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My ghetto reference? You mean the parents ghetto reference. You still never said where those parents lived. If they're in Scarsdale or some fancy area of Westchester, they'll view most of the Bronx with scorn. You may get a little respect if you live in Riverdale, since I've heard of people from Westchester with money moving to Riverdale. That and the fact that Riverdale usually distinguishes itself from the Bronx to not be lumped in with the negative stereotypes usually associated with the borough.
You said you agreed with them! It doesn't matter where my kids went to school. It's rude and it really bothers me!!! (That's probably obvious.)
You said you agreed with them! It doesn't matter where my kids went to school. It's rude and it really bothers me!!! (That's probably obvious.)
What's rude about it? What I said was that if the parents live in some hoity-toity suburb or something, then most of the Bronx will be "the ghetto" to them. You have to look at living standards and be realistic. Most New Yorkers view most of the Bronx as a ghetto. Sad but true. The prices are going up there, but there are still quality of life issues, mainly poverty. The Bronx is still the poorest borough, even with Riverdale being part of it and having incomes that are several times more than the average median income in other parts of the Bronx.
People in Riverdale live like many upper middle class New Yorkers, which is why they don't want to be associated with the Bronx, given the negative stigma that the borough has. You really can't blame them. Your neighborhood is similar to Norwood. Overall there are decent parts, but certainly some sketchy ones and that's the problem. Too much of the Bronx is like that. If you compared most of the Bronx to say Northeast Queens, you could essentially replicate Riverdale several times over there because you have great neighborhoods like Malba/Whitestone, Beechhurst, Bayside. Bay Terrace, Little Neck and Douglaston. I've just named several upper middle class to upper class areas in Queens. The Bronx only has one area that truly qualifies as upper middle to upper middle class and that's Riverdale. The rest of the good areas of the Bronx are so tiny that they are dwarfed by the bad ones. It will take a while for the Bronx to shake that negative image. Incomes will need to go up, and you will need to get rid of the Section 8 and housing project types that quite frankly dominate the borough for your neighborhood to be treated with any respect and to be taken seriously.
So Riverdale is the one non-ghetto area of the Bronx?
No, but it's certainly the only true upper middle to upper class neighborhood. Bedford Park in no way meets that criteria, which is probably why the parents said what they did. When I think of good neighborhoods in the Bronx, these areas come to mind:
Riverdale (including the subsections (Spuyten Duyvil/South Riverdale, Fieldston, and North Riverdale)
Country Club
Morris Park
Woodlawn
City Island
Parts of Pelham Parkway
Pelham Gardens
Throggs Neck east of the expressway (includes subsections like Silver Beach, Locust Point, etc.)
Pelham Bay
That's about nine good neighborhoods total. I wouldn't include Bedford Park or Norwood in that since they have areas that are sketchy in each. Norwood was drug central back in the day, which is why the Irish fled to Woodlawn and Riverdale, and Bedford Park has had a sketchy past too. I wouldn't feel safe walking around in Bedford Park. It's similar to how I feel in Parkchester, which isn't dangerous per se, but there is a ghetto element there that unfortunately you can't ignore.
No, but it's certainly the only true upper middle to upper class neighborhood. Bedford Park in no way meets that criteria, which is probably why the parents said what they did. When I think of good neighborhoods in the Bronx, these areas come to mind:
Riverdale (including the subsections (Spuyten Duyvil/South Riverdale, Fieldston, and North Riverdale)
Country Club
Morris Park
Woodlawn
City Island
Parts of Pelham Parkway
Pelham Gardens
Throggs Neck east of the expressway (includes subsections like Silver Beach, Locust Point, etc.)
Pelham Bay
That's about nine good neighborhoods total. I wouldn't include Bedford Park or Norwood in that since they have areas that are sketchy in each. Norwood was drug central back in the day, which is why the Irish fled to Woodlawn and Riverdale, and Bedford Park has had a sketchy past too. I wouldn't feel safe walking around in Bedford Park. It's similar to how I feel in Parkchester, which isn't dangerous per se, but there is a ghetto element there that unfortunately you can't ignore.
All this analysis and you still won't tell us where you live
Really? I haven't observed that in real life, maybe it's more of a thing with snooty old people
I know of a few people that write Riverdale, NY 10471 for the address. There's an accountant that visits us in our office that lives in North Riverdale at the Skyview complex that does this. Everything is written specifically with Riverdale, NY on it and not the Bronx.
Given how the Bronx is the laughing stock because so many areas are so poor and crime ridden, imagine you being an established accountant, which is a respectable job, and then being laughed at for living in the Bronx. I'm guessing he puts Riverdale, NY to ensure that people knows that he doesn't live in a poor area. Most people hear Bronx, and automatically think the entire borough is a dump. Sad but true.
I know of a few people that write Riverdale, NY 10471 for the address. There's an accountant that visits us in our office that lives in North Riverdale at the Skyview complex that does this. Everything is written specifically with Riverdale, NY on it and not the Bronx.
Given how the Bronx is the laughing stock because so many areas are so poor and crime ridden, imagine you being an established accountant, which is a respectable job, and then being laughed at for living in the Bronx. I'm guessing he puts Riverdale, NY to ensure that people knows that he doesn't live in a poor area. Most people hear Bronx, and automatically think the entire borough is a dump. Sad but true.
This is also fairly common in Queens, I believe, because I remember getting mail for Long Island City and Astoria rather than for Queens. Are there other parts of the city that do that aside from Riverdale and Queens?
No, but it's certainly the only true upper middle to upper class neighborhood. Bedford Park in no way meets that criteria, which is probably why the parents said what they did. When I think of good neighborhoods in the Bronx, these areas come to mind:
Riverdale (including the subsections (Spuyten Duyvil/South Riverdale, Fieldston, and North Riverdale)
Country Club
Morris Park
Woodlawn
City Island
Parts of Pelham Parkway
Pelham Gardens
Throggs Neck east of the expressway (includes subsections like Silver Beach, Locust Point, etc.)
Pelham Bay
That's about nine good neighborhoods total. I wouldn't include Bedford Park or Norwood in that since they have areas that are sketchy in each. Norwood was drug central back in the day, which is why the Irish fled to Woodlawn and Riverdale, and Bedford Park has had a sketchy past too. I wouldn't feel safe walking around in Bedford Park. It's similar to how I feel in Parkchester, which isn't dangerous per se, but there is a ghetto element there that unfortunately you can't ignore.
You don't see the one similarity those neighborhoods have in common? That is why ghetto is offensive. If the amount of crime isn't that different, then why do you feel so unsafe?
All this analysis and you still won't tell us where you live
No need to. Born and bred New Yorker. I know my neighborhoods very well. For the record, I've lived in just about every borough.
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