Question of the Day: Private Security?
On the same day last week, we heard in the morning from a policeman that the 88th Precinct (Fort Greene and Clinton Hill) had finally gotten a boost in manpower and in the afternoon that our neighbor across the street had been robbed the night before. We’re wondering what people think about the idea of…
On the same day last week, we heard in the morning from a policeman that the 88th Precinct (Fort Greene and Clinton Hill) had finally gotten a boost in manpower and in the afternoon that our neighbor across the street had been robbed the night before. We’re wondering what people think about the idea of supplementing the local police force with some private security. Our GC told us he thinks the local “bad guys” won’t be put off by rent-a-cops. Other people have said that bringing in private security would only antagonize relations between gentrifiers and old-timers. We’re sure other people’s response will be “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” But if you’ve already committed to being in a neighborhood, should political correctness stop you from doing everything you can to ensure the safety of your family? Is passing the hat to your neighbors to raise money for a night-time patrol realistic?
here’s the study i told you about:
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ETI/integration/integration.htm
Hear hear. The integration in FG and CH are real neighborhood assets. Not everyone moves into the neighborhood wishing it were Brooklyn Heights. Some of us welcome the diversity.
I think people also overlook the fact that there are many interracial & intercultural couples here in Clinton Hill & Fort Greene. The white person walking down the street may have a partner of color. My husband is white & I am Caribbean American. We love that this area in particular has many different types of families.
To Brownstoner’s robbed neighbor, i would love for you to email me, so that we could have a more indepth conversation about integration in fg, and clinton hill. please take me up on the offer!
The fact of the matter is it is a rarity in the american north to have a neighborhood that has true black and white integration. when my husband and i were considering moving out of our nabe to one that was already more integrated, we came a cross a study (i’ll provide the link later) that shows that the most integrated neighborhoods are in the south and west of the country.
usually what happens is that there is a black section of town and a white section of town. i am the first to admit that here in bed stuy the “gentrification” is as much based on class as race. there are many affluent people of many cultures moving here not limited to caribbean, pakistani, bangladeshi and yemeni. that’s the part that is not well publicized.
as parents of 3 children, we feel it is important for our children to know that the world is not homogenous, and to learn that we all bleed, eat, sleep, drink and love.
i commend those in fort greene and clinton hill, and there is really nothing to understand, but i think fort greene would make an interesting case study on how to achieve true integration.
for those of you who have children and live in the area, do you send your children to the public schools in the area? i sent my children to a charter school here in bed stuy, and got pretty involved as well, but the staff turnover of the school in particular was concerning to me. my daughter is enrolled at little red schoolhouse in the city, and my husband and i have been homeschooling our sons.
brownstoner’s robbed neighbor here again.
what don’t you all understand about clinton hill? i am black, african american, a negro, so is my husband we live in the neighborhood and don’t plan on leaving. not all houses are sold to whites, in fact two in the last month have been sold to black families–my best friend is a broker who sold them! diversity remains it is both economic and racially based. believe it or not there are a lot of black families that have the means to live in a brooklyn brownstone and they didn’t buy 40 years ago (the blacks who did were smarter then a lot of the current purchasers now paying well over $1M). i suggest that you all go on the next fort greene/clinton hill house tour and look at the volunteers, photos on the mantels and attendees!
i also suggest that we all open our eyes and hearts and celebrate the diversity in beautiful brooklyn.
Brownstoner, you should use your new homeowner energy to work with your neighbors and your block association. If there isn’t a block association, I am sure there is a neighborhood association. Your energy is like the first PTA meeting of the year where 90% of the attendees are kindergarten parents. If you don’t get active now, you probably never will.
I’m glad that you were not harmed in this attack. I’ve been robbed and i know the sense of violation that comes along with it well. in time and with effort it gets better. the fact that you all have gotten together and discussed solutions is a sign that you will probably never have to face this again.(fingers crossed)
As to this thread, I think people are taking this all too personally. I always enjoy coming to forums because it allows you to interact with people with whom you may not be able to normally. it also allows you to ask questions that you may feel funny about asking face to face.
As to the question about people talking to their black neighbors, it was just that, a question, born of my personal experience. i don’t assume that all whites are this way, else i wouldn’t continue to attempt to make eye contact. i’ll continue to do so until i strike gold.
it’s good to know that in ch and fg it is really an integrated nabe, and not just individuals living in their own lives in houses that happen to be in the same nabe.
hopefully bed stuy will evolve into such a community, with the efforts of everyone who lives there.
if brownstoner can afford to rent in Billyburg for the past several months while he pays a mortgage on an empty brownstone in which he’s doing extensive renovations… is that stuggling? To some people, yes; to some, no. Maybe he IS stuggling to complete this expensive project but that’s his choice. The point is: if he wanted to live “a nice home for [his] young family in a city where that’s tough to do” (his words) he could have bought an coop/condo in Park Slope, for example. I’m serious. No drug dealers on the corner to complain about, less security issues, more responsive police force, no one dumping trash on your stoop, and could even save some money by sending kids to PS 321.
Hey Brownstoner’s neighbor. I’m glad there was no harm done to your family or you faith in your neighborhood. As to Clinton Hills diversity I’m not so sure about that lasting. I look at Ft Greene which seems less & less diverse everyday and I see CH going the same way. The thing is diversity is a fairly recent in both formerly, predominately black nabes.
I went to Bklyn Tech in the early 80’s. Then the white kids knew to be out of FG park by 4:30 or get a beat down from the project kids. I attended Pratt when they still had an Engineering dept. Most of the students never went past “Mike’s Diner” unless it was to the train station. When a white boyfriend drove me home, my neighbors would move their cars so he could park directly in front of my house. They didn’t want him to have to walk too far to his car, because something might happen. I was told during a block association meeting(3rd block of Lefferts Pl. btw) that people either thought he was a cop or there to buy drugs. And that he was safer if he was buying drugs, since everyone knew not to mess with the local dealer’s customers.
CH seems to be going from mostly black to mostly white. Family members have sold houses on both Putnam and Grand Aves and moved back south. All sold to white owners. I think the diversity of CH is a temporary thing. I noticed you felt the need to identify yourself as “Brownstoner’s African-American neighbor” at one time that would have been a given.