Female soldier of the National Revolutionary Army.I received this email today:
I came across your blog a few weeks back. I am considering moving to Bed Stuy, specifically, the block where C-town supermarket is located. I am a Chinese girl in my late 20's and I will be living by myself. Would it be safe for me? Which part/streets in Bed Stuy should I avoid? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
In the past, questions about the safety of our neighbourhood annoyed me to no end. I generally felt that if you had to ask, then no, Bed-Stuy wasn't safe for you. But like any neighbourhood there are parts where it is quite safe to walk, and parts where you don't go after dark. But I hesitate to name the latter because I don't really like giving our hood any more bad press. And areas change, have changed, a lot in the last couple of years, even while I've been writing this blog. And besides, I've got to get up early for my new job tomorrow (I love saying that!) and need to get some sleep.
So I'm opening this up to my readers, newbies and longtimers. Where in Bed-Stuy do you live and how 'safe' would you say it was? Also how do you feel about people who ask you how safe the neighbourhood is? And for my own personal interest, has the safety level of your part of the hood gotten better or worse with gentrification?
So I'm opening this up to my readers, newbies and longtimers. Where in Bed-Stuy do you live and how 'safe' would you say it was? Also how do you feel about people who ask you how safe the neighbourhood is? And for my own personal interest, has the safety level of your part of the hood gotten better or worse with gentrification?
5 comments:
We live a couple of blocks of the C train @ Kingston/Throop. The hood is what it is, it's not Park Slope but it's not Bed Stuy circa 1992 either. If you are worried about moving to the stuy you probably shouldn't because negative energy is easy to feed off of. Fear breeds confusion and distrust and people can smell that a mile away.... He always says mind your business and no one will even notice you. Thats what we do. I love Bed Stuy and this is our home and we belong here.....
Lexie, thanks for starting off the discussion with some excellent points. I agree that bringing negative energy to any situation will get you negative energy right back.
I'm near Lewis/Greene and can say that having lived here a little over a year, I've only once experienced anything worth mentioning.
My neighbors know me by name. I made a point to say Hi/Goodnight anytime I'd see them on my way in/out. These introductions led to longer conversations and have helped me feel far more comfortable and welcomed than I think I would have felt otherwise. Although I'm Spanish and live with my boyfriend (Malaysian) we've never felt any negative feelings while walking around the area. People tend to return my smiles and hellos..
The only time that I felt harassed was while walking down Lewis some time ago, probably around midnight. Nothing happened, I ducked into a chinese take out and waited the moment out. I say this to give you a full perspective on my experience here, the good and bad.
Suffice it to say that having walked up and down the streets, it's pretty safe around here. If you're not comfortable with walking, we're surrounded by bus lines that take you everywhere.
p.s. Personally, I would have liked someone to tell me that it can get pretty loud during the summertime. : )That was my main concern...
Goldenlark,
Clearly you had a bad experience in the Stuy. From bad building to bad block, does it get any worse. Happy that your apt. was not burglarized.
Bed-Stuy is a good place to live, unfortunately, like everywhere, women are more susceptible to crime.
Hope you enjoy your new nabe', and experience the complete opposite of the bad things that occurred in the Stuy.
I live with my 13-yr-old daughter on Marcy Ave. between Jefferson and Putnam--southwestern Bed-Stuy, near the Nostrand stop on the A train.
My daughter, who happens to be Chinese, has taken the subway to school by herself, and home from activities as late as 8 p.m. We've never had a problem.
We used to live in Clinton Hill, in a part of the nabe that has stayed more the same since 1989 when I moved in there, than other parts which have gentrified much more. Although more "upscale" (read: recently whiter) parts of Clinton Hill and Ft. Green have had more car break-ins, burglaries and muggings, our old block remains the same: a family block, maybe more "upscale," but still a place where the village helps with the kids.
In the 2.5 years we've lived in Bed-Stuy, we've never had a problem, so I can't say whether it's better or worse--the same, I guess. Because of the traffic on Marcy, it's a different kind of block but we are happy to take the A train rather than waiting for the C!
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