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Define "good". The area is relatively safe (ie unlikely to receive gun shot wounds if you walk to the corner grocery store at 10 pm) but extremely congested. My parents live right next to Ozone Park and were considering buying a house there but this was almost 15 years ago before the majority of Ozone Park/Woodhaven/Richmond Hill experienced "white flight".
The neighborhood is mixed, lots of Indians/Southeast Asians (the part where it borders Richmond Hill is sometimes called "Little India" by some people), many Hispanics and Latin Americans as well - African Americans, not so much. The homes which have many residents of Indian descent tend to be well kept (pretty brickwork, granite staircases, remodeled windows/driveways, etc).
The houses will vary based on which section you are looking at - some blocks have better upkeep than others based on the residents who live on it...The only crappy part about is the parking spots - there are easily 2-4 cars per household which makes finding a spot in front of your house almost impossible unless you are vigilant every second. Unless you buy a home with a large driveway, you are at the mercy of off-street parking which is difficult to find after 6 or 7 pm on weekdays.
By you're question i'm assuming you mean, is it a good investment... and the answer is no. Legaldiva is right in the sense that it's not a dangerous neighborhood though it's not great but the only transitioning it's doing is turning from a somewhat working class white area into a working class indian/hispanic/black area for the most part. It is mostly indian and hispanic but there is still a solid amount of black and white folk in the area as well...
There's just not much there in terms of development... If you're looking to settle down I'd say it's a pretty good area to do so but aside from that I wouldn't recommend it...
One downside to this neighborhood is transportation. Personally I hate living in 2 fare zones (technically 1 fare now). You either have to take the Q9 to Jamaica for the E train or the Q7 to Rockaway Boulevard for the A train. If you work at JFK however its really convenient in that respect. I would say that the best part of the neighborhood is south of Rockaway Boulevard.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
as a person who is in Woodhaven now,( I am in 11421) I am leaving for greener pastures. The area you are speaking of is not dangerous, or I should say you don't have to take extra precaution, but it is not (IMHO) a good place to raise your kids or put down roots.
Super congested, a lot of low quality 99 cent stores and sub part supermarkets. No parking EVER. A lot of single family homes converted into SRO's (single room occupancy) Very noisy and on the main avenues very dirty.
And as far as I can see, the area is on a slow slide down.
Define "good". The area is relatively safe (ie unlikely to receive gun shot wounds if you walk to the corner grocery store at 10 pm) but extremely congested. My parents live right next to Ozone Park and were considering buying a house there but this was almost 15 years ago before the majority of Ozone Park/Woodhaven/Richmond Hill experienced "white flight".
The neighborhood is mixed, lots of Indians/Southeast Asians (the part where it borders Richmond Hill is sometimes called "Little India" by some people), many Hispanics and Latin Americans as well - African Americans, not so much. The homes which have many residents of Indian descent tend to be well kept (pretty brickwork, granite staircases, remodeled windows/driveways, etc).
The houses will vary based on which section you are looking at - some blocks have better upkeep than others based on the residents who live on it...The only crappy part about is the parking spots - there are easily 2-4 cars per household which makes finding a spot in front of your house almost impossible unless you are vigilant every second. Unless you buy a home with a large driveway, you are at the mercy of off-street parking which is difficult to find after 6 or 7 pm on weekdays.
Truth to be told "white flight" has been happening in SOP long before just 15 years ago. The area was started to go into transition as far back in the late 80s. In 1986 my ex and I were visiting New York and we took a wrong turn and got off the highway somewhere in Ozone Park. We have noticed the demographic change even back then ( of course there were still many "old school whites" left at the time). In fact we decided to have dinner nearby and not too far where we got off we have found a business district under the elevated tracks with alot of mom and pop restaurants of various ethnic cuisines. We chose a place that was an interesting combination of Chinese and Puerto Rican fare ( I have long forgotten the name of the place nor do I know if it is still there). The food was delicious and the service was relatively friendly, but our server had a hard time understanding English. Even back then ethnic change was inevitable.
The area around Aqueduct Racetrack is pretty nice. I have a friend that lives in the area, rents an apartment in a private home and its always peaceful in the area.
I used to live in South Ozone Park (aka: Oz) a long time ago. About 3 years ago, I was looking for a new apartment and went to South Ozone Park --- I was in shock! The area is disgusting now. I wouldn't touch it with a 50 foot pole. No, an "investment property" in that area is NOT a good idea. It won't appreciate in value and the only tenants you're likely to get are Section 8 or welfare bums who will destroy the property.
As far as Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, etc.... They're just as bad. That entire area of Queens has gone completely downhill.
I was in South Ozone Park not too long ago, it didn't seem bad at all but I wouldn't want to live there, it seems kind of boring and it's relatively far from Manhattan
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