Harmony in New York City (Hamburg, Webster: sale, crime rates, houses)

[homenj]

I'm sure you all have noticed how the rest of the country portrays NYC as an open society free of racism, discrimination, and as a very cosmopalitan area. Some view NYC as a city where everyone is accepted whether you're gay, minority, a drug addict, welfare recipient, or an illegal alien. Do you guys think this is true to a certain extent or not at all? I don't want to start any internet wars. I just want to see how native New Yorkers feel when certain misconceptions come across to them and what they feel really goes on in New York City.

What other stereotypes of New York do you guys notice about your city and how do you feel about them?

[SuperMario]

I would disagree. In many areas, Yuppies and Artists are verbally and physically abused when they enter long established neighborhoods. This goes for homosexuals as well.

Midtown Manhattan and Gentrified neighborhoods accept the above, but unlike ghetto hoods, they may not be as receptive to illegal immigrants as a ghetto hood would.

NYC is very segregated, so the best way I can put it is it varies neighborhood to neighborhood.

Another stereotype that aggravates me is that "safest big city" bull****. Because of this, people all across the country think you're lying if you say crime occurs in NYC. They view NYC has a heavenly place with no problems. Tell that to the poor black kid in the PJ's in Mott Haven. I can vouch for my own hood, which had 2 murders and 6 rapes in an an area of 3 by 4 blocks in 2007. You can see this by the General US thread "Which cities ghetto would you live in?"......the vast majority chose NYC.....they have no clue.

[NooYowkur81]

The "safest big city," thing attracts tourists, who spend money here. Which is a good thing for the city overall so I can't really knock that too much. Generally most outsiders still view NYC as a very different and dangerous place.

Also Mario have you been to other ghettos in the U.S. I haven't so I can't comment. But maybe those posters are right.

[SuperMario]

Ok yeah, but I doubt they have been to NYC so they wouldn't know.

But they see "safest big city' = "safest ghetto"

I would venture to think that NYC ghettos are worse because there are so many people. You pass block after block of 20 thugs hanging out. You're chances of being a crime victim is greater.

In Camden, the ghettos are abandoned. So unless you fear boarded up houses, there isn't anybody or much to fear.

The only difference in crime rates in NYC ghettos and other ghettos is usually murder rate. But who murders are usually random and by chance....if you're involved in drugs too. But check them out for yourself, rape, assault and robberies are the same if not greater in NYC.

Also NYC criminals are the worst because they deal with s plethora of cops on a daily basis, yet despte this still manage all this crime. I bet you if Philly had such a police presence, they wouldn't be calling it dangerous.

And just to drive the point home, there has been a slight reduction in the police force this year, and wouldn't you know it homicides are up 30% and we're on pace for 650, which will be the highest mark in 7 years.

LOL...sorry I was carried away...not the point of the thread. NooYowkur, I know you hate the homicide statistics being used so early but it is alarming.

I will not debate this here, however feel free to respond.

[Ogden Assassin]

Originally Posted by NooYowkur81

The "safest big city," thing attracts tourists, who spend money here. Which is a good thing for the city overall so I can't really knock that too much.

NY81, I have to disagree. The city elders primary duty of care should be to Hector in Williamsburgh, Hugh in Woodside and Henri in East Flatbush not to Heike and Helmut from Hamburg.

[cyrusjul]

What are you talking about, Ogden Assassin, tourist are very important to the city. They give jobs to city folks, like Hector, Hugh or Henri. Also the city gets lots of money from the sale tax they generate, which is use for affordable housing and other city programs, etc.

[SilkCity0416]

Tourist pump billions of dollars into this city's economy. Without them, this city will not stay afloat. Mario is right, when people hear "Safest City in America" they will tend to think that crime in NYC is null; crime will only happen in the Outer Boroughs or Harlem. This is why you have young, well-to-do kids who will break their neck, to move to an area like Bushwick (East Williamsburg) or other parts of Brooklyn and Queens, and think it is "safe" (notice when an outsider post on this forum, safety is one of the first issue to come up.) I personally don't get it, kids from Jersey will knock Newark or Paterson, yet they will move into Harlem and think everything will be all right.

[drkman]

Out of curiosity, what neighborhoods do people think is the ghetto? I have not been in many neighborhoods that I would classify as a ghetto in New York City but it may be due to perception. I live in Crown Heights and some people refer to it as a ghetto but I don't perceive it in that manner. Harlem, Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Bushwick, South Jamaica, South Ozone Park, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Hollis, St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Springfield Gardens, Laurelton are all just the "hood" in my opinion. And when I say the "hood", I mean areas that have a significant minority population and the culture of that population is prevalent throughout the neighborhood. Ghetto, to me, would be areas that have prevalent crime, abandoned houses, people who are afraid to come out of their house (almost similar to a war zone). Some of these neighborhoods were like that years ago but not any longer.

I am not saying that these are the safest neighborhoods in New York City but not being the safest neighborhoods does not classify it as being "Ghetto" unless you go by Webster’s Dictionary in which Ghetto is classified as an area where minorities live because of economic or social pressure (see how exclusionary the definition is since in America, based on this definition, a Caucasian neighborhood could never be the "Ghetto" and a neighborhood with affluent blacks or other mnorities would still be classified as the "Ghetto"). That definition is not the greatest to me because it just strikes me as wrong since it specifies that a ghetto can only be where minorities live in concentration but maybe that is the definition that people go by. If that is the case, then a ghetto is just a minority neighborhood and there is no relevance to crime involved. Unless you also specify that it is a crime ridden Ghetto.

Also, "Thugs" on the corner does not equal greater possibility of being mugged. You have more of a chance being mugged by someone you don't see that is shadowing you, then by a group of people that you are very aware of. I think most muggings don't occur by committee but are acts perpetrated by one or two people.

[Futcha]

Originally Posted by NooYowkur81

The "safest big city," thing attracts tourists, who spend money here. Which is a good thing for the city overall so I can't really knock that too much.

Tell that to the German (or Italian, I can't remember) tourist who was murdered in the city I believe late last year. NYC's too big to judge using overall crime rates.

[Guywithacause]

The city TODAY, overall, is quite safe, and that includes the ghettos. Yes there is crime in the projects, and in all neighborhoods especially the poor areas, HOWEVER, it is mroe often than not those that are ACTIVELY involved in the criminal lifestyle in some way (i.e. they have friends in it, they are criminals/hustlers themselves, or otherwise subscribe to the ghetto/criminal mentality). So whereas years ago there were vast swaths of the city that were totally controlled by the criminals and crime was a daily part of life for many, today crime is generally tied to those that are involved directly or indirectly.

There are those kids, new residents, hippies, yuppies, etc who are moving into these "ghettos" not because they are high crime, deadly areas, but because they are affordable AND much safer than they have been in almost 2 generations. So yes the city is overall quite safe even in the ghettos, but it is those that cannot keep their nose clean that will find trouble wherever they go. That's the difference.