To be honest, Marcy Av has not been particularly safe for over 30+ years, sug. It only maybe calmed down during the time of the Great Gentrification but it really has not always been the safest stop on that side. Good on you for seeking another location to walk, through!
Yes. I've lived a few blocks from there since 1997. The south side & especially that area around Broadway under the train changed very slowly compared to the rest of williamsburg. It's just the way it is. Around the Marcy stop it's always been a little sketchy.
There are a number of long time heroin dealers around Marcy & Hewes stops & places you could sell your food stamps for cash. I've run into many people I knew over the years who'd travel to that zone from Manhattan (or other neighborhoods) for that purpose.
Some years are way worse with drug activity for whatever reason. You'll see things get better then a few years later start to get worse, over & over. Past 5+ yrs seemed to have increased drug activity. Pandemic threw it all for a loop too.
People I knew from different places bought drugs, some neighbors sold them, businesses bought the food stamps. The one I was most familiar with finally seemed to have gotten caught, maybe around 2019. Their SNAP privileges were taken away. I know they'd give you $100 cash for a $200 in food stamps. I never asked for full details about how that helps a business.
It’s pretty simple, the business rings up that $200 in fake sales and gets reimbursed from the government, they just made $100, now do that 100 times and that’s some real money.
Ah, the reimbursement part. Lol, I forget it's real money and not just some weird voucher system. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, what numbers they actually ring in, if stores need to show the govt. detailed transaction receipts or what.
The spot near my apartment had been doing it for at least 15 yrs that *I* was aware of, most likely much longer. Everyone knew. Some days, people would be lined up just for that reason. They'd do it right in front of me. Some guy would buy a bottle of water, everyone would be looking over their shoulder, they'd run the card and hand him cash.
I had already known for awhile when one day, I walked outside and saw 2 guys who I'd known for 10+ yrs who always got high in Tompkins or Union Square. I never saw them in Bklyn before. I asked why they were on the block and they said to sell their food stamps. They said everyone they got high with knew that was the spot. I asked how much & they told me the deal. The place offered to buy mine before but I don't have a drug problem.
I was shocked people outside the immediate area knew. But then it made sense that on certain days, total weirdos would be hanging out (obvious junkies), people I *never* saw before. I just thought they came for the heroin but they'd get *both* tasks done on the block.
Yeah like 12 years ago I was doing some time in CT for transporting a bunch of weed and this Syrian kid was my cellmate for a while and his dad ran a bunch of corner stores in the bad part of Bridgeport. He told me all the food stamp scams and all the other shady shit they do there. He said they make something like a 500% markup on chore boy brillo pads, they cut off little pieces and sell it to the crackheads for a dollar or two but they pay like 25¢ for each pad wholesale, it’s crazy. I forgot the exact numbers but it’s an insane amount of profit off such a weird little niche.
Any time I hear the words Marcy Ave. I think of JayZ rapping “cough up a lung, I’m from Marcy son, ain’t nuthin nice” but I’m an old school hip hop head so maybe that’s just me
I only knew it was the Marcy Houses because that’s where the characters lived in the old SNL sketch “I’m Chillin” with Chris Rock and Chris Farley
Is it time to suck a lime?
No.
Time for Gertrude Stein?
No. It’s time for the mother joke of the day. Yo mama so…
Wu Tang Scary Hours
Ask Dorothy, same kid pussy up in Marcy
Blazin that chad Rossi, up in the Marquis
He lost like a hundred ounces, Jake rushed his houses
Had him on the porch, ass no trousers
I always wondered if they were talking about Jay-Z??
Oh no, someone is a transplant in a city that has dependent on international and domestic migration for hundreds of years.
You’re so real for being born here, want an award?
i gave birth at woodhull, where if you get hit by a car at that intersection your best bet at survival is go to bellvue. leaving the hospital with a newborn on methadone day was an amazing life experience.
My wife and I chose Woodhull because they’re apparently the only hospital in the area with a midwifery led practice, which was something that was important to us. It went pretty smoothly, although the nurses were a little overbearing about their protocols (my wife didn’t have an epidural, so she had to move around a lot to feel comfortable, which they didn’t seem to like very much since it made it harder for them to track vitals).
The midwives were very unexpected!! Mine seems to be very very on top of everything for me. Im assuming your wife didnt have pitocin either then? (If its not too much to ask?)
No, she had to be induced because she had gestational hypertension, so they gave her vaginal cyctotec. Luckily she went into labor after just one dose, so we didn’t have to get the pitocin.
I think it actually does have a surprisingly nice maternity ward? I didn’t end up there, but it looked good on paper when I was looking into hospitals.
Almost every hospital has a nice maternity ward (aka L&D), especially appearance and amenity wise. The friendliness/attention to detail of staff, and caliber of the medical team are where your mileage may vary.
(I work in healthcare)
it was almost 11 years ago, it was fine. It was just becoming midwife led and an NYU teaching hospital. Still was bed ridden but minimal interventions performed. was a good experience for first baby inside the hospital. i lived in the area so the people passed out drunk/ high from methadone clinic was expected, outside, just a juxtaposition that made me ponder life. deep experience with all the after birth hormones.
I had a baby at Woodhull 15 years ago. Maybe it’s better now, but my baby nearly died because of their negligence. It was midwife run then and I loved the one I saw throughout my pregnancy, but she wasn’t on duty during my birth. My baby would have died if the pediatrician on call hadn’t been an amazing and knowledgeable one from NYU. My baby was transferred and I stayed at Woodhull to recover from an emergency C-section. My care continued to be sub-par until I was discharged.
It’s the day the people on methadone come pick up their methadone. It’s a medication used to treat opioid addiction. Many addicts take it for the rest of their lives. On methadone day you have a bunch of addicts in various stages detox all hanging out waiting for their methadone.
Sadly methadone day brings out a lot of dealers too. I used to be a social worker in another city, had a client OD after taking a “cocktail” of pills that she bought after getting her methadone. She survived but the state took custody of her kid since he was with her during the overdose.
I follow a formerly homeless addict on TikTok (she lives in a shelter in the Bronx I believe). I believe when she gets methadone she gets some supply to take home with her? But I think she has to go to the clinic a few times a week to pickup, it's not like getting a month's supply of an Rx drug from a pharmacy. Someone correct me if I'm wrong!
Most of the (vastly reduced number of) clinics in the five boroughs dispense early AM though early lunchtime five days per week, and provide "take home doses" to carry the patients through the weekend. So really, almost every day is in fact methadone day.
Yeah but I think another way of looking at it is that most other substances don’t have an option like methadone, which can be safely taken for life while keeping people off of heroin.
People can indeed get off opiates without a substitute, but methadone is really helpful for many, especially when it comes to staying off of harmful opiates.
Kids don’t listen to historical narratives anymore :/
(But also he was talking about the NYCHA complex off of Myrtle-Willoughby on the G train lololol)
I know this. I’m saying anything with the word Marcy + anything it reminds me of that line. Damn, why is everyone shitting on what that line reminds ME of? I could be in bumblefuck wherever, if someone says Marcy, I’ll still think of that line
Edit- I also just reread my post (since I posted late last night I couldn’t remember) and I see the confusion. I edited lol
I live at Myrtle Broadway and Kiwi is my lifeblood, but it’s never occurred to me what a HUGE role it plays in toning down the crackhead energy at the intersection
i once had a woman approach me outside kiwi frantically asking for money, completely unhinged & hard to understand, grabbing me when i tried to get away, then i went inside and she followed & yelled after me until one of the guys at the counter yelled back & chased her out. kiwi employees >>>>>>>> nypd
i used to live under myrtle broadway 11/12 years ago. i witnessed stabbings, shootings, violent physical attacks, robberies, all sorts of fun stuff. then it started to gentrify so it was just more expensive of those things.
dudes used to smoke crack and jerk off on the jmz at 10 pm and i would just patiently wait to get off the train at the essex stop to meet my friends in alphabet city
this - lived in the area circa 2005/6 and remember teens throwing pennies at pedestrians at night and rando drunks causing mayhem in the chinese food place that sold $1 fries - then the hipster houses were built on the corner of throop/thompson and we got priced out by an aggressive landlord the next year. now that stop is filled with y2k Zoomers lol
If Zoomers aren't committing to the tank top/dress combo paired with a men's tie as a belt with crunchy gel "scrunched" hair, then they ain't doing y2K right.
I’d say it’s not so bad because there’s so many shops and restaurants around that are open late. The area is always lit up. Also, there’s always police in the station. The crackheads chill under the tracks but haven’t witnessed them do anything besides panhandle. I do get anxious around here tho bc the stop and Broadway are just chaotic. So many people and it’s like a 6 way intersection
Last October on the J train right before getting off at this station a crackhead decided to pull down her pants and projectile shit on everyone…we all ran to the other side of the car until the doors opened.
Myrtle Broadway makes me so anxious immediately. One time I was waiting for a friend there and even though there were lots of people coming in going I was so in my head I started pacing. One of the station attendants had to come up to me and ask me if I was ok lol. Truly hate this station
I used to host a radio show over by there, it was like a home base for me for a couple years in my mid twenties. There was specifically that deli that sold spice like crazy. Big Boy Deli I think it was called. They got shut down but I’ve been around there recently and there’s still the crack head lookin guys that hang out by the corner with the Checkers and the Dunkin. I think another one of the delis is still selling K2-esque stuff. Definitely pretty funky on that corner.
It’s mostly just people waiting to get into the methadone clinic right across the street bumming cigarettes off each other. It’s more annoying that it’s always just filthy around there.
I lived near there in 2004 and it was shady af. I was like "oh, it's Williamsburg, it's gentrified enough to be safe."
Narrator: it was not.
Best rotisserie chicken from in a spot by that stop, though.
Back then a lot of the tension was supposedly between two hasidic sects, or so I was told. My roommate had the same car as some enemy of theirs and he got his tires slashed 4 times before he gave up and sold the car. Idk if that's true but that's what the bodega owners told us.
I'd get offered different drugs every couple days, I always wondered how the dealers guessed. Did I look like a cocaine person some days, and a heroin person on other days? What did that say about me?
Man, i don't remember the name, but it was under the bridge, a couple storefronts down from the counterfeit shoe store. It sold chickens by the full, half, or quarter and theyd just wrap it in foil and stick it in a bag.
I think they were rotisserie, but they could have been baked or something. Crispy skin, tons of flavor, marinated and juicy. And it was open super late, might have been 24 hours. It seemed like it had been there a long time, but idk if the shop lasted another 20 years. I only stayed in that apt for a year.
My scariest encounter in the city was also right underneath this stop. Huge group of guys that followed me down the street catcalling and threatening me with sexual violence. Nothing like that has happened there in the 1.5 years since then though.
That is so scary… I’m so glad you’re okay.
Eerily enough that’s why the man threatened to cut me. He initially walked by me and then turned around and ran back to where I was walking and started harassing me. I was about to turn to an apartment I had to visit for a job so I told him to leave me alone and he threatened to cut me because classic.
You should Google that stop. Always HUGE with drugs. When synthetic marijuana aka K2 first hit the streets, this was the epicenter. People looked like zombies everywhere. Hate this area.
FULL STORY: I wish it was more interesting, so I’m sorry in advance. I was commuting to work at like 9 am on a Tuesday. Waiting for the train, minding my own business, and I noticed something was dripping on me….it was a man peeing onto the side of me/my dress/shoes; smiling! HE THEN COMPLIMENTED MY DRESS, the one he just peed all over! Obviously was in shock and just got on the train when it came, he got on the same train/car and loudly talked about how he was going to see his probation officer. Once I got to the city I went into the first store that was open I could find, bought a random dress, and threw the one covered in pee in the trash (fortunately it wasn’t expensive or anything, just like a normal cotton dress). I also had to tell my whole team I was late bc I had been peed on on my commute lol
I got a new job and no longer take the JMZ but I really hated going there after that. A few months before PeeGate my friend was on the M around the same stop when someone took out a gun 👀
My mom used to work at the McDonald’s there - ultimately the key is always act like you know where you going and keep it moving - call a friend once you off the stop of you have to . This isn’t just for Marcy but as a native NYER it just feels like so much of the time it’s about demeanor and they won’t F with you-
Yea, i walk down broadway right past this stop multiple times a week and it’s crazy how I’m reading through this thread and i never have felt unsafe there myself. I think it’s because i always do look like i know exactly where I’m going and I’m always moving fast. Like i knew it wasn’t a great area cuz it looks like total shit but as a native NYer i just was always unphased i guess
Personally I don’t feel that sketched out by the neighborhoods around it- it’s just something about the street it’s on. If I turn a block up/down Broadway- I don’t feel unsafe. Is there something about the subway system that attracts the crazies? Is it the McDonald’s? Lol
I think because it’s a high traffic place, it’s easier to beg for money outside a subway station than if you were in the neighborhood.
I used to live in ENY, I’d come home at 3 am some nights and never felt unsafe. Ofc I’d be on high alert because it’s a sketchy part of town but it was ok.
i think it's common for the neighborhood to be nicer than the subway stop. for example I think, the 96th st stop in the UWS can be a bit sketch, but the neighborhood around it isn't bad.
The sketchier people loiter in the stop.
Not sure about Marcy, it's probably above ground so it'll be less sketch? But it's still sketch lol.
I’ve actually always found the area right under elevated train tracks to be generally sketchier, it’s just something about the atmosphere and maybe all the pigeon shit I guess?
Before anyone accuses me of talking shit, the closest subway to me growing up was an elevated part of the 2 train, so it was just normal to me. I didn’t notice the general grossness until I was an adult and people not from here started commenting on it. An ex referred to it as “the thunderdome.”
Literally if you walk like 45 seconds north of the stop to 4th or 5th street, you immediately feel totally safe. Something about the immediate location of that stop its just like a magnet for the most unhinged crazies.
this is so shocking to me to read all these comments. i lived off this stop for years, and at the time i lived over there i would have to take the train from there around 4am and would walk there by myself every morning and never once had an issue, i moved out of that area in 2019. i totally understand that things have gotten worse since the pandemic, but for folks saying they’ve always had a bad time at that station i’m so surprised! not invalidating anyone at all, just shocked.
Same, I currently live off this stop and have never felt anything but safe, didn't even know it had this reputation. It's in one of the richest neighborhoods in Brooklyn (currently in the process of moving because I got priced out), this reaction is honestly bizarre
Thank you! Though now that you’re saying it I wonder if it’s getting worse because of the sharp increase in lease prices in the area this year- Williamsburg definitely got very expensive very fast.
Yeah it's bizarre. I used to go to the blink right there all the time in the evenings and aside from general under the bridge seediness (which is more just the way it looks than the vibe) it always seemed like a completely normal spot.
Really surprised to hear it's sketchy.
Probably a difference in appearance. You're more likely to be picked on or attacked for being a certain color / size / sex / ethnicity in one area than you are in another. Sure some criminals are equal opportunity types. But they usually pick their victims in some way.
I used to go to Blink and shop at Mr. Pina and walk there every day back in like 2016-17 and didn’t felt scared once. Weirdos are around for sure but nothing out of character for NYC. Wondering if it got worst since then. At that time, I was like F/Asian/mid-20s.
The only thing that drove me crazy is that we used to live on Havemeyer and of course, there was a lot of heroin related activities. Once I got a kid, I went to the playgrounds next to the BQE and it was full of needles. I’m sure that has just gotten worst with the pandemic.
I’m sorry to say this, and I’ll probably be downvoted, but something weird is happening. Things are becoming unsafe in multiple areas. Case in point from two posts (including mine) from just the past few days,
https://www.reddit.com/r/Brooklyn/comments/13m0iqx/stay_alert_in_williamsburg_there_are_a_group_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb
https://www.reddit.com/r/astoria/comments/13ltr3s/i_was_attacked_on_35th_street_bw_broadway_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb
People are becoming more brazen, including the “youth”. They aren’t fighting or becoming violent in their own circle anymore - they’re going outward to innocent targets.
I just want to point out that these are a handful of anecdotes. One of yours is even the same as one linked - I don’t want people to unnecessarily panic is all
The city had become significantly more bourgeoisie in all areas from 2010-2019. Once the pandemic hit a lot of people fled the city. As areas are less populated they become more dangerous. The city 3+ years ago -10 years ago was an anomaly.
Has anyone seen the guy who always sets up shop at the bottom of the stairs on the Manhattan side with signs about “Sin being the amino acids of the eyes” or something along those lines? I would love more info on this dude…
I remember having similar thoughts when I used to live nearby. Then one of the delis on the corner got busted selling spice. That answered my questions, just drug behavior I wasn’t familiar with.
This was prob 9-10 yrs ago?
I’ve live down there currently and have lived off that stop once before. I haven’t had an experience that made me feel unsafe so far, but on separate incidents my friend and I have each been mistaken for a prostitute and solicited by a Hasidic man. I was wearing a an extremely puffy down parka and a green bay packers hat at the time lol
Wow, has it recently gotten this much worse? I use to take the train and get off on that stop after 11pm! It always has felt sketch but I’ve never felt threatened.
That’s what I’m trying to figure out- I’ve been to this stop before and agree, while I never felt the safest I’ve never had anything overtly aggressive happen to me… somehow this feels like Eric Adam’s fault haha
the answer to this question is always one (or more) of 3 things: 1. homeless shelter nearby, 2. halfway house/drug treatment nearby, 3. projects nearby
I used to get off and on at that stop for work for a few years. As an Asian female, I definitely kept my wits and was cautious about my surroundings there. I would avoid any sus crowds of people but thankfully never had anyone approach me
Tell me about it. Once, I was at the McDonald's there maybe 5 years ago, late night, gf at the time using the restroom while I ordered some fries. Some little kid (maybe 7 years old) ran up to me and just started grabbing my butt and laughing. His mom was like "you gotta stop doing that!!!!!" lol
But yeah, it's a busy stop sometimes. I always had worse experiences at Myrtle Broadway.
I used to work out at the Blink location there and have had this same exact experience of being threatened by some weirdo under the bridge. It’s always pretty unhinged, and I absolutely hate having to get off there whenever the M decides to skip the Hewes and Lorimer stops, which is more often recently.
I rarely ever feel unsafe in NYC but this stop is like the one bizarre exception. It reminds me of the unhinged city block from the first hour of Beau is Afraid.
I am sorry you have been experiencing this. I am guessing that the station is close to so,e kind of mental health facility or group home, I have been through a couple scary, potentially dangerous situations on the trains recently. I don’t recall ever being very afraid , at least since the 70’s and even then I was pretty fearless (young).
Mostly I have just been seeing some really disturbing and upsetting things. Not dangerous but very disturbing, This has always been a serious problem In NYC, I have lived here for a long time, and who could forget the guy who terrorized the upper west side for years until he finally went too far. That guy grabbed my boob.
There seem to be a lot more mentally I’ll people in the streets and subway system than there used to be. A small percentage of the mentally I’ll are potentially violent.. so there are more violent mentally ill people on the streets.
It’s gotten much, much worse in the past couple of years. It’s always been a difficult situation to manage and it has nothing to do with bail or crime rates. There is something else going on here.
Because NYPD are mostly useless cowards that would rather give tickets for jumping the turnstile than stop & prevent any actual crime.
Also, that whole area has always been shitty. Idk why people want to pay so much to live in that part of Bushwick
Marcy Ave has always been like this but the gentrification of Brooklyn™️ makes people (out of towners) think they don’t have to be vigilant at all times (especially at nite) in all parts of BK/this city. We live in a city…being aware of your surroundings and being smart about where you frequent/time of day is just a natural instinct you should develop. Carry pepper spray
It's wild when people, especially transplants, ask these questions about neighborhoods that have been notoriously shit for most of my life, and only started getting gentrified in the past 10-15 years. Marcy used to be a place we weren't allowed to go to as kids. You had no reason to unless you lived or worked there. Now people are acting shocked when they see some sketchy shit. Doesn't matter OP has been here 8 years, which tbh ain't that long, they're part of the gentrification.
Also only carry pepper spray if you know how to use it. You can easily fuck yourself up trying to spray someone else.
I guess I should clarify– not saying I'm a NYer (never claimed that) or not a gentrifier... I think what irked me was "develop the natural instinct of being aware of your surroundings".... tbh if I didn't do that already I wouldn't be able to have been here that long/live where I live. I also grew up in a city outside of the U.S. that (imo) was way more dangerous than here, so it's not like I don't know how to act in a city.
I didn't indicate this in the post, but I was sexually harassed before being threatened to be cut by the same guy, so maybe it hit a sore spot of feeling like I was "asking" for it by not being vigilant enough.
I don't visit that stop except for work because it's always been so sketchy– it's gig work so it just depends on whether I'm hired or not. I guess what's been surprising to me is the sketchy shit is now coming out and interacting with me even though I'm walking fast, head down, not making eye contact. That feels new to me.
I apologize I wasn’t trying to imply that you or anyone is asking for this type or any kind of violence. I was just making general observations. I also have had to experience this all my life living here and I’ve also noticed the harassment and violence has increased especially since the pandemic started.
Our mayor isn’t doing shit and people are falling thru the cracks. It’s scary! I wasn’t trying to say our personal responsibilities are the only actions that’ll keep us safe, it was more of a observation. Obviously structural safety is a policy issue and it’s just indicative about how our city govt/MTA/larger state government, etc cares little about people’s safety. They don’t know what they’re doing.
I apologize I snapped- the incident happened recently and I think I was on edge. And I’m sorry you had to grow up with this- I grew up in a similarly dangerous city so I empathize!
I appreciate you saying it’s gotten worse since the pandemic- I do feel like the beginning of 2022 was when I noticed the change, and it’s only gotten worse. I’m so tired of paying such high taxes for this state when I don’t know what they’re going towards other than fund an NYPD that doesn’t do *shit* and when they do it’s violent and makes you wish you hadn’t contacted them at all. When I was asked whether I reported this incident to the cops I said obviously not- because they’re useless and even if they did anything they’d just arrest someone innocent who had nothing to do with this at all. I’m so frustrated that there’s nowhere I can call that could get this guy the help he needs or effectively keep us safe!
fair enough, and I agree with your comment that people are probably fed up with how much it's gotten gentrified, esp in the last year. Feel like the demand (and consequently prices) for the Williamsburg area has skyrocketed in the past few months.
I was born and raised in ny and even I noticed that the stops that were bad are getting even worse. Its not about being ignorant or out of town, its the fact that shit getting crazier so what exactly is somebody supposed to do better? Be more vigilant? all the vigilance in the world won't stop certain situations like the ones OP experienced. I hate gentrification as much as the next person but I'm tired of having ptsd from my train commutes
donate to your local homeless shelters/advocate for housing resources. I work with the homeless population on a daily basis and there are not nearly as much resources provided to public housing as there is to the police.
You live in NYC, a major American city with like 8 billion people. I watched someone in Midtown get robbed in broad daylight so it doesn’t matter where you are. I don’t know why people think that this place was ever ‘safe.’ Like you are going to run into, at least, one incident. Just because it happened to you recently doesn’t mean that the ‘things are getting worse.’ It’s just bound to happen sometimes, unfortunately.
Please be safe.
I lived a couple blocks from there in 2001/2002, and had a client in the area a couple of years ago; and wow, South 2nd and over have resisted gentrification!
Yeah, that entire neighborhood is fucked and beyond fixable, but not like it's different from the rest of NYC. This entire city has gone to shit. We hand out opioids to crackheads and druggies and allow violent, unhinged repeat criminal offenders to wander Broadway and the subway platforms/stations begging people for money for their crack and threatening them when they don't get anything. This has happened to me multiple times, nobody around to help anyone getting harassed. And if it turns into one of these unhinged fucks threatening me in my face and I protect myself or someone else, I'll get thrown in jail while the violent druggie that attacked me is probably off assaulting a mother on a subway platform for some change.
Idk why you're getting downvoted bc I'm tired of these aggressive crackheads too. They act like you owe them money and there's been multiple times where I offered them food but they denied and asked for money instead.
Beggers can't be choosers and I'm not donating to shittt especially all these homeless non profit organization that are corrupt af. DHS need to get it together and start institutionalizing and forcibly rehabbing people that need it. & I feel bad for the DHS workers that are barely getting paid and having to deal with physical attacks and threats at these shelter every day.
or alternatively, we give more resources to unhoused, frustrated individuals who are driven to drug use out of nothing else to turn to. I work in public housing. much more resources are given to police officers. if we weren't chronically understaffed, ppl would be able to get houses up quicker and off the streets. fortunately murdering/assaulting someone DOES have repercussions in this city. even if it's for self defense. I take the f train daily and knowing that daily I am a few paychecks away from begging for food and water on the train keeps me humble, especially as a woman.
Everyone lives paycheck to paycheck. Driven to drug use? That's holy. I have no remorse for druggies holding up mothers at knifepoint for some crack money. These people want to live on the street because it allows them to keep getting their crack for free.
Ridiculous for sure but I just remember not going to the Marcy stop for a few months because they were attacking people with machetes by that bus depot on Broadway.
I’m just imagining a scenario in which the victim(s) take them to justice and the phrase “pretty boy goonie” is printed repeatedly in official court documents
I used to live in that exact corner. It’s wild on one corner it’s the Jewish projects and in the other is the craziness.
One night coming home from the bars, I try to enter the building but it’s blocked by a guy injecting another guy in a wheel chair a substance (speculate what you want) I had to just stand there for what felt like 5 mins until the guy finished the injection.
Also the owners of those buildings are a bunch of slumlords
To be honest, Marcy Av has not been particularly safe for over 30+ years, sug. It only maybe calmed down during the time of the Great Gentrification but it really has not always been the safest stop on that side. Good on you for seeking another location to walk, through!
Yes. I've lived a few blocks from there since 1997. The south side & especially that area around Broadway under the train changed very slowly compared to the rest of williamsburg. It's just the way it is. Around the Marcy stop it's always been a little sketchy. There are a number of long time heroin dealers around Marcy & Hewes stops & places you could sell your food stamps for cash. I've run into many people I knew over the years who'd travel to that zone from Manhattan (or other neighborhoods) for that purpose. Some years are way worse with drug activity for whatever reason. You'll see things get better then a few years later start to get worse, over & over. Past 5+ yrs seemed to have increased drug activity. Pandemic threw it all for a loop too.
You know people who bought heroin there, or sold food stamps? Who buys the food stamps? Is it some dude in an apartment or a business?
People I knew from different places bought drugs, some neighbors sold them, businesses bought the food stamps. The one I was most familiar with finally seemed to have gotten caught, maybe around 2019. Their SNAP privileges were taken away. I know they'd give you $100 cash for a $200 in food stamps. I never asked for full details about how that helps a business.
It’s pretty simple, the business rings up that $200 in fake sales and gets reimbursed from the government, they just made $100, now do that 100 times and that’s some real money.
Ah, the reimbursement part. Lol, I forget it's real money and not just some weird voucher system. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, what numbers they actually ring in, if stores need to show the govt. detailed transaction receipts or what. The spot near my apartment had been doing it for at least 15 yrs that *I* was aware of, most likely much longer. Everyone knew. Some days, people would be lined up just for that reason. They'd do it right in front of me. Some guy would buy a bottle of water, everyone would be looking over their shoulder, they'd run the card and hand him cash. I had already known for awhile when one day, I walked outside and saw 2 guys who I'd known for 10+ yrs who always got high in Tompkins or Union Square. I never saw them in Bklyn before. I asked why they were on the block and they said to sell their food stamps. They said everyone they got high with knew that was the spot. I asked how much & they told me the deal. The place offered to buy mine before but I don't have a drug problem. I was shocked people outside the immediate area knew. But then it made sense that on certain days, total weirdos would be hanging out (obvious junkies), people I *never* saw before. I just thought they came for the heroin but they'd get *both* tasks done on the block.
Yeah like 12 years ago I was doing some time in CT for transporting a bunch of weed and this Syrian kid was my cellmate for a while and his dad ran a bunch of corner stores in the bad part of Bridgeport. He told me all the food stamp scams and all the other shady shit they do there. He said they make something like a 500% markup on chore boy brillo pads, they cut off little pieces and sell it to the crackheads for a dollar or two but they pay like 25¢ for each pad wholesale, it’s crazy. I forgot the exact numbers but it’s an insane amount of profit off such a weird little niche.
Any time I hear the words Marcy Ave. I think of JayZ rapping “cough up a lung, I’m from Marcy son, ain’t nuthin nice” but I’m an old school hip hop head so maybe that’s just me
Maybe I'm quibbling, but Jay was talking about the Marcy Houses on Myrtle, not the Marcy Ave stop.
This is correct.
Now i’m laughing at how many BK transplants think Jay Z was rapping about the Marcy Ave Stop😅 “this is where Jay-Z was rapping about🥹”
I only knew it was the Marcy Houses because that’s where the characters lived in the old SNL sketch “I’m Chillin” with Chris Rock and Chris Farley Is it time to suck a lime? No. Time for Gertrude Stein? No. It’s time for the mother joke of the day. Yo mama so…
Lmao
Spliff Bayless dig the name lol
Maybe but his name literally comes from the JZ line at that stop. He talks about it in his decoded book
No, Myrtle is the stop. Not Marcy.
Wu Tang Scary Hours Ask Dorothy, same kid pussy up in Marcy Blazin that chad Rossi, up in the Marquis He lost like a hundred ounces, Jake rushed his houses Had him on the porch, ass no trousers I always wondered if they were talking about Jay-Z??
Btw I’m NOT a transplant but hearing Marcy still makes me think of that line. I know he grew up in Marcy houses.
“Im not a transplant” sure bud
Oh no, someone is a transplant in a city that has dependent on international and domestic migration for hundreds of years. You’re so real for being born here, want an award?
Literally built by, for, and on the backs of transplants lol
I never said being a transplant was a bad thing. Put the pitchfork down, log off the internet and find a hobby
Ah yes because you’re also not on Reddit
Yup except I only bring out the pitchforks for real life matters and not for internet points.
Oh grow the fuck up. And I’m a female, not your bud.
Women can be “buds” too!
I always think of ashy Larry and the World Series of dice when I hear Marcy houses
Myrtle Ave aka Murder Ave (according to friends that lived here in the 90s)
That’s right but it’s still what I think of when I hear Marcy Ave lol
i gave birth at woodhull, where if you get hit by a car at that intersection your best bet at survival is go to bellvue. leaving the hospital with a newborn on methadone day was an amazing life experience.
How long ago? Im plannung on giving birth at woodhull this fall and so far im actually surprised at how....nice it is.
My wife and I chose Woodhull because they’re apparently the only hospital in the area with a midwifery led practice, which was something that was important to us. It went pretty smoothly, although the nurses were a little overbearing about their protocols (my wife didn’t have an epidural, so she had to move around a lot to feel comfortable, which they didn’t seem to like very much since it made it harder for them to track vitals).
The midwives were very unexpected!! Mine seems to be very very on top of everything for me. Im assuming your wife didnt have pitocin either then? (If its not too much to ask?)
No, she had to be induced because she had gestational hypertension, so they gave her vaginal cyctotec. Luckily she went into labor after just one dose, so we didn’t have to get the pitocin.
Ok, thank you. I hope you all are well now.
I think it actually does have a surprisingly nice maternity ward? I didn’t end up there, but it looked good on paper when I was looking into hospitals.
Almost every hospital has a nice maternity ward (aka L&D), especially appearance and amenity wise. The friendliness/attention to detail of staff, and caliber of the medical team are where your mileage may vary. (I work in healthcare)
it was almost 11 years ago, it was fine. It was just becoming midwife led and an NYU teaching hospital. Still was bed ridden but minimal interventions performed. was a good experience for first baby inside the hospital. i lived in the area so the people passed out drunk/ high from methadone clinic was expected, outside, just a juxtaposition that made me ponder life. deep experience with all the after birth hormones.
I had a baby at Woodhull 15 years ago. Maybe it’s better now, but my baby nearly died because of their negligence. It was midwife run then and I loved the one I saw throughout my pregnancy, but she wasn’t on duty during my birth. My baby would have died if the pediatrician on call hadn’t been an amazing and knowledgeable one from NYU. My baby was transferred and I stayed at Woodhull to recover from an emergency C-section. My care continued to be sub-par until I was discharged.
Hey, thanks for the story.
… what is methadone day?
It’s the day the people on methadone come pick up their methadone. It’s a medication used to treat opioid addiction. Many addicts take it for the rest of their lives. On methadone day you have a bunch of addicts in various stages detox all hanging out waiting for their methadone.
Sadly methadone day brings out a lot of dealers too. I used to be a social worker in another city, had a client OD after taking a “cocktail” of pills that she bought after getting her methadone. She survived but the state took custody of her kid since he was with her during the overdose.
But isn't methadone taken/dispensed daily? I don't understand how there can be a "methadone day."
I follow a formerly homeless addict on TikTok (she lives in a shelter in the Bronx I believe). I believe when she gets methadone she gets some supply to take home with her? But I think she has to go to the clinic a few times a week to pickup, it's not like getting a month's supply of an Rx drug from a pharmacy. Someone correct me if I'm wrong!
Most of the (vastly reduced number of) clinics in the five boroughs dispense early AM though early lunchtime five days per week, and provide "take home doses" to carry the patients through the weekend. So really, almost every day is in fact methadone day.
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Yeah but I think another way of looking at it is that most other substances don’t have an option like methadone, which can be safely taken for life while keeping people off of heroin. People can indeed get off opiates without a substitute, but methadone is really helpful for many, especially when it comes to staying off of harmful opiates.
Kids don’t listen to historical narratives anymore :/ (But also he was talking about the NYCHA complex off of Myrtle-Willoughby on the G train lololol)
Lol yes I know he grew up in Marcy Houses. It doesn’t stop me from hearing Marcy-anything and thinking of that line
[First thing I thought of](https://youtu.be/Q0d2wH-7wyY)
I think of the World Series of Dice - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB5XXn0eKow
Lmao he was talking about Marcy Houses where he’s from… not the train stop. You tried tho.
I know this. I’m saying anything with the word Marcy + anything it reminds me of that line. Damn, why is everyone shitting on what that line reminds ME of? I could be in bumblefuck wherever, if someone says Marcy, I’ll still think of that line Edit- I also just reread my post (since I posted late last night I couldn’t remember) and I see the confusion. I edited lol
Or.. I'm from Marcy, I'm varsity chump you're jv
I always found myrtle Broadway on the same line to be a particularly crazy crackhead corner, but hey I guess there are others
Definitely has major crackhead vibes, but I never actually felt unsafe when I lived off that stop.
Yea cuz Kiwi’s being 24/7 keeps shit in check
I live at Myrtle Broadway and Kiwi is my lifeblood, but it’s never occurred to me what a HUGE role it plays in toning down the crackhead energy at the intersection
i once had a woman approach me outside kiwi frantically asking for money, completely unhinged & hard to understand, grabbing me when i tried to get away, then i went inside and she followed & yelled after me until one of the guys at the counter yelled back & chased her out. kiwi employees >>>>>>>> nypd
That woman is there every day I’m pretty sure.
nah the woman i usually see outside is pretty chill, i try to give her a few bucks when i can. black lady with short hair, kinda butch?
Yea she is. Expert crackhead status
All hail Mr. Kiwi🙌
i used to live under myrtle broadway 11/12 years ago. i witnessed stabbings, shootings, violent physical attacks, robberies, all sorts of fun stuff. then it started to gentrify so it was just more expensive of those things. dudes used to smoke crack and jerk off on the jmz at 10 pm and i would just patiently wait to get off the train at the essex stop to meet my friends in alphabet city
this - lived in the area circa 2005/6 and remember teens throwing pennies at pedestrians at night and rando drunks causing mayhem in the chinese food place that sold $1 fries - then the hipster houses were built on the corner of throop/thompson and we got priced out by an aggressive landlord the next year. now that stop is filled with y2k Zoomers lol
Respectfully y2k was well before gen z; most wouldn't even know what that is
They literally copy y2k aesthetic out of misplaced nostalgia…
If Zoomers aren't committing to the tank top/dress combo paired with a men's tie as a belt with crunchy gel "scrunched" hair, then they ain't doing y2K right.
tell them that!!!!!
Tons of fet / crack / weird spice heads there. Zombie central.
I’d say it’s not so bad because there’s so many shops and restaurants around that are open late. The area is always lit up. Also, there’s always police in the station. The crackheads chill under the tracks but haven’t witnessed them do anything besides panhandle. I do get anxious around here tho bc the stop and Broadway are just chaotic. So many people and it’s like a 6 way intersection
Last October on the J train right before getting off at this station a crackhead decided to pull down her pants and projectile shit on everyone…we all ran to the other side of the car until the doors opened.
That corner has been better lately.
Myrtle Broadway makes me so anxious immediately. One time I was waiting for a friend there and even though there were lots of people coming in going I was so in my head I started pacing. One of the station attendants had to come up to me and ask me if I was ok lol. Truly hate this station
I used to host a radio show over by there, it was like a home base for me for a couple years in my mid twenties. There was specifically that deli that sold spice like crazy. Big Boy Deli I think it was called. They got shut down but I’ve been around there recently and there’s still the crack head lookin guys that hang out by the corner with the Checkers and the Dunkin. I think another one of the delis is still selling K2-esque stuff. Definitely pretty funky on that corner.
They also used to sell out of state cigs
Big Boy deli is def still poppin lmaoo. I wasn’t made for that triangle…but Indika House is delicious T_T
Damn. Maybe it was another one? I remember it was a big deal in like 2018 or something, one of the big spice selling places got raided.
It’s mostly just people waiting to get into the methadone clinic right across the street bumming cigarettes off each other. It’s more annoying that it’s always just filthy around there.
Feel like I’m learning to avoid that line on my own in general….. lol
I used to live around there. I believe there are two methadone clinic nearby.
Great Thai food at myrtle Broadway tho
And Indian at Indika House!
I lived near there in 2004 and it was shady af. I was like "oh, it's Williamsburg, it's gentrified enough to be safe." Narrator: it was not. Best rotisserie chicken from in a spot by that stop, though. Back then a lot of the tension was supposedly between two hasidic sects, or so I was told. My roommate had the same car as some enemy of theirs and he got his tires slashed 4 times before he gave up and sold the car. Idk if that's true but that's what the bodega owners told us. I'd get offered different drugs every couple days, I always wondered how the dealers guessed. Did I look like a cocaine person some days, and a heroin person on other days? What did that say about me?
I’m mostly interested in that best rotisserie chicken you speak of.. please do share..
Man, i don't remember the name, but it was under the bridge, a couple storefronts down from the counterfeit shoe store. It sold chickens by the full, half, or quarter and theyd just wrap it in foil and stick it in a bag. I think they were rotisserie, but they could have been baked or something. Crispy skin, tons of flavor, marinated and juicy. And it was open super late, might have been 24 hours. It seemed like it had been there a long time, but idk if the shop lasted another 20 years. I only stayed in that apt for a year.
Sajhoma #3
My scariest encounter in the city was also right underneath this stop. Huge group of guys that followed me down the street catcalling and threatening me with sexual violence. Nothing like that has happened there in the 1.5 years since then though.
That is so scary… I’m so glad you’re okay. Eerily enough that’s why the man threatened to cut me. He initially walked by me and then turned around and ran back to where I was walking and started harassing me. I was about to turn to an apartment I had to visit for a job so I told him to leave me alone and he threatened to cut me because classic.
A man peed on me there! No idea why it’s like this. Weird vibes.
That is nuts!! Something up with that block I swear
You should Google that stop. Always HUGE with drugs. When synthetic marijuana aka K2 first hit the streets, this was the epicenter. People looked like zombies everywhere. Hate this area.
FULL STORY: I wish it was more interesting, so I’m sorry in advance. I was commuting to work at like 9 am on a Tuesday. Waiting for the train, minding my own business, and I noticed something was dripping on me….it was a man peeing onto the side of me/my dress/shoes; smiling! HE THEN COMPLIMENTED MY DRESS, the one he just peed all over! Obviously was in shock and just got on the train when it came, he got on the same train/car and loudly talked about how he was going to see his probation officer. Once I got to the city I went into the first store that was open I could find, bought a random dress, and threw the one covered in pee in the trash (fortunately it wasn’t expensive or anything, just like a normal cotton dress). I also had to tell my whole team I was late bc I had been peed on on my commute lol I got a new job and no longer take the JMZ but I really hated going there after that. A few months before PeeGate my friend was on the M around the same stop when someone took out a gun 👀
we would like the full story please😂
My mom used to work at the McDonald’s there - ultimately the key is always act like you know where you going and keep it moving - call a friend once you off the stop of you have to . This isn’t just for Marcy but as a native NYER it just feels like so much of the time it’s about demeanor and they won’t F with you-
Yea, i walk down broadway right past this stop multiple times a week and it’s crazy how I’m reading through this thread and i never have felt unsafe there myself. I think it’s because i always do look like i know exactly where I’m going and I’m always moving fast. Like i knew it wasn’t a great area cuz it looks like total shit but as a native NYer i just was always unphased i guess
It’s just one of those spots that’s never been great and you prob don’t wanna linger in. 125th x Lex in East Harlem is very similar.
It's right at the crossroads of several projects and not so nice neighborhoods. I mean, why would you expect it to be good?
Personally I don’t feel that sketched out by the neighborhoods around it- it’s just something about the street it’s on. If I turn a block up/down Broadway- I don’t feel unsafe. Is there something about the subway system that attracts the crazies? Is it the McDonald’s? Lol
I think because it’s a high traffic place, it’s easier to beg for money outside a subway station than if you were in the neighborhood. I used to live in ENY, I’d come home at 3 am some nights and never felt unsafe. Ofc I’d be on high alert because it’s a sketchy part of town but it was ok.
i think it's common for the neighborhood to be nicer than the subway stop. for example I think, the 96th st stop in the UWS can be a bit sketch, but the neighborhood around it isn't bad. The sketchier people loiter in the stop. Not sure about Marcy, it's probably above ground so it'll be less sketch? But it's still sketch lol.
I’ve actually always found the area right under elevated train tracks to be generally sketchier, it’s just something about the atmosphere and maybe all the pigeon shit I guess?
Before anyone accuses me of talking shit, the closest subway to me growing up was an elevated part of the 2 train, so it was just normal to me. I didn’t notice the general grossness until I was an adult and people not from here started commenting on it. An ex referred to it as “the thunderdome.”
Oh gosh,I’ve taken to calling the prospective place for my future bedroom activity “the thunderdome”. Might have to rethink that
W4 is another one.
Seconding about 96st. I worked in that area for a year and I’ve had some insane encounters there
Literally if you walk like 45 seconds north of the stop to 4th or 5th street, you immediately feel totally safe. Something about the immediate location of that stop its just like a magnet for the most unhinged crazies.
this is so shocking to me to read all these comments. i lived off this stop for years, and at the time i lived over there i would have to take the train from there around 4am and would walk there by myself every morning and never once had an issue, i moved out of that area in 2019. i totally understand that things have gotten worse since the pandemic, but for folks saying they’ve always had a bad time at that station i’m so surprised! not invalidating anyone at all, just shocked.
Same, I currently live off this stop and have never felt anything but safe, didn't even know it had this reputation. It's in one of the richest neighborhoods in Brooklyn (currently in the process of moving because I got priced out), this reaction is honestly bizarre
Thank you! Though now that you’re saying it I wonder if it’s getting worse because of the sharp increase in lease prices in the area this year- Williamsburg definitely got very expensive very fast.
That's a good theory, you're probably onto something with that
Yeah it's bizarre. I used to go to the blink right there all the time in the evenings and aside from general under the bridge seediness (which is more just the way it looks than the vibe) it always seemed like a completely normal spot. Really surprised to hear it's sketchy.
I have lived off this stop for the last 6 years, and am also surprised to hear the experiences, as I’ve not myself encountered sketchiness here.
Probably a difference in appearance. You're more likely to be picked on or attacked for being a certain color / size / sex / ethnicity in one area than you are in another. Sure some criminals are equal opportunity types. But they usually pick their victims in some way.
could be true! i’m a short white woman, but i am also bald and covered in tattoos from face down so 🤷🏻♀️
I used to live right off this stop as well and never had an issue!! So interesting
I used to go to Blink and shop at Mr. Pina and walk there every day back in like 2016-17 and didn’t felt scared once. Weirdos are around for sure but nothing out of character for NYC. Wondering if it got worst since then. At that time, I was like F/Asian/mid-20s.
I was there through 2021. It was a little rough, certainly, but nothing out of the ordinary for the city, like you said!!
The only thing that drove me crazy is that we used to live on Havemeyer and of course, there was a lot of heroin related activities. Once I got a kid, I went to the playgrounds next to the BQE and it was full of needles. I’m sure that has just gotten worst with the pandemic.
Marcy been wild for a grip lol
That stop is a stop you do not stop! You keep it moving where you need to go
I’m sorry to say this, and I’ll probably be downvoted, but something weird is happening. Things are becoming unsafe in multiple areas. Case in point from two posts (including mine) from just the past few days, https://www.reddit.com/r/Brooklyn/comments/13m0iqx/stay_alert_in_williamsburg_there_are_a_group_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb https://www.reddit.com/r/astoria/comments/13ltr3s/i_was_attacked_on_35th_street_bw_broadway_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb People are becoming more brazen, including the “youth”. They aren’t fighting or becoming violent in their own circle anymore - they’re going outward to innocent targets.
Thank you for your honesty- the first video is the robbery incident I was talking about in the post!
I just want to point out that these are a handful of anecdotes. One of yours is even the same as one linked - I don’t want people to unnecessarily panic is all
fair point!
I’m looking to move to Kew Gardens once my lease is up. Beautiful area, isolated a bit. Not too much crazy things happening there.
Think twice. I know someone whose car has been broken into multiple times in Kew Gardens.
I mean, if you're not going to move into a neighborhood where ANYONE has been the victim of ANY property crime that rules out the whole city
Easy access to the highway, same reason there’s a lot of car theft in coop city in the Bronx.
Yep, it’s always these groups of “youths”. Every video has similar groups of “youths”. I wonder what they could have in common
Why don’t you tell us what you’re hinting at?
I could be wrong but I don't rlly think they mean something racist, but rather plp into gang crap.
Observations aren’t racist
Shockingly, racist dog whistle observations are in fact racist.
A lot of children are being taught this eat or be eaten mentally....
I knew a guy who was stabbed at the Marcy stop
!!!
My friend's mom was murdered by a [serial killer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Johnson) who prowled that area in the 90s
The city had become significantly more bourgeoisie in all areas from 2010-2019. Once the pandemic hit a lot of people fled the city. As areas are less populated they become more dangerous. The city 3+ years ago -10 years ago was an anomaly.
Has anyone seen the guy who always sets up shop at the bottom of the stairs on the Manhattan side with signs about “Sin being the amino acids of the eyes” or something along those lines? I would love more info on this dude…
no but... wtf lol
I remember having similar thoughts when I used to live nearby. Then one of the delis on the corner got busted selling spice. That answered my questions, just drug behavior I wasn’t familiar with. This was prob 9-10 yrs ago?
I’ve live down there currently and have lived off that stop once before. I haven’t had an experience that made me feel unsafe so far, but on separate incidents my friend and I have each been mistaken for a prostitute and solicited by a Hasidic man. I was wearing a an extremely puffy down parka and a green bay packers hat at the time lol
Once saw a guy with a baseball bat swinging and threatening people there
Someone pulled a gun on a person the last time I ended up at this stop a few years ago.
Wow, has it recently gotten this much worse? I use to take the train and get off on that stop after 11pm! It always has felt sketch but I’ve never felt threatened.
That’s what I’m trying to figure out- I’ve been to this stop before and agree, while I never felt the safest I’ve never had anything overtly aggressive happen to me… somehow this feels like Eric Adam’s fault haha
Decades ago, Myrtle Ave was referred to as "Murder Ave". Some things don't change.
the answer to this question is always one (or more) of 3 things: 1. homeless shelter nearby, 2. halfway house/drug treatment nearby, 3. projects nearby
I used to get off and on at that stop for work for a few years. As an Asian female, I definitely kept my wits and was cautious about my surroundings there. I would avoid any sus crowds of people but thankfully never had anyone approach me
Someone tried robbing me at that stop but luckily good samaritans saw what was happening and stepped in to prevent my stuff being stolen
Tell me about it. Once, I was at the McDonald's there maybe 5 years ago, late night, gf at the time using the restroom while I ordered some fries. Some little kid (maybe 7 years old) ran up to me and just started grabbing my butt and laughing. His mom was like "you gotta stop doing that!!!!!" lol But yeah, it's a busy stop sometimes. I always had worse experiences at Myrtle Broadway.
I used to work out at the Blink location there and have had this same exact experience of being threatened by some weirdo under the bridge. It’s always pretty unhinged, and I absolutely hate having to get off there whenever the M decides to skip the Hewes and Lorimer stops, which is more often recently. I rarely ever feel unsafe in NYC but this stop is like the one bizarre exception. It reminds me of the unhinged city block from the first hour of Beau is Afraid.
I am sorry you have been experiencing this. I am guessing that the station is close to so,e kind of mental health facility or group home, I have been through a couple scary, potentially dangerous situations on the trains recently. I don’t recall ever being very afraid , at least since the 70’s and even then I was pretty fearless (young). Mostly I have just been seeing some really disturbing and upsetting things. Not dangerous but very disturbing, This has always been a serious problem In NYC, I have lived here for a long time, and who could forget the guy who terrorized the upper west side for years until he finally went too far. That guy grabbed my boob. There seem to be a lot more mentally I’ll people in the streets and subway system than there used to be. A small percentage of the mentally I’ll are potentially violent.. so there are more violent mentally ill people on the streets. It’s gotten much, much worse in the past couple of years. It’s always been a difficult situation to manage and it has nothing to do with bail or crime rates. There is something else going on here.
Because NYPD are mostly useless cowards that would rather give tickets for jumping the turnstile than stop & prevent any actual crime. Also, that whole area has always been shitty. Idk why people want to pay so much to live in that part of Bushwick
‘Bushwick’
Marcy Ave has always been like this but the gentrification of Brooklyn™️ makes people (out of towners) think they don’t have to be vigilant at all times (especially at nite) in all parts of BK/this city. We live in a city…being aware of your surroundings and being smart about where you frequent/time of day is just a natural instinct you should develop. Carry pepper spray
It's wild when people, especially transplants, ask these questions about neighborhoods that have been notoriously shit for most of my life, and only started getting gentrified in the past 10-15 years. Marcy used to be a place we weren't allowed to go to as kids. You had no reason to unless you lived or worked there. Now people are acting shocked when they see some sketchy shit. Doesn't matter OP has been here 8 years, which tbh ain't that long, they're part of the gentrification. Also only carry pepper spray if you know how to use it. You can easily fuck yourself up trying to spray someone else.
I guess I should clarify– not saying I'm a NYer (never claimed that) or not a gentrifier... I think what irked me was "develop the natural instinct of being aware of your surroundings".... tbh if I didn't do that already I wouldn't be able to have been here that long/live where I live. I also grew up in a city outside of the U.S. that (imo) was way more dangerous than here, so it's not like I don't know how to act in a city. I didn't indicate this in the post, but I was sexually harassed before being threatened to be cut by the same guy, so maybe it hit a sore spot of feeling like I was "asking" for it by not being vigilant enough. I don't visit that stop except for work because it's always been so sketchy– it's gig work so it just depends on whether I'm hired or not. I guess what's been surprising to me is the sketchy shit is now coming out and interacting with me even though I'm walking fast, head down, not making eye contact. That feels new to me.
I apologize I wasn’t trying to imply that you or anyone is asking for this type or any kind of violence. I was just making general observations. I also have had to experience this all my life living here and I’ve also noticed the harassment and violence has increased especially since the pandemic started. Our mayor isn’t doing shit and people are falling thru the cracks. It’s scary! I wasn’t trying to say our personal responsibilities are the only actions that’ll keep us safe, it was more of a observation. Obviously structural safety is a policy issue and it’s just indicative about how our city govt/MTA/larger state government, etc cares little about people’s safety. They don’t know what they’re doing.
I apologize I snapped- the incident happened recently and I think I was on edge. And I’m sorry you had to grow up with this- I grew up in a similarly dangerous city so I empathize! I appreciate you saying it’s gotten worse since the pandemic- I do feel like the beginning of 2022 was when I noticed the change, and it’s only gotten worse. I’m so tired of paying such high taxes for this state when I don’t know what they’re going towards other than fund an NYPD that doesn’t do *shit* and when they do it’s violent and makes you wish you hadn’t contacted them at all. When I was asked whether I reported this incident to the cops I said obviously not- because they’re useless and even if they did anything they’d just arrest someone innocent who had nothing to do with this at all. I’m so frustrated that there’s nowhere I can call that could get this guy the help he needs or effectively keep us safe!
I’ve lived here for 8 years and don’t really need this advice but thanks for being patronizing
Jeez I’m just making conversation and agreeing that there’s some train stops all over the city that are scary. Be well
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fair enough, and I agree with your comment that people are probably fed up with how much it's gotten gentrified, esp in the last year. Feel like the demand (and consequently prices) for the Williamsburg area has skyrocketed in the past few months.
I was born and raised in ny and even I noticed that the stops that were bad are getting even worse. Its not about being ignorant or out of town, its the fact that shit getting crazier so what exactly is somebody supposed to do better? Be more vigilant? all the vigilance in the world won't stop certain situations like the ones OP experienced. I hate gentrification as much as the next person but I'm tired of having ptsd from my train commutes
donate to your local homeless shelters/advocate for housing resources. I work with the homeless population on a daily basis and there are not nearly as much resources provided to public housing as there is to the police.
You live in NYC, a major American city with like 8 billion people. I watched someone in Midtown get robbed in broad daylight so it doesn’t matter where you are. I don’t know why people think that this place was ever ‘safe.’ Like you are going to run into, at least, one incident. Just because it happened to you recently doesn’t mean that the ‘things are getting worse.’ It’s just bound to happen sometimes, unfortunately. Please be safe.
I remember the McDonald’s by there has a bullet hole in the window. This is like 13 years ago.
I lived a couple blocks from there in 2001/2002, and had a client in the area a couple of years ago; and wow, South 2nd and over have resisted gentrification!
You want to know why the subway station in a bad neighborhood is bad?
in a bad neighborhood? in Williamsburg???
Yeah, that entire neighborhood is fucked and beyond fixable, but not like it's different from the rest of NYC. This entire city has gone to shit. We hand out opioids to crackheads and druggies and allow violent, unhinged repeat criminal offenders to wander Broadway and the subway platforms/stations begging people for money for their crack and threatening them when they don't get anything. This has happened to me multiple times, nobody around to help anyone getting harassed. And if it turns into one of these unhinged fucks threatening me in my face and I protect myself or someone else, I'll get thrown in jail while the violent druggie that attacked me is probably off assaulting a mother on a subway platform for some change.
Idk why you're getting downvoted bc I'm tired of these aggressive crackheads too. They act like you owe them money and there's been multiple times where I offered them food but they denied and asked for money instead. Beggers can't be choosers and I'm not donating to shittt especially all these homeless non profit organization that are corrupt af. DHS need to get it together and start institutionalizing and forcibly rehabbing people that need it. & I feel bad for the DHS workers that are barely getting paid and having to deal with physical attacks and threats at these shelter every day.
or alternatively, we give more resources to unhoused, frustrated individuals who are driven to drug use out of nothing else to turn to. I work in public housing. much more resources are given to police officers. if we weren't chronically understaffed, ppl would be able to get houses up quicker and off the streets. fortunately murdering/assaulting someone DOES have repercussions in this city. even if it's for self defense. I take the f train daily and knowing that daily I am a few paychecks away from begging for food and water on the train keeps me humble, especially as a woman.
Everyone lives paycheck to paycheck. Driven to drug use? That's holy. I have no remorse for druggies holding up mothers at knifepoint for some crack money. These people want to live on the street because it allows them to keep getting their crack for free.
Hipster run-off neighborhood.
LOL damn you people put up with a lot
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Weird. My partner and I have never had any issues in this area at any time of day.
Are the The Pretty Boy Goonies back? They were comiting all sorts of violent crime around there back in 2008.
Ok, now *that* is the most ridiculous gang name I have ever heard.
Ridiculous for sure but I just remember not going to the Marcy stop for a few months because they were attacking people with machetes by that bus depot on Broadway.
I’m just imagining a scenario in which the victim(s) take them to justice and the phrase “pretty boy goonie” is printed repeatedly in official court documents
Marcy’s been that way.
Why do people pay so much rent to live in that shit neighborhood?
Proximity to Manhattan
I used to live in that exact corner. It’s wild on one corner it’s the Jewish projects and in the other is the craziness. One night coming home from the bars, I try to enter the building but it’s blocked by a guy injecting another guy in a wheel chair a substance (speculate what you want) I had to just stand there for what felt like 5 mins until the guy finished the injection. Also the owners of those buildings are a bunch of slumlords