ALbany "bad" neighborhoods

[Lital_The_Best]

I laughed pretty damn hard when people were telling me how bad Albany was. I went there and compared to the things I've seen, lived, and been through in NYC it was nothing and a piece of cake. There's hooligans, thugs, etc but it just doesn't compare. If I can sleep okay at night residing in a low income area in NYC then I am good just about anywhere upstate besides Newburgh (last time I lived there, it was pretty rough but still was safer than other areas I lived in).

[madoff]

Couldn't help but noticed that this thread was started in 2007. How bad/good is the Downtown area. I am planning to start school at Uni at Albany next year, however, I was browsing the crime stats on certain real estate sites and the stats were troubling. One student was shot in the head a few months ago. And even those who used a so called "crime deterrent" by walking in groups of 3...were robbed and beaten at gunpoint. I have lived in NYC for most of my life...very safe neighborhood, therefore I would like to know whether I am sacrificing my safety all in the name of affordable in-state tuition? Thanks for your help.

[radamus]

Here's a link to some more crime stats that will give you an idea of how Albany compares to other cities
United States cities by crime rate (60,000-100,000) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albany has a violent crime rate more than double that of NYC, and a lot of that is due to teenagers, particularly ones from the poor neighborhoods adjacent to the Student Ghetto, victimizing students. They've come up with an MO that the cops haven't figured out how to combat. They get a group of kids on bike and they troll around at night looking for likely victims. They communicate using push to talk phones and when they get a likely victim and there are no cop cars around they swoop down, rob the student(s), then swoop away on their bikes. They also use this MO to do home invasions, but that is less common. They also do this downtown and in the Center Square but that is also less common. If you have a car and don't live or visit these neighborhoods Albany and the surrounding communities are among the safest in the country. Unfortunately the only interesting neighborhoods are Center Square(Albany's Greenwich Village), Downtown, and Pine Hills(student ghetto). People who laugh at the idea Albany being unsafe compared to NYC are living in the past. 20 years ago they would have been right. Now the situation has reversed. I had a business in the student ghetto and closed up when my lease ran out, partly because of spike in crime.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by radamus

Here's a link to some more crime stats that will give you an idea of how Albany compares to other cities
United States cities by crime rate (60,000-100,000) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albany has a violent crime rate more than double that of NYC, and a lot of that is due to teenagers, particularly ones from the poor neighborhoods adjacent to the Student Ghetto, victimizing students. They've come up with an MO that the cops haven't figured out how to combat. They get a group of kids on bike and they troll around at night looking for likely victims. They communicate using push to talk phones and when they get a likely victim and there are no cop cars around they swoop down, rob the student(s), then swoop away on their bikes. They also use this MO to do home invasions, but that is less common. They also do this downtown and in the Center Square but that is also less common. If you have a car and don't live or visit these neighborhoods Albany and the surrounding communities are among the safest in the country. Unfortunately the only interesting neighborhoods are Center Square(Albany's Greenwich Village), Downtown, and Pine Hills(student ghetto). People who laugh at the idea Albany being unsafe compared to NYC are living in the past. 20 years ago they would have been right. Now the situation has reversed. I had a business in the student ghetto and closed up when my lease ran out, partly because of spike in crime.

Actually, on that list you posted, the only Albany I saw high on that list was the one in Georgia, not NY. Actually, Albany NY was behind Schenectady on that list. So, I don't know how you are reading the numbers and in turn, getting the violent rate. Scroll down and you will see the rate here: http://www.city-data.com/city/Albany-New-York.html

[dbh522]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Actually, on that list you posted, the only Albany I saw high on that list was the one in Georgia, not NY. Actually, Albany NY was behind Schenectady on that list. So, I don't know how you are reading the numbers and in turn, getting the violent rate. Scroll down and you will see the rate here: http://www.city-data.com/city/Albany-New-York.html

You have to sort the list by violent crime. Albany NY is 14th with 1,201 and Albany, GA has 848. When you open the link they are not sorted by violent crime. Schenectady had 985.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by dbh522

You have to sort the list by violent crime. Albany NY is 14th with 1,201 and Albany, GA has 848. When you open the link they are not sorted by violent crime. Schenectady had 985.

You have to keep in mind that it is for that population range. Keep in mind that Albany is bigger than Albany GA or Schenectady too. So, it's not like it is 14th in the nation or something. Also, considering that Albany is the primary city for a metro with over 1 million people, that might not be that surprising or as bad as people think it is.

[dbh522]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

You have to keep in mind that it is for that population range. Keep in mind that Albany is bigger than Albany GA or Schenectady too. So, it's not like it is 14th in the nation or something. Also, considering that Albany is the primary city for a metro with over 1 million people, that might not be that surprising or as bad as people think it is.

I'm not saying Albany is dangerous, I was just pointing out that the list was read wrong and the interpretation of the different cities was wrong. I lived and worked in Albany for years up until this summer and never thought of it as dangerous.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by dbh522

I'm not saying Albany is dangerous, I was just pointing out that the list was read wrong and the interpretation of the different cities was wrong. I lived and worked in Albany for years up until this summer and never thought of it as dangerous.

I understand. I just think sometimes people take some things about crime and run with it without seeing what really is the situation with crime in a city.

[klmpr]

Bad neighborhoods in albany. Arbor Hill, Part of West Hill, South End. Lots of shooting, drugs, robbery. It's ok if you work in these areas, but I wouldn't live there. There are lots of nicer areas. Upper New Scotland ave area, Center Square, Colonie (suburb)

[klmpr]

If your talking about SUNY. the lower campus lower Washington ave is so-so. Lots of students. However this is where the guy was shot, There was also a stabbing, but that was a bunch of students who were drunk and out of control. Downtown on the weekends is starting to renew but again if your with a crowd ok not by yourself