Is anyone familiar with this area? We have a place to stay there courtesy of a friend who is away traveling, but I have heard it is seedy and not very safe....

All of the 9th is safe. The northern border of the 9th can be considered seedy, because it is the south side of the red light district around Pigalle.

Parisians know the 9th for 2 reasons:

1. A large part of it consists mostly of insurance company offices, so lots and lots of people work there.
2. It is the area with the most hotels in Paris, along the Grands Boulevards and going up along rue La Fayette towards the Est/Nord train stations. The great majority of European tourists stay there, while Americans go to their own ghettos in the 4th/5th/Tth/7th.

Tth = 6th.

The area where we stayed in the 9th, on rue Montyon near Boulevard Montmartre (which is actually some distance from the Montmartre district), was most definitely not seedy, and very convenient.

I am staying in the 9th now for 2 months and have spent another 2 or 3 months in the last couple of years and I don't find it unsafe, and agree mostly with Kerouac. So much depends on which neighborhood of the 9th you are staying, from the elegant Garnier Opera/department store mecca(Galeries lafayette and Printemps) to the area around rue Martyrs which is one of the better permanent market streets, which is pedestrian only on Sundays. There is another shorter, pedestrian only market street called rue Cadet, that serves that neighborhood, and a roving market near the Square d'Anvers. It bears repeating that the neighborhood is more important than the arrondissement throughout Paris. There are more good restaurants, mostly affordable, scattered through out the 9th than you will have time to try.

I stayed on blvd. Haussmann about five years ago, about three blocks from Galerie Lafayette. The Opera was almost right around the corner. I liked the neighborhood. Convenient, lots of metro stops, restaurants, close to Passages Joeffry and Panarama. I always felt very safe but I'm not a "night owl", so was always in my room by about 9:00 at the latest.

Good resturant in the 9th: Carte Blanche, 6 rue Lamartine, near Opera Garnier, kind of a French-Asian style; 70 Euros for two with wine. Also, there is an interesting book store in the Passage very near the metro stop Grand Boulevards. I got some great art books there, and there's a wonderful pastry shop in there as well.

Ditto previous posters' reponse.
Recently returned from 1st trip to
Paris, stayed in 2 different hotels
in 9th, both of whom had convenient
metro. Found it very convenient
to get around.

kerouac answered your question, but let me add something:

The area around Rue due Faubourg Montmartre - le faubourg Montmartre - not to be confounded with Montmartre itself, gives me that very Paris feeling. You know, it is all in the head...

So, have a walk from Metro Cadet down rue Cadet to Rue to Faubourg Montmartre in direction to Les grands Boulevards. On Rue du Faubourg Montmartre is an entrance to Passage Verdeau. Follow this passage to find some quite nice shops there. The passage leads to a small road (Rue Grange Bateliere) and is continued by Passage Jouffroy, even more pittoresque shops in it, leading to Boulevard Montmartre. When you cross the Boulevard, you will find Passage des Panoramas, the first passage couvert of them all.
Here some more on les passages couverts:
http://www.parisinconnu.com/passages/index.htm

You are in the 2nd arrondissement now, continue your way on Rue Montmartre in direction Les Halles. A nice stroll trough a remarkable road, leading to St. Eustache, a quite remarkable church.

Thank you for all of this great information!! I feel much better now!

I agree that rue du Faubourg Montmartre is one of the most quintessential Parisian neighborhood streets. It also has an interesting 1950's-1960's feel to it, which is an interesting change from historical Paris or modern Paris. It is also the location of that amazing Paris institution Chartier, and one of the main Jewish neighborhoods as well -- a good place for kosher couscous and sauerkraut.