Amsterdam between 83rd &84th??? Apt worries (New York, York: lease, house)

[deerock]

found an apt i love..and mean love love love on this block. Very comfortable with the area..couple of questions. How is parking on the street? I have to keep my car. Is the neighborhood safe? Whats the average age/ mix of the population? My building seems to be majority spanish (according to the mailboxes) which Im fine with, as I am too. It is above a restaurant/bar...I have never lived above a restaurant/ bar and I am wondering if this is good/bad. Good this is there are always people around..bad thing..there are always people around to the wee hours of the morning..drunks etc. Also I have heard that your chances for rodents/bugs are greater when you live above a restaurant...I guess this could be true.

My only real hesitation with this location is it's location. It is right on the block with the Rita Berger House aka the Bridge Inc. It is a "half-way" house for mentally ill/recovering drug addicts etc. Well Im actually not sure who the residents are because it doesnt say specifically on their site...thats the population the bridge deals with.

One last thing the garbage room is in the basement of the building..all my other apt garbage was outside...does this lead to more bugs/rats etc...The bug issue is a major one for me.

thanks for you help

[dixiecupdrinking]

I can't speak to the parking or the halfway house situation. Also, you could face some issues with the pests and noise, like you say. I doubt anyone will be able to offer specific advice.. seems like a "your mileage may vary" scenario. But that's a great area. My girlfriend used to live on the UWS and would have loved to be 10 blocks down where you are. She was in a somewhat more marginal area (high-90s between Columbus and CPW), and even so, never had any issues, crime-wise.

Also, noisy though it may be at times, being on a major busy street and right near a business that's open late can only be good for your safety.

[Viralmd]

I think you'll be fine...Anything on an avenue (except for Park and Fifth Avenues) is going to be noisy, but that's NYC.

[analyticalkeys]

Just for the record.. my building's garbage room is in the basement too, but I have no problems with any kinds of bugs or pests.

[mead]

I'd be most concerned about living above a restaurant/bar. What time does the bar close? 2 AM or 4 AM? Do they have bands play there? If there a jukebox, and if so how loud does it play? These are things that can significantly effect your quality of life for the next year of the lease.

[crescent22]

You're in the heart of the Upper West Side; as good as New York City gets outside of the $60m brownstones on 5th Avenue. 10024 zip code is 77% white with significant diversity of people, ages, and services. It's normal to see trash on the curb on the days the garbage picks up. UWS bars do not have the rep of playing loud music late- bars and clubs are different animals. Upper West bars will thin out by 1am.

[passdoubt]

That area's pretty nice and has always struck me as being really quiet. I'm surprised your building's mostly Spanish, I've never gotten that impression on those blocks. Parking will be annoying. You'll have to move your car for street cleaning. But not impossible to keep a car.