Murder Up in North Brooklyn, Down in South
The number of murders in North Brooklyn spiked 34 percent in the first half of the year while just about every other comman center saw declines. There were 59 homicides in the Brooklyn North Command (which includes precincts 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 84, 88, 90, and 94) through June 10 this year, versus…
The number of murders in North Brooklyn spiked 34 percent in the first half of the year while just about every other comman center saw declines. There were 59 homicides in the Brooklyn North Command (which includes precincts 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 84, 88, 90, and 94) through June 10 this year, versus 44 in the same period in 2006 and 36 in 2005. The main cause? According to John Jay College’s Richard Curtis, it’s a rise in “disrespect shootings” by teens, which includes such death-worthy offenses as looking at someone’s girlfriend the wrong way, as someone did around the corner from our house last year. Of course, all parts of North Brooklyn are not created equal. While murders in Bushwick’s 83rd Precinct rose from 2 to 6 in the first half of 2007, Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill have none for the second year running. Street crime in those tony nabes has risen considerably though: Robbery is up 21 percent, assault 12 percent and grand larceny 4 percent this year. None of this is exactly news for real estate brokers to play up.
Surge in Slayings Shocks Brooklyn [NY Post]
Jeremy – But the low crime rate has helped make NY the center of the “firkin universe” – no one was touting NY as the center of anything good in 1991.
As for the stats – sure % can be misleading when you are talking about single digit increases but there is still a trend and as such becomes much more difficult to control once it becomes more widespread.
That being said the idea that this is a ‘Brooklyn North’ problem is was off- the murder increases are essentially limited to 3 areas over the last 2yrs – BedStuy (only within the 81pct which had a 125% increase an in the 81; a 333% increase in Brownsville’s 73pct and East Ny with a 60% increase) – all other Brooklyn North Precincts have had essentilly no increase over the last 2yrs.
East New York — I think it’s the 81st pct? — routinely has the highest murder rate in the city. it was highest last year. In the 80s it would get up to 110+ murders per year. So this is always going to tilt the numbers.
For what that’s worth.
OMG, murders rose 300% in Bushwick!!! Sound the alarms, crank the sirens, shit on Bushwick!
TWO murders to SIX murders. 100% of which were likely gang members. Excuse me if I’m just not shaking in my boots, and if I think blind murder stats are useless and to be ignored.
And to say that New York’s real estate market is strong because of low crime and low rates is too simple. There are many factors which influence the popularity of real estate in a given city, but in New York’s case, it’s that it’s the center of the frickin universe. The jobs are here, the money is here, the art and culture is here. Unless there’s a nuclear war, that will continue to be the case, and it will continue to expand as population rises and housing fails to keep up with demand. A few more thugs catching a bullet will not change that.
Besides, crime is still low.
It’s also important not to get too hung up on percentange changes when you’re dealing with single digit statistics, where one event can shift the percentage change by 20% or 33%.
You need to look at your individual precinct and examine the numbers. In mine, the 90th, the number of murders year-to-date has dropped from 2 last year to 1. A 50% decrease. There is an across the board decrease in every category of crime reported.
Always bad news to hear of crime increase in any area.
But still need to look at longer term trends – not just ‘snap shot’ stats.
What are crime rates compared with 2 years ago? 5 years?
10:56 totally true – I am just trying to stay with the RE angle of brownstoner and of course property owners have a large $ interest then a renter who is far more mobile – but regardless of whether your a property owner or not – of course this is one of the biggest factors in maintaing urban living as a viable option.
10:44 – or one could make the argument that the major drop in crime began when the incarceration rates started increasing tremendously.
As long as a significant segment of the culture thinks “stop snitching” is a primary “ethical” lesson, we will have senseless crime and tragedy.
IMHO it is government’s job to provide a safe environment to those (vast majority) who want to pursue life, liberty and ‘happiness’ and if that requires long-term incarcerations for those that refuse to respect the rights of others – so be it.
But to get back to the Real Estate angle – the 2 largest factors in the Real Estate revival in NYC is low crime and low interest rates – looks like some sections of the city are going to be having trouble with both.
10:23, neighborhoods mentioned frequently on Brownstoner that are in Patrol Borough Brooklyn North are Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, Prospect Heights and Crown Hieghts.