Soundview forever (New York, Pelham, York: apartments, neighborhoods, university)

[SeventhFloor]

if they legalized drugs then all the street pharmacists would be out of business, and take up a new racket. and how would you circumnavigate jobs that require drug tests if drugs were legalized. not to mention i have my theories regarding why the government would never do this. but thats another story.

[leatherdragoness]

As far as prostitution goes, undoubtedly, prostitution exists in Soundview(as it does in just about any urban area) but it isn't as huge of a problem as it is in Hunts Point.

The main reason Hunts Point has such a huge problem with prostitution(which I have personally witnessed over a dozen times) is because of the wholesale food and fish markets which bring in lots of truckers and workers coming through the neighborhood every day. Soundview doesn't get nearly as many truckers, except on the highways, the service roads and the Kmart plaza off White Plains Road - fewer customers, and fewer places to hide, unlike the many run-down tenements and their alleyways, warehouses, car lots, and crackhouses along Hunts Point's main roads. Many buildings in Hunts Point are owned by the mob, which they use as brothels or for other purposes. On the other hand, Kmart, Old Navy, the family restaurants and all the other businesses in that large plaza in Soundview, as well as their customers would never tolerate prostitutes hanging around for long. Another difference is that as terrible as Soundview is, it still has small lower middle class areas between the PJs and tenements, while middle class homes are virtually non-existent in Hunts Point. Another difference is that Hunts Point is poorer than Soundview - the poverty rate in Hunts Point(over half the population below the poverty line) is significantly higher than Soundview(slightly less than half below the poverty line).

As for why I thought some of the people at the Soundview projects were "probably" gang-members - This area is well-known for being plagued by drugs and gang-activity, so it shouldn't surprise anyone if someone thinks they may have spotted some actual gang-members in a high crime neighborhood. The young men I saw in particular had on bandanas, baggy pants and looked "tough" and menacing. They certainly could have been mere "gangsta" wannabes, I don't know, I didn't ask and that's why I said "probably" gang-members(indeed, considering the way they dress and act, it seems they want to give off the impression that they might be gang-members). I don't think racism had anything to do with my belief that they may have been gang-members, since the area is overwhelmingly black and hispanic, it can't be said I "singled them out" because of their race. The majority of people, regardless of race, in high crime areas are decent, law-abiding people, and most of the people I saw around the Soundview projects were undoubtedly these law-abiding folks; it isn't as interesting pointing out the majority law-abiding as opposed to people who may be part of the criminal element. I'm sorry if my observations seemed racist.

[SuperMario]

You should know that Soundview houses are one of the most notorious projects in the city. The infamous Sex Money Murder Bloods gang originated there and where so bad that the NYPD had an operation to focus solely on them.

The Soundview Houses have always been a troublesome development since their inception. Many blame this on the fact it is the southernmost development in the community surrounded by many other public housing projects. Therefor it is highly isolated. From this development spawned the Sex Money MurderBloods (S.M.M.) street gang. Quickly spread across the neighborhood and became the dominant force in the area. Controlling every housing project much like the Black Spades before them. When founder Pistol Pete (Peter Rollack) was arrested and charged with multiple counts of homicide the gang affiliated themselves with United Bloods Nation street gang. This gang was notorious for extortion, racketeering, drugs trafficking, and numerous violent crimes. In 1999-2000 the Sex, Money, Murda gang faced a major blow when the NYPD along with the F.B.I. raided the development and arrested key members for various crimes. Still in 2002 Soundview was named the murder capital of NYC. Recently the area was highlighted as the car theft capital of NYC.

Soundview, Bronx - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[leatherdragoness]

Interesting points, Supermario,

An Italian friend of mine who grew up in Castle Hill tells me that there are still a tiny number of Italians in Castle Hill, but only in the private houses, not in or near the PJs. The Castle Hill Italians may soon become extinct. Castle Hill seems to be majority Puerto Rican, but there is a strong black presence. As far as Soundview is concerned, non-hispanic whites are virtually non-existent as residents. It is overwhelmingly a majority black and hispanic(probably at least 75% of the hispanics are Puerto Rican) neighborhood, and probably more black(especially if you count black hispanics) than Castle Hill. Of the Hispanics, especially Puerto Ricans in Soundview and Castle Hill who are "white", it is hard to tell really, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 based on my observations. Castle Hill has a lot less poverty than Soundview and Soundview has less poverty(as a percent) than Hunts Point. Some hispanics seem to be under the impression that hispanics/latinos can never be truly white. A couple of white hispanic Puerto Rican acquaintances tell me they are annoyed by this, and they claim to be both white and hispanic(for what its worth, they look totally white to me; I'm told that some Puerto Ricans, Cubans and other "hispanics" don't even consider themselves "hispanic" claiming to be just be white or Spanish, even though their ancestry from Spain is very indirect usually). Usually its when they tell a hispanic of any group that they are Puerto Rican, and they get surprised, and say "You're hispanic? I thought you were white!" These ridiculous ethnic or racial labels can make anyone researching these areas dizzy!

Now it looks like there's a growing Indian community in Castle Hill. Parkchester, Van Nest, Pelham Parkway, and the north-eastern fringe of Soundview seems to have a growing Arab and Pakistani(are they "white" or "non-white"?) population. This should make things more fun...

[SuperMario]

Puerto Ricans are majority white and most of them fill it out that way when doing surveys.

Dominicans fill out mostly mixed in contrast.

Yet, hispanics of all kinds are mixed. Most hispanics dont acknowledge their African heritage but embrace their spaniard heritage. I am like that myself.

Its no coincidence that the section of Soundview closest to Hunts Point is the worst part of the neighborhood. The eastern section is much better. But why did you choose Soundview out of all the bad neighborhoods in the Bronx? Most people are atracted to the south Bronx neighborhoods (everything up to Fordham on the western half). Just out of curiosity.

[rlrl]

I was reading about the Son Of Sam and that he was raised on Stratford Avenue(1105) until the late 60's when the family moved to Co-op City. The book described the neighborhood at that time "completely deteriorated, decayed and filth ridden".

Was this an accurate description, way back in the late 60's?

I know that's the section closest to hunts point

[quelinda]

Okie dokie then! I guess I' wondering what difference it makes if a puerto rican's skin color is white or not. They're still considered "hispanic" (actually quite an outdated term) or "latino", regardless. That is just how they're grouped. An odd grouping yes, a racist one most probably, but there's no getting out of the grouping if one has a spanish surname.

I believe its an old skool NY THANG to call Puerto Ricans and Dominicans "spanish". There is nothing in that that makes the person try to be from SPAIN or want to be considered European. Puerto Ricans have immense pride, if you haven't noticed from the recent PR Day Parade as just one example. Being "spanish" is just an old skool term because the person can usually speak Spanish (if they were raised around or by their grandmother then for sure) and their roots are spanish in food, language, names etc. Certainly not cuz they're trying to be European or white though!

My H has very white skin in the winter (though he gets an immediate nice tan in the summer) but has "black" type of hair with features not quite white or black. Obviously his family background is of MIXED ethnicity, which is what most Caribbean Spanish people are. A mixture of white, black and indian. How light or dark a person is has a lot to do with the most recent mixing. Guess I was missing the point of your white/hispanic issue.

As for Castle Hill, there's a large movie theater right off the highway so people in the area or who like to park in a lot and not look for parking will go there. It also has a good Toys R Us and Old Navy right there by the exit, so that is useful. There are some very peaceful, quiet blocks with ample parking and neatly groomed homes. Lots of Puerto Ricans, none of whom [that I know] could give a **** about whether or not they look white LOL.

[Dennis Brown]

Parts of Soundview visually is identical to the neighborhoods in the South East section of Queens. Other parts resemble the South Bronx. Reminds me of Far Rockaway (minus the beach) in terms of residential/project cluster mix. Keep your eyes open around the Soundview and Sack Wern Projects and avoid Watson Ave and the side blocks. Bronxdale PJ's is cool

[NooYowkur81]

For the record it is possible for a Latino or Hispanic person to be White. There is no such thing as a Latino or Hispanic race. It's just a vague cultural classification. Some people never seem to grasp this point. A Latino or Hispanic person can be White, Asian, Black, Native American, a mix, whatever. It varies a lot by country, with all kinds of mixes. The problem is that in the U.S. everyone is so used to grouping everyone into neat little racial groups, and with a lot of Latinos it's not that easy.

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by NooYowkur81

For the record it is possible for a Latino or Hispanic person to be White. There is no such thing as a Latino or Hispanic race. It's just a vague cultural classification. Some people never seem to grasp this point. A Latino or Hispanic person can be White, Asian, Black, Native American, a mix, whatever. It varies a lot by country, with all kinds of mixes. The problem is that in the U.S. everyone is so used to grouping everyone into neat little racial groups, and with a lot of Latinos it's not that easy.

good post.

only 3 official races exist, negroid, mongloid, caucasoid. sorry to go off topic, but everything that exists today is a mixture of these races