Information/advice about Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights (Fulton, Hamilton: big house, neighborhood)
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I just put in Shore Road and 72nd to Broadway and Fulton and right now per Google, it would take 28 minutes on the X27 and the walk, so as I said, it depends on traffic. You know Google factors in traffic.
On a good day, it could be short. On a normal day, when you had to wait for several buses just to get on, a lot longer. Hey, I worked downtown and was able to cab it in 12 minutes, but that was a at 2am, not during rush hour.i
On a good day, it could be short. On a normal day, when you had to wait for several buses just to get on, a lot longer. Hey, I worked downtown and was able to cab it in 12 minutes, but that was a at 2am, not during rush hour.i
Yeah well you’re talking about 20 years ago versus now. As I said, it all depends on when you leave. I’m guessing you hit peak rush hour. From Downtown even on a day day, if she was delayed by an extra 20 minutes, it would still be about 50-55 minutes. From the Fulton St. area, there aren’t that many Manhattan stops. Maybe 10 minutes tops. The only issue after that is how the tunnel and the Gowanus moves. Some days you can fly through. Others... Not so much, but still. Compared to the R train... Cleaner, safer, quieter and she can take a nap if there’s a delay. It’s public transit. The subway has plenty of delays that I’m sure you’ve encountered.
Her work hours are not too bad in terms of peak rush hour times. Has to be there before 8 am and leaves around 4 pm on good days. That may help a bit? My husband was wondering about the crowdedness of the buses. When we visited this summer we rode on two buses, one was jammed and the other very comfortable. They weren’t express though. Do people that way ever use the ferry system? That would be my choice if it was a viable option.
Her work hours are not too bad in terms of peak rush hour times. Has to be there before 8 am and leaves around 4 pm on good days. That may help a bit? My husband was wondering about the crowdedness of the buses. When we visited this summer we rode on two buses, one was jammed and the other very comfortable. They weren’t express though. Do people that way ever use the ferry system? That would be my choice if it was a viable option.
Yeah that should be good for her. That’s before the heart of the rush. The ferry is used by some over by 69th Street. Problem is even if you live on or near Shore Road, it isn’t that easy to get to. There is no shuttle bus that goes there, and you are out in the elements. The wind off of the water can be whipping. Then you also have to think about where it leaves you. You have to either walk or transfer afterwards.
The best people to ask about Brooklyn ~~~~> (especially neighborhoods like Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach & poor Bensonhurst --- well, they all should have the word "poor" in front of them, NOT JUST pooooooooooor Bensonhurst) ARE:
- OLD SCHOOL, BORN & RAISED BROOKLYNITES
- American-Italians
- American Irish/Norwegian
I'm sorry but............you wouldn't like it (a candid, come-right-out-with-it summation of the above neighborhoods) ----> especially coming from an old school american-italian).
reading some of these "kind" replies from folks here -- they mean well; they're being so.....polite & nice. but, some "old-school american italians" - we know the truth about "these neighborhoods.".....and about "what's happened to these neighborhoods" (...and Brooklyn itself).............
...and I'm not rousing you in a mean-spirited way (not at all) -- but you referred to our "quaint" little subway stations as "the closest METRO station" <~~~~ that's cute. We gotta 'brooklyn you up" LoL.....i'm kidding, i'm kidding.
Lowcountry..........i can't speak the truth about "those neighborhoods" -- or about our society or about the "quality of life" issues and what goes on here, 24/7 in BrokenLyn, New York, capisce ? .....aL sharpton and....the guy from the immigration office (the mexican office, the chinese office...the russian office, and pakistan & yemen's office)..............it may upset their dinner....plus, they can't handle the truth either.
watch our local news. pick-a-neighborhood [heheh] !! i'm not kidding about that. Watch ...our local news...ABC on channel 7... or channels 5,4,2.
She sent me links to a few Bensonhurst apartments that are in her price range if she wanted to live alone. However the description of it being less clean (the street trash in the area in which she lives is something she’s trying to improve upon in her next place) is concerning. Are there areas of Bensonhurst that are better kept? She also saw a few in Dyker Heights. So, at least there may be a possibility. She doesn’t want to stretch herself too thin, especially if she needs to bump up her transportation costs.
I had to laugh at trying to “Brooklyn” me up. I must come across as quite the naif. Because I am, lol. This is all very new to us. Where we’re from you can get a luxury 2 br 2 bth 1300 sq ft apartment with w/d for $1400 a month. It’s so different. You all are a great help to us “ newbies” and I am very appreciative!
She sent me links to a few Bensonhurst apartments that are in her price range if she wanted to live alone. However the description of it being less clean (the street trash in the area in which she lives is something she’s trying to improve upon in her next place) is concerning. Are there areas of Bensonhurst that are better kept? She also saw a few in Dyker Heights. So, at least there may be a possibility. She doesn’t want to stretch herself too thin, especially if she needs to bump up her transportation costs.
I had to laugh at trying to “Brooklyn” me up. I must come across as quite the naif. Because I am, lol. This is all very new to us. Where we’re from you can get a luxury 2 br 2 bth 1300 sq ft apartment with w/d for $1400 a month. It’s so different. You all are a great help to us “ newbies” and I am very appreciative!
Bensonhurst is what it is in a nutshell. The closer to the subway you get, the dirtier it becomes. Housing stock tends to be older, and the demographics have been changing for years. Used to be a heavily Italian and Italian-American neighborhood. Just going to be blunt... As I said before, they left for a reason.... They wanted better housing stock as they moved up the social ladder. The new demographic coming in is a mix, but mainly immigrants, so the neighborhood is not as well kept as it used to be. Is every block dirty? No, but you get what you pay for. I don't see Bensonhurst suddenly making a revival to the old days when it was cleaner, let's put it that way. The people moving there are because it is cheaper and that's what they can afford, so they generally are not people that are "established", as you will find in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. As we've been saying, if she is looking for a cleaner neighborhood, search in Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge in the areas we've noted. Many years ago I had a colleague from Italy that I helped find a nice place in Bensonhurst where the landlord was an old Italian woman from the old country.
That was over 10 years ago, and Bensonhurst has changed considerably since then. Some Italians still left that haven't moved yet and have nostalgia. The rest have moved on to Staten Island, NJ, etc. If they stayed in Brooklyn they usually moved to Bay Ridge or Dyker Heights, which are more expensive for a reason.... Better quality of life and cleaner, and if she truly wants that, she can get that and either luck out with a nice landlord that will work with her budget (more homeowners in Dyker Heights that will rent part of their home out perhaps), or pay a little more for a piece of mind. That's NYC for you.
I say this as a born and raised New Yorker who is doing just that. I value a CLEAN neighborhood that is SAFE with GREEN areas, and I don't want to commute on the subway every day and don't, and my quality of life as a result is MUCH better.
1. She can probably find a studio in her price range if she really prefers to be alone. Occasionally a one bedroom apartment for $1500 or less will come up but it's usually on a busier avenue/street or something. If she finds apartments on certain streets, you could certainly ask a few people on here about those streets or avenues---whether or not they're busy, for example.
2. Honestly, if I were her, I would leave Shore Road for the weekend walks. The buses that bring you to the train suck and are unreliable. Depending on where you are on Shore Road, it can be a 20 minute walk to the train, which is not fun when it's cold, late, snowy, rainy, etc. It gets tiring after awhile. Many, many years ago I lived on Ridge Blvd., which was great---not too close to the train, not too far and right near a main avenue for groceries, food, whatever you want.
3. BR has a nice mix of quiet and busy. There are two main avenues with a lot of bars, restaurants, etc. There's a shopping area with a bunch of stores. (Century 21, etc.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by pierrepont7731
Then Bay Ridge along Shore Road makes the most sense. She can take the X27 express bus and be home in about 30 minutes.
She doesn't sound like she'll have a lot of money so I think $6.75 will be pushing it for her. Depending on the hours the express bus can be a much longer ride.
As for the ferry, it's a nice ride but IMO, only helpful if you are living near Bay Ridge Avenue and working near Lower Manhattan. The last time I took the ferry (awhile ago when visiting someone) in the morning they even had a separate express ferry that went directly to Lower Manhattan---the ride was 20 minutes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shoshanarose
Honestly, I don't think you can get from Bay Ridge to downtown Manhattan in 35 minutes.
Even getting many places in Brooklyn from Bay Ridge can take an hour.
Bay Ridge is one of the furthest out places in Brooklyn.
Did you do that commute regularly?
When I took the R from Bay Ridge to Barclays, it was 15 minutes. You don't think another few stops to Lower Manhattan would be 35 minutes?
1. She can probably find a studio in her price range if she really prefers to be alone. Occasionally a one bedroom apartment for $1500 or less will come up but it's usually on a busier avenue/street or something. If she finds apartments on certain streets, you could certainly ask a few people on here about those streets or avenues---whether or not they're busy, for example.
2. Honestly, if I were her, I would leave Shore Road for the weekend walks. The buses that bring you to the train suck and are unreliable. Depending on where you are on Shore Road, it can be a 20 minute walk to the train, which is not fun when it's cold, late, snowy, rainy, etc. It gets tiring after awhile. Many, many years ago I lived on Ridge Blvd., which was great---not too close to the train, not too far and right near a main avenue for groceries, food, whatever you want.
3. BR has a nice mix of quiet and busy. There are two main avenues with a lot of bars, restaurants, etc. There's a shopping area with a bunch of stores. (Century 21, etc.)
She doesn't sound like she'll have a lot of money so I think $6.75 will be pushing it for her. Depending on the hours the express bus can be a much longer ride.
As for the ferry, it's a nice ride but IMO, only helpful if you are living near Bay Ridge Avenue and working near Lower Manhattan. The last time I took the ferry (awhile ago when visiting someone) in the morning they even had a separate express ferry that went directly to Lower Manhattan---the ride was 20 minutes.
Did you do that commute regularly?
When I took the R from Bay Ridge to Barclays, it was 15 minutes. You don't think another few stops to Lower Manhattan would be 35 minutes?
Late nights are a different animal.
If she does a share then it isn’t a problem at all.
She’s had a roommate for many years going back to grad school so it would be fine, although she’s said that it would be nice to have her own bath at some point in time. For now, sacrifices like sharing a bath, esp in nyc are to be expected. The real amenities she’s looking for that she feels would improve her quality of life mirror yours Pierre: a quieter area, cleaner streets, greener -with trees-, more of a neighborhood feel. Also an in building laundry or in unit (that’d be like hitting the lottery! Lol) and elevator if it’s above the second floor.
She’ll find something. The part that may be tricky is finding a roommate who wants a similar space and can time the move in conjunction with her. I don’t think she wants to, or even could, sign a lease herself and have someone rent from her. Good advice from nybkyln above) about that. It’s going to have to be a landlord that allows two to co-sign the lease. Maybe some of these online sites or realtors have roommate matching options.
She’s encouraged that she’s been able to narrow down a few areas to start visiting. Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Forest Hills will be “day trips” soon. Thanks to everyone for all you’ve shared and taking your time to do so!
about these areas.
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