How safe is Clinton Hill, Brooklyn?
November 17, 2013 11:55 AM Subscribe
I've been living in Brooklyn Heights for two years. It's expensive and kind of boring, but definitely very safe. I'm moving soon and found a place I love in Clinton Hill close to Pratt. I love the beautiful architecture and artsy vibe. I was ready to sign a year's lease but then I did a bit of googling and found out that Clinton Hill and Fort Greene were found to be the 6th most dangerous neighborhood in NYC.
Is Clinton Hill really that dangerous? I am a 95 pound woman in my 20s, not super street smart, but familiar with the Subway and Brooklyn in general. Is moving to Clinton Hill a bad idea? Am I doomed to moving to Park Slope instead just to be safe? Will I be okay in Clinton Hill as long as I don't walk home alone at midnight - which I do in Brooklyn Heights now? Or conversely, is it on the dangerous level of not walking alone any time after dark?
I did a bit of googling and found out that Clinton Hill and Fort Greene were found to be the 6th most dangerous neighborhood in NYC
Do you happen to know what date those stats were from? Because maybe this was the case like 30 years ago, but these days I just can't believe that's true.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:05 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Do you happen to know what date those stats were from? Because maybe this was the case like 30 years ago, but these days I just can't believe that's true.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:05 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Super safe.
Seriously, like so safe.
I lived in Clinton Hill on and off for about seven years. I never had a single problem there, and I highly doubt that you will, either.
That said, here is a list of ALL of my safety concerns, ever:
- When I first moved to the neighborhood (2005) I commuted on the Q train and initially disliked walking home (approximately Clinton and Myrtle) from the area around the Dekalb stop after dark. My main points of concern were the somewhat blighted blocks around the hospital and LIU, which I think is really more technically part of Downtown Brooklyn and/or "Metrotech". Either way, a few years ago a high rise luxury condo went up squarely in the middle of the blocks that worried me, and now this blight is a thing of the past. Ditto the similarly blighted area around Flatbush and Myrtle, which has been peppered with upscale housing and is no longer much of an issue.
- I once (2009?) bought a new laptop after work and took it home on the subway. I exited the Clinton-Washington G train and it suddenly occurred to me that it was dark, the streets were deserted, and I was a 100 lb white girl carrying a brand new computer in a huge box with an Apple logo on the side. Nothing happened. If anything this is a signal for how safe the neighborhood has become, because over the course of that five years I went from thinking a lot about dark streets at night to not doing that at all to the point of maybe overdoing it.
- There is this one block at about Vanderbilt and Atlantic that is really dark and feels sort of sketchy if you're walking alone late at night.
Therein lies ALL of the "Is It Safe" thoughts I have ever thought about Clinton Hill, from 2005 to today.
posted by Sara C. at 12:08 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Seriously, like so safe.
I lived in Clinton Hill on and off for about seven years. I never had a single problem there, and I highly doubt that you will, either.
That said, here is a list of ALL of my safety concerns, ever:
- When I first moved to the neighborhood (2005) I commuted on the Q train and initially disliked walking home (approximately Clinton and Myrtle) from the area around the Dekalb stop after dark. My main points of concern were the somewhat blighted blocks around the hospital and LIU, which I think is really more technically part of Downtown Brooklyn and/or "Metrotech". Either way, a few years ago a high rise luxury condo went up squarely in the middle of the blocks that worried me, and now this blight is a thing of the past. Ditto the similarly blighted area around Flatbush and Myrtle, which has been peppered with upscale housing and is no longer much of an issue.
- I once (2009?) bought a new laptop after work and took it home on the subway. I exited the Clinton-Washington G train and it suddenly occurred to me that it was dark, the streets were deserted, and I was a 100 lb white girl carrying a brand new computer in a huge box with an Apple logo on the side. Nothing happened. If anything this is a signal for how safe the neighborhood has become, because over the course of that five years I went from thinking a lot about dark streets at night to not doing that at all to the point of maybe overdoing it.
- There is this one block at about Vanderbilt and Atlantic that is really dark and feels sort of sketchy if you're walking alone late at night.
Therein lies ALL of the "Is It Safe" thoughts I have ever thought about Clinton Hill, from 2005 to today.
posted by Sara C. at 12:08 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
The statistics about violent crime are skewed by the large amount of public housing in the north side of the neighborhood, and issues are largely confined to within those developments.
A couple years ago there were some big issues with iPhone and headphone theft, so try not to be a jackass with your phone out/headphones in. Other than that, it's no big deal. There's quite a bit of new development both residential and business, so the streets even in the past year I've lived here have become busier and safer-feeling.
posted by thirdletter at 12:25 PM on November 17, 2013
A couple years ago there were some big issues with iPhone and headphone theft, so try not to be a jackass with your phone out/headphones in. Other than that, it's no big deal. There's quite a bit of new development both residential and business, so the streets even in the past year I've lived here have become busier and safer-feeling.
posted by thirdletter at 12:25 PM on November 17, 2013
Lots of Brooklyn is super safe now, including Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, regardless of your weight. I feel comfortable walking around Bed Stuy at night, and I am a total scaredy cat. That said, if you're worried try walking around the areas you're thinking of living, especially at night. I don't think anyone should live somewhere they don't feel comfortable walking home late at night - because what are you going to do, be in by 8? Take cabs all the time?
Usually I'm scared off more by no one being around ( like those warehouse areas in Bushwick where my musician friends insist on having all their shows, and there's like four blocks of MILANO'S TIRES type shops with dark shuttered fronts, and then you see plaid clad skinny jeans guys and are like phew) than places that are "bad areas" because there are a lot of poor people who stand around in the street and check cashing places or whatever. People are people and most aren't like "yay crime!" so I feel safer when I see other people around.
posted by sweetkid at 12:46 PM on November 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
Usually I'm scared off more by no one being around ( like those warehouse areas in Bushwick where my musician friends insist on having all their shows, and there's like four blocks of MILANO'S TIRES type shops with dark shuttered fronts, and then you see plaid clad skinny jeans guys and are like phew) than places that are "bad areas" because there are a lot of poor people who stand around in the street and check cashing places or whatever. People are people and most aren't like "yay crime!" so I feel safer when I see other people around.
posted by sweetkid at 12:46 PM on November 17, 2013 [5 favorites]
What skews crime statistics is actually, believe it or not, good police work. When a neighborhood police station does its job well, it reports all the homicides and burglaries, and all that data ends up being compiled at the end of the year to look like the area is crime riddled. This is in comparison to neighborhoods that may not have the high crime numbers on record because of cops downgrading crimes so as to not appear on file. I'm not exactly sure what they get out of this but this has been a thing going on for some time now, especially with many of the precincts in Brooklyn.
posted by cazoo at 1:43 PM on November 17, 2013
posted by cazoo at 1:43 PM on November 17, 2013
I wouldn't worry about this at all. I live in Bed Stuy just outside of Clinton Hill, and feel perfectly safe walking around at night in either one. I walked home from Gowanus at 2:30 last night, and while that was with a friend, I probably would have done it alone too. I'm a woman in my early 30s, for reference.
That said, you should make sure it feels safe to you, and the easiest way to do that is, as sweetkid said, just by walking around-- in the daytime first, and then at night if you feel up to it.
posted by dizziest at 1:59 PM on November 17, 2013
That said, you should make sure it feels safe to you, and the easiest way to do that is, as sweetkid said, just by walking around-- in the daytime first, and then at night if you feel up to it.
posted by dizziest at 1:59 PM on November 17, 2013
"I was a 100 lb white girl carrying a brand new computer in a huge box with an Apple logo on the side."
Sara C.: Do you mean this to say that a 100-pound black or Hispanic woman would have been safer??
I'm a third-generation Brooklynite. Clinton Hill has always been one of the safest of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Even during economic downturns, it always manages to keep its police presence at optimal levels. I would not worry.
posted by nubianinthedesert at 4:57 PM on November 17, 2013
Sara C.: Do you mean this to say that a 100-pound black or Hispanic woman would have been safer??
I'm a third-generation Brooklynite. Clinton Hill has always been one of the safest of Brooklyn neighborhoods. Even during economic downturns, it always manages to keep its police presence at optimal levels. I would not worry.
posted by nubianinthedesert at 4:57 PM on November 17, 2013
I probably live within a block of where you're moving. I have had ABSOLUTELY no concerns walking around late at night.
I'd wager that the bulk of the dangerous-crimes that are part of those statistics are things that take place within the public housing project closer to Flatbush, or are around the Navy Yard area at night - I suspect that you wouldn't be intentionally walking through either at night on your way home, and even if you were out late it is incredibly easy to avoid both of those concentrated areas.
Meanwhile, there are two streets that are packed with restaurants and bars that are open late - which means that if you're walking home alone, there are plenty of open businesses where you can duck into and ask someone for help if you need it. That tends to make a neighborhood really safe. Also - if you're near Pratt, you'll also have Pratt's own security force keeping an eye on things (think of it - colleges want their campuses to be safe).
I'm a single woman who's lived in Clinton Hill for 7 years now, and in all that time, the only incidents I personally encountered were a) a breakin where my roommate forgot to lock the window that overlooked the fire escape, and someone climbed down the escape trying windows, found ours was open, and came in and took my computer; and b) a freak who obscene-phonecalled me long distance from North Carolina. Those are things that could happen to anyone anywhere. I've never had cause to be afraid in this neighborhood.
(If you want to memail me your intended address, I can give you further "here's a street to walk home on if you want" or "here's a safe subway route to take" advice. I can also recommend nearby restaurants/bars/etc. where I'm sure people would be willing to help you if you're walking home late.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:01 PM on November 17, 2013
I'd wager that the bulk of the dangerous-crimes that are part of those statistics are things that take place within the public housing project closer to Flatbush, or are around the Navy Yard area at night - I suspect that you wouldn't be intentionally walking through either at night on your way home, and even if you were out late it is incredibly easy to avoid both of those concentrated areas.
Meanwhile, there are two streets that are packed with restaurants and bars that are open late - which means that if you're walking home alone, there are plenty of open businesses where you can duck into and ask someone for help if you need it. That tends to make a neighborhood really safe. Also - if you're near Pratt, you'll also have Pratt's own security force keeping an eye on things (think of it - colleges want their campuses to be safe).
I'm a single woman who's lived in Clinton Hill for 7 years now, and in all that time, the only incidents I personally encountered were a) a breakin where my roommate forgot to lock the window that overlooked the fire escape, and someone climbed down the escape trying windows, found ours was open, and came in and took my computer; and b) a freak who obscene-phonecalled me long distance from North Carolina. Those are things that could happen to anyone anywhere. I've never had cause to be afraid in this neighborhood.
(If you want to memail me your intended address, I can give you further "here's a street to walk home on if you want" or "here's a safe subway route to take" advice. I can also recommend nearby restaurants/bars/etc. where I'm sure people would be willing to help you if you're walking home late.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:01 PM on November 17, 2013
I agree that the crime statistics are probably being heavily skewed by the projects in Fort Greene near the Navy Yard and the area directly surrounding them. I lived a few blocks away from Pratt in Bed-Stuy and never felt unsafe walking home at night. My impression of crime in the area was that it tended to be criminals vs criminals (disputes between drug dealers and whatnot) rather than criminals assaulting random people.
posted by fox problems at 5:08 PM on November 17, 2013
posted by fox problems at 5:08 PM on November 17, 2013
Do you mean this to say that a 100-pound black or Hispanic woman would have been safer??
No, I was offering my demographic info to clarify to the OP that I was in approximately the same boat as she will be in -- I'm not some 6 foot tall dude who grew up in the neighborhood saying "look it's totally safe!".
Rereading, I think I might have assumed that the OP is white, but my point is that, despite being an obvious mark, nothing bad happened to me and it didn't even occur to me to worry about it until I was actually in the act of doing it.
Clinton Hill is such an incredibly safe (and diverse) neighborhood nowadays that it's not worth a derail, but yes, of course, a person's race is a potential factor for whether they're a target in NYC. Is that really up for debate?
posted by Sara C. at 5:13 PM on November 17, 2013
No, I was offering my demographic info to clarify to the OP that I was in approximately the same boat as she will be in -- I'm not some 6 foot tall dude who grew up in the neighborhood saying "look it's totally safe!".
Rereading, I think I might have assumed that the OP is white, but my point is that, despite being an obvious mark, nothing bad happened to me and it didn't even occur to me to worry about it until I was actually in the act of doing it.
Clinton Hill is such an incredibly safe (and diverse) neighborhood nowadays that it's not worth a derail, but yes, of course, a person's race is a potential factor for whether they're a target in NYC. Is that really up for debate?
posted by Sara C. at 5:13 PM on November 17, 2013
a person's race is a potential factor for whether they're a target in NYC. Is that really up for debate?
I think it's more complex than white = "target", nonwhite = "you're cool, proceed!"
I think it's relevant to the thread because that's the sort of attitude that makes people think neighborhoods are safe/unsafe based on "instinct." People should still do whatever makes them feel comfortable, though, ie walking around and taking in the neighborhood.
posted by sweetkid at 5:21 PM on November 17, 2013
I think it's more complex than white = "target", nonwhite = "you're cool, proceed!"
I think it's relevant to the thread because that's the sort of attitude that makes people think neighborhoods are safe/unsafe based on "instinct." People should still do whatever makes them feel comfortable, though, ie walking around and taking in the neighborhood.
posted by sweetkid at 5:21 PM on November 17, 2013
I think it's more complex than white = "target", nonwhite = "you're cool, proceed!"
Oh, absolutely. It breaks down to infinite levels of outsider-ness, depending on the neighborhood. I once got accosted by some Russian dudes in (IIRC?) Forest Hills, Queens, because they'd seen me walking down the street with someone they decided was Jewish, and they'd decided I was Russian, and clearly there was a Problem Here. That's the most unsafe I've ever felt in a NYC neighborhood, and it happened in a "very safe" area amongst people who are all commonly understood to be white.
So, yeah, OP. Go to the neighborhood yourself and see how you feel. Clinton Hill specifically is so diverse, and in my experience much less tense about that diversity than other parts of the city, that I don't think you'll have a problem. I absolutely don't think being white in Clinton Hill is an issue on any level (on the off chance that you're white and were worried about that).
Either way, you should go with your gut for sure.
posted by Sara C. at 5:56 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Oh, absolutely. It breaks down to infinite levels of outsider-ness, depending on the neighborhood. I once got accosted by some Russian dudes in (IIRC?) Forest Hills, Queens, because they'd seen me walking down the street with someone they decided was Jewish, and they'd decided I was Russian, and clearly there was a Problem Here. That's the most unsafe I've ever felt in a NYC neighborhood, and it happened in a "very safe" area amongst people who are all commonly understood to be white.
So, yeah, OP. Go to the neighborhood yourself and see how you feel. Clinton Hill specifically is so diverse, and in my experience much less tense about that diversity than other parts of the city, that I don't think you'll have a problem. I absolutely don't think being white in Clinton Hill is an issue on any level (on the off chance that you're white and were worried about that).
Either way, you should go with your gut for sure.
posted by Sara C. at 5:56 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
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I live closer to the park but I don't see that it differs significantly as you get closer to Pratt. It's a very family-friendly and relaxed neighborhood and I love it here! I would highly encourage anyone to move here. I'm around your age and size. I really can't imagine someone not walking alone here after dark ... Tons of people out til around 1 or 2 I think. People don't seem to party as hard as they do in Williamsburg but it feels more relaxed and liveable.
posted by queens86 at 12:01 PM on November 17, 2013