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I haven't spent any time around there right after school, Andez, but it's a pretty good bet it's nicer when the kids are gone. From what I've heard, 7th Avenue in Park Slope also gets nuts when John Jay lets out, and nobody would dispute that's a pretty nice area.
As to the OP -- Dekalb and Tompkins is Bed-Stuy, no two ways about it. I wouldn't live there personally. Not very convenient to Manhattan, and will be especially tough to get home late at night, when you're relying on the famously-unreliable G train. It also could be a sketchy walk at night. I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers by implying it's some god-awful hellhole over there or anything, but it seems pretty rough to me and I wouldn't recommend it to someone unfamiliar with NYC. You're better off looking for an apartment share in a better neighborhood. What's your budget like?
Dkalb and Tompkins wouldn't get any recommendations from me either.
As far as the Golden Gloves and appreciating the kids starting fights with you...I can appreciate that you ain't scared or wouldn't show fear. But I would also say, be easy... not arrogant or overconfident in unfamiliar territory.
ok, ok...maybe I'll look for a different area. I don't mind fighting and I definitely don't require lace curtain environments. but I'm coming to NYC to focus on acting, not boxing. So it would be nice to be somewhere that isn't going to be distracting like the way this area has been described.
It seems like Queens might be the best bet? Plus, some other areas in Brooklyn. I'll keep looking. I've got til June 1.
I know what you mean. everybody's got their home turfs and safety zones and when you get them in unfamiliar places, they gotta watch their back no matter where they're from. so i'm not overconfident or arrogant about it.
I'm just looking for a place where someone can be out of their home turf and still get along reasonably well without getting Mod cut: languagewith by people who don't want to see unfamiliar faces in their neighborhoods.
Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it.
Last edited by Viralmd; 04-10-2009 at 04:47 AM..
Reason: Language
Keith, if that's your budget, you may want to look in Clinton Hill -- basically just 10-15 blocks west of where this place is. Basically, stay west of Classon or Franklin Avenues, along Myrtle, Dekalb, Willoughby, Lafayette. The further west you go, the better. You're still relying on the G train over there but it's more Pratt-centric, a little hipper and feels a lot safer to me. You could also look down near Fulton Street... there, you've got the C and the A, which is a much easier ride to Manhattan. You could find something in Greenpoint for your budget, too, or maybe South Slope/Greenwood Heights, which is a little further from the city but a safe neighborhood with a good amount of stuff to do. There are good deals for shares in all kinds of great neighborhoods, too, though $600-700 would be pushing it... if you could go to $800 it would drastically open up your options.
Also, yeah, Queens may be a good bet if you're basically just looking for a place to lay your head. Astoria and Sunnyside are very convenient to Manhattan, very safe and cheaper than any comparably nice Brooklyn area.
fort greene is the ghetto. there have been developers who have been developing buildings and charging sky high rents to lure unsuspecting people from out of state who are under the assumption that higher rents mean better neighborhoods. you could end up in a nice building surrounded on all sides by crack houses and drug dens. some of the difference are as dramatic as (1) nice block, (2) bad block, (3) nice block again. by all means make sure that the tenants are allowed to sublet. nyc housing laws are very strict, and the enforcement are sometimes brutal.
You should check out the south bronx if you want cheap rent and easy access to manhattan. Rent is DUMB cheap. right in the price range you're asking for too. Plus you're right across the water from northern manhattan so the train-ride into midtown aint all that long. To be honest I dont even like bigging up this area because its one of NYC's best kept secrets and Im hoping to move there soon, but fortunately the area's reputation keeps people away.
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From what I've heard, 7th Avenue in Park Slope also gets nuts when John Jay lets out, and nobody would dispute that's a pretty nice area. 
