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When the baby in stroller at the zoo, was hit by that stray bullet fired from the near by neighborhood. NOBODY I knew was laughing at the "summer of violence". The vast majority of people in Denver at that time, were feed up with the situation. Which is what prompted the Governor and the state legislature to get involved.
Here is some more facts that apparently some people here would like to forget about:
BY THE NUMBERS
10th: Where Colorado ranked for violent juvenile crime in the nation in 1993, according to one study.
1: Number of handguns the Denver Police Gang Unit was confiscating from gang members per day at the height of the violence in the summer of 1993.
15: Number of gang-related assaults per day in May and July of 1993.
Livecontent would you compare Buffalo and Denver having lived in both. I go to both and Buffalo has much prettier buildings, much cheaper real estate but higher property taxes. Buffalo has to be worse in the winter but I care more about summer. Buffalo has lots less traffic and more crime.
What's your opinion? or anyone who has been to both.
Livecontent would you compare Buffalo and Denver having lived in both. I go to both and Buffalo has much prettier buildings, much cheaper real estate but higher property taxes. Buffalo has to be worse in the winter but I care more about summer. Buffalo has lots less traffic and more crime.
What's your opinion? or anyone who has been to both.
First, I want to state that I left the Buffalo area, over 40 years ago. I have been back a few times, over the years. All my siblings, my parents all moved to the Denver area, about 25-35 years ago. We all moved as adults.
Buffalo had severe economic and social problems when I left. I grew up, just across the city line, on the east side of Buffalo, in Cheektowaga.That was, and still is, the worse area of Buffalo. After, I returned from the Army, my parents built a new home, near Depew/Lancaster, off Coma Park Blvd.--a much better area.
The area of Buffalo, near where I lived was a real ghetto and now you see even more decayed and abandoned homes. Now, the area is much worse for crime, moving into Cheektowaga. The whole metro area has deteriorated further in those years. Population has continued to decline, jobs are lost, and there is still the big problem of ethnic tension, more crime in the past and now.
Buffalo does have less traffic because it has now substantially less population with highways built for more people. What it never had was a good public transportation system that included the suburbs. Growing up in Cheektowaga, there were only a few buses going into the city and nothing else; taking the Sycamore Bus from the Thruway Plaza, through the Fruit Belt, to Downtown Buffalo was a frightening experience for a young boy. Denver had a better transportation system, even in the earlier years, that went farther out from the city center and I never had the bad experience on public transit like Buffalo. Now Denver has the wealth to built a large modern public transit; Buffalo has no money and stopped all development.
The Buildings in Buffalo are certainly attractive from an historical period because the city is much older. However, it does not have the money to maintain and develop these fantastic buildings. I remember the Train Depot, near the Broadway Market, and now it is decayed mess. Denver has the money and is redeveloping all the parts of the city; is renewing and renovating many historic structures, including a huge project with Union Station. Denver is what Buffalo should have become and Buffalo had much more advantages to start.
What Western New York has is the wonderful fertile land, water bodies and beautiful small towns all around the region. That is much better than the Denver region which sits on semi-arid grasslands with towns that do not have the same good characteristics of towns in WNY. I miss those areas in Western New York, not the City of Buffalo.
Yes, real estate is much cheaper and better, being more fertile in the outlying areas. Real Estate in the City may be cheap but is many times in or near a very decayed area. For an area needs a good core city and Buffalo fails that purpose. A big issue is the bad ethnic problems, as I mentioned. Denver does not have and never had that bad level of conflict between different groups.
I do not understand how the taxes could be so high and that is a severe issue. It appears the infrastructure of the city and the nearby towns, like Cheektowaga, are deteriorating and more money is needed to built, for example, new sewers.
I think Western New York is a wonderful place to live. The snow and the weather is not the big issue. Many places have thrived with the same severe weather. After all, the moisture is what makes the land green and fertile. The summers are indeed nice and I have wonderful memories. The City of Buffalo with their political corruption; their stupidity in thinking a sports store will renovate the waterfront; their obscene obsession with providing well needed funds to support a football team--there are just too many problems. The City of Buffalo must come to the conclusion that it is not a major city and will never be one again. It should try to be a well managed small city and really needs to bulldoze large tracts of decayed housing, covert the area to open space, and take it off the city property rolls and maintain a smaller presence of good services.
I feel if I never left Buffalo--I would have been happy, probably in a smaller town in WNY--I always wanted to move to East Aurora. Now, I will not return because this area is now my home, for better than Western New York, and worse than Western New York; but the City of Denver is much better than Buffalo. Arvada, the close in suburbs to Denver, where I now live is so much more appealing than Cheektowaga. It has more parks and well maintained water bodies. I remember the creeks in Cheektowa where filled with garbage; there were no trails developed and no open space. Arvada, because water is rare, develops parks and trails along the waterways with more open space.
Cheektowaga is deteriorating because as a old close in suburbs, it is near a decaying Buffalo. Arvada is thriving because the old areas of North/Northwest Denver are being renewed, as all neighborhoods of Denver, and North Denver is now considered the "in" place to live. Denver is building the biggest expansion of public transportation in the nation. A station will be 1/3 miles from my home. So, the choice of living a better life in much better in Arvada than Cheetowaga.
Livecontent
Last edited by livecontent; 09-23-2010 at 09:56 PM..
Thanks - I knew you'd put some effort into this. All the economic stuff is true- but for someone who hates traffic and loves old buildings -its a tough choice.
I've lived in Denver for a year 1/2, and Denver is very tame. It seems like most of the gangsters are posers. I lived near "Five Points" (On Glenarm/25th), and never once did I feel even remotely unsafe or like the neighborhood was rough of sketchy. Never once did my car get vandalized or broken into, and never did I worry that it would. Police presence was maybe SLIGHTLY more noticeable, but thats about it.
Now I live two blocks off of Colfax/Peoria right by the medical campus. This area is considerably rougher but I still never feel unsafe. I wouldn't go out walking alone at night too much here, but it would still be a surprise to encounter anything.
Most of the gangsters in Denver are hispanic, and most of them just seem like posers trying to imitate the west coast.
I've lived in Denver for a year 1/2, and Denver is very tame. It seems like most of the gangsters are posers. I lived near "Five Points" (On Glenarm/25th), and never once did I feel even remotely unsafe or like the neighborhood was rough of sketchy. Never once did my car get vandalized or broken into, and never did I worry that it would. Police presence was maybe SLIGHTLY more noticeable, but thats about it.
Now I live two blocks off of Colfax/Peoria right by the medical campus. This area is considerably rougher but I still never feel unsafe. I wouldn't go out walking alone at night too much here, but it would still be a surprise to encounter anything.
Most of the gangsters in Denver are hispanic, and most of them just seem like posers trying to imitate the west coast.
I knew people that lived in Five Points and they had problems with burglaries. This was in 2007, it could be different now. As far as homicides and drug dealing, I think that was more prevalent in that area in the 90's and is now much better or has moved further east and northeast toward Park Hill and the neighborhoods around MLK & Colorado Blvd. I used to take the light rail to the 'end of the line' on Welton and at night it was a little sketchy with some shady characters hanging around the stop.
I disagree with the statement that much of Aurora could be considered Ghetto. There are some questionable areas, but overall there's nothing bad. I'm a "small-town farm boy" from the midwest, and I have yet to see anything in Aurora or any of the Denver metro that would scare me.
Aurora is not a Ghetto in the reals ense of the word.. But it sure as Hell is Ghetto like.. I lived there for quite a few years and every time I am back in town it seems to get much worse...
The area my Mom had her house in I will not even go in that neighborhood day or night...
And how often do you go out and about in the neighborhoods....
This is nonsense and big exaggeration of the situations and conditions in five points in the 1990s. Five Points was never a "big time classic ghetto". It was never that years past and certainly not in 1990s. Having been to that area many times over many years, I have not seen that. I grew up in the east coast and lived in NYC and Five Points never equaled a big time ghetto.
You are blowing up issues and doubt very seriously, from your posts, that you had that much experience in Denver. You have lived here a few years; not anywhere near this area of the city; and you have not lived here for over 20 years. Enough Said. Please take your tales and your tail someplace else.
Livecontent
I lived in The Denver area for over 30 years.. In the 1970's Five Points was a place you did not want to be at night and sometimes not during the day... I was doing work at a small family owned company there and when it bacame close to dusk the owner said let's go we don't want to be here after dark.. He locked up and told us to get going and he left...
So DO NOT tell me Five Points has NEVER been Ghetto or Ghetto like....
There are no "projects" on east Colfax to hang around.
None of the areas you mentioned are unsafe. I find it strange that someone who does not live in these areas feels capable of commenting with regard to police cooperation levels and comfortable labeling the mentality of the residents. Bravo.
Stop watching television and actually visit these areas. Don't worry, you won't have to hide your "whiteness" or avoid wearing red and blue. This is not Ciudad Juarez for ****s sake.
Ah maybe not now but there used to be Projects on East Colfax not far from Capital Hill....
And if anyone wants to talk violent or very rough areas, south of 13th Street near the Tivoli Center used to be someplace you did not go after dark..Period....
I find it amazing that people say Denver does not have any Ghettos and no place is bad.. Now in the true sense of the word Ghetto, Denver does not really have any of these..They probably no longer have the Projects they used to have.. BUT in most people's mind Ghetto means a place that is dirty, low income, has gangs and less educated people and drugs.. Well I am sorry to say EVERY city or town has those.. Denver included....
Commerce City may not be a Ghetto, but I would not want to live there or move from somewhere else and live there...Most of northern Aurora is not a great place to live.. Drugs, gangs, stupidity....Meth is a big problem in the Denver area....
And Montebello used to be the bad part of Aurora..Is seems to be getting a bit better and Green Valley Ranch was touted as a nice place to live when it opened 20 some years ago but it too is now not that great.....
I have lived all over the US and have found crappy areas and nice areas everywhere I lived.. So do not tout Denver as the most Magical Place on earth.. Disney still holds that patent....
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