All Forum Posts by: James Northrup

@Yolanda Vega North of Altantic Ave.  south of Jackie Robinson Parkway.  East of Broadway Junction and West of Eldert.

@Diana L. The documentary is still available, but you'll have to pay to see it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRRTie0i_TQ

@Joe Perl Definitely right about travel, unless you work on the J train.  Or if you work in Brooklyn, which a lot of people do now.

@Jon B. I am only really familiar with Brooklyn, but I choose cypress hills because it had plans to change.  Other areas are probably safe investments, but I wouldn't expect housing prices to rise in the same way as Cypress Hills.

@Eddie T. My rule of thumb was to avoid dense, low income areas.  Those conditions would be stressful for anyone.  Most of ENY, especially Cypress Hills(north of Atlantic), is perfectly safe.

As someone who lives and owns in East New York, I will humbly disagree with @Andre Ramos.  

He is right about the statistics, ENY is the 2nd highest crime area, but that crime is primarily located around the projects.  ENY is a big place and I know people who love the neighborhood feel and safety of many of the blocks.

I have owned a two-family in the northern part of East New York, called Cypress Hills, for over two years.  My tenants have been perfect.  The neighbors are very friendly.  I have written posts previously about the crime in the Cypress Hills, which is lower than most the other hot neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

So far our investment has gone up and doesn't show any signs of letting up.  They've rezoned the area in the last year and construction starts later this year on some serious large buildings along Atlantic.  That is playing a major factor in housing prices.

Flipping is prevalent across ENY, which I'm reading as a sign that there are good deals and people who are willing to pay higher prices.  The realtors in the area, for the most part, are doing a poor job of marketing the homes and the area.  Even the basics, like taking decent photos for a Zillow listing.

There are several properties that I've seen recently that looked like great deals.  Hope that helps.  Good luck ok your search.

@Andrew Graham Nothing new yet, but there are several large apartment buildings planned for the Cypress Hills side of Atlantic.

The buzz about ENY and Cypress Hills has a few factors: (1) Fulton, Atlantic, and Pitkin Ave were recently rezoned to allow for more density, (2) rising prices in the adjacent areas: Bushwick, Bed Stuy, and Crown Heights, and (3) the popularity of the L, A and J trains.

Crime is very high in certain parts of ENY, but very low in others.  It's a big area.  Do your research.

Our tenants in Cypress Hills are very good.  Always pay their rent, keep the apartment clean, turn off any music by 10 pm, etc.

There is a lot of renovation being done in the area (flips), but prices are still drastically lower than Bushwick, Bed Stuy and Crown Heights.  The next wave I'm expecting is a boost in commercial properties.  There a lot of vacant store fronts and no coffee shops(yet).

@Manny Vasquez Agreed. That has been my impression as well.

For some perspective on the history of ENY, check out the incredible documentary "The 75": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRRTie0i_TQ

@Tiffany Campbell Bushwick, Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, and Ridgewood are all adjacent to East New York.  Those are now the havens for "hipsters" in Brooklyn.  The reason I purchased in ENY is because it was so unvalued.  Even when the L train shuts down, I still have the J train a block from my house.