Violence near Park Place and Nostrand/New York Ave

binatang

I've lived at Park Place and New York for two years now. I'm a woman in my twenties, and I come and go by subway at all hours of the night - 2am, 3am, 4am. I have never witnessed any violence of any kind. I have never been harassed, threatened, or intimidated. I have never heard gun shots.

I don't get it. People post about crimes within a couple blocks of here all the time. How is it possible I've never seen or heard any evidence of it?

flo

I tend to read newspapers or books or talk to other people in order to get information that's outside of my own experience, but that's probably just me.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/04/26/2009-04-26_another_young_man_is_dead_in_brooklyn__the_rise_and_fall_of_a_superhero.html

cool the kid

Oh shit goes down. Fortunately for gentrifiers it's usually not a random victim but more someone involved in a beef or w/e. Still I don't like the idea of living in a place where murder is a normal thing.

whatchuwant

2 years= not long enough.

But whatever- you just haven't been at that place at that time. It's not like people are making this shit up.

homeowner

Well, if you live along NY Ave and your primary route to the subway is that street, I can completely see how you miss a lot of the craziness. NY is almost 100% residential and the few businesses that are on it (schools and Dr's offices mostly) don't attract folks hanging out at all hours of the day and night. Similarly, Brooklyn Ave is also a comparatively quiet block with the exception of the area around Brower Park during certain times of the day and year.

Nostrand is a completely different story. Several corners on Nostrand have serious drug activity complete with large groups of young guys and girls hanging out from early afternoon until the very wee hours of the morning. There are also a couple of after-hours clubs/bars that are open on Saturday nights/Sunday mornings, making for some interesting weekend activity on Nostrand as well.

The difference on some streets is striking, with some neighbors having experiences like yours and others having to put up with double parked cars blasting music, fights, gunplay etc. I like my block, and frankly if I lived 50 or 60 yards further away from the Nostrand end of the block I'd probably feel similar to the way that you do. Unfortunately, I don't so I have to deal with the drama.

As for your personal safety, very little of the drama is focused on strangers, so its no surprise to me that you walk the streets unmolested. 90% of the stuff I've seen has been arguements between friends, lovers, or as part of transactions. In point of fact, I worry very little about my personal safety in that way, but I do worry that a stray bullet may fly through one of my windows again like one did four years ago, or that my kids may be injured on their way to or from school, the store, or a friend's house. That's my reality.

whatchuwant

Also, you know- I've said this before. If you carry yourself a certain way, people who are likely to mess with a stranger aren't going to mess with the person who looks like they know what's up. If you walk around looking around like you don't belong, then people will smell you a mile away. Conversely, if you walk like it's "your hood too," I think people sense that as well and are more apt to leave a neighbor alone.

You may not realize it, but your long time neighbors know who you are. Hopefully you're making friends with the people you see every day on the street. They're the ones who'll protect you if shit ever goes down.

I've lived here for over 10 years now- I've never had an "incident" such as the ones you may have read here. I've heard gunshots. You may have heard them too and not thought they were gunshots as they don't make the same sound they do in the movies.

binatang

homeowner - I always walk on Nostrand after dark because I prefer to be on a busy street. I come from the A train or the 2/3 with equal frequency, so I'm familiar with the clubs at the north end of Nostrand. I'm also familiar with the groups of kids hanging out on the corner of Nostrand and Park. That's the reason I posted - I just discovered this board a few days ago and reading through the archives I came across numerous references to that corner. I walk through that crowd all the time without a second thought.

I don't doubt the veracity of what's posted here (whatchuwant), and I have looked at crime stats of the neighborhood (flo). I haven't followed local crime reports, but I guess I assumed anything major would show up in the nyt.

I do have to deal with cars blasting music right outside my apartment, but I accept that as part of city living. It may not always be pleasant, but if I wanted total quiet I would live in the suburbs. I love big cities, especially in Asia and the Middle East because so much communal life takes place in the street.

won't ub my nabor

If you carry yourself a certain way, people who are likely to mess with a stranger aren't going to mess with the person who looks like they know what's up. If you walk around looking around like you don't belong, then people will smell you a mile away. Conversely, if you walk like it's "your hood too," I think people sense that as well and are more apt to leave a neighbor alone.

That is one million percent true. Don't want to get overly academic on this, but "respect" is a big thing in the hood. (Hence the proliferation of the term "dis" from "disrespect"). You get more respect if you come from the same hood (or building or set, etc.) as someone else, and are less likely to get "violated." Unfortunately, outsiders are not due the same level of respect unless it is earned. It has noble underpinnings - it just gets taken too far. It's like gentility meets chivalry meets xenophobia meets the hood.

Personally, I don't feel that many of these knuckleheads warrant the level of respect that they demand from the rest of the world. I like the stoop culture, but I hate loud, unadulterated ignorance. I particularly hate walking on Park and Prospect near Nostrand. I've "told people about themselves" on select occasions, but most of the time I opt to walk down the quieter streets to avoid the whole scene.

cool the kid

The price point apartments go for here doesn't warrant the psychological warfare that has to be endured to live here. I can't wait to leave this block.

flo

binatang wrote: homeowner - I always walk on Nostrand after dark because I prefer to be on a busy street. I come from the A train or the 2/3 with equal frequency, so I'm familiar with the clubs at the north end of Nostrand. I'm also familiar with the groups of kids hanging out on the corner of Nostrand and Park. That's the reason I posted - I just discovered this board a few days ago and reading through the archives I came across numerous references to that corner. I walk through that crowd all the time without a second thought.

Bina- I feel the same, generally about busy streets. Safety in numbers. Though I was once the victim of random violence in the neighborhood and was quite paranoid in the weeks and months directly following the incident, for the most part, I don't think about crime on a daily basis or worry too much about my personal safety. I liked the Errol Louis piece I linked to because it seemed so heartfelt.

I don't know anything about the specific kids you pass on your daily journeys, so I can't comment about that.

cool the kid

Flo wrote:
Though I was once the victim of random violence in the neighborhood and was quite paranoid in the weeks and months directly following the incident, for the most part, I don't think about crime on a daily basis or worry too much about my personal safety.

What happened

flo

Cool-

I was either suckerpunched on the side of the head or struck in the head with something. I never saw exactly what hit me and I didn't see it coming, just the people who perpetrated it running away and laughing when I got my head up and my wits back. This wasn't a robbery--just a random assault. But that was a couple of years ago now.