A Queens one-bedroom with an unbeatable price

By Lucy Cohen Blatter | June 24, 2015 - 2:45PM

First a little something about the neighborhood (which you may or may not have ever heard of). Middle Village, Queens is a suburban-style neighborhood dominated by single and two-family homes. It's one of those neighborhoods where generations live in the same house (or block). Translation: If you're looking to party and eat out every night, you should probably keep looking.

But this spacious one-bedroom is still quite a deal (for NYC standards) at $1,500 a month. Check out that huge eat-in kitchen.

We can't quite figure out where the living room is, though? Is that hallway thing the living room? If so, does it not have window?

Note that it's nearly half a mile to the nearest subway -- the M train. If you want to get to the R, you need to travel over a mile. Translation: This is an apartment for someone with a car, especially since it's just a couple of blocks from the Long Island Expressway.

Heat and hot water included, and pets are not allowed.

So is it worth trekking out to Middle Village to see this apartment? I asked our experts (and veteran renters), RentHackr founder Zeb Dropkin and freelance writer Lambeth Hochwald, to weigh in with me on this week's Take It or Leave It.

Size: One-bedroom, one-bath
Location: 69-09 Caldwell Avenue (between 69th Street and 69th Place)
Cost: $1,500
Flexible layout: No
Days on the market: 5
Subway: M to Metropolitan Ave.

Pros and cons:

"The apartment is a nice size and a good price. I love the eat-in kitchen. But, I'm still trying to figure out where the living room is. Also, I suggest you get to know whoever's going to be living on the second-floor of this two-story house. Neighbors can make or break your experience in a situation like this. And if you're planning on relying entirely on public transportation, forget about it. " — Lucy

"It's big and cheap, but it's so far away via public transit that it might as well be in Connecticut." — Zeb

"This one-bed in a quintessentially Queens '70s era two-family might be a great way to try out the neighborhood. It looks immaculate, heat and hot water are included and, for a one-bed, it’s fairly spacious (happy to see so much storage, for example, in the bedroom). On the flip side, again we have an oddly placed fridge and beware of making pasta when having friends over—they might get burned by the water when they walk in the door as the oven is situated right next to the front door." — Lambeth

Who would this apartment be perfect for?

"A single person or young couple who don't plan to go into Manhattan much. Must love carpeting." — Lucy

"Sorry, I have to call this one as I see it. I can't think of anyone that this apartment would be perfect for. Someday this neighborhood may be a great place to live in NYC. Today is not that day." —Zeb

"A single reverse commuter who wants easy access to the LIE and doesn’t have any issue with wall-to-wall carpeting."— Lambeth

The verdict(s):

TAKE IT "If you work somewhere nearby and just want peace, quiet and space... for a decent price. Just make sure you figure out where the living room is."— Lucy

LEAVE IT "This commute will strand you out where nobody will visit you… 2 buses and a train is asking too much. " — Zeb

LEAVE IT " Unless you have a car and are considering this your last stop before the suburbs as the closest subway (the M) is .8 miles away — it’s a bit of a hike."— Lambeth

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