Hello Woodlawn residents.  My name is Meghan O'Neil.  I am a recent graduate of Columbia University.  I currently work for the City of New York as a statistician.  I hope to purchase a co-op or condominium in an Irish area of New York this coming spring.  I need to be close to a metro north station (commute to Financial District) or in resonable driving distance in an area which allows for safe parking.  
I am open to suggestions regarding locations, realtors, mortgage lenders, community organizations, etc.  Also, I am seeking suggestions for restaurants, a gym, Roman Catholic Church, park with jogging area, and any other advice.
I come from a hard working Irish American family and look forward to contributing to the community.


_________________
Meghan O'Neil

Hey,

I'm surprised nobody posted a reply yet.  Obviously Woodlawn has pretty much everything you are looking for (except for the gym).  We've got a nice local Church, cheap co-ops, Van Cortland park, and the Metro North station on the edge of the neighborhod.  

The neighborhood is very tight knit, so it might take some time for you to get accustomed to it I suppose.  This is a working class community, so don't expect to find Manhattan here.  It is however a perfectly safe neighborhood and most people are very nice in Woodlawn.  

Obviously the closest place to the train would be one of those apartments directly across from the Metro North station, however personally I find that area to be a little bit sleepy.  Up on Katonah is where all of the action is, and that is where I'd reccomend you look for an apartment or co-op.  (You might want to consider renting for a year to get a feel for the neighborhood before you purchase anything).

As you may already know the rental/co-op market is very tight here.  So the earlier you start looking for a place, the better.

MeghanONeil wrote:

Hello Woodlawn residents.  My name is Meghan O'Neil.  I am a recent graduate of Columbia University.  I currently work for the City of New York as a statistician.  I hope to purchase a co-op or condominium in an Irish area of New York this coming spring.  I need to be close to a metro north station (commute to Financial District) or in resonable driving distance in an area which allows for safe parking.  
I am open to suggestions regarding locations, realtors, mortgage lenders, community organizations, etc.  Also, I am seeking suggestions for restaurants, a gym, Roman Catholic Church, park with jogging area, and any other advice.
I come from a hard working Irish American family and look forward to contributing to the community.

Thank you.  This info is very helpful.  I have actually begun looking at places this week.  In your opinion is Van Cortland Park safe for jogging early mornings or  evenings?  I work long hours....so would enjoy the convenience greatly of a safe place to jog regardless of time.  Also, if you happen to know average prices for a 2bed condo or co-op, that would be extremely helpful as well.  I am doing my own research but realize community imput is always most realistic.  
Thanks Again!
Meghan


_________________
Meghan O'Neil

Woodlawn as a whole is really safe.  Its one of the safest ares in the Bronx.  I don't go into the park so often, so I really couldn't help you there.  When driving to work I often notice a good number of people jogging in the morning around Van Cortland Park.

For a 2 br co-op you should expect to pay around $200,000.  For a 1 br co-op it will be slightly over $100,000 (like $120k or $130k is typical).

Most of the co-ops/rentals are along Webster ave, but I think buildings up around Katonah ave are considered to be more desireable (at least in my opinion).  I'm not a big fan of Webster aver because there's not much to do down there and you always have to walk up the hill to get to anything (bars, corner stores, C-town are all up on Katonah)  There's 2 co-op buildings up on the hill around Kepler ave & 238th that are pretty nice and you might want to look into.  Basically the only thing that Webster has going for it is the closeness to the Train station.  However just about anywhere in the neighborhood is within a 10 minute walk of the train station.

You might want to contact a local real estate agent.  The folks over at Jane Mosello's office on McLean ave in Yonkers are pretty good and are very familiar with the market.

Once again I would highly reccomend that you consider renting here for a year before purchasing anything.  Its generally a good idea to make sure you like living in a neighborhood before you buy anything there.  Thats just my opinion though.

MeghanONeil wrote:

Thank you.  This info is very helpful.  I have actually begun looking at places this week.  In your opinion is Van Cortland Park safe for jogging early mornings or  evenings?  I work long hours....so would enjoy the convenience greatly of a safe place to jog regardless of time.  Also, if you happen to know average prices for a 2bed condo or co-op, that would be extremely helpful as well.  I am doing my own research but realize community imput is always most realistic.  
Thanks Again!
Meghan