bed-stuy, marcy street & nostrand street -- what are these areas like ? (Fulton: real estate, apartment)

[mercmisfire]

If someone could provide information (safety, quality of life, access to transportation, etc.) on Clinton Hill and the areas around marcy street and nostrand avenue in bed-stuy I would be thankful. In fact, information on bed-stuy in general would be appreciated; it is among the places to which I think I might move and I've heard people express such mixed feelings about it that I'm not sure what to come out believing.
thanks,
-->merc

[Hustla718]

Why would you move there? Haha.

[baylovers]

I've heard people express such mixed feelings

What makes you think that this forum will be any different? LOL

I suppose the Flushing Ave between Marcy & Nostrand would be a little different than Jefferson Ave would be but not much. The architecture of some of these row buildings are gorgeous and there a few blocks that have a nice feeling to them but for the most part the area has fairly high crime rate. If you are African-American you may assimilate better than a caucasion would.

There are subway stations at the extreme ends of the streets you mentioned... Nostrand & Fulton St for the "A" train and the "G" stops at Myrtle & Willoughby. There are a few bus routes that travel through the neighborhood too. All things considered, I would not recommend it.

[Hustla718]

The liberal college student and real estate scammers will say it is an up and coming area with beutiful brownstones (well they could be).

The person who has lived in NYC a long time will tell you the place is a ****hole.

A cop will tell you don't move there unless you want to be a victim.

A kid growing up there will tell you he/she wants to move the hell out.

There are better areas to live in NYC. You just have to look.

[arel]

I'm a native Brooklynite and I have spent a lot of time in Bed Stuy. I have worked there and I have friends there.

I would tend to agree with Baylovers. Bed Stuy has a lot of good architecture, but, at least right now, the place is not one I would choose to live in. It is not totally impoverished, though. There are a lot of beautiful, well-maintained brownstones. Stuyvesant Street is beautiful.

I never felt unsafe in the area, nor unwanted. (I am caucasian.) But it is, generally, a depressed, high crime area, especially after dark.

If you go a little further east, Stuyvesant Heights appears to be a little nicer. I visited someone there, and her apartment, and apartment building, were beautiful. I got a nice feeling about the neighborhood, and a desire to explore it.

[scatman]

Flushing Avenue between Marcy and Nostrand is the north end of Marcy Houses.

I am a native of the Tompkins Houses, which is one block east of Marcy, and still worship at one of the neighborhood churches. While I believe that Hustla's posts are highly subjective, I will agree with him to avoid the area, but until you are familiar with it. It is an area which has issues. For example, a 30-year block party, Tompkins Day, was cancelled for last summer due to a drug war between folk from Tompkins v. Marcy. There are plans to revive that celebration, I'm sure with much more police presence.

However, the Hasidim community may strongly disagree with myself and Hustla, for their community is expanding ever more south of Williamsburg and in the area you are seeking. In fact, some are residents of the North side of Marcy Houses. There are Hasidim buildings on Myrtle Avenue and Walbout Streets and Taffee Place (west of Nostrand).

Some other points: First, There are new rental buildings on Myrtle between Tompkins and Marcy, and the residents are mostly white (right between the mostly Black and Latino Tompkins and Marcy Houses). There have been no problems between those residents and those of the PJ's. Other buildings on Myrtle between Marcy and Nostrand (two blocks south of Flushing) are on the way. Second, Flushing Avenue is going through quite a bit of repaving and redevelopment. Third, another issue with that neighborhood is the G, which has always been an still is the worst line in the transit system. They only have four R-46 cars, and a lot of times trackwork is being done, which alters the service. Give yourself an extra 15-20 minutes when ridin' the G.

Another thing: Marcy Houses produced a man by the name of Sean Carter, d/b/a Jay-Z. Tompkins produced comedian Tracy Morgan, Attorney Londell McMillan, streetball legend Ed "Booger" Smith and two-time World Boxing Champ Mark Breland.

[SeventhFloor]

nostrand avenue is prolly the worst block in the stuy

n.a. rocks nostrand and gates god-awful block

[briarwood]

I'm Bi-racial and it doesn't scare me. Stay out of the projects themselves and a lot of the crime dissipates. **** doesn't start getting really scary till Ralph Ave. Before then, most of Bed-stuy/Crown Heights is okay...(meaning between Flushing Ave in the north and Empire ave in the south)

[woofenstein]

To add to the questions:

What about Fulton and Nostrand?
Not that intersection itself, but the 5-10 block radius around it? I've been to that corner for various reasons a few times in my life but never ventured farther than that busy area around the train station until now, when I went to look at an apartment on Madison st.

Sorry if that section was already covered on this thread (don't think it was, though, in detail).

It seems like it's not as bad as other parts of Bed Stuy.

*********oops (edit)*********
I just googlemapped the area and found that Marcy runs parallell to Nostrand. Oh well. I really like the apartment, though..What to do?

I feel like living at college for 4 years has turned me into a wimp. When I was a teenager, I'd sometimes hang out in bed-stuy til 3 or 4 in the morning, and then walk to the train station and take the train by myself (G line). I was a little shook, but not that much--not as much as I would be now.

[scatman]

Originally Posted by woofenstein

To add to the questions:

What about Fulton and Nostrand?
Not that intersection itself, but the 5-10 block radius around it? I've been to that corner for various reasons a few times in my life but never ventured farther than that busy area around the train station until now, when I went to look at an apartment on Madison st.

Sorry if that section was already covered on this thread (don't think it was, though, in detail).

It seems like it's not as bad as other parts of Bed Stuy.

Those brownstones in that area, if still affordable, can be an investment....a real investment!!!!!