Each Thursday I’ll pick the five best apartments for rent in Bushwick. This will be based on a combination of space, looks, location, and price, but mostly whim and guessing — I can’t tell for sure without seeing them myself. I will only choose listings with pictures. I hope it’s helpful.
#1 — $1550 — 2 bedrooms: The Tea Lofts? Whatever, it looks pretty cool, and it’s in an actual neighborhood, not a bombed-out industrial area. Dig the brick. Looks renovated, too. Close to the Knickerbocker M and Wyckoff L, and Knick itself, which has a lot of great shops. PETS OK Stockholm and Wilson
#2 — $1350 — 2 bedrooms: Wow, this looks like a great deal, if the ad is to be believed. I know this block — half of it is a big ugly warehouse, the other half is not-so-hot buildings. This has two bathrooms, though, which is great for roommates, a veritable luxury. Add in the original details, and proximity to both the JMZ and L trains, and this is pretty much the steal of the week. Jefferson and Evergreen.
#3 — $900 — 1 bedroom: Vague location “Near J on Bushwick Avenue,” but like the old details. The kitchen and bath seem fine. Mega cheap. Bushwick Avenue
#4 — $1800 — 5 bedrooms: FIVE bedrooms? What’s the catch? I know it’s on Cornelia and has a cruddy Home Depot renovation but still…FIVE? Not my favorite location though it is near Bushwick Avenue, which is pretty for an evening stroll. Plus from the picture (above) it has a view of an old brewer’s mansion. If those bedrooms are the real deal, seems like a total steal. Fill it with roommates and you could even make a profit…Cornelia and Bushwick
#5 — $1600 — 2 bedrooms: From the pics, nice kitchen, nice wood floors. I can tell by the window pic, though, that it overlooks the Verizon parking lot on Central, which doesn’t seem like such a hot view. Still, a nicely renovated 2 bedroom for $1600 is pretty damn good, even for Bushwick. PETS OK Central and Melrose
jukeboxgraduate May 22nd, 2007 at 12:31 pm
I have to recommend the Tea Factory. The landlord is more of a mensch than most people deserve.
DC June 16th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I totally disagree. Unfortunately I live at the Tea Factory. It has gotten progressively worse since I moved here a year ago. The management and total lack of concern by the property owner makes living here horrible. They claim there is a superintendent 24 hours a day. In reality, they have a sketchy guy come come a few times a week to straighten out the trash. False promises include storage and laundry facilities (the basement is often flooded, has squatters at times, the machines are unclean and often broken). They also claim rooftop access even after installing a motion detector (without telling anyone) to prohibit people from going on the roof. Random people in the neighborhood (gang members and drug dealers) have keys to the building.The back entrance had a broken lock for 10 months despite several pleas to fix it by tenants. Several tenants have placed multiple complaints about mold in their lofts (a friend’s wife was hit by falling pieces of a rotten ceiling). The landlord/management was more concerned about repainting the lobby to attract more hipsters. They also have tried to increase tenants security deposits after a year. They never answer the phone, the answering machine is often full, and they never return phone calls. It is not the worst place in the world to live, but they have been the worst landlord I have experienced.
Ali July 11th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
in response to the post above me – you live in bushwick! not to sound like a bitch, but what were you expecting? ya know? yeah its “up and coming” but its still noted as a not so good neighborhood. im not sure where you’re from but before moving to brooklyn (i live right across from you actually hah) i lived on long island and whenever i told people i wasas moving to bushwick , they would gasp. so im assuming you’re from out of state otherwise you wouldnt be willing to pay what you’re paying to live there. and anyway, im sorry you have to deal with what you’re dealing with. thats why i live in a railroad apt. and our rent is only 1050 a month and we have three bedrooms. even though i still think its stupid that you and everyone else that lives at the tea factory pays that amount of money to live there, i think you should all (or at least a lot of you) should complain – cuz random people having the key to your building is clearly not safe. good luck!
jeannette September 22nd, 2008 at 2:10 pm
we’re thinking about moving into the tea factory … i wonder if the situation has improved at all
Wendy April 15th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I’ve been living here for the past 2 1/2 months, and I don’t mind it. I certainly don’t feel unsafe at all – even though someone living two houses down was recently killed a block away. The building feels like a fortress. I have small complaints about the building: No real place to keep bikes; tightly spring-loaded double front doors, both with locks, that make it really awkward to enter the building with a bike or bags of groceries; washing machines that are rumored to not work (I guess they need financial incentive to do so); and the fact that you pay for heat and hot water. The utilities for my apartment were outrageous, like $100 per person for just heat/electric/gas, though I don’t know if everyone pays that. So even though it’s pretty pricey, if I could find a way to live here more cheaply, I would.