Three Young People Randomly Shot Execution-Style at Newark Elementary School (Jersey City: middle-class, real estate)
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My heart and prayers go out to the families of this recent tragedy in Newark. For those of you who haven't heard, three young people were shot execution-style on an elementary school playground, apparently at random. There is no excuse for this type of violence to be occurring other than the fact that those responsible are no better than pig excrement.
Why aren't you people in New Jersey taking back your streets from these thugs? Demand better police protection, mentor a troubled youth so that they can become positive contributors to society, form vigilant and aggressive neighborhood watches, etc. Scranton's Hill Section used to be a haven for violence as well in the 1990s, and now it is a trendy place to call home for young professionals and empty-nesters due to residents taking back their streets, ratting out drug dealers, leaving porch lights on all night, installing surveillance systems, etc. Most people in NJ are considerably wealthier than those of us in PA, so I'm sure you can all likewise afford to keep a porchlight on overnight, to install a security camera, or to form a neighborhood watch.
You can't keep running from your problems, folks. At some point New Jersey is going to run out of developable land to be suburbanized by those fleeing crime, and then where will you head to "escape" places like Newark, Camden, Atlantic City, etc.? You won't be running into PA, as more and more of my neighbors are rebelling against how our quality-of-life is beginning to deterioriate, especially in Monroe County, due to the influx of many criminally-intentioned New Jersians who are peddling drugs in Wilkes-Barre to our children. When will you all just take a step back and say "We NEED to take charge of our cities NOW?!"
All though my heart does go out to the families....Newark is dead....it will take decades to ever restore it to it's once grand self..IF EVER!!!..it's been declining for decades..long before the riots back in the 60's....and then you do know Newark is predominately black...any form of taking back the streets and you'll have Al & Jesse desending on Newark screaming discrimination....
My heart and prayers go out to the families of this recent tragedy in Newark. For those of you who haven't heard, three young people were shot execution-style on an elementary school playground, apparently at random. There is no excuse for this type of violence to be occurring other than the fact that those responsible are no better than pig excrement.
Why aren't you people in New Jersey taking back your streets from these thugs? Demand better police protection, mentor a troubled youth so that they can become positive contributors to society, form vigilant and aggressive neighborhood watches, etc. Scranton's Hill Section used to be a haven for violence as well in the 1990s, and now it is a trendy place to call home for young professionals and empty-nesters due to residents taking back their streets, ratting out drug dealers, leaving porch lights on all night, installing surveillance systems, etc. Most people in NJ are considerably wealthier than those of us in PA, so I'm sure you can all likewise afford to keep a porchlight on overnight, to install a security camera, or to form a neighborhood watch.
You can't keep running from your problems, folks. At some point New Jersey is going to run out of developable land to be suburbanized by those fleeing crime, and then where will you head to "escape" places like Newark, Camden, Atlantic City, etc.? You won't be running into PA, as more and more of my neighbors are rebelling against how our quality-of-life is beginning to deterioriate, especially in Monroe County, due to the influx of many criminally-intentioned New Jersians who are peddling drugs in Wilkes-Barre to our children. When will you all just take a step back and say "We NEED to take charge of our cities NOW?!"
i don't know...what are you doing about the murder rate in Killadelphia? After all, you're about as close as I am to Newark.
SWB, I throughly enjoy your posts, but you're reaching here!
i don't know...what are you doing about the murder rate in Killadelphia? After all, you're about as close as I am to Newark.
SWB, I throughly enjoy your posts, but you're reaching here!
I know. I'm just at a loss for words as to how three (almost four) young lives can be cut short completely at random in the year 2007 by such a despicable act of violence. Why is it assumed that places like Camden, Trenton, Newark, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Gary, East St. Louis, etc. MUST stay dumps forever? A lot of cities in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania are enjoying declining crime and poverty rates and an upswing in urban renewal---why can't the same happen for NJ's cities? As I said in the reply, there's only so much further people in NJ can "run" before they run out of developable real estate and need to start confronting these issues head-on.
Then again, I suppose I'm young and naive. I'm what you might like to call an "urban pioneer." I'd gladly be the first white college-educated guy to move into a "sketchy" neighborhood to rehabilitate a collapsing rowhome in hopes that improvements would follow. If thousands more shared my mindset and moved to these cities en masse, places like Newark would be revitalized, and your beautiful woodlands in the Northwestern part of the Garden State could be preserved for generations to come as opposed to being developed for gated communities.
I know. I'm just at a loss for words as to how three (almost four) young lives can be cut short completely at random in the year 2007 by such a despicable act of violence. Why is it assumed that places like Camden, Trenton, Newark, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Gary, East St. Louis, etc. MUST stay dumps forever? A lot of cities in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania are enjoying declining crime and poverty rates and an upswing in urban renewal---why can't the same happen for NJ's cities? As I said in the reply, there's only so much further people in NJ can "run" before they run out of developable real estate and need to start confronting these issues head-on.
Then again, I suppose I'm young and naive. I'm what you might like to call an "urban pioneer." I'd gladly be the first white college-educated guy to move into a "sketchy" neighborhood to rehabilitate a collapsing rowhome in hopes that improvements would follow. If thousands more shared my mindset and moved to these cities en masse, places like Newark would be revitalized, and your beautiful woodlands in the Northwestern part of the Garden State could be preserved for generations to come as opposed to being developed for gated communities.
and what happens to the people who currently occupy these dwellings and will no longer be able to afford them once the area is gentrified?
Some NJ cities are in the process of this....areas now in Jersey City that haven been gentrified....you need to be a NY banker to afford them...Hoboken same thing
much of Northwest Nj is now protected by the Highlands Act
My heart and prayers go out to the families of this recent tragedy in Newark. For those of you who haven't heard, three young people were shot execution-style on an elementary school playground, apparently at random. There is no excuse for this type of violence to be occurring other than the fact that those responsible are no better than pig excrement.
Why aren't you people in New Jersey taking back your streets from these thugs? Demand better police protection, mentor a troubled youth so that they can become positive contributors to society, form vigilant and aggressive neighborhood watches, etc. Scranton's Hill Section used to be a haven for violence as well in the 1990s, and now it is a trendy place to call home for young professionals and empty-nesters due to residents taking back their streets, ratting out drug dealers, leaving porch lights on all night, installing surveillance systems, etc. Most people in NJ are considerably wealthier than those of us in PA, so I'm sure you can all likewise afford to keep a porchlight on overnight, to install a security camera, or to form a neighborhood watch.
You can't keep running from your problems, folks. At some point New Jersey is going to run out of developable land to be suburbanized by those fleeing crime, and then where will you head to "escape" places like Newark, Camden, Atlantic City, etc.? You won't be running into PA, as more and more of my neighbors are rebelling against how our quality-of-life is beginning to deterioriate, especially in Monroe County, due to the influx of many criminally-intentioned New Jersians who are peddling drugs in Wilkes-Barre to our children. When will you all just take a step back and say "We NEED to take charge of our cities NOW?!"
It's definitely more complicated than taking streets back (even though I believe we should). Newark needs more cops but it has fiscal problems and simply can't afford it. Cameras would be great but who will pay for them? Sure more can be done, but it's still a ways to go to recovery.
I'm with tahiti as Philly (although I do love the city) definitely has its share of crime. That population has been declining for years
and what happens to the people who currently occupy these dwellings and will no longer be able to afford them once the area is gentrified?
Some NJ cities are in the process of this....areas now in Jersey City that haven been gentrified....you need to be a NY banker to afford them...Hoboken same thing
much of Northwest Nj is now protected by the Highlands Act
It's true. Lower income persons who can't afford it move into a more affordable areas and, although I'm not saying lower-income areas are synonymous with crime, it's hard to deny that a lot of lower-income areas generally have higher crime rates
Then again, I suppose I'm young and naive. I'm what you might like to call an "urban pioneer." I'd gladly be the first white college-educated guy to move into a "sketchy" neighborhood to rehabilitate a collapsing rowhome in hopes that improvements would follow. If thousands more shared my mindset and moved to these cities en masse, places like Newark would be revitalized, and your beautiful woodlands in the Northwestern part of the Garden State could be preserved for generations to come as opposed to being developed for gated communities.
Um, have you ever actually DONE that? much easier said than done. Believe me - I'm with ya. I think it's up to the citizens of every neighborhood to stand up and rally against crime, keep up their property, and maintain the quality of their streets. However, that doesn't always happen.
It's a combination of simple economics and human nature. Ask yourself, why would anyone live in a rowhome with bars on the windows and risk getting mugged every time you walk to the grocery store, garbage littering the streets, etc. if they could afford to live in a nice, quiet, safe neighborhood.
The fact that you would compare scranton to newark implies that you've never been anywhere near newark.
Tell you what, take a drive on the garden state parkway from exits 142-150 this sunday. You'll be in shore traffic so you'll be going nice & slow. Even peering over a divided highway, nice & safe from your car, you'll see what i'm talking about.
Better yet - get off rt 78 at exit 49 or so and take springfield ave east through vauxhall, maplewood, irvington, and right into downtown newark. You'll change your tune real quick...
It's true. Lower income persons who can't afford it move into a more affordable areas and, although I'm not saying lower-income areas are synonymous with crime, it's hard to deny that a lot of lower-income areas generally have higher crime rates
Don't be afraid to say it. This is one issue where I'm not going to be a politically-correct liberal goody-two-shoes. In my area, the highest concentration of crime occurs in and around the low-income housing projects and other areas of economic despair. The worse thing that ever could have happened to America was "White Flight" and the segregation of poorer minorities in cities like Camden, Newark, Philadelphia, etc. vs. the wealthier whites in the suburbs. All this did was create a suburban culture of people who were indifferent and ignorant to the plight of the suffering of those in the city who were wondering where their next meals would be coming from, as well as a sense of despair and hopelessness so deep in the projects and the cities themselves that people started to turn to selling drugs to feed their families, which eventually lead to more violent crimes.
Poverty-stricken areas breed crime---don't be afraid to say it. This is why I advocate more middle-class and upper-middle-class whites moving back into the cities to balance the population out a bit and to show those who have turned to drugs as a means to support their families that there are other ways to turn themselves around and to become productive members of society. Crime in America's cities was much, much lower in the years before White Flight and urban sprawl, and there's a reason for it.
Don't be afraid to say it. This is one issue where I'm not going to be a politically-correct liberal goody-two-shoes. In my area, the highest concentration of crime occurs in and around the low-income housing projects and other areas of economic despair. The worse thing that ever could have happened to America was "White Flight" and the segregation of poorer minorities in cities like Camden, Newark, Philadelphia, etc. vs. the wealthier whites in the suburbs. All this did was create a suburban culture of people who were indifferent and ignorant to the plight of the suffering of those in the city who were wondering where their next meals would be coming from, as well as a sense of despair and hopelessness so deep in the projects and the cities themselves that people started to turn to selling drugs to feed their families, which eventually lead to more violent crimes.
Poverty-stricken areas breed crime---don't be afraid to say it. This is why I advocate more middle-class and upper-middle-class whites moving back into the cities to balance the population out a bit and to show those who have turned to drugs as a means to support their families that there are other ways to turn themselves around and to become productive members of society. Crime in America's cities was much, much lower in the years before White Flight and urban sprawl, and there's a reason for it.
And why should anyone subject their children to that....look some of these people don't WANT to help themselves ..you have one generation after the next that live in Hud housing, collect a check from the state and food stamps...sure it's not easy..it's a struggle but for those that want it...it's out there, college assistance..etc.
As for these kids in Newark I truly feel for them and their families but knowing what they knew about their neighborhood what in the heck were they doing in a school yard after midnight??? Can't really blame the parents because they were all 18 or over.....go hang in a friends house..inside as it's not even safe to sit on your porch in Newark
They do have a citizens group that is very active in trying to "take back the streets" but it is not happeneing over night.
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