Air quality - difference between Carroll Gardens and Park Slope

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your helpful comments.

They say cooking with gas can also increase asthma symptoms – I’m going to consider that next time I buy a stove. There are lots of things that go into creating asthma symptoms. Sometimes it is mainly indoor stuff – people’s pets, dry cleaning, air fresheners, perfumes, perfumed personal care items, perfumed laundry and dishwashing detergents, scented candles, scented baby wipes, pesticides exterminators use for roaches in hallways, dog dander on the carpet in the common stairway, cigarette smoke coming from elsewhere, and some synthetic carpeting – all of these can get to me in a home.

That said, I do find the air quality within blocks of the BQE more bothersome than in the slope – being two blocks away from it should help a lot – I notice it is better a few blocks away. But do consider whether your children will be walking over that way in their daily excursions.

I like the air quality better in the Slope, but being near 4th Ave in the slope I found much worse than being close to 6th Ave. and above – it’s the increased traffic, and increased truck traffic, that is a problem. Look to avoid idling engines – being on any avenue or two-way street, being on a street in front of a school where people idle while waiting to pick up kids, or being near where trucks unload regularly to commercial spaces (though Fresh Direct used to make me cough when they delivered on my residential block with their engines running). I passed on one apartment that had a driveway to a garage running along next to it – didn’t want the traffic to the garage next to my bedroom window. Also, streets with old buses aggravate breathing – living on Union St. years ago, I could see the black bus exhaust rise up and then blow directly into my windows and make me cough.

I’m not convinced that new houses are better for me – depends on the materials used in construction. Many are things that offgas for a long time – there’s a trend of people who renovate getting sick from their homes after renovating because of the materials used. I know I’m better off with old wood floors and my own rugs than with wall to wall carpeting and foam padding underneath, even when it is in brand new construction. I know stairways in some newly constructed or gut renovated loft-style coops (or offices) bother me forever if the hallway or other carpeting was laid down using glue.

Park Slope near the park > Carroll Gardens near BQE. I just came up with that. Of course, moving to the country, I’d imagine the air quality would top both of them.

This is a link to an NYC.gov booklet. The data is from 2000, so it’s not so recent, but it gives you some info about asthma rates for children age 0-14 (on page 17 of the report.)
Looking at the map, I don’t think the difference between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens is too striking. From my own experience (I’ve had asthma since I was a teenager), I can tell you that old housing is a risk factor. So although I love pre-war buildings and the gorgeous decay, my lungs do not agree. Rather than picking one neighborhood over another, you should look for housing stock that is new or renovated, and avoid forced air heat and window AC.