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With all the talk of transplants here, just thought I'd get some reactions to this recent NYT story, which I can't quite decide if I find hopeful, sad, or some of both. Basic idea: four young Brooklyn college graduates, musicians from Brownsville, Virginia, and Chicago, move into a Bed-Stuy apartment. They're the type of kids who meet up in the Apple all the time, hoping for that big break. Turns out its a really BAD part of Bed-Suy, however, and they get beat up and ripped off, eventually hightailing it out to points unknown.
So is this type of thing typical, you think? Were they just mildly naive, or willfully ignorant? You file this thing under 'Why hipster transplants don't need to be in Brooklyn' or under "Why doesn't the city really crack down on crime in poor neighborhoods"? Or both?
This article, or rather this type of thing, happened alot more in prior decades than now. This has happened many times before, and the reason why hundreds of thousands of NATIVE NYers fled in the 60s-90s...it is not unique to transplants or anything new for that matter.
In fact this is something that happens rarely, which is why it made news...it's a great story. However you could have probably run a story like that at least once a week in the 70s, with transplants and natives.
It's not ignorant...I take it you have never had a challenge/obstacle in your life that you did not try to overcome? They are looking past this, and focusing on their goal and trying again. This experience will make them wiser, smarter, more alert, and probably more determined in achieving their goals....all the ingredients needed to succeed and become a true NYer.
It's not ignorant...I take it you have never had a challenge/obstacle in your life that you did not try to overcome? They are looking past this, and focusing on their goal and trying again. This experience will make them wiser, smarter, more alert, and probably more determined in achieving their goals....all the ingredients needed to succeed and become a true NYer.
I wish them luck...
Of course I have. But don't forget the only reason they are all telling the story is because they were saved by the police.
So is this type of thing typical, you think? Were they just mildly naive, or willfully ignorant? You file this thing under 'Why hipster transplants don't need to be in Brooklyn' or under "Why doesn't the city really crack down on crime in poor neighborhoods"? Or both?
Just curious. What are your thoughts?
This is what happens when your personality does not match the neighborhood. This kids were NOT the thug/tough guys so they had a bulleye on their heads as potential victims. NYT stated that "The band members had previously lived in the environs of Brooklyn College and considered themselves streetwise." I believe they over-estimated their street smarts. Although, the guy from Brownsville should have know better. There are some neighborhoods that i would not move in to since i know that i would not fit in.
Last edited by Mr. Klato; 07-19-2011 at 10:14 AM..
I'm sorry, but I couldn't help chuckling. I found their naivete (polite for "stupidity") quite amusing. "It's cool [here], there's a lot of cultural pride," one of them said. Ha ha ha ha ha!
These kids were extremely lucky. If the police hadn't shown up they all might be dead and missing while their grief-stricken parents put up posters in the neighborhood asking for information.
Certainly, one should research any neighborhood you are moving into. A relatively safe neighborhood that is "transitional" can look identical to a neighborhood that is downright dangerous. You pay more for a safe neighborhood but as the story emphasizes its clearly worth it. Heck, even established neighborhoods can be dangerous. I live in Chelsea and one of the residents in my building was mugged on our elevator last year.
It doesn't sound like they left and gave up, which is uplifting. I hope their luck improves and have learned from this. Don't judge too much, keep in mind they are young kids -- they don't know what we crusty people know.
There are REASONS some parts of the City are hideously expensive and some are not...and it doesn't have much to do with the quality of the housing stock.
Areas that are unsafe are cheaper. The odds of a mugging, robbery, rape might be small but you pay dearly to cut the odds from 1 in a hundred to 1 in a thousand.
This is universal to the entire country.
So I would say the case history has 4 guys who were ignorant, not willfully, but ignorant nevertheless of the probability that they would suffer in the neighborhood they choose. It's a thing that only experience or some excellent advice can circumvent.
These guys will be the ones to tell anyone they meet DON'T MOVE TO BED-STUY! Someone who hears their warning, born of their experience, but doesn't heed it would then be WILLFULLY ignorant.
Last edited by Kefir King; 07-20-2011 at 07:37 AM..
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