Tell Me About Peekskill ??? (New York, Yonkers: low income, real estate, apartment)

[Dave the H.]

My wife and I have found a (possible) house to buy in Peekskill. The house is surpassingly lovely and quite affordable for us. We like the neighborhood it's in (called Mortgage Hill), at least our sense of the neighborhood.

However, we live in Tarrytown now, and we don't know Peekskill.

So, can you tell us about Peekskill?

* What are its pros and cons?

* Is the growth of artists there making it a better small city?

* What do you know?

Dave, who doesn't have children so schools are not a main concern

[Manhattan-ite]

I've been to Peekskill to check out the Hudson Valley Center of Contemporary Art there (it was closed). I'll tell you what I saw: pretty town that's trying to move up and get artistic, but years of focused poverty and housing projects are VERY much visible. It didn't look very appealing to me. Maybe in a couple of years it will look fabulously artsy and adorable. Right now it's still pretty ghetto, in my opinion. Crime, though, and according to City Data statistic, is super low.

But hey, you live in Tarrytown. Go check Peekskill yourself! It's ridiculously close to you by train or car.

[Dave the H.]

Hi Manhattan-ite...thanks for your comments. That's some of what we've seen, too.

Of course, we have checked it out; as I mentioned, we've found a possible house to buy, like the sense of the neighborhood it's in.

But checking it out and getting a sense falls far short of actually living there. And I also hope to hear from people who've lived there and know the place that way.

Dave, who has lived in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Tarrytown, and San Francisco and not necessarily in that order

[siri]

Hi Dave. I just found your post on the web, reading just about anything I can find about Peekskill. Hope you don't mind me joining you in the pursuit.

My husband and I are in a very similar boat. I'm looking forward to any more feedback you get to your question. I've been living in Manhattan for 35 years, and the thought of moving north is something that's, well.... requiring a lot of thought... we're suddenly focusing on Peekskill.

The hour-plus train commute sounds like a long ride, but I wouldn't be doing it daily.

I've been reading about what I certainly believe is valid gentrification resentment there (keying cars?)... I don't look forward to being part of the problem.

Even though MY problem is I can't stand the gentrification that's destroyed my neighborhood! (triple designer baby buggies knocking me into snowdrifts) and... people who act like they OWN the sidewalk. (Maybe they actually really did pay for it.)

Plus, the space for the dollar ratio that I've seen in Peekskill, so far, seems to be unmatched, and we've been looking everywhere. The real estate nitemare seems to keep getting darker, and staying put in the same space for 30 years has me coming out of hibernation, rubbing my eyes, with very few options.

The dumps-for-dollars that brokers are showing ought to be boarded up. Well, that's just a few that I've seen (Jersey City, Brooklyn, Bronx....)

I've just started to realize that the "buzz" that seems to equate vitality, cultural aliveness, true openhearted melting pot, such as I've experienced in nyc for so long, is very hard to discern in most places just walking around for a few hours and zigzagging down streets...there's no way to get a real sense.

How have other people taken a pulse on a town and neighborhood without knowing anybody that already lives there?


So, in this quest, any other suggestions or pieces of advice are welcome.


That's it for now. I'll be checking this thread.


Thanks a lot,

Siri

[MikeNY]

There are 2 very sought after developments in Peekskill that are in a great location, not all of Peekskill is bad, actually these 2 are great. Message me for more info or email Mike@MikeTrinch.com

Thanks

[Lost in the 80s]

Okay, I grew up in Peekskill, went to Peekskill schools and, yes, despite the views and attitudes of surrounding elitist Westchester towns, shockingly, I went to college AND graduate school AND I have a job, AND left the town for a major city and a life with a fortune 500 company and MOST of the people I went to highschool with did the exact same thing I did, despite the town's supposedly negative image. Many of my family and friends still live in Peekskill. The town has alot to offer. It has amazing, beautiful views of the Hudson, relatively in-expensive housing, great victorian architecture, and a small town atmosphere. The best part I think growing up there was that as a kid I could walk to stuff, didn't need a car, and could even take metro north into New York city as a teenager. There is also a pretty solid Jet-Skiing scene at the Riverfront. There really is no downside to Peekskill, it's just that the towns surrounding it are very wealthy and tend to look down on Peekskill. Look at the facts and don't believe the gossip, Peekskill is a good place, its public school system has produced A New York state Governor, several town Mayors and plenty of graduates who have gone on to TOP, ivy league colleges and universities who lead productive amazing lives. Peekskill's only problem is the small minds and negative attitudes of the surrounding communities that like to look down on it.

[Finktown]

This is fun, and the native has it right as rain.

I grew up in Peekskill too. My family stayed too. After college, I lived in Boston, Manhattan, in other cities and back. And I understand some of the concerns of home shoppers from other places.

I'd say Peekskill was and is a special place, and so are its people. For me, it's a kind of crossroads, where "upstate" starts. It's humble and remains a working town, and I think you'll find the people here are laid back, friendly, patient and tolerant. But on balance, I think they would place a high value on peace and quiet over, say, arts and entertainment, even if Count Basie did always fill the auditorium when he used to play the high school.

I can only remember a few families having money to burn here, and you just never did see a kid driving his own new car, or many sports cars in general. But you might see old cars, fixed up, with new paint jobs that took a kid 2 summers working as a fry cook, or life guard. The thing that has changed the most for me is the larger number of people who seem to be speaking Spanish as a first language than years ago. I keep waiting to see a branch of Berlitz open in one of these empty store fronts.

Peekskill has great parks, a historic look, and open spaces (that are shrinking), along with a fairly stable population and lower crime rates compared to anywhere in NYC. In the 70's and 80's, we used to leave our doors open, and our keys in the car, even when parking outside the store. Now, one hears about city style crime more often, and I think it's better to lock the door at night anywhere in the US at this point. Most of the stores we used to have for milk, candy and chips are closed, which suggests the need to do something to spark the city's economy.

Nevertheless, I don't see Peekskill changing overnight into this Mecca for the Arts that Gov. George envisioned for it (the last governor grew up here). However, I did see that there is a coffee-book store thing going on across to the church and the theater were my aunt would sing in the 30's. And the theater now has a few big name live acts, if you like Eddie Money. So at this point, I'm seeing working families, a few poetry readings and Eddie Money Live, not any Tribeca Film festival, north. But I've heard Beacon (keep going) does have a major Art park.

I agree that Peekskill always did get kind of a bad rap from the rest of Westchester. I sure heard about it in college from fellow students from Long Island, down county, NJ and CT. And I'm sure Westchester Realtors do not rush to push and pump the city with the lowest average home prices when they see someone from Manhattan or London coming.

Maybe it's because, with Yonkers, Peekskill seemed to get more than its share of the county's low income housing vs. the rest of Westchester 30-40 years back. I heard Federal money in the 70's came easy with the help of the mayor at the time, which meant new roads, housing projects, schools and those bright yellow argon street lights that made it possible to play sports all night. But any bad rap is bound to change in time, with those better railway platforms and Ginsburg's plan to turn the riverfront into a block of condos, "just steps Grand Central".

Frankly, it may be steps to the platform, but it is a long ride to Manhattan for my backside. Maybe it's why it remained Peekskill, just out of range of those middle managers running around Croton lakes with 200 dollar Nikes, and racing to Harmon to make the 5:30am express.

Personally, I did not commute to Manhattan for college or for work because it was a bit too long, and I was a bit too tall for those new Metro North bucket seats. Of course, at 20, I did not mind paying rent to sleep in a 150 square foot apartment with one window facing a dirty brick wall, all things considered (bars and girls).

But if I were 35 with kids, I'd rather have them living in Peekskill, breathing what seems like more fresh air, and going to these schools than me staying on 24/7 worry watch with NYC schools (public, private or parochial).

[jrbaw]

I currently live in Peekskill and think it's a great place even though we're moving away soon. There are some wonderful aspects of Peekskill that really attracted my husband and me to this city - the proximity to NYC, affordable houses, restaurants, art, the Hudson River... I commute into Manhattan daily and it really couldn't be easier. When we first moved here, we didn't have children so schools weren't an issue. We also didn't think much about Indian Point when we moved here. Now that we have kids these things are factors. Also, although Peekskill has a lot of potential, there seems to be a lot of redevelopment projects downtown that have gone nowhere. It's disconcerting to drive down Main Street and see signs on empty lots that say "Coming in Spring 2006" when it's Summer 2007. That said, we have enjoyed our time in Peekskill and would definitely stick around if we didn't have kids. Hopefully the powers that be will pull it together and work to do this small city justice.

[nypdguy]

I grew up in Yorktown, left for college and was a city person since then. Just three months ago I grew tired of city life and moved back to northern westchester, landing in Peekskill. I do admit that when the real estate agent suggested Peekskill I was apprehensive. I have been living here 3 months, and I absolutely love it! Peekskill really does get a bad rap! When you mention Peekskill, people automatically think that you are living by the DMV. The beautiful areas of Peekskill definitely outnumber the bad, and even the area surrounding DMV seems to be cleaning up and getting an artsy feel to it. As a resident I get cheap parking at the metro north train stop ($25.00 a month), and I am in Grand Central in 54 minutes. Who is better than me? I definitely plan on staying in my co-op here for the next 6-7 years until I retire out west.

[dma1250]

I live in nearby Yorktown and go to Peekskill most weekends with my kid to the Peekskill Coffee House (which is awesome) and to one of the great parks. The river front park is pretty perfect. I adore Peeskill. It has a great hip artistic vibe but it also feels very alive and real. There are a number of good restaurants, a cool bookstore, good galleries, and the HVCCA is cool. And the Paramount Theater is great. There are lots of artists and former city folk living there now. The annual Open Studios event is great and you get to meet a lot of residents. Yes, there is crime and there is poverty. When I decided to leave Brooklyn I wanted to get some "country." I adore my old farmhouse and 4 acres and barn, and I wouldn't dream of moving! But I also love going to into Peeksill and getting a fix of urban cool.