New York, I love you; but....

[VTTBoscombe]

New York, I love you; but....

Thanks G-Man, made my day seeing a bald fella with a table cloth on, singing rock, never gets old
It seems yoof from everywhere at that time, had the same TOTP on the camera bored look.
However, as a Fortuna fan, I am not sure staying near any stadion in Köln is appropriate.

Hey VT - after revising the budget a touch, I have sent an equiry to the contact you gave me.
Thanks again for that.

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

Best of luck, VTT

Broad Channel would undoubtedly be the most "different" of any of the places under consideration

[VTTBoscombe]

New York, I love you; but....

Thanks Ursus - actually Brooklyn is ticking my boxes at the moment; but there seems to be a different vibe west than east of Prospect Park, looking at these places.

VT - just got an Email back reply back from your contact, unfortunately she has stopped renting out (trouble with neighbours??); but has sent loads of other links - long day on the mouse and screen ahead of me again - I see.

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

West of the Park is much more gentrified (and has been for longer), though the area east is definitely on the rise (see dglh's reference to Windsor Terrace and the Botanics).

Take this map with a block of salt, but it gives you a sense of the relative crime rate by neighbourhood.

[VTTBoscombe]

New York, I love you; but....

ursus arctos wrote: On Metrocard:

You can buy 7 day unlimited ride Metrocards for USD 30 each. Given that individual rides cost USD 2.50, they are excellent value if you intend to use the system at all (which you should, as it is BY FAR the best way to get around).

They give you unlimited access to the subway and public buses in New York City. They do not include Express Buses (which are for commuters from the Outer Boroughs and unlikely to be of interest to visitors) OR transit to or from New Jersey, Connecticut, the northern NY suburbs or Nassau or Suffolk County on Long Island. The latter will be of interest if you end staying outside the five boroughs.

Just been reading how to get a metrocard, and my heart sank when they said Credit Cards that needed US ZIPs, as I had no luck in Florida earlier this year filling with petrol etc, using teh auto machine.
Then I saw it - for the 5 figure zip code if you a foriegner , just type 99999 - and it works - all those swear words I said at the time, if only I had known.
Remember 99999 - thats the magic sequence.

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

If we couldn't sell MetroCards to foreigners, the City would be bankrupt.

[Tactical Genius]

New York, I love you; but....

Prospect Park has been gentrified?

I remember going there in 1995 and it was pretty Hood (it had a mention in a Biggie Smalls song).

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

Biggie Smalls has been gentrified, TG

[VTTBoscombe]

New York, I love you; but....

Too much choice now.

Getting quite a few up that are bigger in Crown Heights, but looking a bit red on the crime map - maybe I am analysing this too much, decisions...

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

Crown Heights is a strange mix of Caribbean immigrants and Hasidic Jews, with Eastern Parkway being a major dividing line. I'm guessing that the places you are looking at are in the Caribbean bit, as the other community is not particularly welcoming to outsiders.

It isn't Brownsville or Bed-Stuy (which is actually starting to gentrify, something I never thought I'd see), but it can in fact be more "exciting" than the other parts of Brooklyn we've been talking about.

[jefe]

New York, I love you; but....

If Queens interests you, due to my extended family's residential history, I can speak fairly well to Richmond Hill and Woodhaven, moreso the latter. The J train runs through both, and would put you in lower Manhattan in about 30/40 minutes.

[G-Man]

New York, I love you; but....

VTTBoscombe wrote: Thanks G-Man, made my day seeing a bald fella with a table cloth on, singing rock, never gets old
It seems yoof from everywhere at that time, had the same TOTP on the camera bored look.
However, as a Fortuna fan, I am not sure staying near any stadion in Köln is appropriate.

Zeltinger wasn't just any old bald fella in a table cloth singing punk-rock, but he was openly gay at a time when very few public figures were, and without any camping it up. And her sang his stuff in Kölsch, the dialect of Cologne. A true legend.

And you can always truthfully claim that you're staying near Müngersdorf for the public swimming pool, which is the subject of Zeltinger's version of Rockaway Beach (where Jioey and pals sought to hitch a ride, Zeltinger advocated skipping the bus fare).

[danielmak]

New York, I love you; but....

Give this site a shot: https://www.sabbaticalhomes.com/

Also, if you ever use Couchsurfer, maybe you could post something in the New York discussion forum to see if anyone has a sublet.

I'm happy to see that my old apartment building on Renwick (a tiny street just west of Hudson and between Spring and Canal) is still in the green. Prior to the tearing down of warehouses to build condos, this map would certainly be the darkest red if the map was counting used condoms on the streets (esp. Saturday and Sunday mornings). Seemed to be a hot spot to park with the ladies and men of the night.

[VTTBoscombe]

New York, I love you; but....

Thanks alot to everyone's suggestions on this.
We finally made the decision to stay in Brooklyn, and thanks to AirBNB found what seems a great place, in Crown Heights. - Dean Street between Throop and the Children's Museum - not sure which side of the dividing line that it!
Looking at all the reviews of the place, and the various articles we could find about Crown Heights, it seems really good, if a bit as Ursus said in inverted commas 'exciting".
In the end it's the gut feeling I suppose; but again thanks to everyone.

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

Congratulation, VTT.

I'm sure you will have a great time.

Do let me know if there is anything Incan do to make your stay more memorable.

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

You may want to check out the Crown Heights Cheese Vaults.

[linus]

New York, I love you; but....

The plan calling for two weeks in NYC with the family on a shoestring budget seemed overly optimistic, but it looks like you're going to pull it off, have a great trip VTT.

[jason voorhees]

New York, I love you; but....

streeteasy.com is my fave for real estate.

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

Absolutely essential if one is renting or buying, though their coverage of the areas that VTT was looking at may be a bit sparse.

[VTTBoscombe]

New York, I love you; but....

Dunno about a shoe string budget linus - but we are going to enjoy ourselves and not look at the bill until afterwards.

Speaking of bills though, old Airbnb - I see how they make their money.
100% of all money up front, and only give the dosh to the landlord 24 hours before arrival date - ho hum, by the time we go I should have stopped crying..

Any way cheese vaults sounds like my kind of gig.

[VTTBoscombe]

New York, I love you; but....

Well , back from 2 weeks in Brooklyn.
Fantastic city New York, which is definitely top of my list of “if I could afford to (and get a Green Card), I would live there” cities.
We had lots of snow and low temperatures, house was great, area (Crown Heights) was in the VERY early stages of gentrification, and was a good juxtaposition to Manhattan.
Close to the A/C lines so easy access to Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights/DUMBO.
We popped over to Rockaway Beach , and wer'ere glad we didn't choose Broad Reach - itwas a bit cut off and dead - although it's not far to reach!
Holiday Highlights
Meeting Ursus Actos , and again thanks Ursus for the hospitability, apologies about the three ado phone screen drones who are my sons - my wife and I appreciated it greatly.
Views – oh the views, New York - just always a visual overload of wonderfulness, day and night, snow and slush.
Best view we found was Top of the Rock as you can actually see the Empire State Building, while the ESB is higher, you don’t actually see it as you are on it.
Fave building though for me is always the Chrysler, although the Brooklyn Bridge is fantastic.
Brooklyn Bridge area, The Village, Central Park is wonderful in the snow, the ice flows in the rivers, so many – needless to say you can see why New York is so photographed.
The Museums, (9/11, Elliis Island, MoMa, American Museum of Natural History etc)
The grid system is rather sensible – difficult to get lost – although I still managed.
Mexican food is great and good value, Grand Central Station and it’s nosh area is very impressive.
Everyday people, non threatening atmosphere– far less oppressive than in London or Paris to me anyway.
JFK security on return trip – actually a pleasure.
Oh! and did I mention the views.

Misc.observations
Brooklyn garbage collection is rather erratic
I do not think I will ever be a basketball fan – Saw the Nets /Hornets game – Nets sucked; but the Hornets looked pretty good; Barclay Center was vey posh; but jeez dancing girls, and time outs a go go – talking about dragging it out, just play already.
The hipster mould (coiffed hair, beards, checked shirts) still has not been broken in New York – actually the French expression of BoBo (Bohemian Bourgeoisies) seems more appropriate, for these dudes.
The Brooklyn Flea was on our street and was packed with these BoBo/hipster types , totally not from our ‘Hood, and I found the difference in people type in and out of the place rather jarring.
No hot dog vendors with decent onions-
Shake Shacks are just posh McDonalds
Where have all the Cinnabons gone?
Metrocards – when you get a 7 days one, it is in days, so even if you start the card close to midnight , that is already a day used up.
After dealing with several New York Public workers ( MTA, Immigration people, security going to the Statue of Liberty etc) I will never criticize French equivalents again.
Overall a 9/10 holiday.- lost a point because apart from walking a lot, weather made actual exercise (running etc) pretty difficult, so felt slug like when I came home.
Glad we took 2 weeks, one week would have been too rushed, and could easily have stayed longer.

Oh that was rather longer than I thought - sorry.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

New York, I love you; but....

Sounds like you had a blast. We were there for a week exactly one year ago - the kids still rave about it.

[blameless]

New York, I love you; but....

Aye, the Ursuses are good people - was fortunate enough to meet Major and Minor in Milan once when they were kind enough to source us some Inter tickets.

[G-Man]

New York, I love you; but....

Which one of the collective is delegated to meet OTFers.

Anyway, we're looking at NYC next year some time. We were thinking between March and June, but next May I'll be travelling for work, and possibly in February a well. Since my offuce also needs to see me occasionally, we might go for late October.

[ursus arctos]

New York, I love you; but....

We have a rota.

Much too kind, VTT. The pleasure was all mine, and I'm thrilled that your lovely family took such full advantage of the variety of the city. And yes, the commercial hype around NBA games these days is quite naff. A local college game might have been better from a sporting perspective.

G, late October is usually lovely. Let me know if there is any way I can help.