I used to live in NYC and they did the same thing, required monthly income of 3.5x the rent, and a 700 FICO in most of Manhattan, and now a lot of Brooklyn and Queens is the same. 

Does anyone have suggestions of towns to look into for Long Island or if looking into the boroughs of NYC (Bronx/Brooklyn/Queens) is the better option?

Hello, I looking to buy a house in the next couple of months in Queens or Brooklyn County.I have a feel that properties are overpriced in these counties.

It was moreso that I am either finding incredibly expensive multi-families off the beach in high end areas for multi-millions (way out of my price range), OR I am finding very cheap multi-families in not-so-safe areas like Newark, Elizabeth, Atlantic City (places I do not want to live).

If you want to do deals in the prime areas of Brooklyn then you'll want to join REBNY which is also not NAR (it covers Manhattan and prime Brooklyn and western Queens).

Are there any agents in the Queens/Brooklyn area who are willing to work with me and do lunch?

Elizabeth Colegrove I completely agree with this.

Long story short on June 22, 2016 I finally closed on my first multi-unit property in South EastD.C. for my fellow Washingtonians it's in ward 8 near the st. elizabeth's campus.

Originally posted by @Elizabeth Faircloth:Hi All,My husband (Matt) and I are very active in the Trenton market.

Thank you @Elizabeth Wilson!