Bushrod

Bushrod is rated as one of Oakland' safest neighborhoods. It is a culturally diverse area in all respects. While it had some crime problems in the 90's it has come through with flying colors. Unlike west and east Oakland it is free of gang activity. Most Bushrod residents are college educated professionals.
The neighborhood has several parks that are kid friendly. The parks have playing fields, and play structures for young children.
Bushrod Has excellent access to Highways 24, 880, 580, and 13, as well as lose proximity to two BART stations and major bus lines.
It is part of the Peralta school district, Peralta School being one of the best rated elementary schools in California..
The combination of good parks, schools and transit access has led Bushrod to be a favorite amongst young families. The rents are relatively affordable, and it is a popular neighborhood for young professional families to buy their first home.
With the recovery from the 2008 crash and influx of new home owners, houses are in good repair.
While the Diamond district has been historicly known as a lesbian enclave with the greatest concentration of lesbian couples in the nation, Bushrod has quietly been the neighborhood with the highest concentration of gay, lesbian, and bisexual residents in Oakland. It is known for it open acceptance of diversity.
There are many farmers markets, and the neighborhood has great weather.
Bushrod is one of the few neighborhoods that can boast of having a bookstore!

The centerpiece of Bushrod is the 10+ acre park that is at it's center. The park has great playing fields, tennis courts, climbing structure and clean sand play area for kids and community rec center. The Sankofa Academy boarders it on the north side. Peralta Elementary School is a designated arts anchor school. It is one of the top ranked Elementary schools in the Oakland and Berkeley neighborhoods.

From here it is easy to walk to either Ashby Bart or Rockridge Bart. Casual carpool pick-ups (2 options) are about 10-15 mins walking. There are lots of families in these neighborhoods. The playing fields are filled with soccer teams and the courts have tennis players. It is a ten minute walk to trendy College Avenue and the center of Rockridge shopping. Closer by there are local coffee shops, like Nomad Cafe, gourmet pizza at Nick's and great antique shops on the corner of Alcatraz and Telegraph.

Contrary to what other writers suggest, there is NOT a lot of crime in this neighborhood. There is a lot of money pouring into this area. Houses are getting snapped up and resold for excellent profits. It sits right next to Rockridge and is absorbing all the middle class families who have been priced out of this district or out of skyrocketing SF.

Bottom line, if you want to be walking distance to Elmwood and Rockridge but not pay the astronomical prices, grab something in North Oakland. The best streets right now are 63rd, 62nd & 61st which are right at the edge. Good luck!

Loosely bounded by Telegraph Avenue, MLK Way, 55th Street and Woolsey Street, Bushrod is a crime-ridden, unfavorable Oakland community. It spans about 0.6 square miles of dense lower middle to middle-class terrain. The area is primarily residential, but you can find some commercial real-estate lining both MLK Way and Telegraph Avenue. Demographically speaking, the neighborhood is predominately black with a large white minority. It also does house a number of Berkeley students, mostly because of its affordable rent compared to areas closer to campus.

Bushrod’s residential terrain is nothing special. Homes are rather old, built before the 1930’s and, as such, have a weathered, outdated feel to them. It is mixed between Victorian style and Bungalows. There are a few gritty looking homes, which adds to the overall blemished look of the neighborhood. They tend to be ordered in tight little rows, leaving little room for properties (which are only moderately maintained, at best). If you’re looking to own, house values tend to circle around $400,000. For cheaper accommodations, there are a couple handfuls of condos and apartment facilities, each offering about 5 to 6 rooms of living space. While they don’t look too appealing, they are cheaply priced at $1000/month. Also, the median household income is around $50,000, in case you’re interested.

For your commercial needs, Telegraph Avenue and MLK Street are your main sources of amenities. While both strips have a bit of a gritty look to it, they offer a number of different restaurants, gas stations, convenient stores, delis, pawn shops and mixed used commercial buildings. Also, if you travel down Telegraph Avenue (towards Berkeley), you’ll hit a number of eclectic shops of which Berkeley is known for.

For commuters, the neighborhood provides convenient access to US Route 24. Others who chose to take public transportation have both the Ashy Bart station and Rockridge Bart station available just a couple blocks outside the neighborhood’s limits. The area is also within a quick 5-10 minute drive of the vast San Francisco Bay. Elsewhere, you can find the Oakland Children’s Hospital, one of the great hospitals for children in the state of California. It is nestled within the eastern end of the neighborhood right next to the freeway.

Bushrod is a modest neighborhood that stretches out north of Highway 24, west of Telegraph Ave. to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The homes here are, as throughout this area of the East Bay, older with a tendency towards one story houses with front walk-ups with bay bay windows facing out street side. The homes in the neighborhood definitely have a quaint, World War II row houses type feel with tiny front lawns in various states of upkeep. Older residents and retiree make the neighborhood feel as if it has been this way as long as memory stretches and they tend to keep their front lawns in good repair. Overall, however, the neighborhood is a little uneven, with many homes being poorly kept while others have well mowed and watered lawns.

Despite its distance from the Berkeley Campus, you still get a strong student market here as students try to get a deal on their rents. This means that many homes are parceled out to renters room by room and that there tends to be a high turnover rate roughly following the Cal school schedule.

Oakland Children’s Hospital, one of the best medical facilities in California is the farthest southern tip of the neighborhood, where MLK meets Highway 24. It sprawls north taking up several blocks. Oakland City College is also along MLK Jr.

Bushrod is definitely not the safest neighborhood in the area north of Highway 24. Since 2007 there have been four murders there—two by gunshot in what appear to be gang related shootings, and two murders during a high speed chase where fleeing gang members crashed killing a pedestrian and a motorist on MLK Jr. Way.

The three main avenues through the are MLK, Shattuck and Telegraph. Telegraph is by far the most practical of the three with several stores and restaurants, like Addis—one of two Ethiopian restaurants. The neighborhood is largely African-American and many of the establishments—like the hair salons—cater specifically to that demographic, though the mix of rotating college students mean that most places are well-adapted to making all audiences feel comfortable and welcome.

The neighborhood is named after Bushrod Park, which has a great set of tennis courts, soccer fields and basketball courts. Ultimate Frisbee contests are held there on the weekends. Bushrod Park is also adjacent to Washington Elementary (also known as Sankofa Academy). The concept school was meant to inspire responsibility in its students by mixing younger and older students. Parents have been disappointed in the results, however, as the experiment has lead to many instances of behavior problems and more than its share of bullying.

Overall, however, this is a bit of a hit or miss neighborhood that does not fair well in comparison to its neighboring areas.