Moving from Brooklyn to Staten Island (New York, Concord: condos, buying a home, neighborhoods)

[max's mama]

So my family is finally ready to buy something, we figured it's a good time. We need to stay either in Brooklyn or be close to Brooklyn because of my father. We checked out Brooklyn Condos and the prices are . $469K for a small 3 bedroom condo!!! Anyway, we decided that Staten Island is our better bet at the moment. Perhaps not permanent solution...
We are looking for the following:

areas that are not longer then 15 minutes to VZ bridge by car or express bus.

close to express bus

good family oriented neighborhoods

decent elementary schools

safe

We were looking into Grasmere, South and Midland Beach, a slightly further: New Dorp, Oakwood and Great Kills. Not sure if Great Kills are too far out.

What are your thoughts? Suggestions???

[DITC]

Ah, the infamous "move"

Great Kills is definitely too far out if you want 15 min to the VZ.

Also check out Westerleigh and Sunnyside. Dont set your expectations too high though, the quality of life seems to be dropping everywhere on SI (except Todt Hill obviously). It just isnt quite the NJ suburbs nor is it the good ol days of Bensonhurst

[NYLifes2shrt]

I bought a house on Ward Hill for nYc. I have a view of the city, 5 mins from the Ferry...I think you put Hill e.g. Ward Hill, Grymes Hill, Todt Hill ur okay.

[Castro Viejo]

Uh... Not Park Hill.

To the OP, I'd stick with areas like Grasmere, South Beach, Dongan Hills, Grant City (?) and maybe even the part of Rosebank closest to the bridge. I think the re-sale values in this area are much higher and the property values are more stable. There aren't a ton of developments going up in these areas compared to the rest of the island.

Out West when you start hitting Midland Beach is where it starts to get crummier and the people start to be a little less sophisticated. New Dorp has a large teenager hoodlum problem it seems.

Even certain areas of South Beach can be sketchy.

[DITC]

Haha definitely not Park Hill, unless she wants her kids to bring home the bacon as the next Wu Tang Clan. I wouldn't recommend Rosebank or Grant City

It seems like the whole South Shore is developing a bad teenager hoodlum problem. I was in Eltingville one time and I drove up a hill and a herd of thugged out privileged looking caucasian children were walking about 20 wide down the street like they were some sort of street gang. Definitely a sight to see as far as irony is concerned

[NYLifes2shrt]

Sorry, I am still new to SI. I dont know where park hill is...I just know that I wanted a home for my 2 cars and dog and got tired of the 1000 sq ft in the city so I met someone that lives in Grymes Hill. I thought about buying a home in Westchester, but I thought why did I move from San Francisco to New York so I can live in Westchester...I moved to Staten Island because of my view, large yard w.pool, parking for my 2 cars and I am less than 5 mins from the Ferry!

[NYmama]

Look at Sunnyside, no question. You're a stone's throw off the expressway (exit 13, the Clove Rd. exit) to the bridge, PS 35 is an excellent public school (highest test scores on SI), you have tons of express bus options there and a much faster commute from elsewhere on the island, and you can walk to two of the prettiest, greenest parks on the island.

I lived for awhile in the part of Sunnyside that's at the bottom of Grymes Hill, above Clove Rd. Nice quiet neighborhood, still feels like "old" Staten Island, and convenient for walking to a market, bagels, cleaners, etc. on Clove Rd. Good luck!

[Castro Viejo]

Originally Posted by NYLifes2shrt

Sorry, I am still new to SI. I dont know where park hill is...

Hmmm... How best to describe Park Hill. It's sandwiched between Clifton, Rosebank, Concord, north of the expressway. If you follow Targee Street north under the expressway, follow the merge onto Vanderbilt Avenue, and then make a right onto Osgood Avenue, Park Hill is right there. The main drag is Park Hill Avenue that runs through the Park Hill Houses, a NYC housing project. This is on the map of the hip hop world as being the birthplace of the Wu Tang Clan. They refer to it, and Staten Island in general, as "Shaolin" in their music.

Driving down Park Hill Avenue is interesting. I can't really imagine an area of NorCal that's equivalent to Park Hill. If you're familiar with the SoCal areas of Watts, Inglewood, Compton, etc., all in Los Angeles of course, then you'll get the visual for what Park Hill is like. Roll up those windows. Trust me. Urban blight doesn't begin to describe what you'll see there.

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by Castro Viejo

Hmmm... How best to describe Park Hill. It's sandwiched between Clifton, Rosebank, Concord, north of the expressway. If you follow Targee Street north under the expressway, follow the merge onto Vanderbilt Avenue, and then make a right onto Osgood Avenue, Park Hill is right there. The main drag is Park Hill Avenue that runs through the Park Hill Houses, a NYC housing project. This is on the map of the hip hop world as being the birthplace of the Wu Tang Clan. They refer to it, and Staten Island in general, as "Shaolin" in their music.

Driving down Park Hill Avenue is interesting. I can't really imagine an area of NorCal that's equivalent to Park Hill. If you're familiar with the SoCal areas of Watts, Inglewood, Compton, etc., all in Los Angeles of course, then you'll get the visual for what Park Hill is like. Roll up those windows. Trust me. Urban blight doesn't begin to describe what you'll see there.

Actually Park Hill isn't NYCHA. Its privately managed by Fox Hills, thats the name of the company. Usually, places like Park Hill in Staten Island, and Vanderveer in Brooklyn are characterized as "a step up from the projects".

[Castro Viejo]

Originally Posted by SeventhFloor

Actually Park Hill isn't NYCHA. Its privately managed by Fox Hills, thats the name of the company. Usually, places like Park Hill in Staten Island, and Vanderveer in Brooklyn are characterized as "a step up from the projects".

Those post-Communist blocks of gray brick, character-less buildings on Park Hill Avenue are privately owned?! Wow. Isn't Fox Hills the same company that owns the buildings that border Silver Lake?