Couple moves from Brooklyn to the Bronx and says the Bronx has better people as highlighted by the New York Times.
Martin Kleinman grew up in the Bronx. In 1984, he and wife, Ronni Stolzenberg, were living in Jackson Heights, Queens. They wanted to start a family, but were concerned about crime in their neighborhood.
The couple decided to move to Park Slope in Brooklyn — a decision not lauded by his grandmother.
“She literally looked at us like we were going to a death camp,” said Mr. Kleinman, 63. “She said, ‘Why are you going to Brooklyn? You’re going to go off and get killed.’”
That didn’t happen, and his family flourished along with the neighborhood. But Mr. Kleinman and Mrs. Stolzenberg moved out of the neighborhood — and its borough — four years ago.
“We’re solidly middle class by New York standards, but the people moving in had massive sums of money,” Mr. Kleinman said of Park Slope. “Twenty-five years younger than us and they have untold wealth.”
The couple left the three-bedroom, three-bath co-op where they raised a son together for another three-bedroom, three-bath co-op — this one, in the Bronx.
“The people are a lot sweeter,” Mr. Kleinman said of his neighbors in Riverdale. “In Park Slope, especially with the young’uns, there’s an edge. They’re really hard; very focused and strivers.”
In addition to the people and the price, Mr. Kleinman, a communications strategist and writer who works from home, said he likes the green space of his new neighborhood and the ease with which he can get to Manhattan — either by car, bus or the Metro North.
“What we miss is having a shopping street, like Fifth Avenue,” in Park Slope, he said.
He does not miss the electrical misfortunes that often befall old buildings, like the one he lived in while there.
“Here, we can do the hairdryer and the microwave at the same time,” he said.
Mr. Kleinman said in an email that he still loves Park Slope and the friends he has there.
“But what I love is the Park Slope I remember, the Park Slope of my 30s and 40s, not the Park Slope of today,” he said. “When I visit, it’s bittersweet.”
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