Perhaps you're right, though the last time I went apartment hunting in that general area I did not find anything in stuy town that was in my price range (1BRs there were 3k+), and I ended up about 16 blocks due south from the south east corner of stuy town (in the last remaining grimy/non-gentrified part of the LES, though of course my presence was a sign of its "up and coming" status...).

I ended up getting priced out of that apartment (well, they jacked my rent and I was tired of paying that much for an essentially shitty, though somewhat spacious, apartment) and moved to a brand new building in queens.