Has anyone ever used the Costco located in Sunset Park in Brooklyn? [www.costco.com]

It's accessible via the D/M/N/R trains and some busses. I live on the L train in Bushwick, Brooklyn can transfer at Union Square easily. I've been thinking of getting a membership there but just want to know of anybody's experiences. Either the Gold Star or Business Membership are only $45/year. [www.costco.com] Besides food, I wanted to start making business purchases there like a laser printer, etc because of their great warranties.

+ Was it worth the membership?
+ How often do you use it?
+ How easy is it to split a membership with someone? Does you have to pay a little extra to do this?
+ Foodwise, should I wait because a Trader Joe's is opening soon in Union Square?
+ Is it really that easy/complicated to get there?
+ Had any bad experiences with that staff in particular? I've heard Costco's service is great overall.

Thanks for any info...

No, but I've used the Costco in Queens. . .I believe the N train to Broadway. . .

walk maybe 3-4 long blocks and it it right by the water. . .

if this even helps.

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

trains, buses and walking to Costco? Seems odd to a suburbanite like me. Hell, I gotta bring the SUV when I go, not the wife's sedan. Where else are we going to put the 20 lb jar of pickles and 3000 lollipops?

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Yeah, I've used that Costco. It's @#$%$ing insanely crowded. Really. If you can go on off hours (like 3pm on a Tuesday) it's tolerable. I have in the past (really) just sat in the car and read a magazine while Mrs. went in and shopped. I hate the store because of the crowds.

And forget subway action. Jardster is right, gotta have a car. If you have a driver's license, why not sign up for Zipcar and rent one of their SUVs (smaller one) and go in on the rental cost with a neighbor. Zipcar lets you rent by the 1/2 hour.

bob.

The one in Queens is relatively close to the subway but as I said (it has been a while) but I recall 4-5 long blocks and it is right by the water.

Last time, I went there were lots people who used shopping carts to carry the stuff home. . .when going to Costco a car if very much preferred but some of used can't afford such luxuries. .


if you know someone with one. ..maybe they can tak you in exchange for you taking them along and allowing that person to buy stuff like 5 megacases of Mayo. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

I've been to that Costco maybe twice. Both times i just tagged along as my sister used her membership and i threw random stuff that catches my eye into the cart as she shopped. We drove there.

If you are planning to commute and WALK to this Costco location I want to warn you that that area in Brooklyn is a bit deserted and seedy. When the sun goes down it's downright scary, IMO. And I'm a born and raised NY'er.

When you look at the map it seems like the store is on Third Avenue. But it's kinda more like Second avenue since the parking lot is on Third Ave. You have to walk through the huge parking lot to reach the entrance.

Is it worth it? Depends on how much you use it. Lugging a big duffle bag(?) of groceries back up to 4th Ave to catch the subway is RIDICULOUS. Are you planning on using a wheelie luggage thing? That might help your back but then you'll have probs in the subway...

Then you gotta calculate the time involved to commute/walk to this Costco. Getting there from your location is gonna be an average of 1 hour. Tack on 2 hours shopping and waiting on line. Then another hour to get home. That's four hours of your time just for shopping. And you'll be exhausted from carrying all that stuff.

Hey, if you had a car it's a cinch but I do not recommend commuting/walking to that Costco though.

chopperbob Wrote:
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> Yeah, I've used that Costco. It's @#$%$ing
> insanely crowded. Really. If you can go on off
> hours (like 3pm on a Tuesday) it's tolerable.

Ugh. That's what I had a feeling it was going to be, especially because it's the only one servicing all of South Brooklyn where everyone has cars.

In a weird way, I kind of forgot about the whole bulk buying aspect of it. 30lb packages of meatballs galore! I was more so looking at it to buy specialty stuff or meat/fish and their good sales on computer/office stuff. Do they even sell food in quantities smaller than 30lbs?

The specialty foods/good quality meats & fish is why I was asking if I should just wait until Trader Joes opens up in Union Square.

I bought a case of giant Beefarino cans there once...

I can't imagine being able to actually carry anything out of costco. Why not just use Fresh Direct for food. They deliver to your door and it only costs $5. It's owned by Fairway and they have great food. Their prices are very reasonable too. They have all of the specialty stuff you want and the food is very fresh.


[www.freshdirect.com]

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2006 12:27PM by Guitarman.

Guitarman Wrote:
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Why not just use Fresh
> Direct for food. They deliver to your door and it
> only costs $5. It's owned by Fairway and they have
> great food.

Wait, what? I didn't reaize Fresh Direct was owned by Fairway...I actually thought there was a rivalry going on between them, along with Balducci's and Zabar's. Maybe I'm getting the grocers mixed up. You guys see how much food matters in NYC?

Anyway, Fresh Direct is kind of expensive, especially in comparison to Fairway itself. But then again, you have other people picking out your produce for you and they need to get paid. Sometimes we order from them for Thanksgiving ingredients or the turkey and sometimes for parties. I can't really imagine them for everyday cost-effective shopping though.

BTW, those south brooklynites aren't real New Yorkers or even city dwellers. They're some sort of a mutation of city and suburban into some horrible third species. First of all, they own cars. They live in a mass transit city in an area ill served by mass transit (unless you're going into or out of manhattan which still takes 45 mins to an hour) and never go to the cultural institutions that make living in a godawful city like NY worthwhile. Their jobs are the sort you could have in any city (Municiple employee etc) but yet they live in an expensive hell hole like New York.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2006 12:36PM by Guitarman.

Fresh Direct is a bit expensive BUT dependin on where you live they might be cheap. . .some stuff they sell is cheaper than the stores near me. . .

but they really are for people who like convenience. . .so it is a trade-off. . .

I'm eagerly awaiting the Trader Joe's but I bet it will be massively crowded, especially being in Union Square. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

I thought Fresh Direct was actually cheap. Compared to the local supermarket (the Met) which smelled like 3 rats had hidden under the meat freezer and died yet had prices like Food Emporium.

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compared to prices in queens (at least certain areas) they are not cheap. . .but compared to prices on Upper East Side or Upper West Side they can be cheaper. . .depends. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Well now that I'm in joisey, the Pathmark is cheaper than FreshDirect but if they were available (they deliver in Jersey City and Hellboken but not here) I'd use them for the convenience.

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Fresh Direct is cheaper than my local Gristede's (in Manhattan). I live on the top floor of an old 5 floor walk. I LOVE ordering three 12-can cases of soda + 4 gallons of Poland spring + 2 packs of 12 roll TP + 2 packs of 8 roll paper towels + 6 large jars of pasta sauce + a package of microwave popcorn. And wait by the door of my apartment while the delivery guy trudges up the stairs with my purchase

NewtonMP2100 Wrote:
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> Fresh Direct is a bit expensive BUT dependin on
> where you live they might be cheap. . .some stuff
> they sell is cheaper than the stores near me. . .
>

I live in Bushwick, so my groceries are pretty cheap already, just not the best quality all the time. It's doable though. If I'm leaving work in Mahattan, sometimes I'll just stop at the Union Square Whole Foods to pick up some fish or veggies that my local stores don't carry. My local stores don't have stuff like Stoneyfield's Organic Yoghurt, etc. or a good selection of vegetarian Morningstar or Quorn stuff.

Does anyone know of a cheaper place besides Whole Foods or Uptown Fairway to get good deals on this stuff until Trader Joes gets here?



3d Wrote:
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> I LOVE ordering three 12-can cases
> of soda + 4 gallons of Poland spring + 2 packs of
> 12 roll TP + 2 packs of 8 roll paper towels + 6
> large jars of pasta sauce + a package of microwave
> popcorn. And wait by the door of my apartment
> while the delivery guy trudges up the stairs with
> my purchase


Sadist.

I’m a regular at this Costco. I agree with the assessment that it is crowded and remote. There are many people who shop there without cars. I have overheard people call a car service while they are in the check out line. It may be worth pricing a local car service to see how much it would add to your shopping trip.

HTH

Isn't the big Balducci's in Union Square also? (not sure if it opened yet but read it supposed to be. . .I think)

and Zabar's on the UWS might be too far but surprisingly their prices are not that expensive. ..

There is also a Citarella nearby and they charge much more than Zabar's. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Car service from that Costco to Bushwick would be at least $35.

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Fresh food at a good price in Manhattan?

Is there something wrong with Chinatown? You can get fish so fresh it's still twitching in your bag. Oranges, Apples, pears, veggies, etc... pretty much everything you can think of except for avacados and tomatoes. Not sure why i've never seen these two items in Chinatown. Maybe i'm not lookin hard enough.

It's a bit of a contact sport. But hey it's all in good fun. I've never seen anyone in Chinatown get mad except for tourists and people not from the neighborhood.

food stuff is cheap in Chinatown but dependin when you go you have to deal with crowds (it doesn't help that a lot of the street are narrow as it is)

Flushing, queens is also similiar but it has become even MORE crowded than Chinatown. . .
so if you have to choose go to Chinatown. ..

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Why did Guitarman just make fun of me?

Why no tomatoes?

No urban setting, especially one near NYC, sounds inviting to me for this sort of stuff.

SteveJobs Wrote:
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> Why no tomatoes?
>

I'm not 100% sure why i hardly ever see tomatoes for sale in Chintown. Maybe they are too easily bruised and squished in the mayhem? They do sell persimmons. And they are equally squishable. I'll take a closer look next time i'm there.

Me: Excuse me sir, do you have tomatoes in stock?
Street vendor: Wha?
Me: Tomatoes. Do you know who might have them?
Street vendor: Oranges! Velly good! Four! One dollah!

I just can't deal with the insane crowds in Chinatown. Makes me feel like I'm wilt chamberlin being attacked by thousands of mugsy bogues and I just wanted to start swingin elbows. What is it about these people? They also won't let you out of the train before they push their way in. I can't tell you how many of them I've had to knock down getting out of the train at Canal St.

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3d Wrote:
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> Fresh food at a good price in Manhattan?
>
> Is there something wrong with Chinatown? You can
> get fish so fresh it's still twitching in your
> bag.

This is so true...I keep forgetting about Chinatown because I personally hate Canal St. because it's so crowded. I know that Canal St. isn't all of Chinatown, but still. A friend of mine got really fresh shrimp there for only $2.50/lb. I guess that would be the best place to go for seafood and I have bought good oranges there as well...

Gman,

Fresh Direct is not owned by Fairway. One of "the original owners" (there is a disagreement about that) started Fresh Direct.

Still great, great food. highly recommended

I stand corrected.

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Guitarman Wrote:
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> I just can't deal with the insane crowds in
> Chinatown. Makes me feel like I'm wilt chamberlin
> being attacked by thousands of mugsy bogues and I
> just wanted to start swingin elbows. What is it
> about these people? They also won't let you out of
> the train before they push their way in. I can't
> tell you how many of them I've had to knock down
> getting out of the train at Canal St.
>


Chinatown is NOT for the easily angered and flustered. Like i said before, food shopping there is a contact sport. It's all in good fun. Don't take it personally.

If you don't like the atmosphere. Don't shop there. "These people" could care less if you never go back to Chinatown. It's too crowded as-is. Go ahead and stay away. There are plenty of other options. I know of many people who would GLADLY pay more for an apple wrapped in tissue paper and stacked in a perfect pyramid.

I don't particularly like the crowds, salespeople or atmosphere at B&H Photo. The last purchase i made there was 4(?) years ago.

Hey B&H creeps me out too.

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trisho. Wrote:
> A friend of mine got really fresh shrimp there for only
> $2.50/lb. I guess that would be the best place to
> go for seafood and I have bought good oranges
> there as well...
>

Chinatown seafood is one of THE BEST deals in town.
Try comparing Chinatown shrimp, scallops, and salmon prices to the prices at the Chelsea Market seafood place. It's insane. There are 2-3 competing seafood places on the corner of Grand and Chrystie Street. It's right by the Grand Street subway stop.

Hop out of the subway. Load up on seafood (still twitching), veggies (piled high), fresh chicken (still warm. Don't ask.) and meat. Then duck back into the Grand Street subway station. All of this on one block. You'll be all set for the week. The workers are used to non-Chinese people. Just point and tell them how many/much you want. No fuss, no muss.

There's also a bakery right there on the same block for bread, pastries and stuff. It's not the best place but it's convenient. For the best bakeries you gotta do some venturing on your own ;)

3d Wrote:
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> I don't particularly like the crowds, salespeople
> or atmosphere at B&H Photo.

Try it during Christmas or Chanukkah. It's friggin' insane. I went in there this holiday season to check out some headphones. I walked the hell out of there when I realized the line to pay was pretty much two city street blocks long winding inside the store.

On topic...3d, thanks so much for the heads up on that little corner. There are a couple of places I always pass that are actually on Canal St. but I haven't explored other parts. Again, thanks for that tip.

I also don't trust the sanitary conditions of any of the food out there on canal street.

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What an interesting thread... Didn't realized there are so many NYCers here.

Newton is right, Flushing is getting crowded everytime I go home and visit the folks. The parking situation is crazy so is the crowd. The best way I can describe is that it's very similar to the big cities in asia such as Taipei, Shanghai, Hong Kong, etc... Full of crowds, people don't always obey common courtesies, and rude drivers. It's definitely not of the faint of heart.

Btw, getting on topic. I go to the Costco in Queens and in Long Island with parents regularly. It's always crowded and busy. But their fresh vegetables are very good. The asparagus are really fresh.

Flushing, when I was younger was not like that. ..it is at least 4x as bad as Chinatown. . .I avoid Flushing at all costs. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Didn't you hear? Flushing is the new Chinatown. Seriously. There has really been a demographic shift of Chinese and Taiwanese over there in the past few years. I know a quite a few Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean folk that moved there about 3 - 4 years ago.

And Brooklyn's Chinatown is in Bay Ridge, oddly enough...

NewtonMP2100 Wrote:
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>
> I avoid Flushing at all costs. . .
>

Note to self: If NewtonMP2100 invites me to his place for dinner, DECLINE the invitation.

One good thing about Flushing:
$3.75 Taiwanese style pork chop on fried rice with egg
+
$4.00 Chicken with tomato on white rice
+
Two free hot teas
=

One very cheap date!

. . .oh I heard. . .still hard to resist the dim sum there though. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

As for those chickens still being warm, they still have a few of the chinese chicken slaughter houses in red hook. There was one on the way to the bus stop when I lived there. I went past on a summer day and almost passed out from the smell. The air was rife with bird flu.

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NewtonMP2100 Wrote:
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> . . .oh I heard. . .still hard to resist the dim
> sum there though. . .
>
>

For dim sum there's no place like Grand Harmony on Mott. I'm there at least two times a month. Big, bright, and non-Chinese friendly. If we ever do a NYC group dinner, Grand Harmony is the place. A round of chicken feet for the whole table. LOL

3d Wrote:
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>A
> round of chicken feet for the whole table. LOL
>
>


Oh lawd. I'm so there though...

BTW, if you live on the west side, the Costco in Yonkers is a quick trip <30minutes

. . .make sure it is the chicken feet with the long sharp nails. . yummmm!!!!



the dim sum in Flushing can be cheaper than Chinatown. . .there are cheap prices in Chinatown but the prices have been rising for a long time. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!