Emerald Gardens Apartments, Fairywood, Pittsburgh- safety? updates on living there? (Washington: section 8, apartment complex)

[Petlover3]

Hi everyone,
Just wondered if any current/past residents could share their experiences at Emerald Gardens in Fairywood?

I have read all of the previous threads, but they are mostly from 2007-2009. Just wanted an updated opinion!!!

Safe? Quiet? Any major complaints? Is maintenance better?

If you had to arrive home around midnight-1am from work some nights to the Emerald Gardens community (drive from 60/Steubenville Pike to Ingram Ave to W. Prospect Ave), would this be too unsafe?

I'm thinking about moving there soon with my husband but was just worried about the past history of the area.

Thanks!

[Uptown kid]

IMO Emerald Gardens is safe... Although their apartment buildings are probably trash; they were built in the time of Urban Renewal and their purpose was to house the majority black population of Westgate Village, and so the buildings probably have thin walls/sweeky floors/etc... Other than that, Emerald Gardens is probably fine.
Avoid the rest of Fairywood west of the park at night, that area is claimed by the Down Low Goonies set of the Westside Convicts and sometimes jitneys drivers get jacked at night.
*never a resident

[szug-bot]

i was never a resident, either. i think you should look around a bit. i do not have a favorable opinion of that apartment complex, and fairywood in general. i would never even consider it.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

i was never a resident, either. i think you should look around a bit. i do not have a favorable opinion of that apartment complex, and fairywood in general. i would never even consider it.

It might have been a one-year blip, but in 2010 (the crime data available in PGH SNAP), Fairywood had one of the lowest crime rates in the city.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

IMO Emerald Gardens is safe... Although their apartment buildings are probably trash; they were built in the time of Urban Renewal and their purpose was to house the majority black population of Westgate Village, and so the buildings probably have thin walls/sweeky floors/etc... Other than that, Emerald Gardens is probably fine.
Avoid the rest of Fairywood west of the park at night, that area is claimed by the Down Low Goonies set of the Westside Convicts and sometimes jitneys drivers get jacked at night.
*never a resident

Actually, that's not true. Westgate was all white when it opened. It became predominantly black because white tenants got tired of the crime spilling over from Broadhead. Working class blacks weren't exactly in a hurry to live there either, so the owners opened it up to Section 8 tenants, making it the equivalent of a housing project, though it remained a private development.

[Uptown kid]

[quote]Actually, that's not true. Westgate was all white when it opened. It became predominantly black because white tenants got tired of the crime spilling over from Broadhead. Working class blacks weren't exactly in a hurry to live there either, so the owners opened it up to Section 8 tenants, making it the equivalent of a housing project, though it remained a private development.[quote]
- Wow I stand corrected... OP nm what I stated about the conditions of the apartment buildings... Thanx Herodotus

[quote]It might have been a one-year blip, but in 2010 (the crime data available in PGH SNAP), Fairywood had one of the lowest crime rates in the city.[quote]

Shadyside, Oakland, Bloomfield, Mt. Washington & the Southside all have high crime rates, are they some of the most dangerous places in the city? Fairywood is in-between sketchy & ghetto; there's gang activity, yet there's rarely ever violence... IMO it isn't as bad as even part of Sheraden these days, but it's definitely worse than Uptown/Soho, East Dutchtown or Elliott. To me it's in the same category as parts of: South Oakland, West Oakland, Lower Hill, northetn East Liberty, "Columbia Park", Upper Manchester, and "HoodTown"

[Herodotus]

[quote=Uptown kid;26132804][quote]Actually, that's not true. Westgate was all white when it opened. It became predominantly black because white tenants got tired of the crime spilling over from Broadhead. Working class blacks weren't exactly in a hurry to live there either, so the owners opened it up to Section 8 tenants, making it the equivalent of a housing project, though it remained a private development.[quote]
- Wow I stand corrected... OP nm what I stated about the conditions of the apartment buildings... Thanx Herodotus

[quote]It might have been a one-year blip, but in 2010 (the crime data available in PGH SNAP), Fairywood had one of the lowest crime rates in the city.

Shadyside, Oakland, Bloomfield, Mt. Washington & the Southside all have high crime rates, are they some of the most dangerous places in the city? Fairywood is in-between sketchy & ghetto; there's gang activity, yet there's rarely ever violence... IMO it isn't as bad as even part of Sheraden these days, but it's definitely worse than Uptown/Soho, East Dutchtown or Elliott. To me it's in the same category as parts of: South Oakland, West Oakland, Lower Hill, northetn East Liberty, "Columbia Park", Upper Manchester, and "HoodTown"

Yeah. At this point, Fairywood only has a handful of residential blocks left. There are really not enough people left to make it a really dangerous area.