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I've heard this before.. why is that? (just curious -- I've heard it stated but not explained)
If you live in a ghetto tenement or project where everything is broken or destroyed, what would be the sense of beating up the one who is going to fix
it? As for teachers, everyone knows that most NYC school teachers don't make a ton of money, plus they are offering a service (education, childcare, if you will). What are you going to get out of it? One more class with 45 kids in it? You can usually tell who the workers are in the neighborhood who don't live here.
Sha83: I have lived in the Southern Bronx (Mott Haven), I do live in the Southern Bronx, and continue to do so. And while I can't say anywhere is safe, and I don't think anyone claims the Southern Bronx is safe, what I can say is alot of the scary stories about the area are greatly overstated, or people with an agenda to scare others away.
Anyone who knows anything about crime in NYC knows that if you simply keep your nose clean, not hang out with the drug dealers or homies, and stay away from the "element" in general, you will be just fine, no matter what color/income bracket you are in. I don't doubt that there are people in deep poverty that are stuck in bad circumstances and are surrounded by the wrong element, however their view of all the "rampant crime everywhere" is no more correct or applicable than the wealthy in Riverdale who think "the city is wonderful and safe."
When did I every say there was A"rampant crime everywhere" in the South Bronx?
Ever heard of the former teacher/author/education advocate from Boston, Jonathan Kozol? He did a series of books in the early 1990s that looked at conditions in the South Bronx, namely education and life outcomes. He walked around, hung out with informants, and slummed around Mott Haven and east Tremont for a few years to get a taste f what life is like for its residents. One passage in his book is a conversation between him and a friend where the friend asks him if it is an intelligent idea to be hanging around, walking around at night in areas such as that. In another passage, an ex-junkie Mott Haven resident friend of Kozols' warns the dangers of being naive in thinking that your liberal thinking is going to work as a safeguard against any harm or threat of danger against you. It is repeatedly pointed out that an unsafe neighborhood is unsafe for everyone, not just outsiders.
What this all means is that it is naive to assume a person who takes a quick route in and out of the area where there are NYPD crossing guards, traffic agents, and school security guards creating a presence is at the same risk as someone who lives in the Mitchel Projects on 138th St. or a tenement on Clay Ave. Likewise, why would someone come to LA to come live in the South Bronx? That's not just an "experience", it's plain stupid.
This thread is interesting but I am curious as to why people think that just because someone is coming from the South that they are not aware and accustomed to dealing with a rough neighborhood. I have been in some rough neighborhoods in the South and the South Bronx would be considered tame compared to some of them.
Ok cool Chris...you have no idea of what you speak. The buildings are all decayed and owned by slumlords? When was the last time you were in the Southern Bronx? 1982? Households are run by single moms and kids are all in gangs and drugs? This is such a farce...and exactly the kind of nonsense/scary stories I spoke of earlier.
Getting robbed at gunpoint is the exception, not the rule in NYC, which includes the Southern Bronx. I recommend you check the crime stats and compare neighborhoods, there is no doubt that crime is higher in the Southern Bronx, but it is much safer than these people would have you believe. Don't believe the nonsense and scary stories....
And for the record Tasha, I am a lifelong, 3rd generation Mott Haven area resident, and I speak from profound experience moreso than just about anyone else on this board about the community. If you would like a tour of the area, or would like a real assessment from a local, shoot me a private message.
I think most of Mott Haven is very rundown, but I don't think it's the worse place in the Bronx by far. I work around here and was over here on Sunday night. It's gotten a lot better. However, I would not recommend a person a unfamiliar with NYC to just move in there. If you are from a neighborhood in NYC like that, you'll probably be ok, but I could not with good faith tell an outsider to go live there.
This thread is interesting but I am curious as to why people think that just because someone is coming from the South that they are not aware and accustomed to dealing with a rough neighborhood. I have been in some rough neighborhoods in the South and the South Bronx would be considered tame compared to some of them.
A suburban ghetto is a totally different environment than one full of tenements and crowded streets. I could be in a ghetto in Memphis and what I would see is a few abandoned houses, not many people on the streets, and maybe 1 or 2 people hanging out in front of their proch. Sure the murder rate may be higher but the environment is not what I would call hectic. But in the Bronx, you look in front of you and see a block full of large, run down buildings.....in the corner there's like 7 dudes hanging out and in front of every building there's a few more. You know you have no escape because the blocks are so long and you're sorrounded by buildings on both sides of the streets. It's where the term concrete jungle comes from. The smell of weed immediatley hits your nose and you see a drug deal right in front of your eyes. It doesn't help that there's music blasting on the street so loud that you can feel it in your bones. The worst part is walking by all those guys, and they just stare you down daring you to say something.
That's why it someone from down south may be caught off-guard here. It's really really hectic. You have to keep your head to avoid losing control.
I have not just been inside one..I have been inside more than I care to admit, which includes housing projects also. I don't just "visit" or "work security here"...I live here...my family lives here...always have...so yeah..I kinda know a little something about the area. I don't doubt you have had bad experiences...alot of people have...but making the claims that you have is a farce. You have zero stats to back up your claims...all kids are in gangs/drugs? All single mom households? All decayed? I mean really...enough with the nonsense.
If you want to talk about an honest assessement, you should try alot harder.
I could care less where you live. I know many who live in the area, nobody calls it "SoBro" thats a yuppie thing. I doubt your from the area, probably moved to it, to say "I live in the South Bronx." when honestly people could care less.
I won't comment on your accusations, feel free to confirm with other posters on my "credentials." I will agree that the "concrete jungle" is a different environment than the South, but that includes all of NYC and not just the Southern Bronx..it's all hectic, lots of buildings and people around.
It is intimidating, and I don't know if I were coming from the South (from a presumable "good area") that I could live in NYC, let alone the Southern Bronx. That being said, it is not nearly as bad as many claim, and the reality is, if you keep your nose clean and use basic street smarts (that you will no doubt develop quickly), you really have little to worry about. And that is an honest assessment of life in NYC, not just the Southern Bronx.
Anyone who disagrees with my assessment, I would be happy to take them through the Southern Bronx areas of Mott Haven/Woodstock/Hunts Point/Melrose/Concourse, (day and/or night) so they can see first hand the breath of the community and what this "scary" place is actually about.
I won't comment on your accusations, feel free to confirm with other posters on my "credentials." I will agree that the "concrete jungle" is a different environment than the South, but that includes all of NYC and not just the Southern Bronx..it's all hectic, lots of buildings and people around.
It is intimidating, and I don't know if I were coming from the South (from a presumable "good area") that I could live in NYC, let alone the Southern Bronx. That being said, it is not nearly as bad as many claim, and the reality is, if you keep your nose clean and use basic street smarts (that you will no doubt develop quickly), you really have little to worry about. And that is an honest assessment of life in NYC, not just the Southern Bronx.
Anyone who disagrees with my assessment, I would be happy to take them through the Southern Bronx areas of Mott Haven/Woodstock/Hunts Point/Melrose/Concourse, (day and/or night) so they can see first hand the breath of the community and what this "scary" place is actually about.
I have no issue with you, I just disagreed with what you said, now I do agree parts of the Bronx are lightyears better then they once were, but some like Hunts Point, Morrisania, Mott Haven etc still have a long, long way to go. I wasn't trying to insult you or the neighborhood, I used to live in the Bronx as well when I was younger with my parents for about 4 yrs then moved back to Uptown Manhattan. I lived on Bainbridge ave in Bedford Park, that wasn't the greatest of areas either, it was drug infested. But my point was, a person whos from out of state and unfamiliar with New York should NOT move to the South Bronx at all, she would be a prime target for robberies, like I mentioned above my friend who was born and raised there, was recently robbed at gun-point in Morrisania. But I in no way was trying to insult you or the neighborhood, I apologize if I did, because I feel the same way about people who insult my neighborhood of Inwood/Washington Heights.
I agree wholeheartedly that the community has a long way to go..no doubt about it. It is still a low-income, colored community with a host of social ills. However, the assumption that someone not from the city should not move there at all is silly. If you lived in the area, you would know lots of people from the other boroughs and outside the city are moving to the Southern Bronx..and have been here for awhile too..and they are surviving! Crazy huh?
The value proposition and proximity to the city is compelling, and people are making the move and life goes on.
If you live in a ghetto tenement or project where everything is broken or destroyed, what would be the sense of beating up the one who is going to fix
it? As for teachers, everyone knows that most NYC school teachers don't make a ton of money, plus they are offering a service (education, childcare, if you will). What are you going to get out of it? One more class with 45 kids in it? You can usually tell who the workers are in the neighborhood who don't live here.
Thanks!
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