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Obviously we have gangs here in the 5 boroughs, especially in some of our toughest neighborhoods. Let's stipulate that right up front.
But how come gang life in NYC isn't at the intensity and size of gang life in Chicago or LA ( or maybe even some other cities)? We have all the same ingredients for gangs that they do--lots of guns, plenty of drug users, whole blocks full of poor, alienated kids, plus a nice mix of desperate immigrants looking to make a living (or a killing). In the past it seems that the city had lots more intense gang activity than it has now. And I'm not complaining about that. Really. But I am wondering.:
Are our plice better?
Has so much of the city been gentrified that there are fewer gang haunts?
Are gangs just small fries in the drug trade and thus lack power?
Or has a falloff in drug use made gangs less relevant?
Are there just more opportunities here for prospective gangbangers to go stragit?
Or is gang activity bigger than I think and just underreported by the local media?
Maybe its something else altogether. Anybody got a clue?
I think the local culture here in NYC just doesn't make itself a good breeding ground for gangs. New York is a lone wolf, individualistic kind of town where everybody is more concerned with "doing them" than "riding for their set". Most gangs started out as community-based organizations that sought to fight oppressive forces in their neighborhoods, but then were corrupted by the crack era, police infiltration, and a whole host of other factors.
Location: Formerly NYC by week; ATL by weekend...now Rio bi annually and ATL bi annually
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nykiddo718718
Chicago and L.A. gang activity = GREATLY EXAGGERATED.
Media driven fear mongering.
Are there problems, yes. Every major city in America, especially those with large immigrant populations has problems with gangs, more so in certain areas then others.
The vast majority of homicides in the USA period are over petty disputes which became escalated. Gang members may have been involved, but 9 out of 10 times it is over a stupid argument.
NYC's crime problems, along with those other cities mentioned, are end products due to a complicated collection of social issues stemming from poverty, discrimination, breakdown of the family structure, and segregation. Gangs are an afterthought, you won't solve that issue unless you go after the root cause.
I totally agree with the basis of your statement about the root causes of gang activity. But I have to ask if you are joking about your initial statement about LA & CHi Town being overly exagerrated?? I can tell you first hand that that staement is BS...No disrespect. Ill give you one example....Lets say a whole section of one hood is predominately Crip. Lets say Grape Steet. Even though they beef with the Latinos and Bloods, Crips beef with Crips. And they could be a close as the next block. This is undisputable fact And if you actually visit LA and go to the actual neighborhoods not just tourist areas, you will find this out firsthand. Like I said, everyone here should be grateful...
now the question is what to you do about the Wall Street rollin 60's?
The gangs in LA and Chicago have been around since the 60's and 70's while the gangs of NY that existed back then died out in the early 80's with the invention of hip hop and the selling of crack cocaine. PPl either wanted to express themselves through music, graffiti, or dancing or just make that money instead of fighting for stupid reasons. Back in the 60's and 70's NY was the gang capital of America but like I said the combo of hip hop forming here and organizing to sell crack pretty much killed off most of NY's gang culture.
Then in the 90's we had west coast style gangs moving into NY and they were really big back in like 05 I remember everyone was claiming to be Blood.
But the younger generation of kids don't find the old west coast gangs to be cool anymore talk to some of the young gangstas now they all just make up their own gangs it's the Yung Gunz movement.
The gangs in LA and Chicago have been around since the 60's and 70's while the gangs of NY that existed back then died out in the early 80's with the invention of hip hop and the selling of crack cocaine. PPl either wanted to express themselves through music, graffiti, or dancing or just make that money instead of fighting for stupid reasons. Back in the 60's and 70's NY was the gang capital of America but like I said the combo of hip hop forming here and organizing to sell crack pretty much killed off most of NY's gang culture.
Then in the 90's we had west coast style gangs moving into NY and they were really big back in like 05 I remember everyone was claiming to be Blood.
But the younger generation of kids don't find the old west coast gangs to be cool anymore talk to some of the young gangstas now they all just make up their own gangs it's the Yung Gunz movement.
Yea the person that spoke about LA and chicago gangs clearly just wants to hype up the hoods over there... It's pretty obvious... People forget the violence that took place in the city pre west coast gangs dating all the way back to the late 1800s... There have been periods in NYC's time when gangs were the norm and then died off until the next movement was formed... But some of the ugliest gangs in the history of this country were from this city and thankfully we no longer have to worry about gangs terrorizing these neighborhoods...
With chicago and LA it's pretty simple... Stay out of the blocks you know are owned by gangs, you're good to go... I know cause I have family that lives in the Puerto Rican area of Chicago and while parts of it are definitely worse than NYC... it's easier to avoid problems over there as well... Over here, you can be in the most expensive part of the city and get mugged or worse... We saw it with the chef who was killed in Riverdale for his iphone... Things like this aren't the norm but they're not completely random events either... That's the good and bad with this city... Because it is so densely populated, crime can happen anywhere in the city, at the same time, the density of this city doesn't allow for gangs to take over entire blocks or territories...
NYC is just altogether a different place. We have the world's best police force. We have a huge dedicated NYPD Gang Task Force that do not play games. We are also tied together with other agencies to combat crime. Our police force is also racially mixed. Our city in itself is a diverse city with many different nationalities and ethnic back rounds. We have a good reputation and strive to keep it. People in NYC come together when there is a crisis here. The city is open 24/7 and that will never change. I think that it's a combination of all reasons I've listed here are the reasons that this city is so nice that they had to name it twice . . . New York, NY.
Quote:
Originally Posted by citylove101
Obviously we have gangs here in the 5 boroughs, especially in some of our toughest neighborhoods. Let's stipulate that right up front.
But how come gang life in NYC isn't at the intensity and size of gang life in Chicago or LA ( or maybe even some other cities)? We have all the same ingredients for gangs that they do--lots of guns, plenty of drug users, whole blocks full of poor, alienated kids, plus a nice mix of desperate immigrants looking to make a living (or a killing). In the past it seems that the city had lots more intense gang activity than it has now. And I'm not complaining about that. Really. But I am wondering.:
Are our plice better?
Has so much of the city been gentrified that there are fewer gang haunts?
Are gangs just small fries in the drug trade and thus lack power?
Or has a falloff in drug use made gangs less relevant?
Are there just more opportunities here for prospective gangbangers to go stragit?
Or is gang activity bigger than I think and just underreported by the local media?
Maybe its something else altogether. Anybody got a clue?
This should not be taken as a jab, because I live here but growing up in another very dangerous city (New Orleans) and spending summers in Cali (Watts & Oakland) from the time I was 5 with family I can say that NYC is not as bad as the places stated earlier in the thread and everyone here should be happy. The fact that some of these cats are claiming cuz or blood out here is funny. And when you go to LA, those dudes laugh. The difference in the gang culture here in NYC and lets say LA has nothing to do with the density of habitants or what have you, that s##t is a way of life out there. They have been doin that for years in LA. Same with Vicelords, Gangster Disciples and Folk in Chicago. Its a totally different mentality. And believe you me, the residents of NYC are better off that these cats haven't adopted that mindset. Yeah, MS-13 and Latin Kings are here, but they are not the Bloods, Crips, VL's, GD's..ect. MS 13 is bad enough, they are everywhere...imagine them multiplied by 5,000 in the boroughs.....each block a different set and they always warring with each other. No comparison here...
Not glorifying it or anything, or takin a jab at NYC
I was just explaining this to someone today. Even during the crack era here in NYC when crime was high; people laughed at the notion of New Yorkers throwing signs, set tripping and fightin over colors. Most crews on the East Coast were preoccupied with strictly getting money or pulling vics (robberies). Other than that other "gangs" were mainly based out of certain areas and neighborhoods like Deceps and LoLife in Brooklyn.
When they started the Bloods here in NY, it was a copycat gang. No one from LA came over here and actually thought they would start that here, to them we had our own thing going on. They just chose a random, generic black gang name and rolled with it to fight the Latin Kings. So we have a gang presence, but the culture itself will never take on because its not tied to any kind of legacy or history like it is in Chicago or LA. The Kings were the only ones who were actually connected to their homebase. Ironically they do that reppin' the 5 or 6 nonsense, which is Chicago's People Nation and Folk Nation. And people swear its real because they kill over it, its not the first time we've killed each other over bulls***.
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