Friday Links

Yeah, but the problem with many of the responses to all of these kinds of threads is to blanketly damn an entire neighborhood for what goes on in a very small part of that neighborhood. Why can’t we just say that that particular corner of Clifton Place has problems? That doesn’t make the rest of Clinton Hill “dangerous”. For even larger neighborhoods like Bed Stuy and Crown Heights, a problem corner, house, or even entire block does not mean an enormous neighborhood like Bed Stuy is entirely dangerous.Ridiculous. Let’s get some perspective on reality here.

Between the police, old and new residents who’ve had enough, and a relentless community effort to reclaim neighborhoods from predators, bit by bit, neighborhoods improve. What else can we do? Any loss of life is tragic, and a loss of innocent life doubly so. That’s why we can’t give up in working however we can to improve wherever we live. People need encouragement and help, not ridicule and scorn for choosing to live somewhere.

Drew: 10:03 here. I agree that generalizing about the entire neighborhood is counterproductive and untrue. However, as you say, “crime obviously does affect certain areas…more than others.” And if those moving into the area were prepared to recognize the problem areas (such as Clifton Place between Grand and St. James), as set forth in the 48 Clifton thread mentioned above) and help those who have been trying to clean up their blocks for many years absent police assistance (rather than just denying or ignoring problems in those areas, like the seller of #48 who insisted in the December thread that hugging these folks was “a joy”), the neighborhood would be improving faster. He came, he saw, he bailed. Certainly sellers and RE agents aren’t going to educate buyers – it would be a conflict of interest. But the fact that a buyer spends over $1M on a brownstone doesn’t automatically mean that the drug problems on that block will go away – particularly not if the problems aren’t transient, as they’re associated with owner-occupied buildings.

10:14,

my tackling comment was directed at 8:29’s implication that the bystanders should have physically done something to stop this guy.

about the crime rates in poor versus wealthy areas, the guest at 10:52 makes my point better than I did.

10:03,

In reference to the victim, I was only going on the info in the article which made the guy out to be an innocent dad with a legitimate, legal career.

Whatever the case, I think their is a recurring smarmy attitude in the comments on this blog about the dangerousness of Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, etc. Crime obviously does affect certain areas and segments of the population more than others. But making sarcastic comments about the perceived lack of safety of those who choose to live in these areas doesn’t seem all that productive.

This is to response to the people that no one said anything to the police about what happened on Clifton Place. You are WRONG. The police know exactly who it is and they are looking for him. Stop making statements without knowing the facts.

Whether you are new to the neighborhood or have been there all your life, nobody wants to deal with a killer running around their neighborhood. Several people spoke up and gave the information they had.

Anon 10:33, there were more shooting homicides in the West Village last year than Clinton Hill. Does that mean that a neighborhood of $6,000,000 townhouses is dangerous, or that shit happens everywhere?