what is going on with northbrook? (Cincinnati, Springfield: section 8, crime, appliances)

[davis1071]

Hey forum, I was wondering if y'all could address some issues I've been hearing about the last year or so...

I am a native Cincinnatian, & my buddies (who live still live there) say that Northbrook--where my family is from, including my parents--has become a run-down, rather scary area. Is this true? If so, why?

When our family moved, just 2 years ago, the street where we lived was still relatively quiet--not great, but decent. I'm hearing, though, that most houses along Niagara are now Section 8. Again, I'm not sure about this.

When I mentioned to a friend recently that my parents moved (to another part of Cincinnati) this person said, "That's good, because Northbrook has gotten really bad." This actually saddens me, & I'm wondering what exactly all these stories mean. Any opinions?

[unusualfire]

Never heard of it. Are you talking about a street? Neighborhood or what?

[davis1071]

unusualfire--

Northbrook is a neighborhood situated to the east of Colerain Avenue. Technically, the neighborhood is part of Colerain Township.
If you took a right out of Northgate Mall (pulling onto Springdale) & drove east, you would drive right through it; in fact, if you took this route, & turned onto Niagara, you would drive through the areas that I'm being told are awful anymore.
Does any of this ring a bell?
Feedback would be appreciated.

[CincyExpert]

It is not as bad as the lifelong residents are making it out to be. There are at least 5 neighborhoods within a couple of miles that have seen far worse change.

[davis1071]

Which neighborhoods?

[goyguy]

NCH, New Burlington, and Mt Airy look to be fraying around the edges. The older (eastern) part of Forest Park is holding up unevenly but the rest of that city's looking pretty good still. Closer to home, in this case Northbrook, the section of Mt Healthy and Springfield Twp surrounding Compton and Daly is definitely in a bad way. Some of its streets have at least seemingly gone the Section 8 route 100%. When you figure that crime was once unheard of around there, that aspect has changed big time: drug houses, homicides, you name it. Groesbeck and Skyline Acres, and undoubtedly Northbrook as well, are showing their age. All those sturdy little brick Capes and ranch houses that were all the rage fifty or so years ago have fallen out of fashion. So as their owners die or move away, the market of folks eager to take occupancy is limited enough that the homes essentially become public housing. To say that a big swath of Colerain and Springfield Townships - and the incorporated communities within them - is going downhill would be a pretty accurate assessment. But some of the alarmist talk that goes around about their having turned into extensions of Winton Terrace, Fay Apts, etc takes it too far.

It all boils down to the dual dilemma of race and class and how Cincinnati (though far from alone in this) addresses the issues with sprawl development and service cuts. White and "green" (money) flight are what's goin' on.

[meatwhistle]

The Brook is a pretty rancid place to be nowadays. But if you're looking for drugs or appliances and/or cars in yards....it's definately the place to be!

[davis1071]

Seems to me that appliances and/or cars in yards usually go hand-in-hand with mullets & PBR...

[meatwhistle]

Originally Posted by davis1071

Seems to me that appliances and/or cars in yards usually go hand-in-hand with mullets & PBR...

Yeah buddy, gotta' love those ones!

[skyview_inhab]

okay i moved away from northbrook in early 2007 i purchased my home in 2001 and thing were okay... however, there was always the boys on the corner throwing up their gang signs and selling their drugs... i also had many helicopters passing over my house frequently and police sirens quite often. my personal home was invaded once and my vehicle broken into 3 times... but around 2006 there was a "riot" down the street from where i lived about a half a mile. it was on a street called elkhorn. the day after there was a armored vehicle(looked a lot like a tank) parked outside my house and the day after the riot when i went to school (northwest) everyone was forced into the cafeteria and was told to sit down for nearly 2 hours while they figured out what was going on.... at which time they asked all students from northbrook to stand up and wait in line to be searched by colerain township police, hamilton county sheriffs and state of ohio troopers and afterward anyone from northbrook was questioned by a private investigator.. beside the point. that was about the time my dad decided we were moving... we moved to a mobile home park in ross and it has never been quieter.