Victory seems to be getting worse (Minneapolis, Hills: for sale, foreclosures, crime)

[nick is rulz]

kare11.com :: KARE 11 TV - Minneapolis man robbed, carjacked, left in freezing trunk


Robberies pretty much skyrocketed over November and December, and now this. Its pretty sad, overall. I think a big part of it has to do with police protection in the area.

[LaceyEx]

We've been in MN for 3 yrs-when our TV cable was first hooked up and we watched the news we were in shock! I was born and raisied in NYC (Bronx and Staten Island), lived in NJ for many years-crime didn't come close to here.

[K-Luv]

This shouldn't be much of a surprise, really.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

This shouldn't be much of a surprise, really.

Why's that K-luv?

And to Nick, I really hope your post isn't a need to "gloat" so to speak after the numerous back and forth posts that we've had on this very same (and/or related) topic in recent months.

In regards to the post, can you really say that the neighborhood is "getting worse" when it's obviously not neighborhood residents causing or initiating any of the crimes? If this happened in Linden Hills or Bryn Mawr, would you deduct that these neighborhoods must be "getting worse"? - If I were to take a guess, I would predict that it would be a "maybe" to Bryn Mawr as that is also adjacent to the fear-inducing "North Minneapolis", but never Linden Hills...

I hope the young kid they arrested (and accomplice) has been responsible for the recent unusual rash of incidents lately...I am getting tired of leaving my exterior lights on all night as an exercise in paranoia.

HOWEVER, I still wholeheartedly stand by this amazing little neighborhood and the great residents that live here - together we'll work to ensure that this crap comes to a halt if the arrest hasn't already.

[nick is rulz]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

And to Nick, I can't help but think that your post had me in mind, that you felt the need to create a new thread to "gloat" so to speak after the numerous back and forth posts that we've had on this very same (and/or related) topic in recent months.

Its pretty amusing that you assumed it was directed right at you. Do a search for "Victory" in this forum and Im fairly certain my cheerleader status for the neighborhood goes back a long way. If I wanted to address you directly, I would have PMed you.


To be honest, it made me pretty upset and surprised to read it. Its always been pretty secluded and crime-free, and its unique in that sense because everything in the surrounding areas has taken a shift (either slight or significant) for the worst. You can argue that in one way or another but if you sit down and track the stats, the numbers show the areas around have over time become much worse.

My girlfriends mother is looking into the city for a property and we have pretty much strictly focused in Victory for a number of reasons. Will this sway that decision? Of course not, but when the numbers take a shift from almost nothing to a somewhat noticeable shift...its bothersome.

A block club and more neighborhood watch clubs could curb any sort of a possible trend in a hurry, but much like Bryn Mawr the denial factor plays into it.

[nick is rulz]

Futhermore, it has less to do with the fact that the crime itself was committed and more to do with the reaction/paranoia towards the crime. Big deal, a crime happened there thats pretty significant but not of a murder caliber...it could/would/does happen any/everywhere. The problem, of course, is how will the immediate neighbors of this resident react? Will they decide to band together tightly and make sure the neighborhood stays as it has for years or will they toss a for sale sign in the yard and retreat to the suburbs?

Victory has not been impacted very significantly by home foreclosures, but there has been a few. Those have the possibility to shape the neighborhood of course. That, coupled with the occasional crime and residents becoming worried about changes taking place is exactly what caused most of the rest of North Minneapolis to take a turn for the worse.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

Why's that K-luv?

1-this type of crime seems typical for Minneapolis--guns were involved, no one got shot, slight twist at the end.

2-Simply put, Minneapolis has a large population. Crimes like this are bound to take place sooner or later. Basically, it is a numbers game.

3-And mainly; too many people in Minneapolis live in a bubble. They act as though crime just does not happen here and get completely shocked when it does.

[sugarbeet]

Originally Posted by LaceyEx

We've been in MN for 3 yrs-when our TV cable was first hooked up and we watched the news we were in shock! I was born and raisied in NYC (Bronx and Staten Island), lived in NJ for many years-crime didn't come close to here.

Having lived in NYC for a few years and now in Mpls and watching a lot of local news in both places, I think the local media makes crime more of a reporting priority here. The crimes that make headlines here rarely get press in larger cities.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by sugarbeet

Having lived in NYC for a few years and now in Mpls and watching a lot of local news in both places, I think the local media makes crime more of a reporting priority here. The crimes that make headlines here rarely get press in larger cities.

I agree. The Twin Cities stations will have lead off stories and teasers in every commercial break leading up to the 10:00 news about what ever crime took place but if you go to other major cities it might be the last story right before the sports report, maybe.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by nick is rulz

Futhermore, it has less to do with the fact that the crime itself was committed and more to do with the reaction/paranoia towards the crime. Big deal, a crime happened there thats pretty significant but not of a murder caliber...it could/would/does happen any/everywhere. The problem, of course, is how will the immediate neighbors of this resident react? Will they decide to band together tightly and make sure the neighborhood stays as it has for years or will they toss a for sale sign in the yard and retreat to the suburbs?

Victory has not been impacted very significantly by home foreclosures, but there has been a few. Those have the possibility to shape the neighborhood of course. That, coupled with the occasional crime and residents becoming worried about changes taking place is exactly what caused most of the rest of North Minneapolis to take a turn for the worse.

Nick, I appreciate your thoughtful response - I should mention that my first sentence directed at you in my post was meant to be tongue-in-cheek but wasn't sure it came off that way...truth be told, am I happy that you're creating threads titled "victory seems to be getting worse" about my neighborhood? - no...but I do know that (like you mentioned) you've made some great points about neighborhoods up north and always said positive things about Victory itself. I'm not a realtor, but feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about the neighborhood/ streets/ individual houses regarding your mother-in-law's home search.

One of my neighbors once said that the people that choose to live in Victory have to be a little eccentric (in the sense of not being easily influenced/ impressionable/ naive) to know that they're moving into a neighborhood that's a stone's throw away from what every local media station frequently publicizes as "the hood" and are more than happy to find a home and start a life here. Another neighbor has mentioned a time they visited a friend's home in an "exclusive" south minneapolis neighborhood and encountered the police pull up and draw guns in the alleyway right behind the house they were visiting, the whole time thinking "this type of stuff never happens in my north minneapolis neighborhood"! Like you and other posters have said, "stuff" happens everywhere, be it a small town, suburb, residential city neighborhood like Victory or a dense urban or inner city environment- it's illogical to let these things get us out-of-whack regarding what's real and what's perceived.

As for the neighborhood residents, will they become afraid/ paranoid and give up on their neighborhood? Most neighbors that I have met tend to possess a fierce pride in their homes and neighborhood (like myself) and I don't think that will be easily shaken, and they've similarly given me the impression that they don't take things lying down so to speak and are all about action...there are quite a lot of active block clubs here, people keep their homes and yards well lit at night, the neighborhood organization sends out alerts on crime (and of course other issues/ events), and I anticipate a large turnout at our neighborhood meeting tomorrow night where there will undoubtedly be renewed aggressive organizing around recent issues. So, I think we're good - there's so many huge pluses to this neighborhood that make it so much more livable than a high majority of other mpls neighborhoods, so much so that I personally don't feel these recent incidences will have much if any impact on us.