Why does Brooklyn Park have such a bad rap? (Minneapolis: live in, to move)

[MrMinneapolis]

the brooklyns are northern burbs directly connected to north minneapolis which is the hood. lots of thugs, brookdale mall is a piece of ____....its grimey. I dont like going there let alone living there. just check out blondies bar theres a shooting every week lol

[kurls]

Mr Minneapolis,

Its funny you mention Blondie's and say there is a shooting every week. That is pretty ignorant considering that there was a murder there about a year ago and now there security is about as crazy as going to the airport. I have not heard of any other shootings there. Is this more your perception or do you know something I don't.

What facts do you have to support that statement? I read the city papers and watch the news and I only recall one shooting this whole summer in Brooklyn Park involving teenagers near Brookdale Drive.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by MrMinneapolis

the brooklyns are northern burbs directly connected to north minneapolis which is the hood. lots of thugs, brookdale mall is a piece of ____....its grimey. I dont like going there let alone living there. just check out blondies bar theres a shooting every week lol

This is ignorant. The "Brooklyns" (actually only 1 Brooklyn) are connected to Lind-Bohanon, Shingle Creek, and Victory neighborhoods- 3 perfectly nice and safe neighborhoods in Camden, a good chunk of which is much nicer than any of the surrounding suburbs...so this whole notion of 'the northside bleeding into other areas' is a load of BS. Golden Valley's just across the parkway from the Near North area of Minneapolis yet there are many, many million dollar homes there, right across the border, and it's viewed as one of the most prestigious areas in the metro. The nicest parts of Robbinsdale are the areas bordering my neighborhood (in North Minneapolis- ), and I know for certain that there are many, many people in the area that view my n'hood (a small chunk of which also borders Brooklyn Center) as highly desirable. Bryn Mawr borders the Northside (and arguably is in the Northside- it's part of the 4th precinct) and it's chock full of wealthy yuppies, as are the ritzy IMS lofts and their million-dollar penthouses located in the Heritage Park neighborhood of N. Mpls.

So Mr. "I-propogate-stereotypes-without-having-any-real-first-hand-experience-or-knowledge-of" Minneapolis- what's this again about the pitfalls of being 'directly connected' to 'the hood' as you call it?

[MrMinneapolis]

It may be ignorant, but you bring a couple friends to Blondies for some beers and tell me how comfortable you feel? Theres beef/drama there all day long. What do you expect when you got a bunch of knuckleheads crammed into a bar like that. I mean lets be real about it. The clientele is straight up grimy and theres a reason for that, because thats the type of people that live in those areas PREDOMINANTLY. And thats the bottomline. Flys get attracted to feces and theres no way about it.

I know from first hand experience because I have friends that live in the areas (not trash people mind you) and drugs get run to and from the brooklyns to north everyday. Its a corridor of crime and thats a fact.

Your gonna tell me brooklyn center is nice, LOL go look at the brookdale mall. Its a direct reflection. Say what you will theres a reason why friends who grew up there want to move out to tonka, or maple grove or eden prairie or edina....the brooklyns they have a bad rap, and its justified. Im done here.

[Slig]

Originally Posted by MrMinneapolis

It may be ignorant, but you bring a couple friends to Blondies for some beers and tell me how comfortable you feel?

I went to Blondies with a couple of buddies a year and a half ago, we felt perfectly comfortable.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by MrMinneapolis

I know from first hand experience because I have friends that live in the areas (not trash people mind you) and drugs get run to and from the brooklyns to north everyday. Its a corridor of crime and thats a fact.

Your gonna tell me brooklyn center is nice, LOL go look at the brookdale mall.

Considering that the experience/ knowledge you say you have comes from friends that have lived in the area, who you refer to as the "non-trash" variety- how have you managed to become such an expert with an ear to the ground on local drug trafficking patterns? And whenever anyone says "and that's a fact", I tend to question their sources- can you provide a couple for us to back up these claims?

My argument was about this whole theory that (1) the brooklyns are bad areas and that (2) this is due to the fact that they are close by and/or adjacent to the Northside. Considering that the parts of North Minneapolis directly adjacent to B.C. (no part of mpls is adjacent to B.P.) are low-crime, safe, and often very nice areas, as well as that the suburbs and/or neighborhoods adjacent to some of the higher crime areas on the Northside include some of the nicer ones in the metro (e.g. Golden Valley, Minneapolis neighborhoods like Bryn Mawr, parts of Robbinsdale, etc.)- I conclude that the theory stated above is a bunch of B.S....please note that my argument/conclusion has nothing to do with how I feel about the cities of B.C. or B.P. themselves, albeit I do think there are a number of really decent and some really nice areas in both cities.

[Robert98]

My brother in law just moved away from Brooklyn Park. His car and house were broken into. Repeatedly. And... have you been to Brookdale since Macy's left?? I'd rather go to Blondies.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by Robert98

And... have you been to Brookdale since Macy's left?? I'd rather go to Blondies.

I think there's actually been talk as of late of razing it and building a lake there as part of a clean-up project for Shingle Creek- not sure how accurate that is, or if accurate, how seriously it's being considered. Others wanted it to be the site of the new Twins stadium. I don't think anyone's making the argument that Brookdale's a vibrant shopping mall by any stretch of the imagination. I've always liked going to the Sears or former Macy's there- front row parking, great customer service, no waiting in line, and no having to deal with big crowds!

[Slig]

From looking at the metro area as a whole I think we have too many malls. Razing a few and turning them into green space/parks sounds like an excellent idea to me...not to single out Brookdale or anything. If that were to happen I would think Southdale will probably follow.

[Elialia]

if there was a shooting at the place every week. 1. i would hear the sirens heading in that direction. even from where i live. it is not like that. 2. it would not have all the folks hanging around it. when my man and i drive past it. it has alot of folks. though it has less folks there since the smoking ban happened.