Gothamist: Getting Rushkoffed Out of a Neighborhood

iamnotstarjones

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 22:18:18 -0500

What is most interesting is how some posters seem to believe (by their comments, at least) that non-white people are never victims of crimes themselves in NYC. Or maybe non-white people are lucky enough to be the only victims of crime because they are children of a lesser God. (Didn't you know?) The Rushkoffs and Bagel in Harlem are having a natural reaction to their trauma -- it's easy to blame the locale not the reality that evil, parasitic vermin of every race, class, creed exist everywhere. But I wonder what do people say/do when crime happens in small towns (I grew up in a small town in NC and remember as a little girl running from a man who exposed himself to me in broad daylight) without so much multiethnicity? Now for the people who are convinced that every non-white person is a criminal waiting to attack white people. It's not true. There are non-white people fighting a war in Iraq while we sit here and continue our lives. Remember that before denigrating an entire race of people for the actions of a few.

pete

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 01:42:43 -0500

You know your taking a risk by moving into certain areas, crime level is not a function of how much you paid for your condo. I mean, if your going to live in Harlem, your FUCKING STUPID if you think its going to be some yuppie WASP bohemian paradise no matter what your real estate agent told you. Keep yourself streight, this is NYC, always watch yourself, and never let your guard down no matter what. Best advice, always keep track of who is behind you and look backwards, your nuts if you care what people think by you looking behind yourself too much, and also keep track of people ahead and stay away from non flat storefronts where problems linger. I would say the most crime happens between 2PM-5PM and 7PM to 10PM, after a certain time at night i find its interesting that crime usually goes to sleep (1AM in my experiance).

Teddy N.

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 18:13:27 -0500

That's life in an over-populated, multi-ethnic region with lots of people, crazy or otherwise, rubbing up against each other daily. That's the reality of living here. You see that "reality" walking next to you everyday. It's hard to miss. I've never been a crime victim (grew up in Brooklyn), but I know there's a fair chance something could happen to me everytime I leave my home. That's life in this city.

dug

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 16:27:48 -0500

gee squidfly, you're so worldly and wise.

squidfly

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:47:16 -0500

I think it's funny how priveleged kids expect the long-term neoghborhood people they're pushing out to treat them well. Don't they know that colonizers should expect some hostility from the natives. um, excuse me? move to a new neighborhood and you deserve hostility? are you fucking kidding? sorry, but anybody can move into any neighborhood they want to. the guy who attacked her is clearly in the wrong. he asked her for money, she responded politely, and he attacked her, and you're implying it's OK? nobody deserves what she went through, to be attacked by a total stranger whom she owes nothing! Welcome to America...or London...or Paris...or Rome...the world is a dangerous place. Just thank god you don't live in Iowa. Bensonhurst, Howard Beach are no walkie, zones for Black folks, Black folks know that. She needs to grow up and get some tattoo's on her chest.

BrooklynNative

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 12:57:24 -0500

Rushkoffed, verb, multiple meanings depending on media and or audience; (1) reaction to an incident that bears no relation to the community one lives in but followed up by a threat to leave; (2) to be "skoffed" at by an unsympathetic "sock mob" which helps verbally "rush" the process by sharing their comments; (3) reaction from neighborhhood/community when an self-centered agenda is uncovered.

Jonas Cord Jr.

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 12:53:17 -0500

I've always figured that all these gentrifying frontiersmen & women were naive about living in a City in general, and Rushkoff & this girl prove it. I was attacked by a panhandler under similar cirsumstances - in the richest area of the Upper East Side. You have to be stupid to believe that the danger is merely being in these rough-around-the-edges neighborhoods - it's the risk of being in any City, period. The sooner they realize this and accept the inner-suburbanite that lives in their boring, cowardly souls the better.

Studious

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 12:00:03 -0500

The tone of this one is completely different from Rushkoffs. Here, the writer isn't angry at Harlem and doesn't act as if "Harlem" did this to her. With the Rushkoffs, it's as if Park Slope somehow was responsible, as if they were betrayed by Park Slope. Rushkoff even told WNYC that he "got caught up" in the Park Slope "frenzy" - as opposed to the dot com frenzy, of all things. Park Slope. Dot com boom. I see the connection. Wait, no I don't. WTF?! And then he says there's "more tension" in his "relationship" with Brooklyn drug dealers compared with those of the Lower East Side. Again, WTF?! A neighborhood is a neighborhood is a neighborhood. It is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. And while we're still on this topic, what is up with Steven Johnson's ridiculous description of Brooklyn - something about living side-by-side with Hasids and working class African Americans. When was the last time Steve Johnson had a conversation with a Hasid or a "working class African American?" Is he filling in for Marty Markowitz or something? Truly annoying.

mizar 5

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:39:28 -0500

A new entry for the Urban Dictionary: Rushkoffed -- a euphemism for ethnic cleansing

zbbttttrrr

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 09:57:50 -0500

I just caught this. Who are these people who are ___SURPRISED__ that this shit happens in NYC? Growing up in some crummy NJ suburb I used to get roughed up by the Puerto Ricans when I'd go downtown. Did I cry and want to move? Yes. But you have to deal with it. That's life in an over-populated, multi-ethnic region with lots of people, crazy or otherwise, rubbing up against each other daily.

hah

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 09:38:31 -0500

i love how people who write blogs threatening to move out of nyc think that the city, or anyone in it (besides their lame blogger friends) will actually care. do they really think anyone that has been pushed out of their neighborhood due to people like them is gonna be like: "aw MAN, now that nice white girl/guy left bec we could not behave ourselves. what a SHAME!" no. get over yourselves you self-indulgent bloggers. NO ONE CARES YOU ARE LEAVING. you are not nearly as important to the functioning of nyc as you may think.

um, WHAT?

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:59:24 -0500

nick

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 02:47:35 -0500

i feel for the bagel person.. but that bagel shtick got old about 2 sentences in.

zincink

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 01:28:58 -0500

Hit with a bag of cans????? Be glad it wasn't a bullet.. You gotta be TOUGH..its HARLEM for crying out loud..Get with the program!

BrooklynNative

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:39:37 -0500

"Getting Rushkoffed Out of a Neighborhood" - someone notify William Safire for next week's On Language.

daisyblue

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:02:01 -0500

Post 14 got it right. Does anyone really thing that she doesn't have a right to be angry? How would you feel if out of the blue someone knocked you down because they were trying to hurt you? And she's not cyring about it or pondering her alternatives-- she LEFT. Yeah this is NYC and yeah shit happens, but it is literally quite a shock to your system when it happens to you.

Tex

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 21:02:19 -0500

OK, gentrification and Rushkoff and blahblahblah aside, getting hit with a sack of recycling (recycling!) is at best a minor footnote in 300+ years of NYC crime.

squidfly

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 20:04:31 -0500

You may gain some insight.

Tom

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:14:58 -0500

What does: Read the History of NY, Lower Manhattan was an African Village. Have to do with: I've been up to Harlem quite a few times and every time I do, I get stared at uncomfortably unlike the rest of lower manhattan

squidfly

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:48:31 -0500

Why are people so pissed when black people act like black people? hello? you live in harlem? getting robbed, groped, and raped is a daily occurence like getting the morning paper there. [22] Posted by: lol Your probably the kind of person who covers up his mirror. yes, crime happens all over NYC, but the frequency of it varies from hood to hood. I've been up to Harlem quite a few times and every time I do, I get stared at uncomfortably unlike the rest of lower manhattan [13] Posted by: b Read the History of NY, Lower Manhattan was an African Village. Also you need to travel more, then you'll see whose really looking at you. Anyway like any white person Narcissism is your alter-ego. black people and latinos live like pigs. being hit with a sack of empty cans is par for the course. [10] Posted by: hah Well my friend a pig has more dignity than your ilk. From these posts it's so clear how scared/terrified white people are of...everything, no wonder you loved slavery so much. You boys really need Big Brother to take care of your asses. Remember look under the bed tonight, because "IT" might be...waiting.

Not Tough Enough, Apparently

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:49:27 -0500

I love all the inferences everybody has decided to make about gentrification in their replies. Fact is, there are things that happen that make you gut-check whether or not you want to live where you do. I very much enjoyed my apartment in Chelsea across the street from the projects. Spent 3.5 years there with no real incidents. Over the course of one summer, I watch the Bloods move in, saw a shooting, and had two friends assaulted on a Saturday evening. After all that, I realized I was no longer comfortable in my neighborhood and decided to try something new. Now, I don't write a self-indulgent blog, so obviously I'm inviting the hate like the girl in the focus of an article. But really, I don't think it takes much to empathize with her point, whether or not you agree.

bklynd

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:46:06 -0500

Yeah fine, move to where you are comfortable. We did (to a relatively unhip outer borough neighborhood) and never really regretted it. It's not NEWS, it's just common sense.

lol

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:40:56 -0500

Why are people so pissed when black people act like black people? hello? you live in harlem? getting robbed, groped, and raped is a daily occurence like getting the morning paper there.

u report ur stolen car

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:37:44 -0500

I bet if they had their car stolen, they'll report it right away. Why not a mugging? Hell, when my shitty bike was stolen in Herald Square, I flagged down a cop car to report it. Was it useless? probably but they actually gave me a complaint number. When my motorcycle was stolen, I did my duty to get that guy behind bars by testifying before a judge. Tell the cops when it's still fresh in your mind, That's why I'm think the cop was irritated that they reported it late.

Eric C

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:34:29 -0500

"yes, crime happens all over NYC, but the frequency of it varies from hood to hood." Amen. I'm not going to say the name of the n'hood I live in, but I am telling you that I have never been the subject of or witnessed ANYTHING like getting hit with a recycling bag by some homeless derelict there. Ever. Those of you who say these kinds of interactions are par for the course in every neighborhood are kidding yourselves. They're not. Am I insulated from all wrongdoing? Of course not. Am I confident that it's far less likely to happen where I live than, say, Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn? Yes.

Constant Dater

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:25:31 -0500

Aw, hell, Lights Cameras if the Rushkoffs can't get it together to report a crime until the next damn morning, how you gonna expect them to make a trip to Home Depot or organize anything? Yeah, I'm totally judging Ruskoff for not reporting the mugging until the next day. I say that as someone who was mugged in the Slope but managed to report it, do the drive-around, look at mug shots, look at line ups, grand jury, testify, and all that shit without setting off the fucking navel-gaze that was heard 'round the block. Was it upsetting? Of course. Not to be all Jimmy Stewart, but being a responsible citizen about it was more important to me. Ruskoff didn't "deserve" to get mugged, but my sympathy is dimmed and I'll sure as hell think he's a douchebag for pretty much ensuring that his mugger will be out there that much longer. (BTW, looking at groups of mug shots is fascinating and creepy in that "Shit, I never wanna run into THAT dude!" way.)

mg

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:24:37 -0500

I think it's funny how priveleged kids expect the long-term neighborhood people they're pushing out to treat them well. Don't they know that colonizers should expect some hostility from the natives? That's the deal. If you really want to be part of the real estate avant-garde, you have to be ready to take a few lumps. Just please don't cry about it when it happens.

mg

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:23:10 -0500

I think it's funny how priveleged kids expect the long-term neoghborhood people they're pushing out to treat them well. Don't they know that colonizers should expect some hostility from the natives. That's the deal. If you really want to be part of the real estate avant-garde, you have to be ready to take a few lumps. Just please don't cry about it when it happens.

lights Cameras

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:04:47 -0500

You install motion sensing lighting, get a watch block, help each other out. Be Pro Active, Talk to your community affairs officer, bend their ears, ask for suggestions, get that direct line to the cops. I know I watch my neighbors homes when they are away and even take care of some over growth. However, we don't take kindly to nosy newcomers from Brooklyn who tresspass. Baby steps, people, baby steps. Who knows, eventually you'll get that summer block party when you get to meet ALL your neighbors. don't forget to apply for the block permit.

matty

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:03:31 -0500

maybe people need to realize that new york is a fucking gigantic sea of humanity. I don't think any city has ever been as big and diverse as that city in such a contained area. it's a big big scary place (i say this even living in chicago which i guess has more crime than new york - or something) but it is really not a place that you should think is a playground for white people. People who lived there for decades are rubbing shoulders with new out of towners and the very idea that they should be immune from the very real dangers of living in a city that larege is both naive and fatal if not approached with caution.

mihow

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:55:19 -0500

For some reason, this particular article didn't annoy me as much as the one I read on B. Rushkoff's blog. I was probably in a bad mood that day and i was a little rough on her/them but it was something in the tone: "Park Slope, your loss! We're leaving! So there!" This is different. The writer merely states that she was angry and doesn't really enjoy it anymore, not that Harlem is somehow blame for her leaving, that it will somehow miss her. But, like I said, I've been grumpy lately. Really. For what it's worth, I feel badly for what I wrote about the Rushkoffs previously because I'm actually a pretty nice, and understanding person (I swear!) I have known several people who have movd because of crime in their neighborhood. It happens. You don't have to deal with it at all. You can leave. But... The Idealist in my wishes people might band together and form some type of neighborhood watch, maybe educated folks more about who they vote into (local) office and why. Communities are key. If we make them, build them, maybe we won't have to move away from an otherwise lovely place. I dunno.

b

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:50:20 -0500

yes, crime happens all over NYC, but the frequency of it varies from hood to hood. I've been up to Harlem quite a few times and every time I do, I get stared at uncomfortably unlike the rest of lower manhattan

Empire

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:31:49 -0500

Agreed, Rushkoff needs to build a bridge and get over it. New York City has crime - end of story. I live in Park Slope and I was not shocked to hear of a mugging. Shit happens. What Rushkoff is not emphasizing is that this happened right near Methodist Hospital and hospitals attract weirdos & junkies from all over. People stagger out of ERs at all times of day & night and the streets next to the hospital aren't super residential.

hume

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:30:36 -0500

and other jaded bs sayings.

haha

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:29:46 -0500

black people and latinos live like pigs. being hit with a sack of empty cans is par for the course.

Idiots!

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:28:18 -0500

We may be idiots, but this stuff happens. If this is the worst thing that ever happens to her, she's a lucky gal.

Yentl

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:26:18 -0500

I didn’t read the post, but I feel as if I have to make an appearance because of the picture of the Bagel.

A whitey in Harlem

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:25:55 -0500

I lived in Harlem for 2 years and then moved to the UWS last june. I will be moving back soon. If you are stupid enough to be where weird drunkos are, you are gonna get attacked with a sack of cans. But that could happen in any neighborhood. Shut up.

Tom

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:25:44 -0500

This kind personal drama has always existed. Am I expected to suddenly care where this chick calls home just because of the internets? I'm sure it's a big deal to her but that's not the same as saying it's a big deal.

here be idiots

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:23:16 -0500

She got hit hard with a giant bag of recycling, knocking her down. You guys are idiots.

Chuck

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:20:37 -0500

sniff, sniff, life is hard, get use to it or go off yourself.

matty

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:18:59 -0500

cry me a river and drown in it.

JP PLynch

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:14:39 -0500

BOO-HOO. Shit happens. Suck it up and deal or move already - buncha freakin' crybabies.

sam

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:14:14 -0500

The Intelligencer article hints at the right tone and approach - "Who cares, you whiny yuppie scum"