After Three Strikes, Is Recent Bed-Stuy Arrival Out?
Writer Douglass Rushkoff made headlines last December when he announced in a blog post that he and his family were leaving Brooklyn after he was mugged on Christmas Eve outside his Park Slope apartment. While many people thought the response was an overreaction, getting mugged is a traumatic experience against which the rationality of statistics…
Writer Douglass Rushkoff made headlines last December when he announced in a blog post that he and his family were leaving Brooklyn after he was mugged on Christmas Eve outside his Park Slope apartment. While many people thought the response was an overreaction, getting mugged is a traumatic experience against which the rationality of statistics are of little comfort. Now another blogger is questioning whether he should stay in his neighborhood after having been mugged on Monday night for the third time in as many years. After five years in London and one on the Upper West Side, blogger Eating for Brooklyn scraped together enough dough for a down payment on browntone fixer-upper in Bed Stuy in 2003 only to get a rather jarring reception:
By the time we unloaded the last box from the rental truck, it was 1am. 1am and raining. The asphalt was shiny and slick and the street lights reflected yellow, red and green. Our block had the feeling of a movie set. It was picture perfect. Just as we closed the door to the truck with a thump, a passerby turned around and held us up. He ripped through my pockets frantically searching for cash. And I stupidly had $500.00 in my front pocket. I slipped a few singles off the wad of dough and gave it to him. He started walking away and came back with a vengeance as if the few singles I had given him were like spitting in his face. He ransacked my pockets again. Nothing. He never found the $500.00. Picture perfect and no one around.
We felt nothing but horror and panic later that night as we searched out the safest corner of the house to sleep — the fourth floor front room overlooking the top of the sycamore tree. With our sleeping bags on pine floors, our hearts pounded and kept us up all night. We had spent our life savings only to be held up at gunpoint. We felt we had been had.
All was quiet until February 2006 when the writer was pummelled in the head by a gang of teenagers; then on this past Monday night he was mugged again a block from his house.
I feel paralyzed. The rational voice says “Leave now.” The voice of fantasy says “Stick it out. It’ll be worth it in the long run.” Maybe I was stupid for not having left three and half years ago. With the neighborhood in transition and deep into renovation and debt, what would you do?
Well, what would you do?
3 Muggings in 3 Years, What Would You Do? [Eating for Brooklyn]
Anna – your statistical analysis is incorrect – if you compare Bed-Stuy (which is the 79 and 81 precincts) you are talking about a population of approx 142,000 and YTD they had 6 homicides and 234 Robberies. Compare that to Brooklyn Heights, Red Hook, Park Slope, Boreum Hill, Sunset Park, Dumbo, Downtown, Cobble Hill and Carrol Gardens (which is made up of the 84, 76, 78 and 72 precincts) which combined has a population of approx 266,000 and has YTD – ZERO homicides and 228 robberies. Clearly any way you look at the statistical evidence, you are more likely to be robbed or killed in Bed-Stuy then the other nabes mentioned. Again it doesn’t make Bed-Stuy=”unsafe” (which is a subjective term) just means that statistically (probably the best – albeit somewhat flawed method to analysis) Bed-Stuy residents are more likely to be victimized by crime then many other neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
Reality Bites,….What’s that I smell?….BIGOTRY…Unsafe for who? There are PLENTY of people of all races who live South of Flatbush Ave that feel safe and go about their affairs in peace.
Your comments are the equivalent of some one saying that the East river is the great divide! Between predominatley Rich and White in Manhattan and the predominatelty poor and Black in Brooklyn.
Keep it Real; Trying to look down your nose at others when you’re in the small bowl is unbecoming
I moved to Bed Stuy in 2002. (today it is Clinton Hill) I bought the house because it was big and beautiful and close to the train. If I had any amount of money my first choice would have been South Portland. But I also liked it here. Needless to say you can’t move someplace you hate.. but it is rational to choose to move a few blocks this way or that to get a home you love.
There are other (many) BK Neib’s that I like too, but I would NOT prefer to live in Park Slope.
The running theory of Sloper’s seems to be that EVERYONE (all white people) really deep down want to live in PS but made some “compromise†that they didn’t. Which is obnoxious and why I don’t like that neighborhood.
The “crime stat†conversation is ridiculous if you look at a map.
Bed Stuy is covering about a 35×35 + block stretch of Brooklyn if you include the really isolated northern stretch near flushing.. which yes, contains the most intimidating project I ever walked through. It is actually bordering Williamsburg and closer to Williamsburg.
You’re comparing that to many neighborhoods that are 5×5 blocks big. Or, in PS you just don’t include the projects that are only 2-4 blocks away. From Halsey and Throop you are 30 blocks away from the Marcy Ave projects.
If you live on 4th Place in Carol Gardens between Court and Clinton you are 4 blocks (short blocks) away from the massive Red Hook Projects (but you don’t include those numbers).
It is not rational to squeeze your 2 kids into a studio because you think it would be the end of the world to cross Flatbush. It’s not rational to be “proud†of that decision. It is not rational to stretch yourself soo thin financially, desperate to stay of the “right’ side of Flatbush that you can’t afford a fucking cab home at 4am drunk.
And by the way- a cab to Park Slope is $25 and it is only $15 to my house so … la-de-da.
Flatbush Avenue, like 27 in the Hamptons, is the great divide! In the Hamptons everything is about whether your home is south or north of the highway and it makes a huge difference in terms of the cost of real estate and prestige. Flatbush Avenue clearly separates brownstone Brooklyn into east and west and it too makes a huge difference in terms of real estate and prestige. West of Flatbush is predominantly white and safe and east of Flatbush is predominantly black and unsafe. For those of you who oppose Atlantic Yards, make sure you don’t bite off your nose to spite your face. IMHO, AY is the best hope for the nabes east of Flatbush Avenue. No question about it.
“Is all that worth it to save a few bucks on rent or mortgage?”
A few bucks?!? Are you kidding me?!?! I bought a beautiful 22×60-four story brownstone on one of the best blocks in Bed-Stuy in 2005 for $700k. It’s a single family and is dripping with details. My mortgage is roughly $3,000 a month and I get the tax benefits of homeowner. I actively shopped in Carrol Gardens, Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Beorum Hill, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill and for $700k you cannot anything more than a two bedroom condo. A condo! I absolutely detest having to live in building/adult dormitory and would never raise my family in one either. To buy a 5,000 sq. ft. similar quality townhouse in the above mentioned neighborhoods would cost me $2.5-$4.5 million. This is not a matter of a few bucks. You’re talking about the difference between a $3,000 monthly nut and $13,000 and up! So what did I do? I took my white ass to Bed-Stuy and purchase a kick ass house for peanuts where I plan to live for the next 30 years. I know Bed-Stuy is not perfect but I love it here. I live on a tree lined street adorned with beautiful homes and my neighbors are awesome (both black and white). Everyone is on a first name bases and I feel welcomed. I’m actively involved in our block association which enabled me to know a lot of people in the community. I don’t feel threatened at all.
More importantly, I know that I moved into “their” neighborhood and thus I’m the one the needs to make adjustments. Like a previous poster said, living in a slowly gentrifying neighborhood is not for everyone. If your expectations are set too high, you will be disappointed on many fronts. If you move into a fringe neighborhood and walk around with your nose stuck up in the air as if you’re better than everyone else and simply waiting around for others like you to take over the neighborhood than you’re in deep trouble. However, if you sincerely attempt to become part of the neighborhood and treat it and those who already reside there with respect then you’ll do great. Granted they are always risk but that’s par for the course and comes with the territory.
Miss brk2 – there’s nothing funny about this situation. It’s people like you that move to Bed-Stuy and don’t have a clue about the real people and the real deal and do nothing to help anybody in the community.
There’s a big difference between little Miss Ann white girl living in the hood for cheap and an openly gay man (black, white, etc) living, renting/owning there. Bias crimes and slights happen in Bed-Stuy all the time and talked about regularly amongst its gay residents. As is known, homophobia is huge in the black community so shut your face and be part of the solution not laugh at the problem.
I for one have had many gay male friends
jumped in Bed-Stuy with the words faggot and f’n homo hurled at them. I’ve been called these openly on the street in Bed-Stuy as well. Granted gay-bashing happens everywhere unfortunately but we’re talking about Bed-Stuy. Should we move? NO! Should we fight back? YES!
There are a lot of great people in Bed-Stuy and the sense of community (gay and straight) is fabulous. Don’t let the scum idiots ruin it. Pull together and fight back!
EFB – reach out to your gay brothers and sisters in Bed-Stuy. We’re here for you. Our community is very large within. We’ll deal with this. A self defense class is in the making (The Pink Belts)is in preparation for summer.
High kicks and all(keekee).
In the mean time carry yourself anyway you want, sashay if you want, you’re free, enjoy life! But also be ready for the thuglettes and ignorant low-glam bashers. Carry yourself some pepper spray, brass knuckles, switchblade, whatever else that you feel will help to protect in case of a threat.
Your home is beautiful and you’re beautiful in it. We love having you here.
The best to you both.
It is amazing a lot of you are tell him to leave and that the slope, and the heights are the best place to live. Many of you moved into these so-called bad neighborhoods because you all thought you were the knight and charming armor. Now something unfortunate has happened and its oh, you can’t regentrify every neighborhood. Give me a break, this is NYC and bad things happen to good people. I think for a lot of you your ignorance is shinning very bright.
I had 4 paragraphs as my response, but erased it because I can go on and on.
In my opinion Bed-Stuy is safe, and I love being part of the community. If I may, I would like to suggest that new comers, white and black, do their best to be part of the community. Say hello, smile, look like you actually fit in.
I have theories as to how things can go wrong for the white guy in the “hood,” but that would be such a long write up.
So sad that you got robbed, but please know that the working and middle class black folk in the Stuy would love to have you there. Bedstuy has more bad apples than Park Slope, but don’t let that deter you from enjoying your home. Good luck.Booke
It’s horrible that he was mugged so many time in such a short space of time. Of course, the chances of getting mugged in a gentrifying nabe like Bed Stuy is high — I know someone there who was recently mugged at knifepoint. On the other hand, I know people who have been mugged in Brooklyn Heights. And several who have been mugged in Boreum Hill. And Windsor Terrace. I do think a lot of it has to do with pure luck. I’ve lived in NYC (and New Orleans for a spell, a very dangerous city) for 20 years, and certainly taken plenty of risks in some dicey areas and never been mugged. Why? I’ve been lucky.