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It still is to a point, unless you are looking for a new single family detached- for that you'd have to go way out to the end of the Island near the Outerbridge.
This is true. I recently moved to that side of the Island.Fairly new house and I have a very nice sized yard. Lot's of trees and privacy. I can see the Outer Bridge from my kitchen window.
Where was there flooding besides the shoreline in those areas besides a little bit by Greenridge Plaza? I live there. I must have missed it...
Yes. A lot of flooding for the area. This happened because the state was removing the hazardous waste fill from the old landfill. They dredged the creeks that ran through the area and removed all the cattails and vegetation that would absorb the water.
Can provide input on Staten Island as I've been living on the Island for about 5.5 years coming from Brooklyn. Commuting is definitely a sticking point. Realistically, only means of travel off the Island is the express bus or the rail to the ferry. The local buses can take a very long time to make it to the ferry (45 min+) then you first have the 25 min ferry ride and you are only in lower manhattan after traveling for an hour. It took my wife and I over 2 hours to get home one night on the express bus from Radio City because of all the traffic.
I originally lived Mid-Island (CSI) with my girlfriend at the time and we have established ourselves now that we are married and have a 2.5-year-old daughter. We now live in Oakwood and we prefer living on the East Shore just because of accessibility to shopping, buses, and the rail. The fastest way of travel to Manhattan would definitely be the St. George Express Rail in the morning. If I catch the rail right at Bay Terrace I can be at St. George in a little less than 15 minutes.
To answer the question about Hurricane Sandy, where we were at the time Mid-Island lost power for approximately 24 hours but from friends who lived on the East Shore and South Shore were without power for 1 week+. The water went all the way to Railroad Ave in New Dorp and I knew people who lost their cars. Speaking of rain, even when it is a heavy rainfall, Hylan Blvd floods terribly and comes to a standstill especially above the blvd in New Dorp by Tysens or Ebbitts (H20 Carwash & Metro Bar).
My wife and I like the appeal of Staten Island but we are getting to the point where we no longer want to live here for a number of reasons:
1. Traffic can be abysmal (especially Hylan Blvd or Victory Blvd from the ferry to CSI during rush hour)
2. Commuting gets exhausting and gets expensive when constantly taking the express bus at $6.50 each way
3. Bridge toll keeps increasing with no improvements to Island infrastructure
4. Homes are expensive (figure $500,000+) for a nice detached home and the terrible commute doesn't make it worth IMO.
5. Rents are cheaper than other boroughs but the only real choices are living in other people homes on the 1st or 2nd floor or in someone's basement. There are only a handful of apartment buildings on the Island (URBY is overpriced, has small apartments and is in Stapleton).
6. MTA doesn't really have bus routes that go across the Island so a car sort of becomes a necessity which is why we have 2 cars which plays into COL because of car insurance, fuel, etc.
For the time being, the Island works for us because I work on the Island, our daughter goes to a daycare on the Island and my wife has easy access to Brooklyn despite it taking sometimes 1hr+ to get to work. It also works for us as my family lives in NJ and we can be at their homes in about 45 min or so. We are starting to make a plan to be off the Island within the next two years.
If you are considering the Island, strongly consider the commute time as going to Midtown Manhattan can get old very quickly especially the further South you go.
I don't want to sound all negative but Staten Island certainly has it's perks. Parking is easier on most of the Island because there is no alternate, most of the Island is residential, quiet and mostly safe. There are parks everywhere and the schools do rate well especially PS 50 and PS 53.
Hope I helped and let me know if you want anymore information.
Some tips to alleviate some of the issues you mentioned- NEVER take the X bus to midtown from mid-Island. Take the downtown bus, get off the first stop and switch to the subway- you knock 20 minutes off your commute and the subway transfer is free.
The local buses are pretty lousy from the CSI area due to traffic, if you are taking them to the ferry from there look for the S92 which is express and will save you some time. But driving is probably your best bet (not great though) from there.
Never, ever buy a house below Hylan Boulevard. NEVER.
Homes are pricier than central Jersey, but not all that much- and the taxes and longer/more expensive NJ commute makes it pretty much a wash.
There are a fair number of rental buildings, you should be able to find something. Agree about URBY though, they must think they are in Williamsburg.
You can get by with one car if you can walk to public transit, we made that a priority when we moved there. I actually used to live in Oakwood years ago and walked to the train, but not everyplace is walkable to transit.
Be careful what you wish for if you move. Jersey has it's advantages, but you will have to cross a bridge then to get to work and your wife will have to cross two. Unless you travel at an off hour I wouldn't want to be driving from NJ to Brooklyn every day.
The Island is relatively safe and unless you live in a place like Heartland Village parking is pretty good. PS 50 and PS 53 are excellent schools- actually there are many excellent public schools on SI, it gets a bad rap there, however at the middle and high school level there is a big drop off.
Yes, there are a few there, but mostly much larger and more expensive houses
Again there are some wonderful properties on the North Shore, including places on good to large plots of land.
However there is the sticking point; people hear "north shore" and that is that; they won't go near. Far too many either on the Rock already or looking to move there treat the SIE as the Mason-Dixon Line, and won't cross.
Meanwhile you have a good number of others straight, gay, white, black, Latino-Hispanic and so forth that have discovered areas on the North Shore and have snapped up some great properties. You or I may not want to live on Daniel Low Terrance, but others have no qualms.
Some tips to alleviate some of the issues you mentioned- NEVER take the X bus to midtown from mid-Island. Take the downtown bus, get off the first stop and switch to the subway- you knock 20 minutes off your commute and the subway transfer is free.
The local buses are pretty lousy from the CSI area due to traffic, if you are taking them to the ferry from there look for the S92 which is express and will save you some time. But driving is probably your best bet (not great though) from there.
Never, ever buy a house below Hylan Boulevard. NEVER.
Homes are pricier than central Jersey, but not all that much- and the taxes and longer/more expensive NJ commute makes it pretty much a wash.
There are a fair number of rental buildings, you should be able to find something. Agree about URBY though, they must think they are in Williamsburg.
You can get by with one car if you can walk to public transit, we made that a priority when we moved there. I actually used to live in Oakwood years ago and walked to the train, but not everyplace is walkable to transit.
Be careful what you wish for if you move. Jersey has it's advantages, but you will have to cross a bridge then to get to work and your wife will have to cross two. Unless you travel at an off hour I wouldn't want to be driving from NJ to Brooklyn every day.
The Island is relatively safe and unless you live in a place like Heartland Village parking is pretty good. PS 50 and PS 53 are excellent schools- actually there are many excellent public schools on SI, it gets a bad rap there, however at the middle and high school level there is a big drop off.
I definitely agree with all of your points mentioned.
Yes, get off by Bowling Green then take the trains. I've gone from Oakwood to Union Square in just about an hour by taking the bus to the subway.
Correct, never buy a house below the blvd or even above the blvd as those parts flood too (e.g New Dorp, Dongan Hills, Bay Terrace, etc. We currently rent and would never spend money on a house that would wash away.
We do not like NJ and when talking about relocating it would be leaving the NYC area (we are leaning towards Upstate NY, Central NY or Dutchess County) inclusive to finding new jobs and having a lower COL.
The Island is definitely safer than the other boroughs in my eyes and I've never felt unsafe in most of the areas. Obviously I'm not walking at night in Pt Richmond or Mariners Harbor.
Like I said in the original post in the thread, Staten Island works now but like any area it has pros and cons.
IMO Staten Island has some of the worst drivers around. Too many people who think who they are. Also, terrible traffic.
Staten Island traffic is what it is; but would take it over driving in Manhattan. Far to many of those GD Uber drivers who don't know what the *&!&% they are doing or going. I swear if one more of them stops short in front of me (in the middle of the street) to pick-up or discharge a fare am going to rear end someone. That or they constantly double park/stand also in the middle of street waiting for a fair. It is obvious most don't know where the *&^S% they are going because they drive with their eyes glued to GPS screen.
I definitely agree with all of your points mentioned.
Yes, get off by Bowling Green then take the trains. I've gone from Oakwood to Union Square in just about an hour by taking the bus to the subway.
Correct, never buy a house below the blvd or even above the blvd as those parts flood too (e.g New Dorp, Dongan Hills, Bay Terrace, etc. We currently rent and would never spend money on a house that would wash away.
We do not like NJ and when talking about relocating it would be leaving the NYC area (we are leaning towards Upstate NY, Central NY or Dutchess County) inclusive to finding new jobs and having a lower COL.
The Island is definitely safer than the other boroughs in my eyes and I've never felt unsafe in most of the areas. Obviously I'm not walking at night in Pt Richmond or Mariners Harbor.
Like I said in the original post in the thread, Staten Island works now but like any area it has pros and cons.
Major crime wise, yes the Rock is certainly safer than some other parts of the city. It is the small crimes that are getting residents upset.
Things like package theft, theft of things inside parked cars, theft of things off your freaking lawn/house. Who the heck goes around stealing landscaping lights, holiday decorations, that sort of thing.
I gave up when a South Shore homeowner caught some old geezer (guy had to be about 70) on camera stealing his Christmas lights/display off lawn.
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