Why this image of NYC as a crime ridden cesspool?

[dfuze]

I've been to NY many times over the last 10+ years at many different times of the day and night, and have never felt unsafe. I agree with those saying residual image.

 

[slackerinabox]

You guys might fall over each other with pleasantries in your every day encounters...but get you on the phone when you aren't happy about something....

uhg

OK, I will admit that (prior to marrying into mid-west/southern life), I would automatically assume that the person on the other end of the phone isn't qualified to give me advice on anything but farming if they had a certain accent... It's a completely incorrect mindset, and I'm trying to be more patient with people who don't operate at the same speed. I mean, it takes forever to check out in a midwestern super market! They bombard you with pleasantries and try to strike up a conversation, when I just want to go home...

 

[slackerinabox]

It's hard to generalize in any way about New Yorkers, even in a good way, but your view of New Yorkers fits a bit better than the stereotypical rude New Yorker image.

Wasn't there some recent study that showed the happiest and most depressed places in America? If I remember correctly, New York was pretty low on the happiness scale, probably because it's so dependent on the economy of the country and even the world.

The NY Times, obviously biased, dissected that survey and had some interesting points - New York is the destination for strivers - people who want more out of life and come here for better. Some people get that, most do not. Most are continually in transition, which does not lend well to "happiness," but makes NYC an interesting place. Others might be happy, or content with putting on a happy face. Also, if you're in some town of 500 people and have no desire to leave, there may be a certain lack of ambition there. People who lack ambition are among the happiest people in the world.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Any big city will have lot of crime and be quite scary. Toronto is probably one of the worse ones here in Canada. I'm usually not scared of that stuff, but no way would I want to be walking alone down town Toronto. Criminals smuggle guns from the US and just go on a drive by shooting spree just for fun.

LOL...Scarlem, maybe. I take it you've probably never walked along Hastings St. in Vancouver - that's pretty unnerving.

In general though, I feel pretty safe walking around Vancouver. I was in Seattle last week for a couple days and I actually found it to be even safer and friendlier.

 

[Vonkhan]

Crooklyn

If you want to see the grittier side of NYC, go to Bushwick (in Brooklyn) or East New York ... it's alive and well.

Manhattan is safer than ever

 

[Saint Nick]

Ha - my in laws live there (and extend into Missouri). I was there during the big Christmas snow storm, a bowl would have been a nice escape! Not that I know anything about the geography, but I guess they're near the Walmart on Blondo

Also, there's this strange hole in the wall (on a college campus?) Soul Food joint that's AWESOME

Shit man! Next time you're here let me know! Also, any idea what the name of the place was called? Wal-Mart on Blondo? There isn't such a thing...I'm wondering if you were around Creighton!

 

[slackerinabox]

Crooklyn

If you want to see the grittier side of NYC, go to Bushwick (in Brooklyn) or East New York ... it's alive and well.

Manhattan is safer than ever

HA! I bought a house in Bushwick, it's basically turning into Williamsburg Jr. (gritty as a backdrop, with cafes and art galleries in the foreground. My neighborhood's completely safe, and has mostly immigrant families (I absolutely love immigrant NYC vs. Madison Ave old money NYC). But, yeah, I've seen the shady parts as well, living in Bed Stuy and visiting East New York.

 

[slackerinabox]

Shit man! Next time you're here let me know...!

Of course, there's a whole cool indie rock side to Omaha (you know, Saddle Creek records/Bright Eyes) that I have yet to see, I could use some pointers the next time I'm there!

Edit: Just saw your edit. We were near.. 127th circle and blondo? Seems like a nice middle class neighborhood, but I don't really know a thing about it... Landmarks.. Hmmm.... We ate at the mattress factory a lot, but that was a good 15 minute drive

 

[Kntx]

Any big city will have lot of crime and be quite scary. Toronto is probably one of the worse ones here in Canada. I'm usually not scared of that stuff, but no way would I want to be walking alone down town Toronto. Criminals smuggle guns from the US and just go on a drive by shooting spree just for fun.

lol... where did you come up with these crazy ideas?

 

[mshan]

Post 9/11 funding from government probably puts a lot of cops on the streets.

 

[slackerinabox]

lol... where did you come up with these crazy ideas?

Not to discredit Red Squirrel at all, but I do really like Canada. I haven't seen much of anything to be afraid of in Toronto, but Montreal in particular's a lot like what I'd imagine NYC to be if the French were still relevant here.

 

[Scouzer]

Any big city will have lot of crime and be quite scary. Toronto is probably one of the worse ones here in Canada. I'm usually not scared of that stuff, but no way would I want to be walking alone down town Toronto. Criminals smuggle guns from the US and just go on a drive by shooting spree just for fun.

Are you kidding? Toronto has a very low crime rate for a city of its size. I'd like to see you try walking around the hood in Winnipeg at night!

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Surprisingly enough, in a recent crime survey which I saw probably a month or two ago (perhaps on these very forums!), NYC actually rated quite favorably in comparison to other major cities. Now Killadelphia...hoo boy...

You still couldn't pay me enough to live in NYC, however.

 

[SportSC4]

It's funny (well, not really)... I was listening to the radio on my way to work this morning and they said that if NYC had Baltimore's homicide rate, they would be around 3100 homicides for the year.
For those interested, NYC had 461 and Baltimore had 238.

 

[Red Squirrel]

LOL...Scarlem, maybe. I take it you've probably never walked along Hastings St. in Vancouver - that's pretty unnerving.

In general though, I feel pretty safe walking around Vancouver. I was in Seattle last week for a couple days and I actually found it to be even safer and friendlier.

Yeah I can imagine Vancouver being pretty bad too, never been in that part of Canada but would love to visit one of these days, I heart they have insanely huge trees, would be cool to see. Then there's the other side, halifax, it is actually quite friendly there, at least the part I was in (harbor area).

 

[Corporate Thug]

weeeeeesssstttt siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddddeeeee!

 

[K1052]

Manhattan may be a lot cleaner/less crime but the surrounding metro area seems about the same to me. The same can be said of Chicago. Visit downtown Chicago today, the streets are clean, no bums, no trash, no hoods standing in dark alleys - the surrounding metro though, it's about the same. The dirty, gritty downtown from years past is gone.

Always fun to watch tourists taking the train from O'Hare to downtown, you go through some rough areas. Whenever those doors open you see the tourists squirm a little further until they're at the back of the train.

There isn't anything on the O'Hare branch that I'd even rate as dangerous. The stations themselves can be somewhat foreboding (like the dark crypts that are Grand and Chicago) because of a lack of maintenance.

Take a trip down the Green Line to the south side if you really want some rough scenery.

 

[PricklyPete]

I grew up near NY (Ridgefield, CT) with my dad working in the city...I never thought of NYC being all that dangerous...at least no more than any other large city.

 

[zinfamous]

OP must not have been around for the 70's and 80's.

...also the 20's-40's.

such long-lasting stereotypes are tough to overcome.

 

[Colt45]

1980's + crack epidemic / media

stuff like that kinda sticks around in people's memory.

 

[yllus]

Any big city will have lot of crime and be quite scary. Toronto is probably one of the worse ones here in Canada. I'm usually not scared of that stuff, but no way would I want to be walking alone down town Toronto. Criminals smuggle guns from the US and just go on a drive by shooting spree just for fun.

You're either the amongst the world's biggest wimps, or are one of those people who think they're "in the know" about downtown but have actually never done much more than shop in the Eaton Centre and then head straight home.

I've gone to university in downtown Toronto from 1999 - 2005 and have both worked and lived in the very heart of downtown from 2005 onwards. I've never once run into any trouble that made me fear for my personal safety. You might want to let all of the thousands of clubgoing guys and girls who empty onto the streets at 2 AM nearly every weekday that their lives are constantly in danger.

 

[darkxshade]

http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map?ref=nyregion


Keep in mind that for a city with a population of 15 million, those are pretty good numbers. Also check out the trend, 390 for 2009 is really good.

 

[dullard]

You are correct that NYC is low in crime and that Detroit/Omaha are high in crime, NOW. City by city rankings. But as others have said, that wasn't always the case. Look at the 1970-1990 stretch in NYC.

 

[squirrel dog]

nyc , just to much in too small a place.

 

[zinfamous]

Any big city will have lot of crime and be quite scary. Toronto is probably one of the worse ones here in Canada. I'm usually not scared of that stuff, but no way would I want to be walking alone down town Toronto. Criminals smuggle guns from the US and just go on a drive by shooting spree just for fun.

I keep thinking you can't possibly be more inexperienced, sheltered, and plain ignorant than I already think you are, but here's yet another comment proving me wrong.