RoboLincoln

Livingston St., like a lot of the streets in the Boerum Hill neighborhood, has a few different personalities. Parts of it have a lot to offer--beautiful old houses, interesting new businesses (coffee shops, bars), and nice younger residents (somewhere inbetween the stroller moms in Park Slope and the hipsters in, well, a lot of parts of Brooklyn). But around the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station, it can get a little bit sketchy. Sometimes there are rats, and I don't just mean a few...like, stampedes of rats. And some homeless people and druggie types tend to hang out around the station late at night. But the convenience to the Atlantic-Pacific hub, with its transportation and the Atlantic Center mall, makes this a very convenient location.

Now, I'm not one to take gossip at face value, but as someone who's lived in the neighborhood for a long time, I've heard some things about this block over the years. I've heard that this block is one of the poorer ones out of the area, due to sometimes rowdy bands of teenagers and rumored criminal activity. It's just a little sketchy, let's put it that way. But that isn't to say that you're asking for trouble if you hang around here or move here. All I know is that people who have lived in the area for longer than me say it's shady, and not in a pleasant, tree-lined way. Regardless, the area is great and you couldn't ask for a more convenient location--the subway station is on 25th street, along with a recently renovated supermarket, and if you're a history buff, the Green-Wood Cemetary entrance is also just down the block. Plus, the Green-Wood parrots live in the trees right around the entrance, so you can do some bird watching if you're so inclined.

I live a block away so I'm often on this street and know people who live here (in the area between 5th and 4th Aves.), and I would definitely recommend it. Now it's nothing fancy--no amazing brownstones, fancy stores or restaurants, or even a whole lot of action going on most of the time--but what it lacks in razzle-dazzle it makes up for in friendliness. People on the block are definitely friendlier than your average neighbors (that goes for the whole general neighborhood), and even though the traffic on 4th Avenue can be a little much at times, it's generally a very quiet place. In addition, there are lots of schools nearby, and they just renovated the C-Town supermarket on 25th st. and 4th (same block as the subway station), all pluses.

Unlike the previous miscategorized review, mine is for 42nd street in Brooklyn. I absolutely adore the area around Sunset Park, and this street is no exception. All the best taquerias in the city are right along 5th Avenue nearby, and a quick jaunt takes you up to Brooklyn's Chinatown...bubble tea, fresh groceries, and delicious Dim Sum await. But what astounds me more than anything about this neighborhood is how affordable it is to live in. The cost of living itself is low, but the property, even more so. The brownstones along these blocks (in the 40s and 50s, west of 6th or 7th avenue) are absolutely beautiful, and look just like the ones in Park Slope, but cost about half as much (well, maybe I'm exaggerating, but the rent is a lot cheaper, anyway). A lot of the neighborhood residents aren't going to speak your language, but if that doesn't bother you, you'll discover an extremely warm and welcoming community.