Arthur Avenue (New York, Pelham, Bronxville: fit in, crime, safe area)

[manny618]

I'm moving to NYC from another part of the country. I was wondering if Arthur Avenue area/"the real Little Italy" is a safe place to live because of tourists/crowds that are there usually.

[mead]

Well first off this should be in the NYC forum, but I'm sure the moderator will fix that.

Are you Italian and are looking for a moderately priced Italian neighborhood in the Bronx? If so you should consider other neighborhoods in the Bronx such as Morris Park, Country Club, Throggs Neck, or City Island (which is kind of far from everything though).

Very few Italian people actually live in Belmont/Arthur Ave anymore. It is definitely a majority Hispanic neighborhood and has been for the past 20-30 years. It is very well kept though because of all of the tourists going to the restaurants and also because of its proximity to Fordham University. It still has a lot of that old NYC charm that so many neighborhoods in the Bronx are missing these days.

There are of course a few remaining Italians living in the neighborhood, but most of the people you might think are Italian are actually recent Albanian immigrants. The Albanians are nice people and have a very similar culture to that of Italy so they fit in pretty well.

Just don't mess with or get involved with the Rudaj though, because they'll definitely mess you up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudaj_Organisation

[CrazyJerzyKidUNO]

Arthur Ave. is basically safe because of all the tourists but straying away from the tourists is usually less safe because the area around it is not the greatest. Also there are no subway lines going near Arthur Ave. so the surrounding areas never became a tourist attraction. And ive never heard of the Albanian Mafia but im sure it is exists so yea I guess watch out for that. Haha.

[baylovers]

When I was kid I lived up on Kingsbridge Rd, it was the mid '70s. Many of the buildings were being purchased by Albanian families and the neighborhood had already began to change. I can tell you that they love their guns... it was very common for them to shoot in the air during celebrations and to use them to settle disputes. I recall waking up one morning, looking out across across the back alley from my bedroom window and seeing all the cops on the adjacent rooftop with crime scene tape surrounding a sheet covered body!

[NooYowkur81]

It is a safe area for the most part. If you venture out a bit and you roam into some parts of Fordham it's a bit more dangerous. But Fordham Road isn't dangerous at all. A lot of cops around, a lot of foot traffic, a lot of businesses around there.

Check it out! Arthur Avenue is really nice. Like other people have mentioned it has an old New York feel to it. Their is definitely a mafia element around, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. That's the kind of trouble people usually have to look for themselves.

Manny, I'm curious why you are looking to move there. It is not really known as a residential area. It is known more as a tourist attraction.

[Dedalus]

Originally Posted by NooYowkur81

Check it out! Arthur Avenue is really nice. Like other people have mentioned it has an old New York feel to it. Their is definitely a mafia element around, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. That's the kind of trouble people usually have to look for themselves.

"The fellas" are rarely going to make themselves noticeable to "civilians." God help the mugger who tries to ply his trade there, though.

[Arrgh]

Originally Posted by Dedalus

"The fellas" are rarely going to make themselves noticeable to "civilians." God help the mugger who tries to ply his trade there, though.

You are 100% correct on that one. Yes, Arthur Ave is safe but you take your life into your hands getting there. Do what the other fellow said and try out Morris Park or Pelham Bay There is a real good Italioan Retaurant right across from Pelham Bay train station and a great Italian bakery just down the road "under the El"

[yodel]

My sister lived there out of college in the early 90s. It was safe (safer now), but faaar from the subway and uphill. I guess it's good excercise, and I disagree with the above-it's a safe walk up Fordham Road. There is a Metro-North however. The restaurants are great, but for the most part they are quite expensive.

[manny618]

sorry i haven't posted in a while

i'm going to be working in a hospital on arthur ave as an intern. the thing is that they can call you at odd hours, even at night. i was considering living in the neighborhood, but the idea of walking around at night in that neighborhood doesn't seem like the best to me.

when i was in that area (on third ave) for my interview, walking around in a suit in the middle of the day got me strange looks from some people - something that wouldn't happen at most other neighborhoods.


i'm not italian - though I like the food.

i am leaning toward having a vehicle and commuting from westchester.

[mead]

Alright I think I know what place you are talking about.

You might want to look into some of the surrounding nice neighborhoods in the Bronx. The two most upscale neighborhoods in the Bronx are Riverdale and Country Club. The commute from both to that area is only about 20 minutes or so by car

Where in Westchester are you considering? Bronxville is probably the closest "ritzy" area of Westchester.

Don't be surprised if you get stared at by some of the people in the Bronx. A lot of them are just trashy people and are on welfare or some other type of government handout. They don't have jobs so a lot of them just hangout on the streets. There are tons of hard working average people in the Bronx, but most of them don't have the time to be staring at people in suits in the middle of the day.