New official NYC crime thread for 2010 (Hope: houses, vs, murders)

[njnyckid]

Thanks for the info, Shizzles.

Looks like NYC went crazy last night, particularly the BX and BK in the usual neighborhoods (Soundview, Concourse, Bed-Stuy etc.).

[SobroGuy]

While I agree the criminal element is here (and always has been in NYC for that matter), why do some try so hard to paint NYC as a war zone? It hasn't been for some time...and there is ZERO evidence to support a return to such chaos. I agree that crime may go up at some point...any rational person understands that crime rates fluctuate from year to year, but it is the long term trends that matter...and the long term trend for crime is decidedly downward and there is still no evidence to support a change.

The economy has been poor for the past 16 months or so..but what have we seen in that time frame? A further reduction in crime..not a spike. Why is that? Furthermore, we are currently at the same record low crime rate as this time last year..which means we are still not increasing despite all the dire predictions/scary headlines.

What does this mean? While I agree that crime may increase due to the economy, a new drug, XYZ, none of it has been happening, and the same "the end of the world is today" predictions continue day after day, nonstop, with no evidence and no rationales other than the pointless "it has to go up" "it's NYC crime is going to get out of control" "it's inevitable" "it has nowhere to go but up." I am sure if you keep saying it eventually you will be right, but a broken clock is right twice a day.

[Andez]

SobroGuy, no one is painting NYC like a war zone. If anything people are just trying to inform others that it's still not perfect and they shouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security because stuff can still happen to them. No one's gonna argue with you about the crime reduction when compared to 1990 because that's evident, but some neighborhoods went from being horrible to still pretty bad.

[SobroGuy]

Agreed Andez. However, if you scroll further back into the part 1 of this crime thread, you will note there was a substantial amount of fear mongering, and painting the city like a war zone. I also don't appreciate those who post scary headlines to support their claim of an increasing crime rate, as the two are not related. Furthermore, the idea that we are secretly spiraling into a crime wave is nonsense and complete fabrication that is promoted by many on this board for some reason. If it were not for myself and a couple other reasonable/rational posters combating all the misinformation, this thread would be nothing more than crime conspiracies and 1990s views of NYC.

[njnyckid]

Originally Posted by SobroGuy

Agreed Andez. However, if you scroll further back into the part 1 of this crime thread, you will note there was a substantial amount of fear mongering, and painting the city like a war zone. I also don't appreciate those who post scary headlines to support their claim of an increasing crime rate, as the two are not related. Furthermore, the idea that we are secretly spiraling into a crime wave is nonsense and complete fabrication that is promoted by many on this board for some reason. If it were not for myself and a couple other reasonable/rational posters combating all the misinformation, this thread would be nothing more than crime conspiracies and 1990s views of NYC.

So people have different opinions about the crime and suddenly they're fabricating stories?! It makes no sense. Besides, nobody has to pat themselves on the back for offering a different point of view. It's just debating.

Anyway, some people seem to agree that gentrification helped bring crime down this from the mid 90s and forward. I think it's one of the contributing factors to a whole list of reasons, but one of the things I think gentrification probably did was increase the number of grand larcenies in neighborhoods that were the forefront for gentrification. If you look at the stats for the precincts in Uptown Manhattan, Brooklyn North (particularly Williamsburg & Bed-Stuy), and Brooklyn South (such as 76th), you'd find the rates for 2009 are equal to the late 90s/early 00s stats or higher. Does anyone agree/disagree with that notion?

[KRS88]

For me all the work that was done from 98-05 has been undone these past 4 years. I personally see no difference from now and 2000 except less abandoned buildings and maybe a bit cleaner but in terms of crime no difference.

[amazinmets73]

Originally Posted by KRS88

For me all the work that was done from 98-05 has been undone these past 4 years. I personally see no difference from now and 2000 except less abandoned buildings and maybe a bit cleaner but in terms of crime no difference.

You've gotta be kidding me... I mean, if youre gonna completely ignore the statistics that tell you other wise, anyone with a feel for the streets can tell you that's just not true.

[Shizzles]

Originally Posted by Andez

SobroGuy, no one is painting NYC like a war zone. If anything people are just trying to inform others that it's still not perfect and they shouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security because stuff can still happen to them. No one's gonna argue with you about the crime reduction when compared to 1990 because that's evident, but some neighborhoods went from being horrible to still pretty bad.

"And out of the Darkness, a beam of common sense has shown through"

Thank you, Andez

[SobroGuy]

And here comes one of the posters I have been talking about: KRS88. NJNYC, I welcome different opinions about crime, and everything for that matter, that's why I enjoy the forum and am an active poster. However, when people claim crime is as bad as ever, and provide random isolated incidences to support their claim, or simply state "Crime is xyz because it is" is where it is no longer a reasonable discussion, but simply nonsense. And yes, if you scroll through all the thread, you will find fabrications of all sorts sadly. Nevertheless, there is no patting on the back here...just setting the record straight.

If you believe crime is increasing, or we are secretly at early 1990s crime, provide supporting information besides "I saw someone get their ipod stolen therefore crime is out of control and the crime stats are all lies." Is that so hard?

[SuperMario]

Speaking on my hood...its the best and calmest I've ever seen it. So I believe the drop in crime.

But it's been so cold. I have no doubt that it's gonna go back to its old self in the summer.