St Johns btwn Schnectady and Utica

My office is on St. Johns between Schenectady and Troy. Been there over eight years and I like it quite a bit. But then I'm not here after 5pm. I've never had a problem and the people in the neighborhood are very nice. Many of the stores on Utica are open late and Anthony's Grill on the corner of St. Johns and Utica seems pretty nice and a little upscale. There's also a police camera on the post on the corner of Utica and St. Johns.

Crap neighborhood. Schenectady is a gang prone/shooting prone/drug prone location (as is Troy Ave). The area is generally noisy, dirty, and crime ridden. Lots of less desireable neighbor types are out at all times of the night.

For a safe ride/walk home:

http://brooklynian.com/forum/brooklyn-and-beyond/free-safe-rides-home-for-women-transfolk-and-gender-queers

http://brooklynian.com/forum/park-slope/alert-sexual-attack-in-park-slope

Brooklyn Bike Patrol here... Even though you don't always see us, we are always on duty. Ladies, if you need an escort home, please don't hesitate to call us at 718-744-7592. You can see the faces of our volunteers on our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/brooklynBIKEpatrol. Our hours of operation are Sunday - Thursday 8pm - 12am, and Fridays-Saturdays 8pm - 3am. But if you need us outside our regular hours, please call ahead of time. We now cover 45 train stations. We service these areas, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Ft.Greene, Crown Heights, Sunset Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrance, Clinton Hill, Borough Park, Bushwick, Williamsburg, Bed-Sty and Carroll Gardens. We are dedicated to the safety of the women of Brooklyn.

Maggi-

Depending on things like how much you have to spend, and how far you are willing to ride the subway to get to Manhattan....

You may want to consider some of the further out neighborhoods that have less crime. The area around Brooklyn College comes to mind. Lots of apartments for pretty reasonable rates if you have a good credit rating.

...there are also large swaths of Queens that have lower crime rates, for about the same rent.

that street is very very busy. I lived in east flatbush, not too far from there and i don't know if i could live on that end of st johns.

You're right about that, MHA, although conversely it does set her up for a different sort of harassment (more pragmatic, if you will).

I believe he is describing the phenomena in which the resident knuckleheads like to show new people who share their hue that they are in charge.

The "logic" seems to be something like this: "I may not be as smart as you, or have as much education, or have ever had a job, BUT for the next 90 seconds I will intimidate you. Because -as a result of sharing my hue-, you make me angry, in a way that others don't. "

While your boyfriend is likely to get this BS in Crown Heights from other people who share his hue, I think it happens anytime an individual member of a socially constructed group is seen as exceeding the locally defined norms about what degree success should be achieved, or is even achievable.

I live 2 blocks from there and really like the neighborhood. I know my neighbors and everyone is really friendly and welcoming. My husband, our roommates and myself (all caucasian) walk home from the subway stop sometimes late at night and knock on wood haven't had any trouble. That said, like anywhere be alert and if you can take a car service after midnight or so, do it. A lot of te crime seems gang related so I don't feel like I am really a target and generally feel safe.

Forget the mace/pepper spray. I routinely carry a Smith and Wesson 5946 and a Glock 26 whenever I'm in that area.

This debate over white/black victim rates is a little silly. Far more white people are victimized in robberies, burglaries and grand larcenies (phone snatch). One of the reasons is not racial but instead a result of them having their heads up their ass. Newer residents (recent transplants from various fly-over states) leave their windows open or unlocked on fire escapes, they don't use existing security gates on the windows, walk around with their iphone glues to the side of their head, walk around staring at their iPhone or iPad screen, leave their purse on the back of the chair in a bar, the list goes on...Lock your doors, lock your windows, and PAY ATTENTION to what's going on around you.

BTW...lots of gunplay in that general area lately.

I believe Paraderest is describing the phenomena in which some resident newbies act as if a neighborhood is almost crime free, based on a combination of political correctness and naivete.

While a recent move from a fly-over state may provide an partial explanation, there seems to be more at play.

For example, I have the sense that some of the newbies seem to NOT lock their windows, put away their IPad2, and be aware of their surroundings because they feel doing so is somehow "racist".

This is a special subset of newbies; One which fails to see that the long term residents of the neighborhood (regardless of their hue) engage in every "safety habit" Paraderest describes.

As a result of believing that they can somehow change the world AND/OR simple naivete, the aforementioned newbies become easy prey for neighborhood's resident knuckleheads.

Take Away Message: While we all do not (...and should not) have to carry a Glock or Mace, there are a lot of basic things residents can do to reduce their risk.

While an ultra liberal arts education may have destroyed the ability of the aforementioned subset of newbies to listen to their gut, there is hope: They may still be able to learn valuable knowledge from long term residents, and feel virtually no guilt as a result of implementing it.

Perhaps the NYPD could create a updated version of Muggable Mary, complete with Ipad2 and Indiana University sweatshirt

maggi2521, oftentimes when someone asks about a specific neighborhood the people on here give the usual "walk around at all hours, it depends on where you're coming from, it's really a nice area if you put away your valuables, stay alert, and say hi to all your neighbors." I think people sometimes go a little far in talking up areas and aren't completely honest.

BUT in this case, you're not getting any of that. You're being told to find alternative options. Take that heavily into consideration.

While Glocks and Ipads without support are pretty effective, this podcast provides additional ways to deal with neighborhood crime:

Vera’s director, Michael Jacobson, talks to Robert J. Sampson, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University, about his long-term study of Chicago, in which he examined the relationship between neighborhood-level characteristics and crime rates. In neighborhoods where “collective efficacy”—the willingness of neighbors to join forces to combat social ills—is absent, Sampson found higher crime rates as well as lower levels of cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

Granted, these methods may be more long term in nature.

Source: http://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/vera/viewOnlineEmail.jsp?emailId=f36d511083a8b3b17573562dce721e7bfm598017f36

BTW, the area we are discussing has an youth organization that is working to stop the violence.

If you know a youth who would be interested in joining, recruitment efforts are presently underway for the 2012 - 2013 cadre.

Snazzy recruitment video: https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/cfs-ak-snc7/v/437585/733/315187601902182_63731.mp4?oh=585157f73f6df404e6e991169dcd1065&oe=4FDB6620&__gda__=1339778592_3dce8880a700b051161dfb8c8d7c6b8b

CTK - Oops, just noticed your above post from this morning was gummed up in the works so I released it.

And replaced the resulting hole with fresh gum. 8-[

*runs away