Why does Brooklyn Park have such a bad rap? (Minneapolis: sale, real estate)

[kurls]

I will define affordable as what one can pay relative to incomes. The median income for the Twin Cities came in at 4th or 5th in the nation a year or so ago at $56K. This was in the Star Tribune and other sources. So, if you are in an area that many households make above this income, are well educated,(read having BS degrees or better), and manage their credit well, you will have a populace that can afford more expensive homes. Also, I defined affordable in relative terms to the other areas I would consider living in such as California, Seattle, or Chicago.

A sidenote, I noticed you are working on your AAS degree. This is good, I will be receiving mine within weeks. However, to make the best income you will want to pursue the BS to maximize your earning potential.

Also, you mentioned Milwaukee as paying higher wages. Where did you get this assumption? Do you have any facts to support this, I have never seen that area rank to highly in wages or other livability indexes.I know city data put Minneapolis(proper) at just under $38K per year for annual salary.

[Old Paint]

So would making 76,000/yr be considered poverity in and around Minneapolis.

Family of 4

[Jim Stokes]

Back to the Brooklyn Park crime center motif. For some unknown reason then, TV news has reported LOTS of apartment house arson type fires and killings in BP within the past month. It either tied to the notorious north side or came in a very close second. Both El Norte and Bk come up quite regularly with crime of one form of another.

[montello1232]

1. Brooklyn Park has a higher percentage of black people than the average in Minnesota.
2. Minnesotans are on average, more racist than the average person in the US.
3. Racist people think only black people commit crime.
4. Brooklyn Park is a dangerous city.

Deductive reasoning is fun. (FYI, I grew up here and I'm white so I don't wanna hear it)

[TimtheGuy]

So would making 76,000/yr be considered poverity in and around Minneapolis.

Family of 4

Of coarse not, but it certainly would not be "above average". With that househod income, a standard (now considered conservative) house payment would be $1,836/mo. PITI or 29% of your gross monthly income. This would get you into a nice $200k+ home.

[nick is rulz]

passive-aggressive Minnesotan answer: Its got a lot of crime, and its unsafe, and its run down looking!!!

what they mean: Its predominantly black

Brooklyn Parks "bad area" is Zane at around the 7600 block. Beyond that, its pretty standard suburban fare. Undesirable only in the fact that its another suburb amongst an amass of them, but beyond that if thats your thing...its fine, and at least it has character beyond these outer ring burbs where most of the houses were built 10 years ago and have as much character and charm as the waiting room of a dentists office.

[missannie]

Brooklyn Park is bad because of low income housing where people are paying about 50$ a month for rent while we pay the rest with our taxes. This brings in drug dealing,crime,prostitution.

This has nothing to do with black or white. My neighborhood is well mixed.
I live in a nice area of B.P.

[srands]

Originally Posted by kurls

Hi,

I viewed other cities on this site in the metro area and found that Brooklyn Park does not have significantly any difference in murders but yet receives so much negative press. Did you know that Bloomington and Brooklyn Park have very similar numbers, 1-2 murders per year. Coon Rapids has a similar pattern. Maple Grove had 4 murders in 2005 according to city data; I am surprised that people are not scared there.

I wonder if the negative views of Brooklyn Park are due to our more culturally diverse population. I hope not as that is the main reason my wife and I live here. In fact that is my favorite thing about my adopted hometown.

I love the city's parks and trail system.

I love our convenient location with a fairly easy commute to Minneapolis and St Paul.

I love the affordability of homes compared to neighboring communities, I guess having a bad rep can't be so bad.

The school system seems to do fairly well with the children. It may not be the best in the state, but still compared to the rest of the country I think they are doing better than average.

There are some negative things about my city as well, but then again these are common in any large metro. There is some crime element and gangsters, but growing up in that lifestyle in another state, it is my opinion that things could be far worse and that MN has some good programs in place to catch those kids on the border line of falling into that life. However, like anywhere else parents MUST raise their kids to be thinkers and have a positive outlook. We have a long way to go until we realize the dream of Martin Luther King, so let's create a society of educated young folks.

The Zane corridor is condensed with low income apartments. This is the Brooklyn Park that outsiders think of, which is responsible for most of the crime in the city. However the revitalization efforts over there are changing things for the better by bringing in mixed businesses and residential development in an aesthetic fashion.

To end on a positive note, I don't want to live in Plymouth. I love the fact that BP has racial and cultural diversity, a mixture of city and suburban feel, and most importantly the potential to really highlight the success of the American melting pot.

Well, I lived in Coon Rapids for many years and I was never afraid to go to the corner store or let my kids go to the park. It is nothing like Brooklyn park. You Can actually let your kids bike around the block.

I live in Brooklyn Park in a nice house . I hesitate to take a bike ride and never walk around here. I rarely go to the corner store, definitley would never let my children ride there bike 3 blocks to the store. Which is sad.

why you ask? HMMM . Every corners store, gas station, looks like a hang out with groups of individual ,yelling ,calling people names, Im afraid here and i'm 35 yrs old and can handle my self.

Sure some of the parks are beautiful but are they safe? I wouldn't bike alone down any of the trails. Have you went into the library, wow! They is a police officer in the library! There are some great schools too! It's really too bad the police cant take control , they sure try like heck. It's not fair for people who want to live peaceful and be safe!

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by kurls

Hi,I viewed other cities on this site in the metro area and found that Brooklyn Park does not have significantly any difference in murders but yet receives so much negative press. Did you know that Bloomington and Brooklyn Park have very similar numbers, 1-2 murders per year. Coon Rapids has a similar pattern. Maple Grove had 4 murders in 2005 according to city data; I am surprised that people are not scared there.

I wonder if the negative views of Brooklyn Park are due to our more culturally diverse population. I hope not as that is the main reason my wife and I live here.

You are only looking at murders and not factoring in all the other crimes. Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center always have the highest crime rates of all the suburbs. They did not get their bad reputations just because everybody else is racist.

Brooklyn Park
Population: 69,942
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 347.3
2004: 346.8
2005: 361.5
http://www.city-data.com/city/Brookl...Minnesota.html

Brooklyn Center
Population: 27,371
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 519.4
2004: 525.8
2005: 513.8
http://www.city-data.com/city/Brookl...Minnesota.html

Burnsville
Population: 59,321
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 199.7
2004: 189.1
2005: 202.4
http://www.city-data.com/city/Burnsville-Minnesota.html

Coon Rapids
Population: 62,207
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 259.1
2004: 265.7
2005: 279.6
http://www.city-data.com/city/Coon-R...Minnesota.html

Eden Prarie
Population: 60,952
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 138.9
2004: 130.7
2005: 124.1
http://www.city-data.com/city/Eden-P...Minnesota.html

Eagan
Population: 63,736
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 148.2
2004: 160.7
2005: 138.3
http://www.city-data.com/city/Eagan-Minnesota.html

Minnetonka
Population: 49,928
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 155.7
2004: 136.0
2005: 141.0
http://www.city-data.com/city/Minnetonka-Minnesota.html

Maple Grove
Population: 60,584
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 145.6
2004: 145.8
2005: 151.3
http://www.city-data.com/city/Maple-...Minnesota.html

Plymouth
Population: 70,102
Crime Index (higher=more)
2003: 163.1
2004: 140.9
2005: 143.6
http://www.city-data.com/city/Plymouth-Minnesota.html

This list could go on.....

Does posting these facts make me racist now?

[Lillietta]

To me, affordable is $100,000-$180,000, tops! Is St. Paul my only option?

Actually Ive been househunting and guess what! I have seen townhouses (online) for sale with 1500 square feet in Minnetonka, Plymouth for LESS than $200,000 Would you settle for a townhouse?