Real Deal on Flushing

[NYR2B]

Hi, I'm new to the WNYF and I'll be moving with my Taiwanese wife to NYC in May. I've been teaching English in Taiwan off/on for a decade.

Everyone here claims Flushing is the best place to move in NYC but from reading the very scary NY Daily News--like the recent fatal gang stabbing in Flushing-- so I'm not sure about the place. Is it the best place to be moving, esp. as Jackson Heights in on the 7 train line from Manhattan to Flushing?

We wouldn't mind other areas if they are safe. I lived in Chicago for 8 years in the 80s in some bad neighborhoods but don't want to do that now w/ my wife. I hope you NYers can fill me in. Thanks!

NYR2B 8)

[ASchwarz]

NYR2B, if you choose to move to Flushing, safety will not be a concern. Flushing is a very safe area. I'm aware of the incident you're referring to, and can assure you it's quite unusual.

I assume you are hearing positive things about Flushing because it has a huge Taiwanese population. It's a good neighborhood, but I wouldn't describe it as "the best place to move in NYC". Flushing has a Chinese/Korean/Indian mix and is very bustling. There's a general feeling that Flushing is replacing Manhattan's Chinatown as the largest Chinese community in NY. Of course, there are many other Chinese neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn and Queens (too many to list).

Prices in Flushing are about average. There are lots of modern apartment buildings near the subway station. The neighborhood is very busy, and can be a bit crowded and noisy. At the same time, it is booming, and the food is wonderful.

If you want quiet, suburban neighborhoods (a house, rather than an apartment building), you need to investigate the neighborhoods east of downtown Flushing. You can live in a house and still be within walking distance (or a short bus ride) from the subway.

If you need information on other specific neighborhoods, just ask - Good luck!

[NYR2B]

Thanks ASchwarz, for the thumbs up about Flushing. I guess it will all make more sense when we are there. I've only been to NYC once, when I was 16, so that's not much to go on. I guess I shouldn't stress out about Jackson Heights being on the 7 to Flushing. Also wonder about other areas not that far from NYC where I will be a student (NYU, Columbia, CUNY or SUNY Stony Brook).

Any locales further east on Long Island worth investigating? Even LI City?
How about Lower Hudson Valley? (Cold Spring, Ossining)
New Jersey, like Bergen County--where those NYC loving teens from another post are from--? Hoboken? Newark?

NYRTB

[JCMAN320]

Not Newark, I mean their downtown is getting nice but the rest of the cities crime is stilll a big problem. I would suggest in Hudson County, NJ thats directly douth of Bergen county, if you want great accesibility to Manhattan then move to either Jersey City or Hoboken. Their both right on the Hudson river but JC is bigger its the second largest city in the state after Newark. If you move downtown you'll be among skyscrapers and cool restaurants and brownstones. We have many great restaruants downtown of many different ethnicities. As well as unparalled views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island from right across from Manhattan. We are one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country with a high asian population. We have a lightrail infrastructure that connects the East Side of the city, the West Side, Downtown, and soon the Heights section of the city by spring, as well as Weehawken, and eventually to Bergen County. The PATH train runs from one stop at Newark Penn Station to JC with 4 stops, one at Journal Square, Grove St, Exhavne Place, and Newport, and the PATH goes to Lower Manhattan at the WTC site as well as to Midtown at 33rd st. Also the Holland Tunnel entrance to NYC is in Jersey City. We alsohave excellent feryy connections to Manhattan.If you want more residential you could move to the Westside by NJCU or if you want more hustel and bustle, the Jersey City Heights or the Jounral Sqaure area or Downtown is a good bet. We have four and soon to be colleges, St Peters College, New Jersey City University, Hudson County Community College, and The Chubb Institute of Technology, and the Universtiy of Phoneix is opening a satellite campus here.We also have Liberty State Park with excellent view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island as well as ferrys to the islands. Also were 20mintues away from Newark Airport, as well as 10mins from a new crusie line that is opening in the neighboring town of Bayonne in May. Theres alot mroe that we have that is too much to type just check out the web links. There are alot of nice areas in Jersey City. And no Jersey City is NOT the suburbs.

Hoboken is a city on the Hudson that is only one sqaure mile, but is still a great city. It has the Stevens Institute of Technologyand Hoboken Terminal, which is the last surving rail terminal on the Jersey Hudson River Waterfront. All trains end up in Hoboken from all over the state. Hoboken does not have and skyscrapers, their office buildings are low rise and come to about 12 stories and very few. Hoboken has an excellent nightlife, with Jersey City catching up, with many different bars and restaurants. The city is all brownstones and apartment buildings.


www.jcedc.com This will connect you to the only currently working site about JC.
www.newportnj.comThis will connect you to one section of the Waterfront.
www.thenewjournalsquare.comThis will connect you to a site about the JSQ area.
www.njtransit.comThis will connect you to NJ Transits site.Click train then click on the link to the map and you will see the whole system. Click on lightrail as well to see info on it.

[billyblancoNYC]

I would say you can find anything you'd want in Queens, be it suburban-type residential (bayside, Flushing, etc), more dense urban areas, but lowe rise (Jackson Heights, Astoria), Forest Hills, Long Island City, etc.

There's a lot here and a lot to offer. You can check out Brooklyn, as well, but most of Brooklyn is more dense. Of course, this might be what you're looking for.

Any preferences? To be honest, most of NYC is very safe now, except a few areas, so don't worry about that.

[ube]

If you want to be in a real nice subarb with good school systems , think about paramus, ridgewood, and allendale. They are all a bit pricey, but nice.

From Paramus you can take the 165 to Port authority, and it takes only about 30-45mins. From ridgewood you can take the train (slow) or shortline bus which is pretty fast, about 30-45mins to Port Authority.

And if your a family type of guy, or plan to be one, most houses around here have nice yards, and excellent public schools.

:)

[billyblancoNYC]

Don't go to Jersey.

[Ninjahedge]

Jersey is fine, but it depends on what you are looking for. There are some good areas, but if you are looking for hustle and bustle you will find very little without a bunch of annoyances.

Queens is OK, but it is infuriating to navigate. The areas that can be considered suburbs are much higher priced and crowded than similar places in NJ.

Advantage is in the taxes though. You will pay a lot less tax in Queens than in Montclare. OTOH, you will have 2X-3X more room, and possibly a garage and driveway in Montclare compared to Astoria, Rego Park or Forest Hills.

Brooklyn is VERY nice in some areas, but it is one of the most expensive areas I have ever seen. The real criminal being co-op fees for apartments. Not only is a 700SF apartment upwards of $300K to buy, a lot of them incur a hefty "maintainance" fee (upwards of $1000) in which very little actually goes to pay for anything you will ever need on your apartment.

That aside, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Caroll Gardens and areas of Park Slope are very nice.

[NYR2B]

billyblanco said-- To be honest, most of NYC is very safe now, except a few areas, so don't worry about that.[/quote]

Just want to know if taking the 7 train that stops in Jackson Heights is dangerous. I won't be on it late at night, just daytime from Flushing to Manhattan. **Please give me a run down of off limits areas in Harlem (is Columbia U's area alrright?), The Bronx, Queens, & Brooklyn**

Any thoughts on the North Bronx, not to move there but to visit? I want to check out Belmont area for Italian food (maybe that's another thread!) and am thinking about Fordham U but is that a battle zone or is it OK and South Bronx the place to stay away from?

There is also that commonly agreed upon saying, "don't transfer in Jamaica" so if we did live further out in L.I. and I'd need to take the LIRR, am I in a mess? (looking at the LIRR map at the MTA site, it seems every train heading east on LI must transfer there!) If Jamaica is such a hell hole, then maybe I'd better drive. Many have said that it's a nightmare to drive in Manhattan but if I have to, I do. It's pretty bad on the roads here in Taipei with mopeds, bicycles, trucks, cars, buses, etc. all competing and it seems like there are no rules (from an American p.o.v.). So I haven't driven here! It will only be me and my wife as we don't have kids.

BTW, wasn't Billy Joel from Hicksville? He was one of my heroes for a while growing up. Thanks, JCMAN320 for all the links I must check out.
I don't want to start a New Jersey-New York rumble here. Just trying to figure the place out. I'm from the DC area originally and know Chicago from going to school there. I'm hoping that NYC is more like Chicago -- excellent food, and a multicultural city.

Heard that Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a good area, same for Park Slope (and Ninjahedge gave it the thumbs up as well!). So much to check out. Feeling a bit overwhelmed-- I call it "mind over Manhattan" (a pun on "mind over matter")! I survived 8 years in Chicago, living all over the map, and love the place so should do alright in NYC.

Thanks for your input and any brave souls to add more pros and cons,
NYR2B a.k.a. Matt

This board reminds me of the old great Blue Note BB...

[tmg]

There is no reason to have safety concerns about Jackson Heights. I live there, and it is a wonderful, safe, thriving neighborhood. It has NYC's largest concentration of South Asian businesses at its western end, and an interesting mix of South American businesses (mostly from Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru) to the east. Along Broadway on the way down to Elmhurst, there's a great mix of East Asian businesses -- but nowhere near as big as what Flushing has. Jackson Heights is affordable by NYC standards and offers excellent subway commute times into Manhattan. The drawbacks are that access to certain major highways is difficult, there's no LIRR station, and most rental buildings in the neighborhood do not advertise in the paper (there's so much demand that the building managers wait for people to approach them directly... this makes it difficult to search for housing if you're not already in the area).

Also, it's ugly now because it's under construction, but Jackson Heights will soon have an attractive new subway station.

[Kris]

Reimagining A Hub - Jackson Heights Station (http://forums.wirednewyork.com/viewtopic.php?t=228)

[billyblancoNYC]

Not many places in Queens are dangerous. Only a small part of Jamaica is, really. Even the South Bronx is a different world. Harlem, too, it booming. The only real places I would try to stay away from is East New York and Brownsville. Bed-Stuy and Bushwick are so-so but changing rapidly.

I think you'd like Flushing. Take the LIRR or 7 to Manhattan, and come home to a nice, safe, quiet neighborhood (outside of the Main St. commercial area, of course). I would check it out.

If you liked Chicago, which is nice, I'm sure you'll love NYC!

[NYR2B]

I guess I got it wrong about Jackson Heights from what tmg said, who lives there, and the article posted by Christian Wieland. The Jackson Heights train station should be back to its former glory by the time we get there in May 2004! Who knows, the area might even sway us to move there over Flushing.

Not many places in Queens are dangerous. Only a small part of Jamaica is, really. Even the South Bronx is a different world. Harlem, too, it booming. The only real places I would try to stay away from is East New York and Brownsville. Bed-Stuy and Bushwick are so-so but changing rapidly.

Ok, I heard about Bed-Stuy ("You May Be Right" by Billy Joel and where some imfamous rappers were/are from) but which parts of East NY are
shady? Riverside? (so much for Billy Joel lyrics! as in "NY State of Mind")
Harlem? I guess I'll have to find out by intuition when we are there. Since I'm not a small guy, it has helped me in rough areas. But I won't be on the last train to Brownsville (apologies to The Monkees, in the Year of the Monkey). Thanks again! --thumbs up emoticon wherever you are---
Matt NYR2B

[NYR2B]

I guess I got it wrong about Jackson Heights from what tmg said, who lives there, and the article posted by Christian Wieland. The Jackson Heights train station should be back to its former glory by the time we get there in May 2004! Who knows, the area might even sway us to move there over Flushing.

Not many places in Queens are dangerous. Only a small part of Jamaica is, really. Even the South Bronx is a different world. Harlem, too, it booming. The only real places I would try to stay away from is East New York and Brownsville. Bed-Stuy and Bushwick are so-so but changing rapidly.

Ok, I heard about Bed-Stuy ("You May Be Right" by Billy Joel and where some imfamous rappers were/are from) but which parts of East NY are
shady? Riverside? (so much for Billy Joel lyrics! as in "NY State of Mind")
Harlem? I guess I'll have to find out by intuition when we are there. Since I'm not a small guy, it has helped me in rough areas. But I won't be on the last train to Brownsville (apologies to The Monkees, in the Year of the Monkey). Thanks again! --thumbs up emoticon wherever you are---
Matt NYR2B

[NewYorkDoc]

How is traffic in Flushing?

[clubBR]

Hectic. The asian ladies are the worst drivers! They don't care about you!!!:D

[Punzie]

The asian ladies are the worst drivers! They don't care about you!!!:D
This is a racist stereotype.

In addition, it's factually untrue as a generalization. Females in Flushing can get lower car insurance than males of the same demographics because the females are in a lower risk pool. Statistically, they have fewer and less severe car accidents.

[MikeKruger]

speaking of safety/crime in NY, has anyone seen this yet?

http://gothamist.com/labs/map

[UnknownGirl]

Fantastic! Now I can find out immediately what I always want to know: WHY there are helicopters circling my house at 3am! :D

Thanks!

[MidtownGuy]

Hectic. The asian ladies are the worst drivers! They don't care about you!!!

Well it is true that this is a racist stereotype, but I've heard this so many times before...where is it coming from if there isn't a grain of truth there?
My brother sure swears it's true. The car insurance rates, cited as disproof, really isn't any kind of disproof at all! Women always get lower rates than men, don't they? I mean unless they're 90 years old with glaucoma...