Casa Brava 232 East 118th Street

Neighborhood sucks and untis over priced...sucks! Try West and/or Central Harlem.

That's Spanish Harlem.....ugh!

Prices of a couple of units have recently been cut.

There are more than 29,000 units of public housing in East Harlem which will always make the neighborhood resistant to gentrification, plus the elevated MetroNorth train tracks above East 96th Street are ugly, noisy, polluting and dangerous. Stay away from East Harlem. . .it sucks. If you want to save money on housing, move to West Harlem near Central park, Yorkville, Long Island City, Brroklyn, or Jersey City.

On the weekend of June 23rd, there were 2 separate murders on the streets of East Harlem. It is not worth it.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5415797

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/nyregion/24shoot.html?ref=nyregion

Did you know that there was also a stabbing in the Village?

#6 here...I do however agree with #5...move to Central or West Harlem...East Harlem has a long way to go if you ask me.

I was thinking about buying an apt at 2002 fifth across the street from Mt Morris Park (ie Marcus Garvey Park). I drove by the other day and it was a total slum. I didnt even feel safe driving there and I was in a car! I can just imaging walking around there. Then I heard about the man being murdered in that park. If it is an up and coming neighborhood, I think it will be safe in 20 years minimum. Its a total warzone up there. A doorman up there told me that Madison up there is even worse than fifth.

Check out the NY Times crime stats...the higher the number the more likely you are of falling victim to crime...Obviously you aren't as safe as you would like to think you are...I'd feel safe in Harlem just look at the stats:

Harlem = 84 (Lowest among those listed)

Far West Village = 212
West Village = 175
Soho/Tribeca = 157
Chelsea = 142
Financial District = 139
Downtown = 136
Lower East Side = 130
East Village = 117

How about the Doctor who blew-up his townhouse purposely so that his wife wouldn't benefit financially from it...this happened a yr or two ago on 62nd and 5th...is there a unit avaliable next to the gaping whole that was left by that criminal?...oh no I forgot he's not a "criminal" because he was an affluent doctor who lived in one of the more affluent areas of manhattan...he was just a "disturbed" person! Perceptions are everything in this world....and most of our perceptions are skewed.

I just saw it today. I think the street is nice, since the Ivy is on the corner and is selling well and there are some renovated apt. buildings also on the block. There are definitely new developments in that area and the price is still lower than central and west harlem, though not as developed. The building exterior is nice, but considering that the architect is famous, the layout is terrible. For 800 sq. ft it seems much smaller especially since the bedroom seems less than 6ft wide (even though the floor plan shows more). The fixtures are high end, the bathroom is nice, the kitchen is great, but again the bedroom is unbearable. If you wanted to spend some money and knock the bedroom wall down and make it a loft, it might be ok but you may also be losing the resale value of a 1 bedroom. In addition, the penthouse is even worse since it isn't much larger for much more price and there is a very cheap and poorly built twisting stairway up to the roof. The first floor duplex is just as horrible as the bottom is really the basement with no windows. I guess if your willing to spend the price for your own bar and lounge area. Overall, I think you can definitely negotiate and low ball the offer if your willing to purchase the place. It's already lowered the price once and have been on the market to sell since aug. '06.

Crime stats mean nothing. Most people don't report small crimes that can really make it a lousy place to live.

We saw the building a couple of weeks ago - nice exterior and finishings, fairly good block. Narrow bedroom - more than 6 ft wide, but not much more (length is OK though). Penthouse apartments are overpriced but other apts seem priced well. We also saw the new Ivy development, which was priced higher per square foot but had a doorman and an exercise room.

The lower crime stats are murders, robberies, and other violence.

The higher crime stats in better neighborhoods tend to be fights in bars, public urination, and jaywalking.

#14 I am guessing you are making assumptions. Can you send us the link to your source?

thanks and appreciated,

anon

To #15.

I don't have official stats.
A cop friend told me that.

Oooh a cop told him...Do you know what the requirements are to become cop?....not very stringent...your supposed source cannot be perceived to be credibile/reliable/valid...sorry. By the way if you have no official stats then you have nothing...what planet are you from?

As someone who grew up in Spanish Harlem, I have to say that the majority of people are just like anywhere else, good, kind, hardworking people. There are many reasons why people may find themselves living in areas which others may find undesirable (or beneath them) and none of us can say we could never find ourselves in a similar situation. Believe me the people who live in those public housing buildings do not want to be there either, but most while not having much would give you the shirt off their backs.