First Restaurant Review: Sip and Chat.

I went to dinner at the "Sip and Chat"
2910 Avenue D
Brooklyn, NY 11226
(718) 675-4377
‎sipnchat.net

On the outside it looks like it might be one of the "nicest" restaurants in the area. It was ok. Service was decent. The place was above average in terms of decor for the area. The food was, well I had goat for the first time, so it's hard to make a comparison judgment to other places, but I'd have to say average to a hair below average relative to the price. They have a lot of interesting mixed drinks on the menu. It may be a good place for a drink, and currently is the only bar/lounge I know of in the area. The fish tank is nice, but being from Florida I've seen much nicer.

I do not recommend it for eating, but say that if you need a place to eat it's not terrible.
I do recommend it for drinking if you're so inclined, but it's no "dive bar" if your alcohol to dollar ratio is your primary concern.

I think overall this place is dead tied for a yay or nay rating, but I really like the name, especially saying it real fast. I generally like places with names that include instructions on use, so that pushes it ever so slightly to the overall yay... maybe.

BTW, with regard to "first restaurant review": despite having regrettably eaten there, I will not be reviewing McDonald's.

Others don't much care for Flatbush Gardens' ads.

http://stuytownluxliving.com/2008/08/flatbush-gardens-to-stuy-town-give-us-your-dorks.html

Rent increase ALERT!

I don't know when it happened, but today I was looking at the website and the new rental scale for new tenants is:
$900 - Studio (2.9% increase)
$1100 - 1 Bed (7.3% increase)
$1350 - 2 Bed (12.5% increase)
$1550 - 3 Bed (Though I don't believe these actually exist). (11.1%)

Several things of note:
1. Should have signed a 2 year lease, as I plan on staying at least another year.
2. There is a pretty significant % disparity in the above.

3. My first reaction is: 12.5% in this economy!?! Are you kidding?!? But then I realize, it's probably this economy that is driving even more people out of Manhattan and into Flatbush Gardens.

Seems like a lot.

http://flatbushgardens.net/ (see the "apply now" tab for numbers)

Follow me to the promise land.

So I logged in and saw I had a "follower". Thanks Axis for "following" my trickling blog. This new information has positively affected my self-esteem far more than I believe is normal.

Why is Flatbush Gardens so great?

Well, great may be an overstatement. "A viable option"? Because of this:

http://www.brownharrisstevens.com/detail.aspx?id=940654 (link is dead, see image below).

350 sqft with one window facing the back ally for $375,000.

This is the neighborhood I lived in when I first moved to NYC 15 months ago; the neighborhood I broke a lease in to move to Flatbush Gardens. I went down there to see this place for something to do on a Sunday (not because I have anything close to the $37.5k you'd need for a 10% down payment (assuming one could get a 90% loan these days)). It's "cute as a button" as my grandma would say, but 350 sqft, and one window facing the back ally. Maybe, MAYBE, if it had a street view, but even then the other side of Court street is a boring cookie-cutter office building.

Anyway, they won't get more than 300k for this place, but the point is, 1000 sqft for 1200/month flat, or 350 sqft for whatever the crazy rent on a place with this "value" would be.

More news on the laundry front.

Management left a flier today. Did anyone else get this today? I ask, because it's dated November 10th. Anyway, it reads:



"Dear Tenant(s):



It has come to our attention that some tenants have installed a washing machine and or dryer in their apartment, which is illegal and a direct violation of the lease.



Please take notice that if you, or any tenant, is observed with a washing machine or dryer installed, Management will commence legal action to have it removed.



A washing machine or dryer causes severe damage to the entire building. Any cost incurred by management as a result of a washing machine or dyer [sic], will be charged to the tenant.



We would like to remind you, that management provides a state of the art laundry facility which all tenants are welcome to use.



Thank you for your cooperation."



First, hilarious. I actually considered this myself. Mostly as an exercise in engineering. It's very difficult to install a washer and dryer in an apartment that isn't set up for it. So, kudos to those who managed it.



Second, regarding "state of the art"; I refer you to my earlier post. It's difficult to feel "welcome to use" machines that don't work.



Third, I find their implied concern for the safety of their building dubious at best. Since it took them 4 days to fix the water coming out of my ceiling, and stop the water coming out of my radiator that was no doubt coming out of my downstairs neighbor's ceiling.



Fourth, months ago; several months ago; they delivered a memo similar to this about satellite dishes. They said if they weren't removed, management would remove them. What kind of threat is that? Why would anyone take them down if the consequence is someone else will do the work for you? Anyway, point is, there are still dishes up and those are A LOT easier to spot than washing machines and dryers.



Management vs. clean clothes... let the battle begin.

Rainy days. In my bedroom.

I came home to my bed soaked with a couple gallons of water.

My ceiling leaks. My radiator leaks too, which no doubt causes my downstairs neighbor's ceiling to leak. I called emergency maintenance 4 days ago to have them fix it. The security guy said he'd put me on the list. I said that's fine, but he should understand that the water will cause serious damage to their building. He said he understands that but there's nothing he can do. Needless to say they didn't show up.

I thought it was just my radiator (that leaked water and steam) causing it, and that I fixed it myself. However, I was mistaken. I awoke to a new drip drip drip in my bed. So I went down there to ask why they haven't fixed this serious problem yet. I was nice at first, then we fought. Having gotten nowhere, I next fought with the middle supervisor. These things are never successful, but for some reason it was this time. They sent someone over. My radiator still doesn't work 100% but it no longer leaks, and most importantly to me, the ceiling no longer leaks.

So, that's enough for me to call this a win.

Bubble - a drip from the bubble did most of the damage. There were several.

More damage was done when the bubble bust (insert wall street joke here).

And the resulting bed.

A single female's persective.

[The below "comment" is being upgraded to its own "post" without the permission of the author.]

As a single white female living here I thought my opinion might be of value. I come home after dark every night, sometimes as late as 3-4 am. I don't really feel afraid walking home seeing as it is well lit and I'm really close to the train. I go the first entrance to the complex b/c I figure if someone wanted to mug me, it would be less likely if I were on fbg property with the cameras and all.. I do get the occasional sexual comments but that happens everywhere. Like it has been mentioned before, the violence you hear about does not seem random. I've only heard a couple fighting in their apt one time, never anyone fighting outside, or anything worse.

The only complaint I have is that there's nothing to do around here and the grocery store kinda sucks. So I don't really hang out in the neighborhood. Also, I feel like I don't have much in common with the other tenants. I'm single, childless, educated, have a white collar job... So I feel like I don't fit the profile described in the news story, and don't really relate to a majority of the tenants, at least the ones I've encountered. All the tenants in my building have been here for years and years, so there's a nice sense of community, and they've all been very nice to me.

But I witnessed some dirty tricks by fgb on Sunday. Since the water problem over the weekend, apparently all the apartments on one side of my building had water running down the walls all day sunday (not my apt) and no one from maintenance bothered to come over. I know that they keep only one maintenance person working on the weekends so there is no way he can get to everything in a reasonable amount of time. But an emergency like that is serious and the excuse that there is only one person working is ridiculous and more people must at least be on call. One tenant accidentally turned on the bathroom light and things started sparking so the fire dept came. At this point water was leaking for 15 hours.

There was an informal tenant meeting going on in the hallway after this and I overheard a woman talking about how she has had her belongings in trash bags for the past 2 years b/c leaking water is an ongoing problem that has been ignored. She was very angry and said they are ignoring her b/c they want her out so they can rent her unit for $1500. Unfortunately she's exactly right and tenant abuse is a problem all over the city, not just here. But so far, my needs have not been ignored. I've had to call maintenance a few time for urgent things and they came over w/in 2-3 hours, and sometimes within minutes. As a whole, I like it here.
My apt is huge, no roaches (!), and it's quiet which is important to me. But if you can afford a similar sized apt in a nice neighborhood, I would go for that. I wish I could have something in Park Slope or Brooklyn Heights but it's just not possible. $1000 rent is unheard of in places like that.

Packages and Produce.

Romy wrote:

Hey, great blog. I'm thinking about checking this place out, and I'm wondering if you or anyone you know has had experience with the package drop-off/pick-up facility and procedure there. Does that function smoothly? If so, that totally rocks!Also, it looks like FreshDirect delivers to your zipcode. Does anyone in the area/complex use it? This would be a major selling point for me, but if no one is using it, I don't know what the scheduling will be like. Thanks!

To which, I post:
You know, I thought I posted something about that, but I can't find it. The package room is only open Wed. morning/afternoon (9-3 ish, maybe) and Saturday midday, I forget. The package room is I believe run by the US postal service. Fedex and UPS don't know about it, and I tried to get them to deliver there once and they tried pretty hard but couldn't figure it out. So the deal is, it's fairly great for getting USPS packages. I believe (though I've never actually gotten a package) that no matter what day a package comes to you via USPS, it will be held in the room for you to pick up Wed. or Sat. This is good. They also said they would accept packages from UPS and Fedex etc. but you're on your own in terms of trying to time the Fedex/UPS delivery during package room hours. Also, I noticed a sign the other day that said "The package room is for SMALL packages only." I don't know what that means.

To me, other than incoming USPS packages, it's fairly worthless.

Also, a little annoyed that's one more thing FBG leasing lied about. They said it was open Monday to Saturday. I have most things delivered to work unless I'm sure it's coming USPS.

If you're used to a "full service" mailroom, either from work or a more "luxury" building... this is not that, or even close.

I've never tried FreshDirect at the apt, and I've never seen a truck outside (but I'm rarely home). I don't eat at home much and my post-church trip to key foods on newkirk is sufficient for me. The problem I have calling cars to take me to JFK is that the buildings are very poorly labeled. FD may have a hard time finding your building, and you may have to "guide them in" via phone, but I suspect delivery would go smoothly. There's lots of double parking room for a truck in the area, so that's not an issue.

I should try freshdirect though. Honestly, the produce in this area sucks. The big produce store is ok, but not air conditioned, full of flies, rarely has lettuce, and the smell of their dried fish section (which people actually buy from) makes me sick. They do have some decent fruit I buy, but not vegetables. Key foods usually has ok stuff. Standard urban grocery store quality. I used to make 12 salads with all kinds of stuff from the produce stand to take to work with me. After moving here, I tried, but it's just too hard to put together a salad worth eating with this stuff. So, yeah, I should try FD too.

Laundry Day!

Ok, so I've done laundry several times before now, but always forget to bring my camera.
First, the laundry facility (near the mail room) is quite large, with many machines. This is a good thing, because many are often broken. Also, I scoped out the private laundrymat, and they're a little more expensive. I remember when I first did laundry, I was impressed with the number of machines (in how it implies I'll never have to wait), and the size of the machines. By my count, there are 21 1x machines, 34 3x machines, and 5 5x machines. The 1x machines are pretty small. A little smaller than your usual small apartment washer. I'd say 4-5 towels or jeans, or 8-10 shirts and you've maxed out. Then of course the 3x are about 3 times that size, and the 5x five times the 1x size. The prices are not proportional, as the 1x is like 1.50, and the 3x is like 2.00, and the 5x is like 2.50. So, bigger is better for cost savings.

Please keep in mind as you read the below complaint (which is fairly outrageous) that I have done laundry at least 4 times already without having to wait for a machine.

Yesterday, I went to do my laundry and couldn't because 88.5% of the machines were broken! That seems like a lot. Actually, 78.3% of the machines were broken, but since only smaller machines worked, 88.5% of the capacity was broken.
By my count, 0 of 5 large (5x) machines were working, 2 of 34 medium (3x) machines were working, and 11 of 21 small (1x) machines were working. You can see that with 60! machines (totalling 148x (i.e. 5x5 + 34x3 + 21x1 = 148) there's quite a supply for people to use. However, with the outrageous level of almost 90% broken, it's not that convenient.

As I was in there counting some FBG employees started asking what I was doing. I said "counting". They said the machines were almost all down, and I said "yeah, are you going to fix them?" They said, something to the effect of "we don't fix them, the contractor has to come fix them." Another employee came up and said "what are you doing, are you with the contractor?" I said "no, I just count." We exchanged some banter, as I continued to give ambiguous and semi-smart-alic responses, and they continued to say the contractor screwed up the installation and needs to come fix it. One either called or pretended to call security, apparently not believing I was a resident and though maybe I was from the news (as if any news gives a crap that we don't have laundry machines). I was done counting so I left, but probably should have stuck around to see what would transpire if I kept counting and taking pictures. I do love confrontation, but the guys were appearing to be jovial during our "confrontation" so I didn't feel defensive and just went about my business (i.e. going to work when I was done counting).

Update: I went by the next day to take some pictures (which I'll post once I get them off my camera), and they were back to their usual 75% availability. So all is well again in the land of cheap laundry. Let the cleaning begin!

Washers

Dryers

More Washers

Checking in, but no real news. Quite days at FBG.

I should have made a discussion forum, not a blog... Other people usually have more conversation starters than I do.

Hello! How are you? I greatly enjoy reading about your life and experience at Flatbush Gardens. You provided me with enough infomation to not move there. The picture you captured with the police patrol booth....oh...noooooooo, it gave me the Red Flag. Moreover, the execution that occurred on the roof top. I am suprise ur still there. Then that long list of repairs and maintenance issues, i dont see how you can tolerate that. To top it all, it used to be projects...ill, im not moving there. Projects today have issues like that(I guess its still projects)dont get me wrong i was considering moving there, but reading your entire blog today for the first time and seeing all those problems, No way!I hope everything is okay with you, i have not heard from u in a while. Oliva

I'm good. Thanks for asking. I guess I haven't had much to say lately. I'm glad you enjoy the posts. It's not my intention to cause anyone to move here or not move here, but if more information helped you make a better choice, then that's good. (Of course, if my one sided information caused you to make a bad choice, then I guess that's bad). Oh well. The day I posted about the execution I was particularly mad, and did want people to not move here, so I guess me and FBG are even now that you're not moving here. It's been what, almost 4 months, and only the one incident to report? Of course there are incidents I don't know about, but that's not a bad record. I still like it here.

By way of FBG news:
They turned the radiators on a couple days ago, so everyone can be nice and warm. One of mine leaks a little bit. I probably will put a towel around it instead of having it fixed, because I don't have time for their nonsense.
Also, I was told today that 85% (about) of the washers are broken. I often get home after 9pm (closing time) and couldn't confirm that today, but look out for a future "status of the laundry room" post, after I can confirm.

My continuously updated list of what's wrong with the apartment:

• The kitchen window is broken (though only one of the double panes, so it’s still closed).
• No change.
• The security gate on the kitchen window was removed and not put back up.
• I spoke with management. They said it's the resident's responsibility. I told them I understand that I don't have a right to one as a tenant in general, but I was told it would be left up and it wasn't (i.e. they are in breach of contract). They said to take it up with leasing. Leasing continues to ignore me. I've given up. I suggest anyone who sees a pre-renovated place, add to the lease a written statement that there will be a security gate. I may or may not install one myself, and if I do I may or may not sue for breach of contract, but I'm definitely done wasting time asking for it.
• The entry light has no cover on it.
  • Fixed on 7/22.
• The front door is missing two locks.
• I'm informed that they only install the one lock, and the half door knobs they left in the other two lock places are my responsibility to replace, if I want.
• There is no phone-jack in this apartment.
• I paid Verizon $50 to install one.
• The dinning room electric outlet does not work, and one outlet in the living room barely works.
• I fixed both of these, cost: $10 and 1 hour.
• The bottom hinge of the smaller bedroom is not properly installed, which means the door does not close.
• Fixed on 7/22.
• The bathtub is missing the drain ring and stopper.
• Fixed on 7/22.
• I requested that the child proof window guards be removed.
• I spent $45 on a tool to fix this myself.
• The radiator in the small bedroom is missing the control knob.
• Fixed 9/17.
• The bathtub does not drain.
• Emergency maintenance fixed on first day.
• Dirty laundry was left in the built in hamper thing.
• I cleaned on first day.
• Debris was left in the bathroom.
  • Emergency maintenance cleaned on first day.
• Was not given a mail key.
  • After several failed attempts, finally received my mail key on 7/13. (Ex-roommate's key was ready sometime after 7/13 and before 7/20, and she picked it up on 7/20).
• Elevator broke on 7/7.
  • Working again on 7/13
  • Broken again on 8/12
  • Working again on 8/13 (fast!)
  • Broken again on 8/16
  • Working again on 8/18
  • Broke sometime between 10/3 and 10/5 (I was out of town)
  • Working again on 10/7

Repair timeline:

Moved in July 3rd.

Gave them a list of things wrong with the place July 6th.

Asked why no one has called yet on July 20st. Was told I would be called tomorrow.

Asked why no one called as promised on 7/21, was told I'd be called by the end of the day.

7/22, still no one called, but someone came by and fixed a few things.

7/25, left a message in the morning asking why no one has ever called, and asking that someone call because I need to know if there is anything on the list they are refusing to eventually do so I can hire someone. I've now paid a month of DSL and yet do not have a phone jack in my apt. No reply.

8/5, called again, left a message at 10am. They replied fairly promptly at 3pm-ish. They now say that Management/Maintenance deals with all that, not leasing. I'll call them later.

8/6, wrote letters to management, maintenance, and leasing outlining the remaining issues, and asking that above anything, please just call to tell me what will or will not be done.

8/12, USPS returned leasing office's letter. Apparently, the mail people (who likely only work the FBG complex, can't find the giant sign that says "leasing office" on the 1403 building. I, unlike most, think the post office does an absolutely fantastic job, but they dropped the ball on this one. No response from FBG.

9/1, Wrote another letter to be included with my rent check. No reply.

9/9, Home sick today, so I went down there. They didn't give a crap that they've ignored me for 2+ months, and wrote down my problems. Wouldn't say when they'd be fixed, refused to take keys, and said I'd have to be home. I envision many days wasted at home with no one showing up. I went back to leasing and left a message.

9/17, (0ver a week since last reported, 2.5 months since first reported) fixed radiator. I suspect that I'll have to sue over the remaining issues if I want further repairs.

My continued quest to get my keys back.

I left my keys with leasing so that they could finish the apartment. Of course they aren't fixing anything, so I've been trying to get my keys back for a month now. Apparently only one person has access to keys and this person is never there. I went Tuesday to get them, and again, the person wasn't there, so I left a message with the desk girl asking them to get the keys tomorrow and leave them in an accessible place so the next time I come back I could get them. So I went today, of course they're still inaccessible, and of course they claim they never got the message. Which is all fine, grossly incompetent, but fine; however, despite 2.5 months of not doing anything and 1 month of not being able to simply produce my keys, they have the nerve to be rude to me. Like it's my fault they run the most disorganized operation I've ever seen. Whatever, I'm losing patience fast.

I was home sick today so I went to get my keys. They gave me one of them. Nothing is ever easy (at least not here).

Oh, and they said currently Leasing and Management were fighting over who should have to take care of problems with the apartment. Really? I'm sorry, they should be fighting over who gets to take care of tenants.

I got my keys back. They only gave me the apt key, and not the outside door key. However, after another call, and another visit, they went over to management and got me to outside door keys. They were very nice this time. They've either figured out I blog about their attitude, or are genuinely in a better mood over there. I don't envy their job. I mean, there must be a large percentage of annoying, rude, and difficult people in these buildings. Though I try to minimize my annoying and difficulty, and eliminate any rudeness, that may be why I can't get them to do much for me.

Anyway, all's well that ends well.

Execution at Flatbush Gardens.

Honestly, I wasn't going to post this, because I try to keep this to my experiences, and the experiences of those I personally know, and I didn't really see this. However, people have the right to know, and ok, I'll admit it, I'm rather annoyed at FBG right now because though I've been patient with their incompetence and the fact that they don't have a maintenance department, the last time I went to ask them for something they were very rude and that's just too much for me. It's one thing to be incompetent but try to be pleasant while you're ignoring people.

Anyway, a guy was executed by someone on the roof of one of the buildings here a couple weeks ago.

http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7273110&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/08/23/2008-08-23_excon_shot_dead_on_brooklyn_roof-2.html


Two interesting follow-ups, (1) police were patrolling the area for a few days after that, and had this weird observation booth set up on Newkirk (though that may or may not be related; see picture below), (2) the ex-roommate said she saw a group of people out in the courtyard after the incident, one of them was clearly upset at another one of them for having talked to the police and they were fighting. The upset one's girlfriend was trying to pull him away and as she did he made threatening gun motions with his hand, as one might suspect implies the intent to kill him for whatever reason. Anyway, I don't know. The ex-roommate is thinking about moving in July because of the incident. I don't really consider it grounds for moving, though now I may move out because of the rude incompetence of management.

Section 8 discrimination.

I was in the leasing office the other day (not today, but the other day), and I heard the desk girl take a call to the effect of: "Yes we accept section 8 vouchers, but we currently do not have any section 8 unit vacancies, please call back later."

Isn't that illegal? I thought the state legislature passed a law that landlords with more than 6 units cannot discriminate based on source of income. Maybe not.

(And of course, once again, no waitlist, just time wasting "come back later because you don't have anything better to do with your life.")

More elevator breaking.

So, this one was worth a picture. Someone on the fifth floor totally busted the elevator door.

Shocking!

So, if you've read earlier posts, you know that two of my outlets did not work. I replaced them myself. Took about an hour, and outlets only cost like $5 each (retail, I hear they cost like a quarter in bulk). Anyway, one of the old outlets is below. Both outlets were the same, totally broken. It's beyond obvious that no one even looked at them during the referb. So outlet checking/replacing is not something that should be assumed will be done.



However, the wiring on the outlets was still very good. Which is a relief, because I added an outlet to my bathroom (since the bathroom did not come with an outlet). The wiring (which they had to have seen since the switch and light were new installs) was totally striped (from age). There was literally two feet of exposed wire in there. I'm shocked the place hadn't burned down yet. I fixed the wiring in the bathroom, but I hope the rest of the place is as good as the broken outlets, and not as bad as the bathroom, or I'm quite scared.

Bonus exercise!

The elevator broke again sometime during the day. I had to carry my bike up to the top floor. It's good exercise. As outlined in my "what's wrong with the apt" post, I sent maintenance a letter. I've yet to get my phone call. Anyway.

Update: Took less than a day to get it up and running this time.

Fresh whole goat.

I find this odd. Posted outside the "meat" grocery store, along with 100 other ads for the week:

Up until today, I honestly didn't know where one could buy a whole goat. If anyone has a recipe for whole goat, please post and I will buy a goat.

Silent policy shift.

So, it's been over a month since I told them about the things that needed to be fixed when I moved in. They never responded or called once, though did come in and fix a few small things one day. I called them back again, and they finally called me back. However, they now say that leasing no longer handles any of it, and I should call management/maintenance. Super. That would have been nice to know when they made the decision. Anyway, I've had enough fun for one day, I'll send them a letter later.

Air Conditioners, $338 per unit!

When we originally looked at the place they told us A/C was a $285 fee, with no mention of a per unit expense. I guess a per unit expense makes sense, and is the law, but it also doesn't make sense. I can install one 18,000 BTU unit for half the price of two 6,000 BTU units, and not only do the smaller ones together use 2/3rds the energy, but I may turn one off from time to time using 1/3rd the energy.

Anyway, today all residents got fliers saying management has gone around photographing all the buildings and will be billing the residents $338 per installed unit. Further, they state that the charge will stand even if you uninstall a unit or a unit stops working. Further, they say you have 10 days to contest the number of units installed at your residence or waive your right to contest it (this part I don't think is legal, but the rest is).

So, moral of the story is buy the biggest unit you can find and some fans to push it into other rooms. Also, run the sucker 24/7. Unless you care about the environment, then maybe turn it off from time to time.

And if you want 3 units, you better start saving, because that's over a thousand dollars. They will however charge you 1/12th of that per month to help you afford it.

Some things I really like.

I'd like to point out a few things about this apartment that are great (especially things you may fear wouldn't be great in a "cheaper" place).
1. There is always plenty of really hot water.
2. The bathtub is deep (I do like the occasional bath).
3. Really thick walls (low to no noise).
4. Pretty nice and cheap washing machines at the central location.

I'm sure there are others.

Note about repairs.

They made some repairs on 7/22. Almost three weeks after we moved in, and two weeks after we made a request for repair. That seems like a long time, and it is. However, I will point out, that I get the feeling if I had called them every day or every other day to ask about the status, it would have happened much faster. It would be nice if it happened right away without follow-up, but you get what you pay for. I'm still holding out hope that future work (including the rest of my list) is a little faster.

Safety, as a single female.

A short interview of my ex-roommate.

me: if someone asked you your detailed opinion about how safe you feel at Flatbush Gardens, what would you write?
Ex-Roommate: i feel safe inside the complex, walking home from the subway at night i get nervous but it is more of a personal thing rather than by what i see as it feels safe each time i have walked from the subway home...now if i had to pass by the basketball courts or another block or two i am sure that would change - a lot.
me: why?
Ex-roommate: why? the basketball court has gangs that hang around there, so that obviously makes it a bit more unsafe and regardless of how nice everyone is overall some people are still going to resent a little white girl living in their area - i am sure there are some that don't want the changes that are slowly happening there..so..it's always a risk.
me: there aren't gangs that hang out there.
Ex-roommate: uh, yea, there are.


Note by me: Other than this one car that was painted up with the name of a gang, etc... I've not seen any evidence at all of any gang members, gang activities, gang hangouts, or gangs in general. Are they there? eh, probably, but I've not seen it.

Note about repairs and safety, as requested by some folks.

They did have the ex-roommate's key today (7/20), and it may have been ready sooner, but she's been busy in the evenings for a few days now. We went to the leasing office today to pick up the key and ask what the deal with the repairs is. The girl at the desk, Amy, is very nice, and seemed quite surprised no one has called us yet. Perhaps they misplaced our complaint letters/lists. It is a huge complex. I won't fault them for a few mistakes. She said she'll look into it tomorrow when the repair/renovation guy comes in, and personally call us to let us know when we can expect him to call. So, so far nothing is fixed, but I'll decide how annoyed I am with that tomorrow after an update from them. Had I been following up with them on a bi-weekly basis, I'd be pretty annoyed right now, but nothing is urgent, so I just let it go for two weeks, and maybe they just lost my letter and will be responsive once they're reminded I have issues. We'll see, and I'll post.

As for safety. I'm a single guy, so that's a little different. I feel very safe. I feel like everyone is super nice. People say hi. People offered to give a hand when we were moving, etc. Most evenings the courtyards are full of kids playing, and parents socializing. I rode my bike home from Manhattan Thur. night at about midnight, and wasn't concerned at any point. I mostly hang out in my apt., but I go to church, the subway stop, the store, etc. and feel very happy with the area. I've noticed a higher rate of people failing to "curb" their dog, so your shoes might be less safe if you don't watch your step, but that's it.

My ex-roommate is a single female. Perhaps I'll solicit her opinion for posting.

Broken Elevator

My elevator broke on 7/7. It was fixed 5 days later. I have two things to say about that. (1) when we were looking at the place they touted "totally modernized elevators so that repairs are quick, if needed." I'm not super concerned about the elevator. I need the exercise, but 5 days seems like a long time. Even my cheap place in DC never took more than a day or two. (2) Thank God it broke after I moved. If they had shown up to a broken elevator and 5 flights of stairs, they would have charged at least $1,000 more, if not much more.

The good, the bad, and the clogged.

So I’ve moved. The place looks pretty good. I really think it’s pretty much exactly the quality I had in DC (but much bigger, more expensive, and less “safe”). Safe is a term I use in a very stereotypical way. “Safe”, as I use it here, is “word on the street” rating of the safety. Because, honestly, I feel very safe, and everyone seems very nice. Unfortunately, safety is not a majority vote. It only takes one person to make a place “unsafe”. They gave us our apartment keys, but not our mail keys.

They clearly did not finish the place. There are several things wrong such as:
The kitchen window is broken (though only one of the double panes, so it’s still closed).
The security gate on the kitchen window was removed and not put back up.
The entry light has no cover on it.
The front door is missing two locks and a working peep-hole.
There is no phone-jack in this apartment.
The dinning room electric outlet does not work.
One outlet in the living room barely works.
The bottom hinge of the smaller bedroom is not properly installed, which means the door does not close.
The bathtub is missing the drain ring and stopper.
I requested that the child proof window guards be removed.
The radiator in the small bedroom is missing the control knob.
The bathtub does not drain.
Dirty laundry was left in the built in hamper thing.
Debris was left in the bathroom.

There was less wrong with the ex-roommate’s place, but some different things. Like the smoke detector isn’t working. The paint job was ok. A little sloppy around the edges (i.e. windows). The grout job in the bathroom is less than great, but that’s ok. The floors look great, and are certainly better than the floors I had in DC where the wax would chip up in big yellow flakes. However, it is pretty easy to scratch the floors, and initially, some things were sticking to them. I think they’ve mostly dried now.

The only thing on the list that is an emergency is the fact that the bathtub does not drain. The referb guys thought it would be brilliant to let all the grout and construction powder/dust debris go down the bathtub drain. At this point the office is closed though. Fortunately the lady from last night gave me security’s number, and I called that. They were very nice, and said that the apt complex has 24/7 “emergency” maintenance. She put me on the list. It took about 3 hours for him to come, but that’s fine. They installed the sink in the wrong place, so he couldn’t open the drain access port all the way. He got it open a good amount though and sent this snake down. It took about an hour for him to fix it. Not his fault though. He was excellent. He gets a full five stars, all around. He was nice, friendly, hard-working, didn’t give up and say he’d have to call a plumber Monday. He even cleaned up the construction debris left in the bathroom. Emergency maintenance gets my highest rating.

So, we’ve started unpacking. We’ll go to target tomorrow. Good times.

Do I like it? Very much so. Will you like it? No idea. It's not luxury. It's not for everyone. But I'm a simple person, who likes functioning and adequate over fancy and luxury. I'll take some pictures later.

My review of FatRate Movers

(Part 21)

My review of FatRate Movers

Do you see what I did there? I left off the “L” turning FlatRate (a good thing) into FatRate (a bad thing). LOL, I’m hilarious. But seriously, I have a complaint.
Ok, so they showed up on June 3rd instead of July 3rd, I can’t really complain about that since they didn’t try to charge me or anything and showed up again on July 3rd.

So, they come in to check on the stuff. They have to compare the “FlatRate” inventory to what’s in the apartment. My quote has 25 boxes on it. They said they counted 60 boxes. That’s kind of a big difference. We didn’t add stuff since the quote. In fact, I took several boxes to good will and the dumpster. Maybe we can’t pack properly. I know I can, and I know my roommate can’t, but she had like 20% of the stuff, so that can’t be it. Maybe we hide our stuff well, or maybe they’re running a low estimate high move cost scam. Anyway…. They’re already charging twice as much as the average price quoted on craigslist (i.e. the dubious 2 men and a truck, $50/hour), and that’s on a quote for less than half our loose stuff. As far as I’m concerned, they came in to do the estimate, they decided how many boxes we had, we did not add stuff, so they should move it for the quoted price. I would have thrown them out of the apartment and started calling craigslist numbers to see who needed a job if they had tried to charge us more. They didn’t, they just tried to pad their tip, with a “we’re supposed to call dispatch and get a new quote, but nobody wants that, but we’re only being paid to more 25 boxes, so maybe you’ll remember that with a tip, but I’m not pressing for that, just pointing it out…”

Once we settle the box issue, they get to work. They’re 4 of them and they’re super friendly. Very professional, fast, etc. It took them about 4 hours to get our stuff out. I dropped the roommate off at the complex and went to JFK to pick up my parents. It took them an hour to get there (took us a half hour), but that’s ok, they have a big truck. Then the roommate calls to tell me they’re giving her crap about not being able to find parking. What? You’re MOVERS, . . . in New York City! Isn’t this like your job? Anyway, I’m mostly not there for this, as I drive my parents from the air port to the new place. The roommate, or at this point, I guess I can officially say ex-roommate. The ex-roommate says they’re going back and forth between management and security trying to figure something out. During this time they manage to park the truck at the point that is literally closest to the front door of the building. But they’re still upset, because the complex is arranged such that none of the entrances are on the streetside, and you have to go into the central courtyard to get to the entrances. It’s like, 200 feet max, and they’re saying it’s too far. This time they actually do call dispatch to get a bigger quote. However, dispatch (or I’m told this) says that the sales woman forgot to put that in the contract so they can’t charge us for it. Whatever. At this point they have our stuff so I’d have to pay them, but I sure wouldn’t be giving them a tip if I was charged more.

They finally get they’re act together. I try to help a little until 3:30. Then I have to go return the rental car. Since that’s near my old apartment, I turned in the keys, and got my dry cleaning. By the time the subway got me back to newkirk, they movers had just left. There were 4 of them and it took them from 9am to 5pm or about. I don’t know what a normal tip is in that situation but I gave the guy $120. I hope that was reasonable in light of the excellent job they did, but tempered by the crap they gave the ex-roommate while I was gone.

Anyway, all in all, they get 3 stars. 5 stars for performance, minus 1 star for price, and one star for the bullcrap.

I think if you can get a recommendation of a good craigslist type operation then you’re better off. That way they don’t give you crap. If they have to walk 2 blocks then it takes longer but you’re paying them by the hour so it doesn’t matter. If I can find a per hour crew that won’t steal or destroy my stuff, I may go that route next time.

Pre-Move Costco Run. I love Costco.

(Part 20) Ok, move time is upon us. First, I have an extra couch that was left for the garbage downstairs a few days ago. It’s a perfectly fine couch and the roommate loves it because it’s purple. So I hauled that upstairs and Flatrate told me it would be an extra $150 to move it. I can buy a used couch for that much. Anyway.

My schedule this holiday weekend is kind of packed (no pun intended). On Thur. I move. At 1pm, on Thur., my parents’ flight lands at JFK, and they will be visiting for 4 days. They leave on Sunday, which is also my birthday. Then I have to take a major professional exam on Monday. Oh, and BTW, my parents are not currently speaking to each other, so that should be fun. When we planned the visit, I didn’t even know this part of Brooklyn existed. They thought they’d be staying at my nice place, doing fun things, while getting along. But things change, now they’re staying at my “cheap” place, helping me unpack, while not speaking to each other. Oh, and Clay Aiken was supposed to be in Spamalot when I bought the tickets, but now he’s not. My parents are huge Idol fans, so I picked that show, even though I’ve already seen it.

Anyway. I don’t even want to tell you what the plan originally was, because it sucked, but I came up with a new plan. Wed. at 4 pm, I left work to pick up a zipcar truck (ziptruck?). I also bought a gps navigation unit shipped 2 day express (thank you amazon.com prime). I make the roommate guard the truck (no tickets please), and I park right behind the UPS driver who has my gps unit (timing). I carry the roommate’s couch down and load it into the truck. I also haul down two air conditioners, and some tools. Off to Flatbush Gardens. I drop the roommate off to pay the remaining money on our places and get the keys. I park and start unloading. We dump the stuff off and immediately head to Costco. Which was insane, especially the last several rows as Costco employees are yelling “the store is closing in five minutes!” I don’t even want to tell you how much we spent, but even without my new glasses, it was a new Costco record for me. I think it was a new personal record without counting the glasses or roommate’s stuff.

We load the truck, and head to the UPS depot. That took some effort to find, but get there a little before they close to pick up the roommate’s air conditioners. There are crazy, crazy people at UPS at 10pm in Brooklyn.

Back to Flatbush Gardens for the Costco unload. It’s painful. We forgot my shopping cart, so we’re stuck with a cardboard box and a luggage cart. It’s not too bad, but certainly not fun, and we’re getting very tired by now. The cart breaks with a huge final load, so one of us is stuck like an idiot in the middle of the courtyard watching the stuff while the other takes slow trips up to the apartment. We meet a nice lady whose “baby’s daddy is up in this building with another woman.” (Roommate’s building). She advises us that it’s a crack house, and in the 16 years her baby’s daddy has lived there, she’s been attacked in a life threatening way 3 times. Anyway. She seems a little, um, upset, and just generally not happy with the area or the building her baby’s daddy is currently in (her terms, not mine). So, we take her warnings with a grain of salt, and also, 16 years is a long time. The current management admits before they got there, fixed it up, implemented very strict rental application guidelines, and added a 24/7 security force, that it was a crack house with a serious crime problem. We hope today it’s not so much.

Once the stuff is finally in the apartments, I install the air conditioners, and we go home. I’m asleep by 4:30am and up again at 8am. Good times. I through some laundry in the washer, take a shower and go downstairs to feed the meter that starts at 9am.

Checking on the progress, for the July 3rd move in.

(Part 19) We went to the Sunday open house to take some measurements and see the renovations. As the pictures show, the renovations are about half done, and so far look nice. We're pretty happy with everything. I made a floor-plan based on the measurements that is in the picture album (with a queen sized bed in the one bedroom for size perspective). Even though they were busy, they let us take out time and didn't rush us too much. They couldn't leave us alone because the door doesn't lock without a key at this point in the renovation. We measured the windows for window A/C units, and some other rooms.

When we got there, there was a broker who had brought like 10+ people. Flatbush does a lot of advertising (which is how we found out about it), so I felt bad for them. The standard broker fee is 15%, so assume they negotiated down to 12%, on a studio at $875, that's a $1,260 fee they'll have to pay him. They could upgrade to a one bedroom for over 8 months for free with that money. I mean, no one likes paying for things, but I see the benefit of a broker. They can help the rental market of single units, or low volume units, but it seems a shame to get them involved in a place that advertises in every local paper and other places. Oh well. (And no, Flatbush Gardens does not pay brokers for business).

So the plan is: get the keys July 1st or 2nd, install the window A/C units we bought on amazon.com that are currently being shipped there (with $42 in sales tax, thanks to NY's unconstitutional internet sales tax), and move in on July 3rd. My parents were already scheduled to visit for like a month before I even decided to move, and coincidentally will arrive as I'm moving to the new place (i.e. the same day). So, that should be fun.

Fourth visit

Our first event as signed flatbush residents.

(Part 18) Ok, we don't live there yet (moving July 3rd), but we signed a lease and are now officially and legally obligated to be flatbush residents. We're excited, and had our first "Flatbush" experience already. Walking back to the subway to go home (for another month and a half at least). Halfway down the stairs to the Newkirk subway stop, a guy is peeing in the corner. He didn't even look homeless, just wanted to drain the tank before his subway voyage I guess. Anyway, good times.

Signed a lease.

(Part 17) Third time's the charm. The units they mentioned were available. We went to see them. They looked like crap because they have not been renovated yet, but otherwise very nice. Mine is on the fifth floor, and the roommates is on the second floor of a different building in the same courtyard area. I took a picture of the map with all the unit numbers, see below. Also took pictures of the units. However, I cannot tell which pictures are of her place and which are of mine. Her bedroom is 10.1 feet by 12.25 feet or 124 sqft. My rooms are 9.67 feet by 13.33 feet or 129 sqft and 8.08 feet by 12.3 feet or 100 sqft. I didn't measure the other rooms (read a post after I move in and I'll tell you), and frankly those could be wrong. I was in a hurry.

Third Visit

I have no idea.

(Part 16) I was wrong, they still aren't very organized.
I called 5 times Wed. morning. All answering machine. I didn't leave a message because the last message I left took over 24 hours to get a response.
On the 5th time I tried Nora's extension and Amy picked up.
I think this is pretty standard. The phone number will always go to voicemail and Nora's extension (100) will always go to Amy, the girl who sits at the desk.

Amy gave me the voicemail of the person I was supposed to call early in the morning. I left a message. At 12, Clay called me; he is not the person I was supposed to call. Anyway, he was tasked with calling me, i.e., he was allegedly up to speed, but thought my roommate had already picked a place (she hadn't), and that I was unwilling to live on the first floor (she has a preference for a higher floor, I don't care). Anyway, after I corrected his perception of things, he said he'd call back.

He did actually call back. This will allow them to retain half of a responsiveness point. The rest have been lost forever. Anyway, he said I cannot come today, but I should come at 6pm tomorrow. I asked if I could come any earlier and he said it won't be necessary. If these units are not there tomorrow, I'm done. I will move back to Florida before I live here if they have nothing again.

Extremely disappointed.

(Part 15) We showed up at our appointment time of 6pm. After waiting around for a half hour, we were told at 6:25pm that all of the two bed-rooms were already rented, except for the less desirable one of the two I already saw. I am very annoyed at this. I specifically asked for the earliest appointment possible so that this wouldn't happen. I was told that the June 15th availability would not be ready until after Sunday. This is not true, they can do it anytime. I was told people can't sign leases on Sunday open houses. This is not true, the unit I wanted was leased on Sunday. Though Sunday is far more convenient than Monday, since they allegedly don't lease on Sundays, I asked for the earliest appointment I could get on Monday. I was given 6pm. Though it turns out I could have come much earlier (my favorite of the two I was shown was leased to someone else a couple hours before I got there).

I honestly don't know, maybe it's me. Maybe I've been working for an efficient company for too long, and living in a so-called "luxury" building for too long, but it seems to me they have little to no organization skills. Maybe being grossly understaffed is how they keep the rents lower. But seriously, charge everyone an extra $1! a month and hire someone (at $2,500/month) to answer emails, and write things down.

Ok, so having wasted a Monday evening (that's 3 hours of Mario Kart I'll never get to play), we're told that they're evicting a bunch of people soon, and we should call this specific person (whose name I can't spell) early in the morning. Anyway. We're now looking at July 1st. Keep in mind, I was hoping to living in a unit by this weekend. Oh well, at least they sound like they might make an effort this time to do something for us.

Their message queue is as large as their apartment complex.

(Part 14) Someone from Flatbush Gardens JUST returned my call from 10am yesterday. She said Clay was not in today, so she wanted to see I she could do anything for me. I told her I already spoke to Clay yesterday, so thank you, but no.

They have lost a lot of their "responsiveness" points by now, but whatever, they're doing the best they can.

More waiting...

(Part 13) I called the number at 10am. No one answered and so I left a message for Clay. By 3pm he had not called back so I called again. This time someone answered, "Flatbush Gardens, this is Clayton, how may I help you?" Well, that was convenient. I asked Clay if he got my message, and he said he had not and they were super busy (they're losing more responsiveness stars). I asked him about the deposit transferring and he said they'd very much rather not, since the deposit means the refurb people start attacking that apartment to get it ready for you, and if you're like "um, just kidding" they get annoyed. So I told him we wanted to go out again and look at June 15th apartments. He said they don't compile the list until Sunday, so we set up another 6pm appointment for Monday. I hope they have a couple of good ones.

Apartment hunting, it's a thinking man's game.

(Part 12) So we took the night to think about it. Playing Mario Kart Wii helps me think. I had been pretending all along that I'm just looking, that it's just a possibility. However, in reality, I think this move was fairly inevitable even before the first Thursday night walk around the neighborhood, and certainly was fairly inevitable after that. The only question left is, do we move June 1st, or wait to see what opens up for June 15th?

I've decided to wait for the 15th. Clay seems to think there is a two bedroom that's pretty nice fairly close to the subway stop opening up. I'd hate to live in an apartment for several years that could have been better if I had just waited a couple more weeks. I'll call Clay tomorrow at 10am to ask if we can put a $500 deposit on our favorite units, and transfer that deposit should we find a nicer place in the complex available June 15th.

Apartment picking day.

(Part 11) We both arrive around 6 and wait for our leasing agent, Clay. It took a while before we went out to look at places. They found 5 units to look at though. 3 one bedrooms and 2 two bedrooms. The first one bedroom was very nice, and spacious with an entrance right on the street (most units only have entrances facing the courtyard (i.e. the center of the block)). However, those units (1425 Brooklyn Ave) are 3 blocks from the subway and both my roommate and myself are pretty pretty lazy. The next one bedroom is a little closer, 2/2.5 blocks from the subway. It's a little smaller, but nice. There's a two bedroom in the next building that is also nice. We see one last one bedroom and one last two bedroom. These are near the management office (which is near the one mail room and one laundry facility), at the corner of Foster Ave and New York Ave. They too are nice. We've now come to the realization that the only thing that matters is size and layout, because they all look the same before being renovated, and they are all of similar quality after being renovated. Though some have tile-floor kitchens and some have tacky laminate floor kitchens (the first being far superior, see pictures). Also, the color of tile may vary after renovation. They seems to buy mixed lots of tile to save money. However, I (and probably most people) prefer that little bit of a hodge podge color look in tiles, as compared to a uniform color look. They look nice. So yeah, if you don't care about tile v. laminate, or slight color differences, then the post-renovated units are all going to look the same (basically).


So, we like them all. Probably want to think about it. Clay seems anxious to leave because his friend (who is apparently picking him up) is waiting. He tells us of a two bedroom near the subway that over looks the basketball courts opening up for June 15th if we want to come back. He also recommends that we could pick now, or call him early tomorrow morning and he'll hold the units for a little bit while we arrange a money order for the deposit. So, we part ways to think it over. Seems likely we'll ask if we can hold our favorites until we can come back to see June 15th apartments, and do that asap.


BTW, Clay doesn't live in Flatbush either. Though I asked him about that, and he said he applied and was approved, but is nervous about living there since they might call him to fill in all the time. A fair concern. He says the guy in the video (see www.flatbushgardens.net) still lives there.

Click for better quality pictures:

Movers generally like to know where and when you're moving.

(Part 10) The move estimate lady came this morning. We have a doorman to stop all visitors and a phone in each apartment. The doorman said "Someone from flat rate movers is here to see you". I think it's safe to say the apartment building is wise to the fact I plan on breaking my lease. Oh well. It's a nice lady who came to do the estimate. She had spiky heels that poked holes in the un-assembled boxes I had on the ground. She was cute. I was like, "maybe you just give me an estimate on moving my roommate out and you and I can be roommates ;)". Just kidding, that's gross. Um, so she poked around. Asked some questions. Most I didn't know. When are you moving? Where are you moving to? Then she gave me her card and said she'd email tomorrow. I said, "maybe we could discuss it over dinner", and she said, well nothing because I didn't really say that. Off to work!

Maybe I was rejected!

(Part 9) We think that they said the application takes 24 hours, but I cannot find that on the website any longer. Anyway. Three days later I email Nora saying we applied and asking how long it usually takes. I forgot to say my name so she replies asking. I reply and she replies saying we were both approved. So that's good. Though she's starting to lose responsiveness points. There seems to be a good number of people working there, so maybe she should delegate more. Oh wait she did. A few hours later one of the other people calls to set up an appointment. I can basically leave work whenever I want, but find it difficult to resume work after I've left for a little while, so the later the better. Also, the roommate can't leave work before 5. I ask for 6:30, and they recommend 6 so there is time to see several units (they close at 7). So, six it is. With no available appointments Thursday evening and no appointments at all Friday evenings, we go with Monday evening at 6. I have a move estimate person coming from FlatRate Movers Monday morning.

I fear rejection.

(Part 8) What's next? Oh yes, the obligatory credit/criminal check. Nothing like paying $35 to see if you're worthy to pay someone 1000s of dollars. I went to work after the Sunday viewing. It was a really productive day at work, which is unusual for a Sunday. I also applied online. You can pay the $35 online as part of the application. Also, which is hilarious: for a 3.5% fee you can pay your rent via paypal/credit card. You know you've arrived at a classy place when you can pay your rent via paypal. Despite my healthy fear of rejection, I have no doubt both of us will be approved.

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! The inside edition.

(Part 7) You'd understand the title if you were from the south. Whenever something exciting is happening on a Sunday, I always think of the commercials advertising car shows and gun shows. They'd always have huge graphic letters in neon colors saying "Gun Show!" and the announcer would semi-yell "Gun Show! This Sunday! At So-and-so place! Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Be There!". With the "be there" in the same aggressive tone, but quieter and trailing off... I'm still not 100% sure why they advertised gun shows during Saturday morning cartoons, but whatever.

Anyway. Sunday! We're off to church. We're late due to track maintenance, or general MTA stupidity. It's hard to tell because either way they call it track maintenance. I don't fault them too much though, I mean it's one of the only 24/7/365 mass transit systems in the world... Well, at least they try to run all the time. We start at church. I love the outside of this church. It looks like a castle. If a legion of archers and swordsmen were to attack Flatbush, I would take refuge in this church. Everyone at mass seemed nice and friendly. Lots of families. One white dude other than me. The three of us kind of stick out, but my view is that minorities in this country feel like minorities all the time, it would do white folks some good to experience life as a minority for a while (i.e. being the only person of your general racial background in a large group). I know what you're thinking, I'm a master of race relations. Like Jerry Seinfeld and his black and white cookie. That's sarcasm, I'm sure you think I'm a racist jerk. Well, that's what the comments are for.

Off to the apartments! We sign in. Tell them we want to see a studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom. Then we do just that. The Studio is small. It may be larger than the quoted 400 sqft, but not by much. It also has a less than full sized fridge (but so did my studio in DC and it was fine for one person). I mean it's not a dorm fridge, it's like 10/11 cubic feet. The problem is, I can't imagine who would want a studio. I mean the marginal monthly difference in cost at this complex is not much. $150-$175/month for the next size up is not that much. Don't get me wrong, it's a good amount of money, but when you're paying $875 for the first 400 sqft (i.e. a studio) why not pay an extra $150/month for an extra 150/175 sqft (i.e. the one-bedroom)? Square foot per dollar, that's a good deal! So we check out the one bedroom. You can see from the floor plan that the bedroom doesn't have a closet, and just relies on the closets near the bathroom. It's pretty nice though. Bedroom might be 11' by 11', which is the current size of my roommate's bedroom. Living room isn't huge, but it's not tiny either. Like I said earlier, government projects, built as small (i.e. cheaply) as possible; so everything is just a bit smaller than your average. It's not bad. Kitchen has really nice tile on the floor and walls. Bathroom is very well renovated. The wood flooring isn't anything special, but nice and new/newish. My DC apartment had parquet wood flooring. The little 6 inch square kind, and there was this yellowish coating that was more than slowly chipping up. Flakes of this crap were on the carpet and stuck to my feet. It was odd. Anyway, this flooring seemed much nicer, and not having that issue. Two-bedroom! Same size kitchen and living room. One room a little larger than the one bedroom's bedroom; the second room is a little smaller than the one bedroom's bedroom. To be honest, you'd have to be pretty hardcore to put an adult in the smaller bedroom of a two-bedroom place. It's a great office, nursery, guestroom, chinchilla farm, maybe child's room with twin bed, but I think an adult might go crazy living in it. It does have one or two windows, which I have found in NYC is the definition of a bedroom vs. office, and both rooms have a closet. I'd say the smaller room is 8' by 10.5' and I'm pretty good at guessing distances.

We were shown around by a guy named Zach. He doesn't live in Flatbush.

Flatbush NYC

The night adventure.

(Part 6) I usually work until around 8pm, but today was a longer day and I was finishing up at 9pm. Not super tired, I figure, you know it's really won't be a fair assessment of how comfortable I am in this area if I only go during the day. After all, I come home after dark almost every weekday. So I jump on my usual 4 train and when we get to Borough Hall I just keep going. Of course I have to transfer to a 2 train because the 5 only runs during rush hour. On the train with me is a Jewish couple that stay on to go all the way to Flatbush Ave/Brooklyn College (the next and last stop on the 2/5). I get off at Newkirk with about a 100 folks. I am the only Caucasian person in the group, but my position on this subject is "who cares?" I walk the circumference of one block, which takes me into the center of the complex (it's a two block by two block square). About half way around the block (almost the center), I do see one security guard, and the looks genuinely interested in what's going on. There are houses across the street and some folks are playing some music and hanging out. A block later is the park where several people are playing basketball. There's three food stores right there (key foods, meat market, produce store), a laundromat, dry cleaner, and several other convenience type places. It's not "Sex in the City" NYC, but it's functional and niceish, and frankly if you want Sex in the City NYC rent the DVDs because I'm pretty sure that's the only place you'll find it. I'm not going to lie to you, I've seen nicer places, and I've seen safer places. However, it was nice enough, and safe enough. I don't think the roommate will like it, she won't even ride the subway from JFK at night (or ever but that's a different story). I head home to go to bed, with a new level of excitement for Sunday's open house.

From floorplan to possible gameplan.

(Part 5) The roommate and I have decided that it can't hurt to look. They have open houses from 12-5. Nora says they'll be closed this Sunday, but open again the first Sunday in May. I'm a church going Catholic, and my roommate is a non-church going Catholic. Having a church within walking distance is fairly important to me. Fortunately, there is a Catholic church right across the street at the Newkirk subway stop. They have some masses in Creole for the Haitian population that is huge there, but 11am is English, so that's perfect. We've decided to go to mass at 11, and the open house at 12. It would be nice to go this Sunday, but we can wait another week.

The intervention; my friends think I'm nuts.

(Part 4) Ok. I have to be honest. Things are moving kind of fast, but I feel good about that. Like rapid weight loss, maybe it's unhealthy, but seen as a really good thing. I've informed my friends, co-works, etc about my idea of moving to what NYC.gov calls the boarder between Flatbush and East Flatbush.

They think I'm nuts. "It's not safe." "You'll get shot." "You'll get mugged." Etc, etc, etc... Then I tell them how cheap it is, and they briefly want to join, then decide there's a reason it's that cheap. Well, maybe there is. I'm not stupid. I may have only been in NYC for 8 months now, but I'm not stupid. I know almost exactly why it's that cheap. (1) It's less safe, (2) it's less nice, (3) it literally used to be projects, (4) McDonald's is a viable contender for best restaurant in the area, (5) it's farther from Manhattan than other places, and (6) it's populated by 99.999% black/hispanic. Here's the thing though. Number six is a major reason it's so cheap, but number six doesn't seem like a valid reason to me. Isn't saying I can't live there because I'm white racist? Shouldn't I be ashamed to let that be a factor, shouldn't my alleged "liberal" friends be ashamed to say that's a reason why I shouldn't live there? Anyway, I'm sure I'll have a long rant about my ignorant views on race relations some other time... For now it's all speculation.

I am honestly concerned about safety. However, I do also think people exaggerate, and over concern themselves. No, I don't want to be mugged. However, the money I'd save in Flatbush is WAY more than the money a mugger would take from me. Honestly, as long as I don't get physically injured, I'll feel like moving there was a good idea. If I get beat-up a little it will be a wash. If I get beat unconscious, stabbed or non-fatally shot, I'll feel like I lost. If I get killed, well it doesn't really matter does it? Please tell my family I love them.

There is much to think about.

The interview... More info please!

(Part 3) More information, reply from the leasing manager: (Note, I exchanged a couple emails, and this is a consolidated FAQ list from those several). BTW, Nora Gross get's 8 out of 10 stars for email replies. Always informative and professional. Almost always a response. However, sometimes only 99% responsive to all the questions, and often with a length delay. Lengthy delays might be a good thing, because I think they're very busy, i.e. people want to live here.

(1) Are utilities included?
-- Yes, there is a $285/year fee for installing your own window A/C units, but everything else (heat, water, electric) is included.

(2) What is the square feet per unit?
-- There are approximately 2,500 units in 59 buildings. Units may very slightly but they are all very similar. Approximately, 400 sqft (studio); 600 sqft (1-bed); 800 sqft (2-bed); and 1000 sqft (3-bed).
[Poster's note: These used to be federally funded projects, and thus are remarkably uniform in construction and have less sqft per bedroom than your average apartment.]

(3) Pets? -- cats and dogs under 40 lbs.

(4) What's up with the security?
-- There is a porter in each building with a radio, and 24-hour professional (i.e. allowed to make arrests) security for the complex. Approximately 10 people patrolling at any given time.

(5) Elevators? -- One per building, totally redone and modernized so that repairs are efficient when needed.

(6) Laundry? -- Brand new central facility, and retail facility across from the subway stop. Dry cleaners right next to the subway.

(7) Package receiving? -- All units have one central mail room next to the laundry room for the whole complex. There is a package receiving room that will accept packages or take outgoing packages.

(8) Security deposit at lease signing? -- A non-refundable $500 deposit will secure a unit and be applied to the leasing requirement. At signing the first month's rent and a security deposit equal to that is due. Bank checks only. Lease dates are the first and fifteenth of every month, unless that's a Saturday or Sunday and then it's the Friday before. You may move in anytime on or after your lease date.

(9) Availability? -- Several studios and one bedrooms to choose from. More than one 2-bedroom unit is usually available to choose from. No three bedrooms are available and rarely become available (no wait list is maintained).

A virtual walk in the garden; FlatbushGardens.net that is.

(Part Two) So, I checked out Flatbush Garden's website. It's kind of lame in parts, but they have floorplans to look at (but no square feet listed), and a very nicely done video on youTube. Also an address to look up. It spans the four blocks south-east of the Newkirk 2/5 subway stop. The video does a nice job to make you think it's a nice place to live, and safe. 24-hour security, etc.
I found this article about it that tells a nice story of the good and bad (accuracy unverified, but I mean hey, it's on the internet, so it has to be right, right?).

My roommate and I are both from Florida, and moved to NYC Sept. 1st from different places (i.e. I was no longer in Florida) and for different reasons. The roommate would like her own place, because she refuses to live with a stranger and doesn't like the idea of having to move back home to Florida if I ever move or get sick of living with her. The problem is she can't afford most studios or one bedrooms in NYC (who can?). So, after watching the video and realizing her friend from work lives really close to there and doesn't think it's too unsafe, the roommate got a little excited about a feasible option for being self-sufficient. To be honest, I kind got a little excited too. I can afford a little bit more than she can, but I'm quite strained with our Brooklyn Heights rent. I tend to like cheaper housing over "luxury" buildings. I mean I'm hardly home, so why pay for a nice apartment when it's basically a sleeping quarters and nothing else.

More information is needed. Fortunately, the leasing manager puts her e-mail on the website.

A walk in the park; park slope that is.

(Part One) For something to do my roommate and I went down to park slope to a batting cage. I didn't lead a very "sporty" childhood. Other than a couple of rounds of catch with my dad, and watching an occasional spring training game; I'd never really done much with baseball. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'd never hit a baseball before in my life. So, with "things to do before I die" list in hand, we took the subway from our Brooklyn Heights apartment to the slope to hit some balls. Good times. Not much to report. I hit most, but not many well. The day was nice, and the weekend to do list was short, so we walked through Park Slope heading home.

Some people are "people watchers" ( and to some degree I am too). However, I'm an avid "real estate" watcher. I could never afford a place, but I love ads for lofts or condos. I love going to their website, and I love looking at their pictures/prices. So, I'm always on the lookout for ads. On a bus stop there was an ad claiming "Flatbush Gardens is New York's Best Rental Value. Period!" They also described themselves as "Real Homes for Real People", which I find to be an odd statement, but I wasn't an advertising major in college. They advertise attractive prices though: studios for $875, 1-bed for $1025, 2-bed for $1200, and 3-bed for $1395 per month.


So, I've only been in NYC for 8 months now, but that seems like a deal, and way cheaper than our current place. I do my standard cell phone picture of the url (www.FlatbushGardens.net) for future viewing interest, and we move on...