Harrison Pl, Williamsburg

I remember the first time I walked past Harrison Place. I was going to Roberta's (my now favorite restaurant in the area) for the first time and kept on thinking that I was being walked to my death. This street is beyond ugly and scary looking. It looks like a series of warehouses where dreams go to die. And, you would never know that little gems are just around the corner. There are a lot of gems, like Roberta's, in Bushwick. But, there aren't enough, for me, to justify living on this street. And, I know that the hipster set like their buildings to look like abandoned warehouses because it ups the cool factor. But, I'm just not that cool. The insides of some of the buildings on Harrison are remodeled and very nice . . .but the outside. Dear of dear. It's as if no trees are on this street simply because they revolted. It's really scary.
And, the area is still pretty scary, in my opinion. It's scary during the day. The Morgan stop of the L train is right here and it looks like there's no train because almost no one is walking around at any given time. For any New Yorker, that's really creepy. There's nothing around here. At all. Around the corner toward Flushing, there are a few restaurants, bars, cafes, etc. But, absolutely nothing is on this street but what looks like abandonment. The neighborhood just hasn't developed enough yet that streets like Harrison are reasonably safe. And, I don't think any kind of cheap rent is worth that. I'd rather pay a little bit more and live a bit further west. But, if you're a brave, little hipster that won't let a potential mugging threaten your good time, this may be the street for you.

I hated living on Harrison Place. It is right next to the subway and a coffee shop and health food store but I know three people who were mugged on my doorstep. Someone even tried to rape one of them but she screamed and some neighbors and I heard so the guy ran off. The landlords are skeezy and charge way too much money. It is also extremely ugly and depressing.