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No more than Brooklyn..so what's your point? Beautification and greening of the borough is happening, new housing, new businesses, new infrastructure, new services, new amenities are all streaming in. Change is already occuring...it's just that you are too busy staring at the graffitti on the off ramp while ignoring the new housing across the street, new trees, and new stores.
But graffiti is a tell tell sign of the neighborhood. Do you see graffiti in Riverdale? No. Do you see graffiti and a run down neighborhood when you cross the henry hudson bridge into the Bronx? No. Because when you cross the Bridge, you hit Riverdale. Riverdale is not known to have ghetto residents and it shows you drive by it. You can't say the same thing about the numerous Bronx access points because they pale in comparison.
Look at it this way, just like Rudy Giulliani's successful concept of replacing "broken windows" to give it the appearance or illusion that things are not out of control. Its all a mindset. People judge on appearances. So its fair for one to think and associate Projects, graffiti, R.I.P. murals, etc. with "hood" life. Something they prefer not to live around and I don't blame them. Clean up the eye sores in the Bronx and the perception will change for the better. Alot of it is cosmetic and a matter of sweeping the damn sidewalk and power washing/ painting over graffiti.
Yes I do see graffitti in Riverdale..kids are kids no matter how much money you have. Riverdale is not known to have ghetto residents or that element because it was never built for that purpose. With the exception of the housing projects by the Target mall..there are no low-income developments. This has nothing to do with anything special about the residents, it has to do with the city not building low income housing here.
But graffiti is a tell tell sign of the neighborhood. Do you see graffiti in Riverdale? No. Do you see graffiti and a run down neighborhood when you cross the henry hudson bridge into the Bronx? No. Because when you cross the Bridge, you hit Riverdale. Riverdale is not known to have ghetto residents and it shows you drive by it. You can't say the same thing about the numerous Bronx access points because they pale in comparison.
Look at it this way, just like Rudy Giulliani's successful concept of replacing "broken windows" to give it the appearance or illusion that things are not out of control. Its all a mindset. People judge on appearances. So its fair for one to think and associate Projects, graffiti, R.I.P. murals, etc. with "hood" life. Something they prefer not to live around and I don't blame them. Clean up the eye sores in the Bronx and the perception will change for the better. Alot of it is cosmetic and a matter of sweeping the damn sidewalk and power washing/ painting over graffiti.
The only problem with this is that Williamsburg is one of the dirtiest and most graffitied up neighborhoods in the whole city and nobody views it as ghetto or a sign of decay.The graffiti and filth there certainly haven't affected property values or the march of "gentrification".It's not of any better quality than the graffiti in The Bronx either but somehow the world is convinced that in Williamsburg it's art and that the trash on the streets is "edgy".
My Bronx neighborhood actually has substantially less graffiti and is much cleaner than Williamsburg, which was my old neighborhood.
Williamsburg and the Bronx are worlds apart.
For one, The Bronx has been stigmatized almost beyond repair.
A lot of people see the Bronx as almost entirely hood, - and sadly enough, the safety maps seem to corroborate that image- And that perception will not fade away so easily in people's minds. that's the main reason why the Bronx remains the cheapest boro.
Once the hood perception goes away, you will see the Bronx changing the way Brooklyn did.
till then it's gonna be a painfully gradual transition.
Williamsburg and the Bronx are worlds apart.
For one, The Bronx has been stigmatized almost beyond repair.
A lot of people see the Bronx as almost entirely hood, - and sadly enough, the safety maps seem to corroborate that image- And that perception will not fade away so easily in people's minds. that's the main reason why the Bronx remains the cheapest boro.
Once the hood perception goes away, you will see the Bronx changing the way Brooklyn did.
till then it's gonna be a painfully gradual transition.
Right,I agree.The graffiti and filth have little to do with it.
Yes Williamsburg and the Bronx are worlds apart...one is a small industrial neighborhood in Brooklyn with lackluster architecture at best and a whole lotta hype. The other is an entire borough...so you are definitely right..worlds apart!
I didn't realize the "hood" perception of Brooklyn left though...I mean it left a few neighborhoods..but Brooklyn as a whole has the most dangerous neighborhoods in NYC..East NY!
I don't doubt perception, but has nothing to do with reality. Brooklyn is also twice the size and population of the Bronx. But again...East NY far and away the most dangerous hood in all of NYC...and the Bronx and BK both have their share of that market...Brooklyn just has a better marketing machine.
But this isn't about BX v BK..so don't hijack the thread..let's stick to topic. And the fact remains..people never stopped recommending the borough...but it is now more appealing to a wider group of people.
For one, The Bronx has been stigmatized almost beyond repair.
A lot of people see the Bronx as almost entirely hood, - and sadly enough, the safety maps seem to corroborate that image- And that perception will not fade away so easily in people's minds. that's the main reason why the Bronx remains the cheapest boro.
Once the hood perception goes away, you will see the Bronx changing the way Brooklyn did.
till then it's gonna be a painfully gradual transition.
Given that there is a major problem with perceptions, you would think that someone in a position of power would start some kind of a campaign to try to change perceptions.It really wouldn't take much at all to launch an ad campaign highlighting the positive aspects of The Bronx and the different neighborhoods, the way different states promote themselves for tourism dollars.
Unfortunately,the elected BX representatives have nothing to gain and everything to lose by such a campaign so it will never happen.They have too much of a stake in keeping things the way they are and there would be a backlash by those worried about the possible "gentrification" that might be a result of such a campaign.
In my mind,The Bx's biggest hindrance to change is not graffiti or even the high crime neighborhoods.It's the elected officials.
Brooklyn is more dense than Bronx in population especially in high crime areas.
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