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I went to woodlawn with my wife the other day and we checked out the area. I think its more fair to compare woodlawn with westchester county / yonkers than with other neighborhoods in the Bronx and NYC. I'll give my reasons for that below.
First, the local feeling and the people seem good. We had lunch at one of the Irish pubs and everyone seemed to know each other. I liked that a lot because nowadays in many places in the country it seems that everybody is a stranger. It definitely has a working class vibe. People were friendly.
The housing stock is pretty decent as well. There were a lot of nice houses we saw that we liked.
The problem is that there really seems to be a lack of amenities. First off, while the neighborhood is technically a part of NYC, when you want to weigh the public transit options I think you really have to compare it to westchester county. The subways are far away and the metro north is in the south east corner of the neighborhood. If you live more north west, you're far from everything and probably forced to take a bus to the trains. I certainly wouldn't want to walk that long quiet stretch of Jerome Ave to the 4 train at night. Even if you do opt to take the subways, its a very long ride when you add in the additional bus commute. I didn't try crossing the bridge to the 2/5 train but I suspect even if you choose to to do that, the subway ride is going to be very long.
On the map, it looks like the neighborhood has an abundance of green space but this is not actually the case. To the south you have Woodlawn cemetery. While beautiful, this is not really a place you're going to go with your kids or to hang out by yourself very often. To the west is Van Cordtlandt park, but this part of the park is pretty bare. There are not really any good playgrounds, trails, or any other city park style amenities in this section.
Again comparing to westchester, I think you really should have a car to live well here. In that is another problem which is street parking. Finally, there is the NYC income tax that still bites you in woodlawn. I suppose (depending on your income and real estate budget) you can weigh that against the insane property taxes in westchester.
So overall, comparing to westchester I don't really see a lot of reasons to choose woodlawn. I haven't yet compared actual real estate prices though.
Last edited by fmatthew5876; 08-25-2014 at 08:01 AM..
I went to woodlawn with my wife the other day and we checked out the area. I think its more fair to compare woodlawn with westchester county / yonkers than with other neighborhoods in the Bronx and NYC. I'll give my reasons for that below.
First, the local feeling and the people seem good. We had lunch at one of the Irish pubs and everyone seemed to know each other. I liked that a lot because nowadays in many places in the country it seems that everybody is a stranger. It definitely has a working class vibe. People were friendly.
The housing stock is pretty decent as well. There were a lot of nice houses we saw that we liked.
The problem is that there really seems to be a lack of amenities. First off, while the neighborhood is technically a part of NYC, when you want to weigh the public transit options I think you really have to compare it to westchester county. The subways are far away and the metro north is in the south east corner of the neighborhood. If you live more north west, you're far from everything and probably forced to take a bus to the trains. I certainly wouldn't want to walk that long quiet stretch of Jerome Ave to the 4 train at night. Even if you do opt to take the subways, its a very long ride when you add in the additional bus commute. I didn't try crossing the bridge to the 2/5 train but I suspect even if you choose to to do that, the subway ride is going to be very long.
On the map, it looks like the neighborhood has an abundance of green space but this is not actually the case. To the south you have Woodlawn cemetery. While beautiful, this is not really a place you're going to go with your kids or to hang out by yourself very often. To the west is Van Cordtlandt park, but this part of the park is pretty bare. There are not really any good playgrounds, trails, or any other city park style amenities in this section.
Again comparing to westchester, I think you really should have a car to live well here. In that is another problem which is street parking. Finally, there is the NYC income tax that still bites you in woodlawn. I suppose (depending on your income and real estate budget) you can weigh that against the insane property taxes in westchester.
So overall, comparing to westchester I don't really see a lot of reasons to choose woodlawn. I haven't yet compared actual real estate prices though.
Real estate taxes are going to be significantly lower in Woodlawn then Yonkers or anywhere in Westchester. House just over the border in Yonkers probably pays 8-10K a year in taxes. My buddy pays about 3800 in Woodlawn. Also the schools in Yonkers aren't in great shakes (Thanks Judge Sands).
Playground? What about the big one on Van Cort near the BB courts? I think it's a decent playground. In terms of transportation, I agree with you. The metro north is down on Webster. You have the express bus but you would have to take a bus to the IRT 4 line. Parking in the area I find to be tough but not impossible. For those reasons I listed is the reason I chose Riverdale over Woodlawn. Also I remember Woodlawn when Kathonah was a sleepy town. Now you have the 24 hour deli's and a lot more bars. With that said Woodlawn is still one the best areas to live in The Bronx.
Not at all available...it is distinctly different. You can walk into Woodlawn as a person of color, and not be able to rent an apt because A: You are not Irish and B: You are not "white." That just doesn't happen to whites going into neighborhoods of color. When a "white" guy walks through neighborhoods of color, people generally don't care, don't notice, or think you might be a cop. As a person of color walking in Woodlawn there is a real threat of a beatdown, particularly in the late evenings when the liquid courage has been flowing.
Well Sobro, I was referring to "feeling like an outsider" and not housing discrimination which is a whole other discussion.
But you're wrong on your second part. I know you're a light skinned puerto rican, but you seemingly don't have any idea what it's like walking through or hanging out in an area like that as a caucasion. What you describe goes both ways and I've literally gotten jumped for being the wrong look in the wrong area. Granted it was when I was younger, but I was doing nothing wrong aside from bike riding. So perhaps open your eyes to the real world once in a while.
a few years ago i was directed to a small office on Katonah Ave near E 239th to have something notarized. it was just about all Native Irish staff in the office and the atmosphere icy cold. they were kind of eyeing me to see who I was. strange cos I normally find most irish to be warm and congenial, but ive also encountered this coldness in my area (Riverdale) from some Native Irish
Well Sobro, I was referring to "feeling like an outsider" and not housing discrimination which is a whole other discussion.
But you're wrong on your second part. I know you're a light skinned puerto rican, but you seemingly don't have any idea what it's like walking through or hanging out in an area like that as a caucasion. What you describe goes both ways and I've literally gotten jumped for being the wrong look in the wrong area. Granted it was when I was younger, but I was doing nothing wrong aside from bike riding. So perhaps open your eyes to the real world once in a while.
Is BronxBro = Sobro?
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