What are your NYC crime experiences? (Washington Heights, Hope: apartment, violent crime, home)

[Elvira Black]

Meaning, up close and personal...have you ever been robbed, mugged etc? Or have you been fortunate, at least so far? I'm a lifetime NY'er and so far I've been pretty lucky...got my purse taken a few times but not much else.

I think it affects your view of the city a lot...whether you've been a victim of a violent crime. My friend had such horrific experiences in alphabet city in the 70s that he still has PTSD to this day. I haven't had these experiences, so I'm a lot less paranoid. But the "reality" is the same, whatever that is...just the perception differs. So where does that put the crime stats versus your own experience? Would you feel secure in the South Bronx, or terrified? A lot may be in the eye of the beholder.

[Viralmd]

I've been mugged twice.

Once in medical school, after being up all night and on call (thus less aware of what was going on around me) I was followed into my building and held at knifepoint while this person took all my cash. This was in Washington Heights.

The second time I was going to work (at 4AM, mind you) and I was approached by a person who indicated he had a gun in his pocket (I wasn't going to check and find out) and asked for money. I threw a dollar crumpled up in his face and ran into the subway, where there was a clerk on duty. This was on the Upper West Side.

Both of these incidents, I might add, happened over 20 years ago....

[009]

Walking home from school a few years ago, someone suddenly jumps behind me me. I almost fell, but regained my strength and tossed the prick over. I thought it was someone who knew me and decided to play a joke, but it wasn't. A little fight ensued, but it was quickly stopped by others who happened to be nearby. I've also been in the middle of a crossfire. Hopefully it'll be my first and only time that does incidents happen.

Not too stay far off-topic, but someone got stabbed in the lobby of my apartment building today. So much for that. Blood drops were all over the floor and lots of cop cars patrolling the block. So much for living in the "safest" building out of the whole development.

Violent crimes still exists here, especially in areas like the one I live in. Poor moral by many cops and the quality cops quitting to other departments or law enforcement in general, plus animals who roam the streets, something is bound to happen.

[baylovers]

I've been robbed dozens of times in the subway in all four of mass transit's boroughs. And the police caught everyone of them, too.

Oh, did I mention that I was a decoy officer in the early 90's? Anyway, it was a truly surreal experience feigning intoxication, wandering through the subway's passageways and having strangers rifle through your pockets, sneaking the watch off the wrist or snatching chains from your neck. Thank goodness for a good backup team and dumb criminals.

One of the best things I took away from the experience was that there were more people, "good samaritans", trying to help me than there were stealing from me. One night a woman actually pushed me up the sairs at 53rd & Lex into a cab and went to give the cabbie money to take me home before I came out of character. The backups had a good laugh at that, they were supposed to intervene before something like that happens.

I wish they still had that unit in place, I think it was a strong deterrent especially when it received alot of TV attention and many people would stop and second guess whether it was a cop or not.

[SouthQueens149]

I wish they still had that unit in place, I think it was a strong deterrent especially when it received alot of TV attention and many people would stop and second guess whether it was a cop or not.

Baylover, that kind of work is best suited for veteran cops, and those cops are in short supply in today's NYPD.

[mel4VA]

Well, i have been working in the bronx for six months and last week my car stereo was stolen along with everything else in my car.......a couple weeks ago i saw three men smash a window of another car and proceed to hotwire it. Mind you this was mid-day and there were people all over the place who clearly were aware of whats going on. I guess this is normal behavior. Not to mention it took the NYPD over 3 hours to respond to my 911 call, I am no longer a fan of the city.

[pureistheword]

lived in Brooklyn and Queens for the past maybe 17 years, no crimes/muggings here

[Freak]

Lived in the Bronx all my life, never mugged in my neighborhood.

I did, however, almost get mugged 7 years ago when I was in Middle School, but that's because school was in the East Tremont section of the Bronx, 40 minutes south of where I live.

[rlrl]

came close to getting mugged on 8th Avenue and 47th street in Manhattan. This was when i was 17. It was on a hot muggy day during the gas shortage of that summer I remember.There was a bunch of drunks and drug addicts nodding off on a stoop and there was a guy with a big black hat on who looked doped out of his mind, eyeballing us. I think i recall he started to get up and follow us but we ran off the avenue toward Broadway. The atmosphere was horrid--a man was dressed as a woman hustler with a fur coat on (on a 90 degree day), pimps, junkies everywhere, I don't remember how or why we ended up over there. I took me years to even go back to that block but today it's really nice since they chased out all the bad element

I've been lucky, no crimes committed aginst me yet

[stretch00]

I have lived in NY for three years and have never been robbed, mugged, or been broken into.