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im a young female looking for an apartment. ive been looking in queens, bk and the bronx. i recently came across this property and fell in love. i like that its near the park, transportation and shops. i went on a weekend during the day and felt very comfortable.
i also went back around 10pm on a weeknight and did not feel out of place or threatened, it seems to be a generally diverse neighborhood not unlike many ive seen in manhattan and queens.
i also went back after work around 7 or 8 and was able to find plenty of parking a block or two up, walked up white plains rd alone and was not bothered in any way. i met up with a friend and walked the park, witnessing families hanging out and people playing sports and some young high schoolers, again i would not be opposed to walking/running/biking the park. took the 2 train up to e tremont, walked around, took the train back, seemed like any other subway ride ive ever taken.
now ive talked to a friend of my fathers who is from bx and said he would not let his daughter live in that area, also another friend of mines father said the same. im really really torn as i think this is the best for my money right now and dont want to pay the ridiculous prices of bk or queens for less space and less greenery.
There are several diverse neighborhoods in Queens. It depends where you have been looking.
I recommend Forest Hills, Rego Park & Astoria. (I believe Astoria is quite diverse and is near Manhattan.)
I live in the neighborhood and it is really GREAT !
I moved here from Brooklyn and like you had a lot of concerns about moving to The Bronx. If I had listened to some of what others said I never would have made the move.That would have been a big mistake.
The neighborhood is actually much cleaner than my old neighborhood(Williamsburg) and far more convenient as far as day to day living goes.Within a couple of blocks are : 2 supermarkets,3 banks,hardware store,24 hr diner,24 hr green grocer,24 hr really good small market( Gonzo's), a couple of hardware stores,butchers,tailors,chinese restaurant,24 hr Walgreens,CVS,Radio Shack,McDonald's,Burger King,Italian Restaurants,Albanian Coffee shops,Health Food shop,Staples,the 2 and the 5 subways,the bx 12 rapid bus across The Bronx,Express bus downtown,the zoo,the botanical garden and many many other great little mom and pop stores.And that's within just a few blocks ! You are also walking distance through the park to Little Italy on Arthur Avenue,the Fordham campus,etc.In Williamsburg,there was no supermarket or other real stores and the subway was 8 blocks away.It was mostly hip boutiques and Thai restaurants .... nothing you need on a daily basis.
I have never felt even the slightest bit threatened or uncomfortable in the neighborhood and feel that it is actually better than I had hoped or thought.Everyone is very friendly and happy living around here and there is very little crime.
I've only heard good things about the Pelham area. Some folks who still subscribe to the Bronx stigma may not realize that there are hoods here that are considered quite safe, and I think this area qualifies as one of them. You've obviously done your homework, so I'd say don't listen to the nay-sayers...if they were so concerned they should check the area out for themself.
I do get annoyed at folks who have such a knee jerk response to the Bronx. Sure, there are bad areas but this is true of all the boroughs. It's a great chance to live in an area of NYC that is much less "discovered" (thus cheaper; smart folks like you know when you've hit on a well kept secret) and larger than most apts elsewhere. Plus all the amenities and a more NYc feel than Manhattan nowadays by far. Good for you...I say go for it!
I use to live in the area, the only grip I had was the countless number of train delays trying to get into the city in the morning, but that's a MTA issue. It's a great area to live in.
The OP is in a great location, an apartment building next to Bronx Park. There is everything for all the tastes. For drivers, you have the Bronx River Parkway and the Pelham Parkway. For subway riders, there's the (2) on White Plains Rd and the (5) on Williamsbridge Rd in nearby Morris Park. For bus riders, there's the Bx12 to Upper Manhattan, Fordham, Orchard Beach, and Bay Plaza, the Bx22 to the Macy's in Parkchester, and the Bee-Line buses to New Rochelle and White Plains.
For the young kids, there's a skate park and the Bronx Zoo nearby, as well as several playgrounds.
thanks to all for your opinions, keep them coming.
There are very few downsides to the Pelham Parkway/Bronxdale area. First, since the schools are so great in the area (PS 96 on Waring Av, PS 83 on Rhinelander Av, PS 89 on Mace Av, PS 76 on Adee Av, and PS 105 on Brady Av), all of the mentioned schools have 900+ students apiece. Second, many teens are doing graffiti in several properties. Also, parking is very difficult for drivers and the (2) train tends to have tons of delays.
There are very few downsides to the Pelham Parkway/Bronxdale area. First, since the schools are so great in the area (PS 96 on Waring Av, PS 83 on Rhinelander Av, PS 89 on Mace Av, PS 76 on Adee Av, and PS 105 on Brady Av), all of the mentioned schools have 900+ students apiece. Second, many teens are doing graffiti in several properties. Also, parking is very difficult for drivers and the (2) train tends to have tons of delays.
I have never lived in an area of the city where whatever graffiti goes up(relatively little) is cleaned up so fast.The city actually cleans it up very quickly if you report it...usually within a few days.It does seem to be a little worse up by Waring Avenue and to the North of there and on the blocks to the East of White Plains Road but is practically non existent around Pelham Parkway ,Reiss Place,Thwaites Place and Mace Avenue off of Bronx Park East,Barker and Olinville Avenues.
I don't have a car all the time but have had borrowed or rented vehicles from time to time and have always found parking either right outside my building or along Bronx Park East . It seems like most of the spaces around the neighborhood empty out during the day and they don't fill back up until 7:00 or 8:00 in the evening.If you use a car to go to work and get home on the early side you will almost always easily find a spot.If you come home late in the evening... after 8:00 or 9:00 ,it can be a problem but even then you can usually find a spot within 3 or 4 blocks.There must be a lot of people in the area who go away every weekend because even in Winter there are a lot more empty spaces at all hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
Friends who have cars and come to visit are usually amazed that they park right outside my building.
The subway service has actually gotten a lot better in the last few months.I think there were problems for quite a while because of track work going on all along the line and there were frequent weekends where you would have to get a bus for part of the trip.All of that seems much better now.
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