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Crown Heights is not a statistically safer or a "feeling" safer nabe than Midtown. It just isn't.
Only way it could be is because Midtown's residential population is much smaller than the amount of people visiting Midtown. So the denimantor in the rate is much lower.
What are your suggestions? The map is not based on crime per se, it's really on how the area looks, and how "safe" it feels. So whats the disconnect about.
First off, thanks for taking my criticism so well/engaging with me, even if you don't necessarily agree with it. To answer your question: acknowledging that these maps touch on how safe the area looks/feels, which admittedly is influenced to an extent by neighborhood crime (although many suburbanites and non-suburbanites alike would feel uncomfortable walking down any block in a predominately black and/or Hispanic neighborhood, day or night, the likelihood of danger actually coming to them be damned, which brings up another problem I have), I'd honestly shade in more of Midtown/Financial District with yellow. Many people walking around Midtown understand that there are many people, tourists and non-tourists alike, being targeted by criminals for theft, which sometimes leads to assaults, etc. This is especially true during the night time when, walking down one of the less well-lit blocks, which become much less crowded past a certain hour, many people are a bit on edge, especially when they can't make out who the hooded figure or group is walking behind or coming their direction is . . . hotels in Midtown didn't exactly start having a visible security presence outside of their establishments requiring ID's to enter the lobby because people feel completely safe in that area. This isn't so much a problem on streets with late night commercial activity (i.e. late night eateries and bars), but on the side streets it does become a problem for many. People with street smarts definitely wouldn't walk around this area, as the first post in this thread puts it, "waving the money and expensive gadgets" drunk or not, night or day.
Also, at night, much of the Financial District is deserted and rather creepy/unsafe feeling if you ask me; I keep bringing up the night as the maps themselves have a disclaimer that they are intended as advice on safety during the night.
First off, thanks for taking my criticism so well/engaging with me, even if you don't necessarily agree with it. To answer your question: acknowledging that these maps touch on how safe the area looks/feels, which admittedly is influenced to an extent by neighborhood crime (although many suburbanites and non-suburbanites alike would feel uncomfortable walking down any block in a predominately black and/or Hispanic neighborhood, day or night, the likelihood of danger actually coming to them be damned, which brings up another problem I have), I'd honestly shade in more of Midtown/Financial District with yellow. Many people walking around Midtown understand that there are many people, tourists and non-tourists alike, being targeted by criminals for theft, which sometimes leads to assaults, etc. This is especially true during the night time when, walking down one of the less well-lit blocks, which become much less crowded past a certain hour, many people are a bit on edge, especially when they can't make out who the hooded figure or group is walking behind or coming their direction is . . . hotels in Midtown didn't exactly start having a visible security presence outside of their establishments requiring ID's to enter the lobby because people feel completely safe in that area. This isn't so much a problem on streets with late night commercial activity (i.e. late night eateries and bars), but on the side streets it does become a problem for many. People with street smarts definitely wouldn't walk around this area, as the first post in this thread puts it, "waving the money and expensive gadgets" drunk or not, night or day.
Also, at night, much of the Financial District is deserted and rather creepy/unsafe feeling if you ask me; I keep bringing up the night as the maps themselves have a disclaimer that they are intended as advice on safety during the night.
Can you suggest any particular areas of Midtown or the Financial District that should be shaded in yellow?
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
But I believe that, as far as safety perception goes, particularly during the night hours, any side street in those areas (from the deserted streets of the Financial District to the side streets of Midtown) would make many folks feel a bit uneasy.
But I believe that, as far as safety perception goes, particularly during the night hours, any side street in those areas (from the deserted streets of the Financial District to the side streets of Midtown) would make many folks feel a bit uneasy.
See but the map is not based solely on crime. So SpotCrime is irrelevant. Just because a high number of grand larcenies occur in an area does not mean that it doesn't look safe. If you want to have a map based solely on crime - then yes, SpotCrime does serve that purpose. This map is on a different tangent. Thanks for the suggestions.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
See but the map is not based solely on crime. So SpotCrime is irrelevant. Just because a high number of grand larcenies occur in an area does not mean that it doesn't look safe. If you want to have a map based solely on crime - then yes, SpotCrime does serve that purpose. This map is on a different tangent. Thanks for the suggestions.
Ah, but you also wrote "feels safe." And that's where spotcrime.com comes into play as the level of crime within an area has an effect on whether one feels safe; and I specifically addressed feeling safe and how there is overlap with the actual crime map in this regard. Bed Stuy, particularly much of brownstone Bed Stuy near the historic district, looks plenty safe; hell, the non-commercial streets in this area don't look all that different from the non-commercial streets in Park Slope and other prime brownstone areas in Brooklyn; the key difference, however, is that Bed Stuy is still predominately black whereas the other areas are predominately white (seriously, I'd like to know how Hancock Street between Bedford and Nostrand Aves, as one of many examples in that area, looks any more or less safe than Garfield Street or any given number of streets throughout Greenpoint). But the level of crime, while not necessarily "high," and neighborhood demographics, has many feeling unsafe when they walk through the area, particularly at night (of course, many who actually live and pass through the area will tell you they feel just fine). This same phenomenon occurs throughout much of Midtown, during the night and day, where I mentioned hotels have actually started placing security officers outside of their doors and demanding room cards to enter. You don't do that in an area that "feels safe" at night. People exercising a lack of street smarts in these areas, whether Midtown or the Financial District and waving their smartphones/devices and cash in the air are certainly putting themselves at higher risk of being robbed. This is something that many tourists and residents both understand.
But I suppose that this map is view-able/searchable by those who don't access it through this website? Thus, the wording of the first post, even to the extent that it eases some concerns I have with the map, only ease things but so much. The map explicitly refers to crime statistics when shading in parts of Brooklyn, etc., so I don't see how spotcrime is not relevant (For instance: "Williamsburg Although there has been a large amount of redevelopment in this area, there have been many instances of people getting robbed for their gadgets (iPods, cell phones, etc), moreso than in other areas.."). Not only does the map not have a disclaimer that it is about how people may feel, the way it reads make it out to be not exactly about how people feel, but about actual safety concerns based on crime statistics. Again, thanks for responding.
Last edited by prospectheightsresident; 08-30-2014 at 07:09 PM..
You do know that central and northeast Brooklyn has the most robberies of anywhere in the city. Much more than in Midtown, Lower Manhattan and Park Slope. Its more than just black and white.
You do know that central and northeast Brooklyn has the most robberies of anywhere in the city. Much more than in Midtown, Lower Manhattan and Park Slope. Its more than just black and white.
Yes, its more than just black and white, literally and figuratively. There are shades of grey. Central and northern Brooklyn do have robbery problems, more so than certain other parts of the city (which undoubtedly contribute to the shading of the area and feelings of "safety"), but Midtown and Lower Manhattan are certainly not without a robbery problem. But, judging this map, one wouldn't know that. On the flip side, however (and looking across precincts here), Midtown North and Midtown South have significantly more grand larcenies than the 77th and 81st in Brooklyn, and more than many other precincts throughout the city. The people who made this map have shown that they can shade nearly entire neighborhoods or small parts within certain neighborhoods to indicate a particular level/feeling/look of danger, etc. I'm just asking for more consistency and accuracy in this regard.
You do know that central and northeast Brooklyn has the most robberies of anywhere in the city. Much more than in Midtown, Lower Manhattan and Park Slope. Its more than just black and white.
Exactly. I helped make the map and I chill anywhere. Hell, no matter what neighborhood it is I definitely have my guard up when I'm the only one walking on the block late at night, it has nothing to do with Bed-Stuy being predominantly black, or Park Slope being predominantly white.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
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