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I'm moving back to New York in a few weeks, I've found some interesting rental possibilities in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I'm not very familiar with the area. The reason I'm interested in the area is because 1.) the rents are more manageable than Park Slope and other areas in N. Brooklyn 2.) My commute would be pretty manageable into Manhattan and most importantly 3.) there are some religious pre-schools in the neighborhood for my 3-year old son (my wife is insistent on sending him to schools of our faith - I don't really care personally).
With that said, I recall the area having a quasi-seedy reputation in the past. How is it now? I plan on keeping my car, but only for driving out of the city on the weekends, will parking be better than say in Brooklyn Heights (my cousin lives there, and I hate looking for parking).
I'm also considering Astoria or Forest Hills in Queens in addition to Sunset Park and nearby areas in Brooklyn like Park Slope or Carroll Gardens.
Statistically, Forest Hills is safer than Astoria which is safer than Sunset Park. The most dangerous thing in Forest Hills is probably Queens Boulevard. Sunset Park supposedly isn't all that bad these days, though I don't know. I visit the neighborhood occasionally and it seems fine. Stay east of 4th Ave.. Third Ave has the Gowanus Expressway which is an irritant for your eyes, ears, and lungs, plus it makes 3rd ave harder to cross, and west of 4th Ave seems run down and mostly industrial. Plus 4th Ave isn't easy to cross either. 5th Ave is much more pedestrian friendly, and full of foot traffic. Northwest Sunset Park tends to be more Hispanic, while southeast Sunset Park is more Asian. (mostly Chinese?) 8th Ave in Sunset Park is "Chinatown". For transportation convenience, best to be near 36th St (4th Ave) or 59th St (4th Ave)... 36th St has the DMNR trains - R is local, M is part time, and D and N are express. Very convenient. 59th St has the R (local) and N (express), while the other stops on 4th Ave are only for the R (local)... especially if you're going to Midtown, the D and N are much faster than the R. There are past threads on this forum for more info on Sunset Park.
As a general rule, the neighborhood improves as you go east (avenue numbers increasing) and south (street numbers increasing).
This is pretty much true.
I live in Sunset Park and i've lived here my whole life. Never been robbed, assaulted or even harassed. (Can't say the same for other Brooklyn neighborhoods in my few times visiting)
There IS a very strong hispanic presence in the neighborhood (From 1st to 6th avenue) and then the chinese live from 7th to 9th avenue (Although in the 40s there's still a strong hispanic presence around 9th avenue). It's like a dividing line.
I'm not saying it's a paradise because it still has it's problems. The late 50s around 4th and 3rd avenue aren't that good. 61 street in particular is pretty bad. 49th street to 52nd street between 3rd and 6th avenue aren't the greatest either. You should be fine if you follow normal street rules. There's a lot of mexicans in the neighborhood and frankly, they're not really concerned with robbing other people as they are working the next day.
Heyyy now that I think about it some of the most beautiful blocks are in the low 40s and 4th avenue.
Check out 43rd street between 4th and 5th avenue on googlemaps. Looks like something straight outta park slope. Same with 47th street between 5th and 6th avenue. Also 48th street between 5th and 6th avenue. Gorgeous blocks. You should check them out OP.
I just moved to Sunset park a week ago; I live on 48th street between 5th and 6th ave.
As one of the previous posters admitted, it is a /beautiful/ block. Don't be fooled by the look of the main strips; the residential streets are amazing. The brownstones apparently go for 900K on my block, though that could just be my landlord Mod cut: language.
I come from Long Island, and I'm used to a certain standard of living. With that said, I've already gotten used to Sunset Park and I feel quite comfortable here. ( I'm 25, female, white ) I live right on the cusp between the hispanic area and the 'chinatown' area.
Certain parts are already starting to gentrify. In the mornings and afternoons you see a small but steady trickle of white people making their way to/from work.
I had been looking for an apartment/room for a long time ( considered Bushwick and Bedstuy ) and I found Sunset Park to be one of the few affordable areas left in Brooklyn, for someone my age. It's not trendy, but it gets the job done. Park Slope is but a few stops away on the R, and there's shopping at Atlantic-Pacific. I pay 750$ a month for two rooms in the upper floor of a brownstone. Not too bad, IMO.
Last edited by Viralmd; 07-10-2009 at 09:43 AM..
Reason: Language
I would personally not move to Sunset Park. If you are looking for a sense of community or a nice area than you can do a lot better. If you look hard you can find a cheap apartment in Park Slope. If you are going to live in Sunset Park than go a little farther South and live in Bay Ridge.
I know the statistics for Sunset Park crime seem decent, but statistics lie. They don't account for the fact that the community is mostly an Asian Immigrant neighborhood and police are called infrequently due to an innate distrust.
I would personally not move to Sunset Park. If you are looking for a sense of community or a nice area than you can do a lot better. If you look hard you can find a cheap apartment in Park Slope. If you are going to live in Sunset Park than go a little farther South and live in Bay Ridge.
I know the statistics for Sunset Park crime seem decent, but statistics lie. They don't account for the fact that the community is mostly an Asian Immigrant neighborhood and police are called infrequently due to an innate distrust.
Sense of community? I've lived here my whole life and I've always felt the community vibe... even the new people on the block (mostly white, like 8 of them) all talk to the people on my block and get along with the locals. And a nice area? Sunset Park is decent crime-wise and still has cheap apartments. There's other neighborhoods in the city that are high crime and people pay more to live there!
And second, the community is more Latino than Asian. I'm not saying there's no crime in Sunset park, there is. Avoid 5th avenue if you can at night, too many drunks. Avoid certain sideblocks going up 5th avenue. But this is coming from someone who has lived here their whole life and hasn't been a victim of crime.
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You should check them out OP.
