Thinking of moving into crown heights (Franklin, Prospect: apartment, condo, houses)

[noteasybeingreen]

I'm looking to purchase an affordable one family home; a house or brownstone. Right now it would just be for me, but I think it's pointless to pay common charges on some cookie cutter condo.

I've fallen in love with the architecture and beautiful single family homes in Crown heights. The transportation is terrific for me as well. I'm particularly interested in the area near Brower park and the Brooklyn Children's museum.

I'm somewhat familar with the area geographically and realize that there isn't a starbucks or anything like that on every corner. That doesn't bother me.

I'd love to hear from anyone who had a point of view about the neighborhoood developed from recent experiences or an opinion about a white guy moving into the area and possibly starting a family in the next five years.

I know I don't have to tell you not to hold back and thank you all in advance.

[drkman]

Since you mentioned Brower Park, I am assuming you are looking for something around Brooklyn Avenue. There are some white families that live in that area so that should not be too much of a concern. The houses are beautiful around there but it will all depend on your comfort level. Crown Heights is not the best Brooklyn has to offer nor is it the worst.

North Crown Heights is changing rapidly with the influx of a lot of young couples especially near the border of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights. From my conversations with these newbies to the neighborhood, they have not mentioned any complaints and tend to like the area and the people in it. There are not many amenities but there has been a change on Franklin Avenue as it has seen more small restaurants open up.

If I may suggest, it might be nice to visit the area and hang out in the local beer garden (Franklin Park) and talk to some of the patrons there. They may be able to offer a better perspective as they are more familiar with what they have experienced moving into Crown Heights.

Like most areas there is your good and your bad. I have not really experienced the bad in Crown Heights since I have been living here (over 13 years) but I am not going to dismiss it. I find it to be a nice neighborhood with decent transportation and close enough to other areas that it is not inconvenient for me to go out, if I want to. I have read posts from others that have lived near me that have had horrible experiences in Crown Heights but I am not sure of the particular reason why their experiences were so bad. All in all, it depends on you and your interaction with any given neighborhood.

[newtoli]

It's definitely changing for the better, but would depend on your level of street smarts... as it stands now I would not want to raise a family there, but in 5 years, a lot could change. I have a friend who bought an apartment there 3 years ago and moved and rented it out because she felt uncomfortable at night. She was not a recent transplant to the area, born and raised in NYC.

I'd suggest spending a lot of time in the area you're looking at, day and night, to get a better feel of your comfort level.

[NooYowkur81]

Crown Heights can be really dangerous. Some really bad stuff still happens over there. The spot you described doesn't seem bad though, and it looks like it could have potential. One thing to keep in mind with the current economic situation you might have to stretch out the timelines that were once commonly accepted for an area improving. So for instance the whole 5 years away thing might be more like 8 years away.