chasing the antihero ([info]forever_frozen) wrote in [info]columbia_u,
2005-07-27 20:35:00
  • Mood: curious
  • Music: Placebo - Nancy Boy

question.

I'm a prospective student and I had a quick question for you all.

Whenever I mention my interest in Columbia to someone who's familiar with the area, they always warn me that it's "right in the middle of Harlem," despite maps that show it as being a distance away. I'm taking this to mean that Harlem = concern for safety.

How would you rate Columbia's location? Is it a relatively safe place to go to school?

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  • 33 comments

[info]erica63

July 28 2005, 00:58:41 UTC 6 years ago

columbia is just south of harlem... and some streets around can be a little sketch... but it's a whole other world, filled with college students and intellectual types. always people around, never felt unsafe. and harlem, particularly around us, is becoming pretty gentrified... even other areas that columbia students previously avoided, like amsterdam ave., have become much more populated as nicer restaurants and lots of college bars have moved in. Stay near campus and you'll be as safe as you'll be anywhere (tons of security).

[info]sevvy_o

July 28 2005, 01:14:02 UTC 6 years ago

Actually I'd hear the "right in the middle of Harlem" comment from people who weren't familiar with the area. Columbia is in Morningside Heights (south of Harlem) which is one of the safest neighborhoods in Manhattan. Most of the people around are involved with the university in one way or another. =)

[info]mlleglass

August 9 2005, 20:57:28 UTC 6 years ago

true. very true. i would further accuse people of being afraid that columbia is too close to harlem of being...how shall we say....prissy scaredycats. it's pretty damn safe.

[info]juxtoppozed

July 28 2005, 01:39:27 UTC 6 years ago

Plus the campus is gated, in it's own secure bubble... I heard the same stories from people (who, interestingly enough, tried to get in too. go figure) but after a year here I feel safe walking about even in late into the night. Don't believe what people tell you, try to visit, stay a couple of days, yourself- there's no substitute.

[info]happyelfling

July 28 2005, 01:46:30 UTC 6 years ago

FYI, the main gates are never shut or locked. I know before I came here I was afraid that we'd be locked in or out at night, and that is definitely not the case!

[info]juxtoppozed

6 years ago

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[info]limitedstops

July 28 2005, 02:32:47 UTC 6 years ago

well, i feel pretty safe on columbia's main campus. i walk around there even past midnight. but just to warn you, it goes downhill after 120th street. no kidding. i've heard some muggings on 122nd, but that's about it. just don't go above 120th and you'll be fine. beware of amsterdam avenue too. if you can see for yourself one day, amsterdam and broadway are two different worlds...

[info]jlc

July 28 2005, 05:25:38 UTC 6 years ago

Keep in mind that not going above 120th will keep you out of reach of some of the cheaper shopping within walking distance of campus. Something to keep in mind if you swear off walking uptown.

[info]pseufighter

6 years ago

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[info]lovemanifests

6 years ago

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[info]glitterstardust

July 28 2005, 03:00:21 UTC 6 years ago

It's really fine. You just don't walk much north of campus by yourself at night (of course, you'd really have no reason to want to do that anyway). As long as you are on campus, it is quite safe at any time of day/night. And you can pretty much walk indefinitely south without running into anything sketchy.

[info]soopahgrover

July 28 2005, 03:06:30 UTC 6 years ago

As a few of my classmates have pointed out whenever they had the opportunity, Columbia is in fact in Harlem.
Yeah, don't wander too far from campus... but I think the general area is pretty safe. The University has been buying up property all around and cleaning it up.

[info]kleios_kiss

July 28 2005, 03:58:58 UTC 6 years ago

It's really fine, I know quite a few people who live in Morningside Heights, it's really an OK area. In fact, though it's not in Harlem, people outside the city would probably be surprised at how much Harlem's cleaned up in general. I mean yea, a lot of the areas are still crappy and dangerous, but then there's the whole rising areas with the million dollar apartments that's been shocking everyone in real-estate. I'd be more afraid of Spanish Harlem and surrounding areas than anywhere near Columbia.

[info]mitcha

July 28 2005, 04:25:11 UTC 6 years ago

There is a huge cliff (Morningside Park) that divides Harlem from Morningside Heights. Just don't go far north and you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I think I remember being told when I was applying last year that the neighborhood is ranked by the NYPD as one of the lowest crime areas of the city, so it really isn't a problem as long as you don't stray too far north or east.

[info]slackwench

July 28 2005, 04:45:10 UTC 6 years ago

The area's completely safe. Still, it's better to be careful. Try not to be alone at night, and don't go through morningside park at night. The area right below it is so-so (a lot of grad students live right down there on Manhattan Ave), but past that it starts to get pretty bad. North of campus is fine. I used to go for nighttime walks up there and never felt unsafe (125th street is especially fun, but I wouldn't go much north of that alone at night). No idea what people are talking about wrt Amsterdam being unsafe either. Morningside Drive (the street just west of Morningside park and east of East Campus) is the only street near campus I find a bit sketchy at any time of day (it's fine during the day). And even that turns into Columbus Avenue below 110th street, where your biggest danger is that a dope dealer will keep offering you lower and lower prices when you say you're not interested (happened to me more than once).

[info]jlc

July 28 2005, 05:33:28 UTC 6 years ago

I have the same impression.

I personally think the Amsterdam squeamishness comes from people who have only lived on the on/near Broadway dorms. A'dam isn't as bright or shiny as Broadway, but it's hard for me to imagine not walking along it at any time of day or night. The best delis and the best coffee shop in the neighborhood are all on Amsterdam.

125th has also always felt safe to me. It is a different feeling neighborhood than the campus area, but I find escaping Morningside from time, even if it's just a stroll up to 125th (maybe even up to Fairway) to shop, helps me stay balenced. YMMV--I'm the kind of guy who's willing to walk across town from a friend's place on 113th & Madison back to campus at 2am rather than wait forever for the busses or subway.

[info]pseufighter

6 years ago

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[info]sadira42

6 years ago

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[info]impensada

July 28 2005, 04:47:15 UTC 6 years ago

absolutely safe. harlem isn't dangerous, and columbia isn't really in harlem. presonally i go up there all the time including at night and alone and like the area and have never had the slightest problem, but if that's not your thing there's no need to ever go above 118th street, and morningside heights itself is totally columbia-dominated.

[info]darkladymara

July 28 2005, 10:40:28 UTC 6 years ago

Puh-leeze. Whoever told you OMG COLUMBIA ISN'T SAFE BECAUSE IT'S NEAR HARLEM AND NON-WHITE PPL LIVE THERE!!!!1! is a racist pig. The south Bronx - that's a non-white neighborhood in which I wouldn't feel safe at night. Mosholu Parkway - there's another non-white place in which I wouldn't feel safe at night. Harlem, though? Go walk through Harlem for yourself and you'll see it's just a working class neighborhood. Most people who live there are not drug dealers, they're not gang members, they're just working people who are trying to survive. Harlem is also a hub of black culture, rich with urban history, street art, and a lifestyle all its own. East Harlem has always felt a bit less safe to me, but not overly so. I've walked through both neighborhoods plenty of times, and I haven't died yet. As in any New York City neighborhood, it's wise to keep an eye on your ass at all times, but I don't think there are any dangers that are unique to Harlem - or to Morningside Heights or the upper-upper west side in general, for that matter.

A neighborhood is not automatically dangerous just because there are black people in it, and whenever I hear someone claim it might be, I feel this pesky urge to punch them in their face. Must work on controlling that.

Good taste in Hogwarts houses, btw. ;)

[info]pseufighter

July 28 2005, 12:31:28 UTC 6 years ago

apparently, according to this thread, amsterdam - south of 110th - is dangerous because there are scary spanish people. never trust the spanish!

[info]impensada

July 28 2005, 13:02:28 UTC 6 years ago

i second that.

[info]sadira42

July 28 2005, 13:36:06 UTC 6 years ago

Very nice. It automatically pisses me off to hear that bullshit. Bah!

[info]lovemanifests

July 28 2005, 16:38:05 UTC 6 years ago

Don't you know, if you step outside of Columbia's super safe campus you'll get shot, mugged and raped. It's a scientific fact. The fact that rapes happen on campus all the time is a myth. The fact that there is a significantly large drug trade on campus among wealthy students makes no sense whatsoever. Columbia students aren't racist, they're just smart.

You'd think a community that's known for it's "intellectual types" would be smart enough to figure out that this entire "go north, east, off of campus = dangerous" bullshit has no more truth to it than walking around any other neighborhood alone at night.
Look at nypd stats. Do some actual research. knowing what nieghbourhoods are best to avoid is a smart idea. Being paranoid because you're leaving a predominatently white and wealthy bubble in such a dvierse city is fucked up.

[info]darkladymara

6 years ago

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[info]limitedstops

July 28 2005, 13:04:29 UTC 6 years ago

basically, anywhere you go, there's a possibility that you're either going to be mugged, raped, or killed. it all depends on your luck. i've lived in east harlem all of my life so i know what it's like to live in a "ghetto" area. one time two months ago, my friend and i walked from 96th street amsterdam avenue back to columbia, 116th street and broadway. we just couldn't believe how different the two avenues were (if you're below 110th and amsterdam)!! it saddened my friend for some reason.. you have to see if for yourself. i'm not saying amsterdam avenue isn't safe. i guess i shouldn't have used the word, "beware." but overall, morningside heights is pretty safe. just stay near the campus past midnight. you'll never know what's going to happen to you.

[info]pseufighter

July 29 2005, 13:37:42 UTC 6 years ago

could you be a little more specific about amsterdam? thanks.

[info]ifotismeni

July 28 2005, 16:45:01 UTC 6 years ago

safety

amsterdam is just as safe as broadway, i never ever had any problems walking around the campus or surrounding areas. there are some massively cheap grocery stores and dry cleaning places on 125th, no one should hesitate to check those places out.

walking around columbia area for years, 3 to 4 in the morning, never had a problem.

walking back from church around 50th street and bway, within viewing distance of the dave letterman show sign, at 9 pm, got attacked.

just goes to show about stereotypes.

[info]happyelfling

July 28 2005, 22:53:53 UTC 6 years ago

not to scare you or anything, but all the time there are signs up on campus about muggings happening on 110th, 111th, etc. it's not automatically safe below 120th or automatically dangerous above it. it's NYC. anything can happen anywhere. a guy tried to steal my cell phone at Broadway and 76th, but I've never had a problem in Harlem, and I walked around there all the time when I was a student.

[info]pseufighter

July 29 2005, 13:44:59 UTC 6 years ago

i should add that the only place i ever had trouble - once - was in front of my old apartment on 100th and broadway (yeah, um, where that gristedes collapsed a couple of weeks ago). bum comes up to me at 3 a.m. as i'm dragging my luggage back (from the late train out of boston), bumps into me, pulls the old "you broke my sunglasses, now you owe me $70" scam. seeing as the same scam happened to me once in boston's downtown crossing, i kept walking. until he decided to follow me. once i got in my apartment, the guy took off. and that was that.

point is: be smart. these things can happen anywhere in the city. not to to mention that the columbia area has changed dramatically in just the past 15-20 years. morningside heights is certainly one of the wealthiest parts of manhattan. that said, i've *never* felt unsafe on campus. at any hour. and i'm not sure when harlem became stereotyped as bad, bad, evil, evil (too many scary, scary black people for suburban whitey?), but i've never felt unsafe in harlem, and i've walked through 125th at 2 a.m., etc. lots of really great stores up there.

[info]lovemanifests

July 29 2005, 14:30:54 UTC 6 years ago

i was tabling at the nursing school orientation and the nypd had a table right next to me. They said the best way to deal with this scam is by saying, "oh, man, im sorry. i dont have any cash on me, but I want to make sure you get paid for your sunglasses. Let's call teh cops and I'll fill out a police report." at which poiunt the scammer says, "don't worry about it man, just be careful next time"

[info]pseufighter

6 years ago

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[info]ifotismeni

6 years ago

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