Is Mill Basin/Georgetown safe at night

amother

Ecru

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 10:42 pm

I live outside of NY and am here for three months to take care of an ill aging family member. This is my first time here. I am struck by the amount of dark-skinned (brown and black) people living here.

I'm not stereotyping but years ago I had a cousin who lived in the projects and it was a scary place, with shootings and robberies being the norm.

Seeing all the brown- and black-skinned people has me wondering if this is an unsafe neighborhood. Better to remain indoors when it gets dark? Better to remain indoors early in the morning?

amother

Oak

Thu, Dec 08 2016, 12:37 am

Every time I read a post like this, it makes me sad and disappointed in our community. As a visible minority, I find the sentiments the OP expressed to be hurtful and yet they are so commonplace in the frum community. I used to stay quiet when I heard comments like this. I think we need to speak up because people should think twice before they say or post something that could be hurtful. I work with non-Jews and I don't experience racism there. What does that say about us?

amother

Ecru

Thu, Dec 08 2016, 10:31 am

amother wrote:

I'm really sorry to have said something that stirred up pain for you.

Like I mentioned in my post, when I was younger I used to visit my cousins who lived in the projects and I have vivid memories of shootings and burglaries right outside the building and many inside the building. My question was not about racism, but rather whether by walking out late at night, might I stumble across scenes such as the ones I was exposed to years ago?

And I cannot forget Yankel Rosenbaum. He was my dear friend's close friend. These things happen, and being one white in a neighborhood of non-whites, makes me wonder aloud about these things.

If you live in this neighborhood and know for a fact that muggings, robberies and shootings and rapes don't ever happen, or happen as infrequently as once a year, then just say so, and I'll have a better sense of what to expect.

nicole81

Thu, Dec 08 2016, 10:48 am

It *is* about racism, because you related crime to the color of a person's skin.

If you had simply asked about crime statistics, that would be one thing. If you were staying in projects now and asking about them in comparison to the projects of your youth, that would be another thing. But you're not.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that seeing brown and black skinned people makes you wonder if the area is unsafe is anything but racism.