How bad is Harlem New York City?

Answer 1

I think it's mainly racism, combined with out-of-date stereotypes about New York City. They won't admit it, but a lot of people still seem to think that black people -- especially young black men -- are criminals. Harlem is a black neighborhood, and black people are dangerous, so therefore, Harlem must be dangerous.

Furthermore, in the 1970s through the early 1990s, New York City had a serious crime problem. The city was also bankrupt. In the words of an article I read somewhere on the subject, "Crime was up, and morale was down."

Back then, Harlem was a poor neighborhood, and poverty breeds crime. When people can't make a living honestly, they become desperate and angry, and often they turn to illegal forms of income like drug dealing, selling guns or robbing people. The extreme poverty and its consequences, combined with the low morale in the city, made Harlem a very dangerous neighborhood.

However, New York City is currently the safest major U.S. city, and has been for several years now. And Harlem is not a poor neighborhood anymore. Right now it is a very desirable neighborhood to live in. real estate values in Harlem have skyrocketed in the last 10 years or so. The neighborhood has actually become very gentrified, and it now has lots and lots of white residents.

A lot of people still seem to think that New York City is very dangerous, though. I dunno, I guess they've watched Taxi Driver too many times, and have started confusing movies with reality. Or they just remember hearing and reading about how dangerous it was years ago, and it never occurs to them that things might have changed in the last 20 years.

Whatever the reason, a lot of people still think New York City is a dangerous place. And they assume that Harlem is even more dangerous than most of the city's neighborhoods, because it's a black neighborhood.

Answer 2

Most people think they are going to be ripped to pieces if they go to a place like East Harlem but most of the violence happens between the people who already live there. You need street smarts though, like being aware of your surroundings and don't go alone but it really isn't as bad as it used to be. There was a white anthropologist who lived there for 3 years with his wife and newborn baby boy and he never ran into trouble with the people and his wife walked around and where fine.