Crown Heights is SAFER than Prospect Heights...???

Carnivore wrote: I'm curious, CTK- did you report your bike or car stereo thefts to the police?

Cops happened to drive by as I was confronting the dude who stole my first bike... other than that no, these guys are out chasing drug dealers and murderers; I don't have theft insurance... other than for the sake of reporting I don't see the point. I know a bunch of people who got their radios stolen in the area who reported the crimes and they're still getting stolen.

The fact is, despite efforts to convince ourselves otherwise, outside of the *safe zones* west of Franklin CH is still a warzone and a slum. Its nowhere near as crazy as it used to be, but there are still drugs being sold and heinous violent crimes being committed. There are some great people here... I am cool with many of my neighbors, but there are great people everywhere. Can't wait to leave.

But yet the Hasidim isn't seen as "food".

Strange.

MeredithB wrote:

Easy targets being...people with money? White people? Tourists? Newcomers to the hood?

Just wondering.

It's been talked about time and time again on these boards about people not being aware of their surroundings, walking home late at night, drunk, talking on phone, listening to ipod, etc. These are targets. Maybe the new comers don't have the street smarts they need to but this isn't a race issue or a class issue.

People who steal really don't care if you're black or white, rich or poor, new to the hood or a long timer, if you have something they want and they think they can get it from you without getting caught and/or without a fight they will target you.

and what is the "alma realty zone"?

ah, thanks, whynot. are those apartments cheap/nice? i used to walk by them all the time.

ah, if they aren't cheap in terms of rent, i wouldn't be interested

i just got a huge 3br/2 bath on brooklyn av @ dean for $1995; laundry on-site; dishwasher; elevator building

i'm still a bit giddy

Cool The Kid wrote:

Living on a block where everyone works & pays their own rent in full makes a huge difference...

...I have been in Brooklyn since December of 2006 w/o incident. I move to Bergen + NYA and within months my car gets broken into and bikes get stolen. Granted, when I was out west I mainly parked in a garage and kept my bikes inside which prob made more of the difference...

Not to jump all in your ass, but I find it hard to believe that no one in the vicinity of Bergen and NYA works or pays their own rent in full. In fact, if you believe that the entire neighborhood is made up of folks who are receving some form of assistance from the government, you are quite simply an idiot. Conversely, if you think that all the twentysomethings in the Hospital complex are working full-time jobs and paying their own way without the support of roomates, lovers, parents, etc. you might be again be an idiot.

You were robbed because of choices you made. Its as simple as that. Look around you. Do your black neighbors leave bikes chained outside? No they do not. Why? Because someone might come along and take it. So, if a bike is chained to a lampost overnight, it means two things first, the owner isn't from around here and second, they don't care that someone may take their shit. Do your neighbors cars get broken into regularly? Why not? Because they remove all things of value from their cars when they leave, and if they have a really expensive car, they park it in a garage where someone can't throw a brick in the window and roll out with their shit.

Why on god's green earth, would you engage in behavior that would make your belongings less secure when you move, then blame your losses on the fact that "People over east don't fucking work man"?

Yeah, this ain't Kansas, but you're not Dorothy either. Stop clutching your pearls and complaining about the uncivilized masses. Recognize that there are other people around you who work just as hard and care about their stuff just as much as you do. As a matter of fact, go back over on the other side of Washington. You're giving folks over here a bad name.

homeowner wrote:

Not to jump all in your ass, but I find it hard to believe that no one in the vicinity of Bergen and NYA works or pays their own rent in full. In fact, if you believe that the entire neighborhood is made up of folks who are receving some form of assistance from the government, you are quite simply an idiot. Conversely, if you think that all the twentysomethings in the Hospital complex are working full-time jobs and paying their own way without the support of roomates, lovers, parents, etc. you might be again be an idiot.

You were robbed because of choices you made. Its as simple as that. Look around you. Do your black neighbors leave bikes chained outside? No they do not. Why? Because someone might come along and take it. So, if a bike is chained to a lampost overnight, it means two things first, the owner isn't from around here and second, they don't care that someone may take their shit. Do your neighbors cars get broken into regularly? Why not? Because they remove all things of value from their cars when they leave, and if they have a really expensive car, they park it in a garage where someone can't throw a brick in the window and roll out with their shit.

Why on god's green earth, would you engage in behavior that would make your belongings less secure when you move, then blame your losses on the fact that "People over east don't fucking work man"?

Yeah, this ain't Kansas, but you're not Dorothy either. Stop clutching your pearls and complaining about the uncivilized masses. Recognize that there are other people around you who work just as hard and care about their stuff just as much as you do. As a matter of fact, go back over on the other side of Washington. You're giving folks over here a bad name.

Obviously saying EVERYONE doesn't work is a ridiculous exaggeration. My upstairs neighbors work. My next door neighbors work etc. etc. But I doubt the ppl across the street I see smoking weed every day work. I doubt the chicks who sit around on the stoop a few buildings down bragging about how "we was robbin everybody" work.

And my upstairs neighbors' (yes, they are white women) bikes have been locked up by the outside stair case since I moved here in December. The only difference is they have old rusty bikes and my bike was a fairly new track bike.

As far as people's cars getting broken into on my block...

http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=49741&highlight=cars+broken

Believe me, when I get the chance I'm definitely moving out. Sorry to take such a shitty tone, but my experience here has just soured my views on Crown Heights (at least around Nostrand + east), and I think it's only right to let people know what it can really be like.

For anyone looking to move here, check it out during the summer + read up on the crime stats. Look around for local bars or w/e you do for fun and see if you can find anything here. Get a realistic assessment before you take the plunge. I wish I did.

He didn't say the people smoking weed were going to hurt him, he said he doubted that they were employed.