Fear-Mongering and Crime

It can be very difficult to run a neighborhood blog when different readers want different things out of it. When I post about crime, commenters accuse me of fear-mongering. When I DON'T post about it, people demand that I do. I don't know how many readers sent me the now neighborhood-infamous link in the NY Times about the crime increase in Clinton Hill. I've been thinking about it all week, and I think it's important to circulate this news. I am going to try to refrain from any comments such as "OMG!!!" Yes, we live in a large city and we should be vigilant no matter where we are. A person can be mugged on Grand Avenue, or on Park Avenue on the UES.

As for the bank robbery, maybe I'm naive, but I really didn't realize it was all that common on a daily basis. I guess I assume it would be pretty damn scary to be in a bank when it happened.

So, without further ado, and in the spirit of keeping readers informed of what has happened, I give you the following:

• Increased muggings in CH [NY Times]
• Bank of America on Myrtle was held up just days after the CitiBank holdup
• Pratt Community Alerted to Crime [Brownstoner]
• Emails detailing continued blatant drug dealing on Grand Ave.
• Email from a Waverly Ave landlord alerting tenants that a fellow resident was car-jacked

Maybe we're just more aware of all this because Clinton Hill, unlike any other NYC neighborhood I've lived in, is a place where people know their neighbors. Crime or no crime, let's just watch out for one another. K?