Is Downtown Brooklyn Crap?

Depends where exactly you're talking about. Depending on the section of Downtown, you have access to either/or Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, or even North Park Slope. Downtown is more of a stripmall commercial area at the center of existing neighborhoods which the BK bridge and Manhattan Bridge empty out to on one edge and the area is seeing several new construction coop/condos and rentals. It's not too bad but there is possibly traffic congestion and the such from Flatbush Ave.

Depends what you're looking for....

not crapier than most of manhattan

Its pretty crap. If you can be on the edge of one of the better neighborhoods listed above, then you can get some great amenities and deals, but otherwise, you shouldn't plan on leaving the house.

Not crappier than DT Ottawa :)

Mh330 is exaggerating. You can leave your house just fine at any time. I lived there. But it's several lower end retail and lower income food (think chinese/mexican/pizza) which in a matter of a few hundred feet in any direction becomes nice Fort Greene, Fulton Mall/BK Heights, and Boerum Hill. As the rental building are put up, some nice conveniences will be put up, but the issue is it's still te mouth of the Manhattan Bridge. A little extra noise (high floor apts with closed windows hear nothing by the way) will get you a new construction, improving neighborhood, and EXCELLENT transportation options (a,c,f,2,3,4,5,b,q) all in a 2-3 blocks... Seriously. It's just not super pretty and probably will never be all that quiet, nit unlike MANY coveted manhattan neighborhoods.

when you buy, you think of how the neighborhood will be in the next 5 yrs. when you rent, why would you pay the rent as if the neighborhood is 5 yrs evolved already?

mh330 nailed it.

And saiyar1 also made some good points; it's mostly crappy retail and disgusting junk food. Even the sidewalk feels greasy.

Spend the extra $$$ and just move into Brooklyn Heights or Cobble Hill.

> not crapier than most of manhattan

simply untrue. And I'm born and raised, and lived nearby a few years back, and am there every now and then.

It is extremely crappy, similar to how Fulton Street in Manhattan was before a decade of cleanup. Crappy fast food (I don't mean fast food is crappy, I mean its crappy even for fast food), places that sell socks, lots of underutilized buildings/storefronts, car repair, a prison (literally). Lots of projects scattered around. Construction sites are often nicer than the buildings next to them. Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill are much nicer, but we're talking about downtown.

Could be so much nicer...

"Even the sidewalk feels greasy."

Matt, why are you feeling the sidewalks?
I don't think it's quite as crappy as some are saying - it ain't Cobble Hill, that's for sure, but it's the kind of in-transition area that you absolutely want to take the time to tour the neighborhood before making any sort of commitment. Some people seem to really like it, while others wouldn't be caught dead. I've rarely heard any sort of consensus on it.

"Some people seem to really like it"

Only the ones who got their Section 8 housing there.

What i meant by "don't plan on leaving the house" if you're not on the edge of a better neighborhood wasn't meant to refer to safety, but rather to nightlife/restaurant options. You simply won't be spending time in "your" hood.

Mind you i lived on Schermerhorn & Hoyt and loved it... got a great rental price for a doorman/gym bldg and was only a few blocks away from Boerum/Cobble Hill, and across the street from the subway. If the maintenance in the be@Schermerhorn wasn't so outrageous, i would have thought about buying there because i think the neighborhood has some potential a few/several yrs down the road, and the transportation options can't be beat.

That being said, i stand by my original statement: if you're on the border of a better hood, go for it. If you're thinking of Toren, stay the hell away. Or have kids, at which point you won't be leaving the house much anyway... :)

"Only the ones who got their Section 8 housing there."

Only a matter of time before your true colors show, huh Mattie? Maybe you shouldn't spend so much time feeling greasy sidewalks...

Ab11218:
Good point IF the rents were just as high as Brooklyn Heights. You are not paying rents in downtown that reflect a future neighborhood. You can find rents that are reasonable for the area... How do I know? They are markedly cheaper than BK Heights, etc. there are overpriced buildings, but that's like anywherre else in nyc.

Also, it doesnt matter if you don't hang out in your hood all that much because downtown BK is actually very small. If one insists on living a few hundred feet or directly above his or her favorite diner, then fine.... But that seems a bit silly when nyc is a place to explore, not stay put. Plus everyone delivers there anyway.

Thanks all. It is appreciated. I was hoping someone would say that there is a hidden street with some great little restaurants and coffee shops. Guess it is what it is and that is why it is cheaper. I just would have thought that with all the new buildings that there would have been a little more. But then I guess it attracts people who sacrifice neighborhood. Moving to the suburbs.

And downtown Ottawa is a thousand times nicer. http://www.ottawatourism.ca/en/visitors/top-attractions/byward-market

The answer is yes. If you plan on renting in one of the high-rises for a couple years, sure, no problem. To own - don't. Somewhereelse is generally correct and NYCMatt.

simply put... YES

Ottowa:
Yea, there's no gem street or area. There are a few scattered decent restaurants here and there, but if you want a neighborhood to go down the street, have an easy choice of restaurants, then walk along and do some interesting shopping, and then pick up some groceries you forgot on the way back... No it's not there yet.

I'm moving to downtown Ottawa. Looks pretty nice to me.

Downtown Ottawa A?
Nice town A.
Lots of white people A.
What is this comparison all aboot? A
Better get you Kodiacs on, kinda cold in Ottawa A.

Fguy: don't joke. O-town has its charms. Living right by the canal, and running that loop down to Dow's Lake is probably one of the nicest daily urban jogs in the world. Ditto taking the bike path alongside the Ottawa River. Little stretch along Bank Street is perfectly charming. Downtown public school system is solid, if surprise (thanks to my non-suburban cohort), crowded. Amazing pho options.

But unless you like going to the same few bars, restaurants and running into the same people over and over and over again. Blech.

I think you went Fargo at the end there.

Never watched it.

>and running that loop down to Dow's Lake is probably one of the nicest daily** urban jogs in the world.

** daily excludes winter months of September - May.

In the winter you skate. And the comparison was to DoBro. It is dreadfully boring.

And falcogold1 I think you need how to spell eh? And kind of better than the American huh, huh?

Thanks for all the advice!

Fargo comment was directed at Falco.

I wasn't joking btw. I thought it looked nice based on photos.

Have to weigh in because I grew up in Ottawa and lived in Tribeca and now the UWS....Never appreciated how nice Ottawa was until after I left, beautiful city....Agree with nyc10023 on the bars/nightlife - the drinking age is 19 and with two universities downtown the scene is young with not much variety....still (in my humble opinion) one of the most beautiful cities in north america with the parliament buildings/canal/sussex drive....can't complain about central park now though.....

Helpful Brooklyn thread, was curious myself......Cheers -

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/fast-food-households-welfare-report-article-1.1486828

Troll.

Aboutready, have you visited downtown Brooklyn? As somewhereelse pointed out, they have a prison there. Plus places that sell socks.

Here's a factoid the welfare-hating Republicans just can't manage to wrap their heads around:

"A companion study from the National Employment Law Project estimates how much the major fast-food chains are costing taxpayers in public assistance to their employees. Workers at McDonald’s get the most aid, $1.2 billion annually, the Law Project researchers found.
Employees of Yum Brands (owners of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken) drew $648 million; those at Subway, $436 million; and those from Burger King, $356 million. Asked about the two damning reports, the companies defended their record but did not refute the findings."

Matt which branch of the Republicans do you belong to?