kinfae

The street itself is pretty quiet. It's a lot of brownstones, most of them chopped up into tiny apartments and ruled over by draconian landlords. Like most other brownstones in the newly trendy Park Slope, it's very expensive. Landlords create rules from anything from when guests can be over to how much air conditioning can be used. Parking is incredibly scarce. A good friend of mine lives there, and I often have to drive around for as much as half an hour to find even an illegal space. It takes less time for me to walk seventeen blocks to see her than to drive and find parking. There are some really great shops around, especially for bagels. All you have to do is walk up an avenue or two to find delicious restaurants as well as the nearby food co-op and whole-foods-type store. Incredible! Also, for those who don't drive, the train is not very far.

This is in fact a bad neighborhood. Close to the Stapleton Projects, the somewhat nicer homes here cannot disguise the fact. The schools here are atrocious, and teachers are afraid even of the elementary school ones. However, there are a lot of accessible services. For those who want to get to work at the ferry and run out of the house late, gypsy vans stop at the corners by the bus stops, and will take you to work at breakneck pace for only a few dollars. There is a dry cleaners, a home improvement store, and several grocery-type stores. There is a shooting every now and then, but if you really can't afford a better place, then this is perhaps the first step up out of poverty. Some row houses are being created that are still inexpensive due to the neighborhood. Buying now and sticking it out twenty years or so might bring improvement.

This street is mere blocks from some of the rowdier streets, yet it manages to survive with its dignity intact. With beautiful yet affordable houses, plenty of street parking, and garages and nice yards, one wonders how this has survived in Staten Island without being snatched up. Well, there is a hill, but who notices those things when you're enjoying all the area has to offer? While it doesn't have a lot of nightlife around it, it's just walking distance from the Staten Island ferry, which is how any Staten Islander gets where they want to be going for the night anyway. There's also a cool thrift shop less than a block away, and though the school nearby (PS16) isn't great, it /is/ close. As is a small park, and the hill with all of its nice houses. Several fast food joints and a Western Beef supermarket are also within walking distance.

If you're lucky enough to get into one of these beautiful brownstones, you will never regret it. While it's a little expensive to get one, unless you luck into a deal, the proximity of Prospect Park and the Circle means you won't be crying over it. The movie theatre on the corner has started to jump, and you can no longer get tickets there five minutes before the show, but at least now there'll be a good crowd-and for such a small-from-the-outside place, there are always a lot of shows playing. The corner groceries also are friendly, with character-little kittens peek out from under the dry goods and also assure you that the place is clean. While parking is certainly at a premium, you can always find it by going one or two blocks over, and the subway is right on the corner of the circle, as is a late-night muffin shop. You can't beat this!