Is Bushwick, Brooklyn safe??? (Jefferson: lofts, condos, violent crime)
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I stay in Bushwick several times a year, because my friend who is usually on tour lets me do so for free at a house he bought for a song 13 years ago.
While I've never had a problem in terms of crime/hassles I can't really see why people are so eager to live there, now that it's expensive.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have a free, large space in NYC to stay. But $1700 a month? Is proximity to Williamsburg THAT important to people these days?
At the dude talking about how he moved to the wilson stop and how people consider him a pioneer and everybody in this world is racist... you have no idea how many times you contradicted yourself to try and prove your point and sell the neighborhood. The clearest one was when you said ask people who lived here 20-25 years ago if they felt safe and then when someone whose lived for 40 years and saw the area during both time periods spoke, you disreguard him saying that hes bound to have a negative opinion living here for so long... WTH???
If what you're saying is true about the neighborhood shouldn't he be the first to know, even moreso than you whose been year for what six months...? Fact is, you along with the fading population of hipsters who are insanely trying to promote the neighborhood to bring more hipsters here were severely conned into buying into this neighborhood believing it would appreciate when the fact is the recent crime rate as well as increase in gang activity especially Latin kings has completely frozen that movement in Bushwick.
Also you can check for yourself but muggings are on the rise like crazy in Bushwick this year... hmmm I wonder why that is? Dude, its not racism its facts that people are discussing on here... Now while Ill give you that being hispanic is does tick me off when people talk about areas like Maspeth glendale or Middle Village getting ruined because Spanish people are moving in when those neighborhoods are as nice as you can get, fact is Bushwick is a whole different story... and it has nothing to do with race but the fact that the type of hispanic and black people that live there for the most part are no good... If they were they'd eventually be on the move out of that neighborhood...
The hipsters are really the only ones really promoting paying higher rents for a terrible area when you can find way cheaper rents in much better locations... head scratcher for sure...
And if you're interested in diversity which I highly doubt thats your main reason for moving to Bushwick since Bushwick is over 90% hispanic and Black then you can take your pic in the most diverse county probably in the country with queens which has many other cheap and much more livable areas than the one you're currently living in...
Rego park, Woodhaven, Jackson Heights, Ozone Park, Corona (not just spanish but has a nice mix of italians, spanish, black and some people from the middle east as well), LIC, etc...
I am a male asian 30yrs old and I have lived in Bushwick for the last 4 yrs by the Myrtle & Broadway JMZ stop. I would have to disagree with many of the post on how dangerous Bushwick is. I love this area, being that I am just a few stops from LES/Chinatown. I can get to work in the finance district in 15-20mins transfering at Canal st, happy hour in the LES bars is along the way home and Williamsburg is close by. I have never felt threatened going home late at night or jogging around the neighborhood early in the morning. I really dont see what is so dangerous about this area, people around here are pretty friendly actually. I see a community of young professionals like myself and older generations of hispanics, but no one bothers each other. Theres also plenty to do if you decide to stay in the neighborhood, farther down from where I live along Broadway is the bar Goodbye blue monday, Little Skips coffee shop nearby, Athom Cafe, and plenty of other locales to kick back and relax. Whoever is saying this area is dangerous hasnt been around here at least in the last few years I have been living here. Rent is cheaper than Manhattan, I pay $1600 for a 3 bedroom that I share with a roommate. Bushwick is great!
The hipsters are really the only ones really promoting paying higher rents for a terrible area
imo they're inadvertently and unwittingly promoting higher rents. i think they think 'the more the merrier' (more as in more tragically hip people to party/network with, not more rent (nobody wants that))
At the dude talking about how he moved to the wilson stop and how people consider him a pioneer and everybody in this world is racist... you have no idea how many times you contradicted yourself to try and prove your point and sell the neighborhood. The clearest one was when you said ask people who lived here 20-25 years ago if they felt safe and then when someone whose lived for 40 years and saw the area during both time periods spoke, you disreguard him saying that hes bound to have a negative opinion living here for so long... WTH???
If what you're saying is true about the neighborhood shouldn't he be the first to know, even moreso than you whose been year for what six months...? Fact is, you along with the fading population of hipsters who are insanely trying to promote the neighborhood to bring more hipsters here were severely conned into buying into this neighborhood believing it would appreciate when the fact is the recent crime rate as well as increase in gang activity especially Latin kings has completely frozen that movement in Bushwick.
Also you can check for yourself but muggings are on the rise like crazy in Bushwick this year... hmmm I wonder why that is? Dude, its not racism its facts that people are discussing on here... Now while Ill give you that being hispanic is does tick me off when people talk about areas like Maspeth glendale or Middle Village getting ruined because Spanish people are moving in when those neighborhoods are as nice as you can get, fact is Bushwick is a whole different story... and it has nothing to do with race but the fact that the type of hispanic and black people that live there for the most part are no good... If they were they'd eventually be on the move out of that neighborhood...
The hipsters are really the only ones really promoting paying higher rents for a terrible area when you can find way cheaper rents in much better locations... head scratcher for sure...
And if you're interested in diversity which I highly doubt thats your main reason for moving to Bushwick since Bushwick is over 90% hispanic and Black then you can take your pic in the most diverse county probably in the country with queens which has many other cheap and much more livable areas than the one you're currently living in...
Rego park, Woodhaven, Jackson Heights, Ozone Park, Corona (not just spanish but has a nice mix of italians, spanish, black and some people from the middle east as well), LIC, etc...
I could have made my point more clearly. My point was that neighborhoods change. Many people who knew the LES, UWS, etc 25 years ago and will tell you those neighborhoods felt unsafe at the time. Now those are considered relatively good neighborhoods. People who have lived in Bushwick for "40 years" and have recently moved out, are likely to have a negative opinion becuase Bushwick HASN'T fully gentrified the way UWS and Hell's Kitchen has, and the bulk of those peoples' experience was post black-out riots when the area was at its worst. I propose, however, that Bushwick is clearly heading in a better direction. My point is that Bushwick has all the hallmarks of a neighborhood ready to transition. Am I promoting the neighborhood? Yes. Take it or leave it. But the fact is that the Morgan area has attracted artists (and hipsters, or whatever term you choose). There are galleries and studios and a thriving art scene. Whether that appeals to you is another story. Artists tend to be the pre-curser to gentrification (again, whether you think gentrification is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you). In addition, convenient transportation tends to gentrify, which the area has. Racial barriers which have historically significantly impacted the racial make-up of neighborhoods have erroded substantially over the last couple of decades. Call it the Obama-effect ... perhaps... So all of that adds up to a pretty good bet for Bushwick becoming more ethnically diverse, more safe, and property values going up in the coming years. Crime has gone up 10% over last year, and it has dropped several hundred percent over the last decade. I think displacement is a problem, and should be addressed with some low cost housing. Full disclosure, I have a stake in it, so take my opinion for what's its worth. But I also believe it. I live here, and I see an incredible diversity. I have a short commute. I feel safe. I have nice neighbors. Crime is an issue anywhere in NYC, and one should be mindful. I installed a security system, for instance. But it ain't a deathtrap. And the intense feelings on both sides of the issue are over-blown.
Like what tkak69 said, I feel completely safe in Bushwick. Most people here are working people from what I see. Even the neighborhood crackheads on the corners dont bother anyone. I usually say a quick "Hi", we chat about what my workouts are when im jogging by, or they make the occasional bruce lee comment since im a asian guy, but overall I feel very safe here. I also see the police presence so it shows their not in some Dunkin Donut somewhere hiding out. If anyone thinks about moving here, I say go for it.
At a Bklyn dude where you live at by the myrtle broadway area is the probably the nicest part of the entire area of Bushwick. That area even in Bushwick's hayday was never a hotspot. When the blackout occured in 1977 and Broadway got hit there were still parts that looked like Brooklyn Heights there because Broadway with its Brownstone buildings was always more cleaned up... so obviously you're not gonna feel it as much as let's say one of the hipsters that were conned into renting on Wilson and Moffat or Chauncey or Hancock or any number of other blocks...
And as far as diversity please spare me the bull... People come from all over brooklyn to promote Bushwick by going to their cafes and art spots but the fact remains and you can take a look at the latest statistics that diversity in Bushwick is minimal at best. If 8% of the entire population of Bushwick is white (which includes old ghetto white folk, poor european immigrants, and the hipster group) I will have passed out from shock... Last time I checked the latest demographics were something to the effect of 60% Hispanic 32% Black 2% Asian 6% White... Really diversity?
Supposedly this hipster/yuppy scene has been taking place in Bushwick for the last six or seven years and the population has gone from what 3% white to 6% white in those 6-7 years... I mean look if you guys are bent on living in a crappy neighborhood and paying top dollar for it because real estate agents ("who have no reason to lie") tell you so... sure why not... lets all spend 500,000 on a 2-family house thats falling apart and will probably cost just as much to repair... and then lets not forget our wonderful crackhead neighbors that we love so much like Abklyndude just mentioned... sounds real appealing...
As for me, I'll pass. I enjoy living in a neighborhood thats not constantly ranked in the top ten most dangerous neighborhoods in the city and after all the talk is probably much cheaper than Bushwick as well...
and at tkak69 really you're promoting the neighborhood? I had no idea... because the statement that crime rose 10% this year but has dropped several hundred percent over the last decade didn't give it away... are you sure you're not hispanic... cause it's usually us hispanics who tend to exagerrate so ridiculously... Bushwicks crime rate was said to have risen between the years of 07-08 compared to the start of the decade and the situation now is only slightly better than it was in 07 when gentrification supposedly took off... and with this rising crime rate from the previous two years it has now slowed to a near halt...
sure you have people such as yourself that are promoting the area falsely... but finally people are wising up to the fact that this neighborhood will not appreciate the way they hoped and for the most part are steering clear from this neighborhood...
Now we have already discussed this but the fact that Bushwick isn't what it was in the 80s and 90s doesn't make that much better of an area... The difference back then was that it was more desolate, there wasn't as much investment and the crack epidemic was in full effect... sure it was worth back then... but so was the entire country... the difference between the country and Bushwick however is that most other neighborhoods made vast improvements while Bushwick has remained as one of the worse neighborhoods in NYC along with other "supposedly gentrified areas" like Bed-stuy, Harlem, and ENY (I know, I was shocked at that one as well, but i've come to realize that on city-data anything is possible... i'm just waiting for Bloomberg to expand his condo building to Egypt so we can have a thread about egypt's gentrification)...
I am a male asian 30yrs old and I have lived in Bushwick for the last 4 yrs by the Myrtle & Broadway JMZ stop. I would have to disagree with many of the post on how dangerous Bushwick is. I love this area, being that I am just a few stops from LES/Chinatown. I can get to work in the finance district in 15-20mins transfering at Canal st, happy hour in the LES bars is along the way home and Williamsburg is close by. I have never felt threatened going home late at night or jogging around the neighborhood early in the morning. I really dont see what is so dangerous about this area, people around here are pretty friendly actually. I see a community of young professionals like myself and older generations of hispanics, but no one bothers each other. Theres also plenty to do if you decide to stay in the neighborhood, farther down from where I live along Broadway is the bar Goodbye blue monday, Little Skips coffee shop nearby, Athom Cafe, and plenty of other locales to kick back and relax. Whoever is saying this area is dangerous hasnt been around here at least in the last few years I have been living here. Rent is cheaper than Manhattan, I pay $1600 for a 3 bedroom that I share with a roommate. Bushwick is great!
Wow, there really is a sucker born everyday. But if u goto the LA board yuo'll see similar post about Compton by someone who hasnt been mugged yet. FSimply put for all of its "gentrification" Bushwick still ranks in the top of the NYPD crime numbers every year. You know how u can judge if a Neighborhood is "good"?, ask this question , would a middle class family move there and think its a good idea to raise children? Bushwick sucks, always has and will for a while longer.
@ jacktravern there not gonna realize they got suckered into these neighborhoods until they come home one day to their apt on Wilson and schaeffer and end up getting sent to the hospital by ignorant thugs who are just waiting to see a hipster move into their side of Bushwick to handle that...
Wyckoff hospital is filled with those hipsters as well as belleview from what I've seen but god forbid they admit they were wrong about the area...
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imo they're inadvertently and unwittingly promoting higher rents. i think they think 'the more the merrier' (more as in more tragically hip people to party/network with, not more rent (nobody wants that))
