Pros Cons and Random Thoughts

As I’m preparing for the inevitable move later this year, I find that I’m trying to surround myself with as much New York life as possible. One of my favorite sites on the net, that I visit almost daily, is newyorkdailyphoto.blogspot.com, simply because the author (Brian Dube) does such an excellent job of photographing and explaining various buildings and places of interest around the city. I constantly look up news stories from the city on the New York local news sites in order to know what’s going on in the city that will soon become my home. I do this not only to engrain myself in that city’s life and to be prepared for what I’m getting myself into, but also because it is almost a daily reminder that I am moving and in fact is a bit of motivation to keep myself focused on my goal…living in New York City.

In reading the news stories almost daily, I am a bit concerned about some of the crime in New York. Here in SoCal, there are of course numerous stories of crime and violence, but as I mentioned before, because of the spread out nature of the area and the individuality of each independent municipality, unless you live in some of the higher crime neighborhoods, it does not generally affect you in daily life. Now of course I’m not trying to imply that New York City is this haven of crime and violence, but the recent statistics suggest that crime is on the rise.

According to an article on NY Daily News.com,

The city’s murder tally has surged 26% this year – compared with last year’s record-low homicide count, the latest NYPD statistics show.

And while the same article goes on to say that the overall crime rate in New York City is down by 1%,

The homicide number is worrisome because of looming budget cuts that will reduce the NYPD force by 1,000 cops – resulting in the smallest department in 16 years.

On the same subject, a NYPost.com article states that

With 501 killings reported by last Sunday, the city’s homicide rate rose…compared to last year’s 476… and …Robberies – including a rash of violent muggings in Central Park and a month long crime wave in Greenwich Village first revealed by The Post – were also up, by 2 percent, according to the report.

Now I understand that with the population of the New York City area, naturally, the crime statistics would be higher because of the density of people. But it’s my thought that when I do move to New York, I would be more exposed to the possibility of crime in day-to-day life. In comparison, I currently live in Los Angeles County, and according to an LA Times.com article,

Violent crimes — such as homicides and rapes — and crimes involving thefts in Los Angeles were down about 2.5% through Saturday compared with the same period of 2007, according to Los Angeles Police Department figures. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, which handles law enforcement for dozens of other cities, reported a 6% drop in such crimes committed through the end of November… and…With four days left in the year, 376 people had been killed — 24 fewer than in the same period the year before. The total marks a 27% drop from the 517 people slain five years ago and is far below the peak of 1,092 killings the city recorded in 1992.

Again, I’m not attempting to debate which city is better or safer to live in, but living in the SoCal metropolis most of my life, it is logically a question that would come to mind. I may be over exaggerating but it just seems as though in New York, I will be more at risk than in a suburb some 25 miles east of Los Angeles. It also seems that there is a greater risk of a possible terrorist attack or foreign attack on New York affecting my daily life and health, rather than living in a suburb of LA. I suppose these are some of the risks and rewards that float in each person’s head as they debate whether to move to the great city that is New York.

Now obviously due to economic restrictions with my initial move to New York (i.e. – not having a job yet, living off savings, etc…), I’ll likely be living in Brooklyn or Queens or perhaps even the Bronx. Never being there longer than ten days and not knowing anyone who has ever lived in The City, I’m not aware which places to avoid. Thus, I fear that my initial experience in the first few weeks is completely predicated upon the fact that I choose a comfortable place to live without knowing where that place will actually be.

Perhaps some of you out there in the blogosphere could contribute and put my mind at ease.

“The crime problem in New York is getting really serious, the other day the Statue Of Liberty had both hands up.” - Jay Leno