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Me, wife and twin boys in grade school. Originally from South Philly, currently live in Hartford Ct 'burbs. Considering a bunch of places to move, I have experience with NYC and we are considering it.
Here are the areas we are considering:
Manhattan Beach, Gerritsen Beach, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Howard Beach and (maybe!) Broad Chanbel the farthest part of Rockaway before you hit Breezy Point, which I think is called Rockaway Park.
Here is what we want:
Safe, established, lots of long term residents and a good community atmosphere, lots of families and children, stable and not transient, lots of homeowners, and zoned for decent schools especially at the middle and HS grades (yes I know that no regular NYC school off staten island will be exemplary, but somewhere that is save and not gang infested is good) we are not opposed to catholic school but would definitely prefer public school so our boys go to school with the kids who live in our neighborhood not with people who live all over the city.
Best recommendation. Leaning towards Howard Beach but would like a fall back location to look at.
You'll might find more kids from Howard Beach going to Catholic schools like Molloy or Christ the King than its zoned high school. Which I guess would be Adams.
The communities you have listed mostly offer what you are looking for in terms of long-term stability, not transient, etc. If you are looking at commuting to Manhattan, though, they are all very inconvenient. Many suburban communities in LI, NJ, or upstate will offer those same positives and you may actually have a better commute.
The communities you have listed mostly offer what you are looking for in terms of long-term stability, not transient, etc. If you are looking at commuting to Manhattan, though, they are all very inconvenient. Many suburban communities in LI, NJ, or upstate will offer those same positives and you may actually have a better commute.
Thanks. I would actually prefer to live in NYC proper because even though there is an extra layer of income tax and homes are a wee bit more expensive (it's actually probably more even in the areas I'm looking at) the property tax is so much cheaper. Likely will be working in Brooklyn and regardless, neither of us use public transit besides express buses (yes, we have lived in NYC before) so these areas seem much more car friendly.
Manhattan Beach, Gerritsen Beach, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Howard Beach and (maybe!) Broad Chanbel the farthest part of Rockaway before you hit Breezy Point, which I think is called Rockaway Park.
Gerritsen Beach can be a bit trashy. Spent a bit of time there 5+ years ago in my high school days, and while the area is safe, fights are not uncommon. I'd say any of those neighborhoods (don't know much about Broad Channel though) are better options. Marine Park is right next to Gerritsen, similar demographics, and a lot better if you want to check that out.
Manhattan Beach and Mill Basin and very expensive, much more than the other listed neighborhoods, and the demographics are a bit different. Manhattan Beach is mostly Jewish and Russian (the Russians are also mostly Jews too), and I can see more Russians and religious Jews moving in. Mill Basin is extremely safe, but it is likely going to become more Russian over time as well. However, the Russian community there is well assimilated at this point. Many have been in the country for 15+ years before moving to Mill Basin, generally migrating from Sheepshead Bay or Brighton Beach.
I wonder if Bergen Beach is going to change. Neighboring Flatlands has changed significantly over the past 20 years, with a lot of the ethnic Whites leaving, being replaced by African Americans and Carib Blacks. Nearby Canarsie also lost most of its ethnic Whites over the past few decades.
Gerritsen Beach can be a bit trashy. Spent a bit of time there 5+ years ago in my high school days, and while the area is safe, fights are not uncommon. I'd say any of those neighborhoods (don't know much about Broad Channel though) are better options. Marine Park is right next to Gerritsen, similar demographics, and a lot better if you want to check that out.
Manhattan Beach and Mill Basin and very expensive, much more than the other listed neighborhoods, and the demographics are a bit different. Manhattan Beach is mostly Jewish and Russian (the Russians are also mostly Jews too), and I can see more Russians and religious Jews moving in. Mill Basin is extremely safe, but it is likely going to become more Russian over time as well. However, the Russian community there is well assimilated at this point. Many have been in the country for 15+ years before moving to Mill Basin, generally migrating from Sheepshead Bay or Brighton Beach.
I wonder if Bergen Beach is going to change. Neighboring Flatlands has changed significantly over the past 20 years, with a lot of the ethnic Whites leaving, being replaced by African Americans and Carib Blacks. Nearby Canarsie also lost most of its ethnic Whites over the past few decades.
Thank you for the info! I checked out the "racial dot map" to see demographics and it looks like Mill Basin and Bergen beach are completely surrounded by Black areas, however they seem really secluded and are peninsulas with bad transportation so hopefully they will stay solid. Seemed like the housing stock was much more upscale in Bergen and Mill Basin compared to Canarsie and if it is more expensive hopefully it will price the bad element out.
I don't mind Russians and they are actually very nice people. But I looked at a co-op on Ocean Parkway and Neptune right next to Lincoln High School, and it seemed like there were two distinct groups..elderly American (Jews I presumed) and Russians who were all socialising amongst themselves, all the storefronts in the strip mall on Neptune Avenue were in Russian so I feel like especially for my children that would be quite isolating. As long as they are well integrated and have lost the whole "new immigrant clan mentality" that I totally understand (still to this day in south philly you will have an all irish neighborhood and then cross S 7th street and it's all Italian and in the NE of Philly you will have one block all Polish immigrants, next block all Irish.
The reason I like Gerritsen Beach is because it seemed like the housing stock was more...houses and less of those newer townhomes that I saw in the Marine Park area (saw a place on Flatbush and Ave N, that's Marine Park right?)
I'm not a huge fan of Brighton Beach (Ocean Pkwy and Neptune neighborhood). Mostly elderly Russian Jews. My parents were Jewish refugees from Russia that arrived in the late 70s, and I am fluent in Russian, yet I still wouldn't like living there. The Mill Basin Russians aren't so clannish and seem to get along better with the community there.
Mill Basin definitely won't go downhill, and much of Bergen will be fine. The areas near Flatlands may change though over time, and the neighborhood may feel more isolated.
Flatbush and N is at the border of Flatlands and Marine Park. Flatlands side of Flatbush isn't great, Marine Park side is nice. Flatlands is not a really bad neighborhood, but it's most likely not what you're looking for. Marine Park is a good neighborhood, doesn't have the trashy element of Gerritsen Beach. A lot of Orthodox Jews have moved in over the past decade, and they keep home prices up, though they pretty much stick to themselves (they won't even associate much with the secular American or Russian Jews). Family oriented neighborhood, and it's great if you live near the park. There is some diversity in housing stock, just try looking at some other properties.
Gerritsen isn't the type of neighborhood that has visible crime, just some obnoxious teens that get into trouble here and there.
The reason I like Gerritsen Beach is because it seemed like the housing stock was more...houses and less of those newer townhomes that I saw in the Marine Park area (saw a place on Flatbush and Ave N, that's Marine Park right?)
Little hard to say without knowing your budget and I can't tell if you are looking at houses/coops but...
I would never move to Gerritsen---cheap housing stock but it's isolated. There is nothing much around and some of the houses were flooded out during Sandy. I had a friend who lived there for a number of years and an outsider would feel kind of unwelcome there---unless you want to live next to the guy flying the confederate flag.
Most of the houses in Marine Park are NOT newer townhouses. I think you need to look around a bit more. Marine Park seems like a good fit for you---suburban feel but a little bit better access to "outside" of the area (important for work, activities your kids might want to do, etc.) and very family-oriented. Not great public transit access but better, IMO, than Gerritsen and Manhattan Beach.
Manhattan Beach has a very expensive housing stock---lots of over-the-top houses, IMO. Too secluded (unless you want easy access to KCC!) from everything else, unless that's what you really want. Depends on if you want to drive everywhere or not---which, you may want to at first, but I drive to work and I wish for the day I can go back to taking public transit!
Bergen Beach is also kind of out there and secluded, in a way. Nice area but not much around. Some houses are $$$ but it's a pretty solid place and very family-oriented. Mill Basin is so-so depending on where you are looking.
Last thing I would say is knowing where you would be working in Brooklyn would make this easier. Some of these neighborhoods have pretty easy access to expressways/parkways/whatever and others do not. Not sure if this matters or not.
I can answer about Brooklyn but not so much Queens. Someone else can do that.
Thank you all so much! Actually driving down to look because I got offered an oppurtunity to be a crew leader for a carpentry shop based out of Sunset Park area (1st ave and 40s) that mainly works south BK and SI. So I need to be by the belt pkwy to drive to Sunset to get the van. Marine Park, Gerritsen, and Lindenwood/Howard Beach are probably the best bets. We are looking for 3 bedrooms under $750/800k hopefully less and I'm willing to renovate. The kids are with my sister and law and we are gonna get a hotel and stay the evening so off topic can anyone recommend a good Jewish deli in Brooklyn..haven't had a decent roast beef sandwich in a long time.
Sheepshead Bay has better housing than Brighton Beach from what I heard. Sheepshead Bay also has a much younger population of Russian Speakers compared to Brighton Beach's elderly babushka Russian Jewish community.
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