Man you watch New York local news these days and they are definitely painting the picture of this city sliding back to the bad old days of rampant crime everywhere.

The problem is I can't trust the media (especially not Murdoch's NYPost or Fox News) who may have an agenda of painting the city as being crime ridden in order to give BLM a black eye and let the police run wild. Like this weekend the cops came through Washington Square Park bashing heads saying the park was getting to crazy.

https://abc7ny.com/new-york-city-washington-square-park-closing-early-violence/10757701/

IDK. I think republicans know that the area of biggest vulnerability to Dems and left leaning politicians is crime and I think the NYPost knows this and is trying to hammer into people's head the city ain't safe no more.

But then you read stories like this. SMH.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/07/us/queens-new-york-shooting-boy/index.html

What you think?

Poll question: POST COVID: Does your city feel less safe these days?

Poll result (24 votes) Nope. Feels the same. (9 votes) Vote Yes. Feels less safe. (15 votes) Vote Actually, it feels safer. (0 votes) Vote

Homicide rates in large cities were up more than 30 percent on average last year, and up another 24 percent for the beginning of this year, according to criminologists.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/us/shootings-in-us.html

Homicides were a notable exception, however, with almost every major city in the United States seeing large increases in 2020. In Chicago and several other cities, last year was the worst year for killings since the mid-1990s.

Homicides in Portland, Ore., rose to 53 from 29, up more than 82 percent; in Minneapolis, they grew to 79 from 46, up almost 72 percent; and in Los Angeles the number increased to 351 from 258, a 36 percent climb, according to statistics analyzed by Jeff Asher, a former crime analyst for the New Orleans Police Department.


Homicides in Philadelphia are up almost 28 percent, with 170 through May 9, compared with 133 in the same period last year; in Tucson, Ariz., the number jumped to 30 from 17 through May 13, an increase of 76 percent.

In New York, there were seven homicides over Memorial Day weekend this year versus eight last year, according to the Police Department, whose statistics indicated that killings were up 23 percent through May 23, to 165 from 134.

post-covid so i dont blame anyone that does. a year inside has not done us well when it comes to the unspoken respect and threat of violence between each other

It feels a bit less safe. A lot more non-thugs getting shot the past year.

Philadelphia.

In my area, Minneapolis, all categories are up considerably, but they're about 2005 levels according to the stats I've seen.

The thing is, for all the talk during the Trump admin, pre-pandemic, about how strong the economy was, walking around my city and any major city, you could see that shit was a lie. I haven't ever seen as many people out on the street, hustling, drunk, high, homeless, just loitering at 11pm, as I did in 2019/2020. You could see this crime increase coming a fucking mile away. And then throw in a fucking global pandemic? This is America.

as far as shootings are concerned.

I’m in San Diego and the bigger issue for us is the increase in the homeless rather than homicides.

personally.
Which is less safe than 2015, but about the same as 2019.

when I go uptown or ride around

but talking to my barber and other people in the shop they say its less safe and kids are wildin’

I’m not partying or out late night unless its dinner and a drink at a lounge spot. We dont do clubs anymore.

but I am wondering how people are experiencing the city and how they FEEL.

My wife feels less safe and that's mainly because there are more homeless people wandering around and our neighborhood got a lot dirtier. More trash everywhere.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

how many people FEEL less safe vs hearing its less safe and letting that drive their emotions.

Personally it doesn’t feel less safe to me but then I hear people talk about how wild it is out there and that impacts my emotions.

Wife and I got a hotel uptown a month ago and walked the city at night and we didn’t feel scared or unsafe..

but I have to add I worked at homeless shelters in college so homeless people don’t scare me like most folks. I’m not stupid or naive when navigating these streets at night but seeing homeless people doesn’t trigger me like it may trigger others.

If you do not grasp how emboldened lowlifes and mentally ill folks feel right now in NYC then you aren't moving around in NYC. Do something as basic as taking your child to a park you will see and feel the difference.

Assuming we aren't at 80s levels.

NY had gotten to the point where you really didn't need street smarts at all to move around the city. You could go jogging with headphones at 3AM.

Now it feels like people are learning again not to turn your back to that crazy guy on the subway platform.

I am wondering how bad its going to get.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

At night / in the day

Kids having a great time in there (some of them are whiling the fuck out I'll give you that, kids screaming profanities and threatening to have their brother shoot out their house then hugging it out etc.)

And I do have a lot of tecatos / junkies in my area due to methadone clinics and a small open air drug market

I may be lucky but I feel like the violence I see elsewhere is not around here yet

Thanks to technology/surveillance/cameras.

The average person is trading the ability to get away with serious crimes for the desire to have a cellphone, and the desire to not wear a mask outside at all times. Not everyone understands this however, and people do dumb shit, so it’s not a perfect deterrent.

Also for the subset of premeditated gang crimes, that unsolved coordinated Miami mass shooting show how criminals adapt. Masks, time discipline, destroyed the car. I doubt those guys had cell phones (they’d likely have already been caught).

I started wondering recently, by what date will it be true that people still wearing masks outside are suspicious? Because criminals would be smart to keep wearing them indefinitely.

Besides all the surveillance and technology, people are not carrying around wads of cash like they use to. I saw a lady waiting for the bus yesterday with a new HP Laptop box poking out of a best buy bag. It was the most dangerous thing I've seen someone do out in public in a minute. For the most part, its not that easy to make money off of robbing someone like it was back in the day.

The risk reward is so different than it was back in the day.

I will admit even as I see all the statistic on the uptick of crime, how much of it actually involves tax paying civilians versus people already in the life. I feel like people can tolerate a lot of violence just not random violence.




**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I know where to go, I know where not to go. My neighborhood is being gentrified right now. I am very aware that hell is around the corner. In Chicago, anybody can get it. Shots ring out the same all over the city now. That's new.

I feel less safe but not because where I'm located, its pretty quiet and I can walk for miles unbothered. I live on University of Chicago campus, blocks away from Obamas home and about 1.5 miles from O Block where Lil Durk and King Von grew up.

I feel less safe because I recognize a shift in everyone, something cracked in most people over the last year. Whether people are willing to admit it or not. People either had the tools to manage the fissures or they full on broke. You never know what will set people off these days.

>
>I feel less safe because I recognize a shift in everyone,
>something cracked in most people over the last year. Whether
>people are willing to admit it or not. People either had the
>tools to manage the fissures or they full on broke. You never
>know what will set people off these days.
>

both about personal space

Type of shit had me yelling down the block / in the shopping center like a crazy person

Gotta say that tension is not normal for me

A lot of the fissures you are talking about I have externalized through these months, but when it surfaces in me it's surprising

Most people don't see it until they are doing something far out of character. We have all been through a traumatic year. Its not something we should take lightly.

I also don't watch local news.

Homelessness is much more visible now - but I'm not sure if that means more homeless necessarily or if they are not arresting people for being homeless now. And they've set-up areas in more visible locations for homeless people to be.

Graffiti seems UP, but that goes in cycles. The taggers who have a work ethic will age out of it and we'll get lazy taggers back.

But the 'ruling' by a federal judge in san Diego last week that said the assault rifle ban is illegal - if that stands - boy howdy is crime going UP.

She lives downtown San Diego and she says the number of homeless people is at least DOUBLE than it was a few years ago.

Probably caused by placing services downtown during COVID - but she bought pepper spray.

“Let’s go to Atlanta and settle this shit!”

The lil girl that got hit by a stray at Lenox in a shootout between some dudes from South Carolina.

I think that King Von kid got killed over some Chicago beef here.

My cousin was murdered last week but it’s looking random right now.

crime and homelessness will go up

I don't feel much different,but more concerned about my peoples. there's definitely been a rise in robberies, car jackings, and shootings.

night and day difference from pre Covid/BLM Protests

I really want to see New York purge all cops who believe that they can't protect and serve without the ability to operate without accountability.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

If you compare the number of cops per square mile of each city, the disparity really pops out. Not much actual patrol here, they mainly focus on hot spots, responding to calls and profiling cars looking for warrants/dealer drugs/guns.

It's kinda dope on one level because the cops generally leave taxpayers alone, but it's also wack because they leave us alone. Good luck calling and getting a squad car to come around for anything less than violent crimes.

That was pre-covid. Now, it's even more lax.

.

Notion but I honestly don’t feel any less safe.

it's a mess.

but I can see a rise in petty crimes. I feel like cats have gotten a little BOLD

and we've always had a huge homeless problem but you can't go a few blocks without either a mini skid row, or just random homeless folks posted up or sleeping.

and since so much of it is mental illness and drugs, or both, there's always some crazy shit going on. I don't know how many times a day the citizen app drops a "man swinging sword" blocks away from me. they generally keep to themselves, though I've had the occasional run in.

and since we're under Dem leadership, it contributes to the overall political divisions. For the record I couldn't tell you if Newsom and Garcetti are to blame or not, but it is their watch. I have to assume if this spike happened under repub leadership i'd be shitting on them for this.

Other than that, I personally feel the same. I have no doubt more shit will pop off after people have been locked down a year plus in our internet bubbles and getting angrier at each other. You hear horrific stories like that 6 year old kid that got shot on the freeway, but I can't act like this kind of thing is new to LA. Most people I interact with in public seem the same.

I live near the LA river, and by and large it's fine - but those with mental illness or/and drug habits can make a normal situation really dicey. There's a dude who, 80% of the time is totally chill and keeps to himself - but I've seen him literally screaming at people for nothing while charging at them and swinging.

The homeless situation is REALLY complex and bad - but I don't know what you do about it. The tents and such don't really bother me too much - but I'm not about the feeling like I may get charged at by a meth head.

My wife has taken to carrying pepper spray on normal neighborhood walks, which sucks. But here in Atwater Village...things are real weird. I drove over to Hollywood for something and it's gnarly over there.

I'm still WFH but i work in Hollywood normally. My co-worker went for a lunch time walk and disappeared for a few hours. Then just showed up all confused with a big as knot on his head. Last thing he remembered was walking by an encampment.

Another dude a couple weeks ago kinda not so much ran up on me, but accused me of following him. He didn't square up or anything but i don't know he's capable of if that's where his heads at

Then there are all these little fires everywhere. I don't what percentage of days cops/fire/paramedics day are spent dealing with homeless stuff. it seems to take up a good chunk.

but yeah, its complicated and i don't have the answers. it's def going in the wrong direction though

and la is a popular destination.

no idea what the actual inflow numbers are and how true this still is. also no idea what the solution is.

but yeah, i live in mid-wilshire and things have definitely changed in the past two years. gotta be aware of your surroundings every time you step out.

Road rage? I'm not fuckin w/it

Someone in the store w/a Black Rifle Coffee tee nose-donging his mask, itching for someone to say some shit? I'm not fuckin with it

Homeless dudes living in tents in the park where my kids play? I'm not fuckin with it

I'm not reallyf more afraid of criminals or anything - I'm just feeling a general vibe of a lot more 'regular' middle class and working class folks out there looking for a reason to start shit. There's a lot of pent up anger and resentment in a lot of directions right now, and I'm doing my best to keep my head on a swivel and dodge that if at all possible.

I used to try and catch up to shitty drivers to give them the wtf stare..

fuck that shit tho

Last 5 years or so I been on some “you got it bro” when I see people driving crazy af.

Shootings were always a night time thing in my mind.
It seems like I'm seeing a whole bunch of day time shoot outs and ambushes on the nightly news lately