike paths. Those who have already bought in are pleased as punch:
“We got a much bigger space for not much more than we sold our condo for in Park Slope,” said Joe Reister, an academic adviser who bought a three-story brownstone on 45th Street with his wife, Shannon Laughlin, a year and a half ago. “We did some work — don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But the outside looks like something out of Sesame Street.”
The only negative the Times article notes is a lack of parking. How about that commute? The Times the article quoted seemed to give an overly optimistic impression by citing only the time on the subway. How do residents find it?
Hunt for Brownstones in Sunset Park [NY Times]
Addendum: Check out the Times article on Living In Sunset Park from 2001 Here. Thanks, Joyce.
Bunky, 🙂
I completely agree with the comment noted above: ‘…a lot of people who live in SP would love to stay in their neighborhood to shop, but feel a better selection awaits them in other neighborhoods …. there is a great deal of opportunity for small business owners to open up on 5th ave…’
Restaurateurs, bar owners, take note! A decent bagel+coffee shop and a nice restaurant are bound to succeed.
Linus and Veggieburger and others,
Maybe you are right, I am bringing my anomosity from the Prospect Lefferts thread over, and if so, I apologize. I tend to be oversensitive to issues I feel are not faced head on. I really like this site, and as a newcomer, do not want to wear out my welcome. I’ll keep my rabble rousing to relevant places, which pop up a lot, proving that gentrification is a complicated and contentious issue.
I also think Sunset Park is a really interesting neighborhood, and hope it only flourishes.
I think Sunset Park has a great future. When all of those diaper-wearing tots in Park Slope enter their teens, many Park Slope residents will seek a way out. And they (along with their money) will find their escape in places like Ditmas Park, Midwood, Sunset Park and Bay Ridge. I am ready to jump ship now, and am currently looking in Ditmas (but would certainly consider Sunset Park).
anon 2:22 —
you’re right — the r to the n or d is much faster than the f. but i live in park slope and take the r to the n or d all the time. but i like sunset park, more power to you.
I live in Sunset Park and I really get a kick out of the posters who state things about the nabe, when they actually don’t live there and actually have very limited knowledge about the place.
First, the commute is definitely better than the majority of Parl Slope, for example. If you live in the north slope near the 2,3,4,5 etc, then you have a quick ride to Manhattan. But, the commute from 7th Ave in the slope is terrible. I lived there for over five years and I can say from experience that the commute from Sunset Park is faster. I travel to midtown every day – the R to the N or D is significantly faster than the commute to midtown on the F train.
The nabe is very much split between the primarily Mexican area of 5th Avenue and Chinese are of 8th avenue. However, there is a lot of diversity. My wife and I live in a brownstone – we have an Indian family to our left that rents their upper apartment to a Dominican family. On our right is a brownstone occupied by white and black families. The rest of the block includes a smorgasboard of folks. We have many Chinese and Latin families living on the same block – however Mexicans out number the Chinese given our proximity to 5th Avenue.
Many blocks include beautiful brownstones and limestones. Check out the blocks in the mid fifties between 4th and 5th and the best blocks (in my opinion) – 47th and 48th between 5th and 6th avenues. The area on 6th avenue between 45th and 50th is really nice too as is 45th between 4th and 5th.
The interesting thing about the NYT article is that the people interviewed stated that parking was their primary concern. I honestly don’t see as much of a problem as in Park Slope. I found that year after year, the parking in the slope became worse and worse.
The big proplem with Sunset park is the store selection on 5th avenue – too many of the same kind of restaurants and 99 cent stores. If you want to grab a bite and are not looking for cheap Chinese or Mexican food, you have to go to Bay Ridge or the Slope. There simply are no cafes/restaurant to go to that serve a standard diner fare. If you want to go out and grab a bagel and a cup of coffee, you can’t.
I think this will all change soon, though. It seems that there are a lot of people who live in SP that would love to stay in their neighborhood to shop, but feel a better selection awaits them in other neighborhoods. Honestly, I believe there is a great deal of opportunity for small business owners to open up on 5th ave and grab the consumers that, too often, leave for other neighborhoods to do their shopping.
Sunset Park will never be like Park Slope. But, it is a great neighborhood and will get even better. Give it a try, and don’t believe the stories about the commute being bad – it is simply NOT true.
5th Ave retail corridor in Sunset Park is almost entirely 99cent stores.
Bunky, you may claim that you rather be insulted to your face, but you come off as someone who feels entitled to insult people to their face.
I do not want to be insult to my face and I do not insult people to their face.
If someone doesn’t want to live in an area because they are white-a phobic, black-a phobic, hispanic-a phobic, asian-a phobic, then they are prejudice.
If someone doesn’t want to live in a place where they are at risk of getting shot or mugged they are cautious.
I also do not know what is bothering you unless some of the remarks about Lefferts got to you. However, I would be hard pressed to call someone a racist because they think Lefferts is dangerous. Lefferts certainly is dangerous, but it is not dangerous because the skin of its inhabitants happens to be largely black in color. White neighborhoods are not always safe. When they are safe, it is not because they are white. There are complicated socioeconomic explanations of these phenomena. The races involved are incidental.