A specific safety issue in Area Hell's Kitchen, 43th West Street
 

Hi everyone!
I am going to New York to do an intern in summer and I have found a room to stay in the area Hell's Kitchen area, on 43th West Street, between the 9th and 10th Avenue. I really need to be sure about the safety issue of that area since I will come back home late (after 10pm) because of my internship at night. I am a young female. Any suggestions and opinions will be highly appreciated! It is very important to me. Thank you!!!:)

Considering you are going to do an internship and somehow managed to find your way here - this is a travel forum - you should really be able to google the info you are looking for.

That said, here's some stuff that comes up when searching. Try these and if you don't find what you need - google more. There are native NYers on here and they will chime in, I'm sure.

It would appear that it is quite safe if you use street smarts.

I am guessing your are in college? Are you coming from another country? Do you live in a small town? What is safe depends a lot on you and how you do in this kind of situation.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._New_York.html

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/crim...hattan/chelsea

http://www.nyhabitat.com/blog/2013/0...hen-manhattan/

No can assure the safety of others, but NYC is the safest large city in America. You will surprised how many people will be out at that time.

That said, as precaution, always try to walk where there are people. For example, if there aren't a lot of people on W43 walk on W42 until you must turn onto 9th. During the day look to see where there are restaurants and bars, which will be plenty, and if you feel uncomfortable, head into one immediately.

Always keep your wits about you and do not stop for anyone whatever they ask unless they are in a police uniform.

As a reward for living on that block is one of the best pie companies in the city. The sour cream walnut apple is worse than meth.

http://www.littlepiecompany.com/

Here is the Little Pie Company.

This area is generally safe with a lot of restaurants and near theaters. That doesn't mean it's upscale - it's not - it's very downtown basic. Many places are cheap chain restaurants and dive bars. Assuming you use normal city street smarts you should be fine. But you can expect to see the occasional street person, or someone who is mentally ill or - late at night - streetwalkers.

I suggest you go to google maps and look closely at the street view of the area to get an idea.

(I would not live there myself - I would go for a share with other people in a better area - but that's me - and it may not be possible for you. But more because of the noise and general atmosphere than for safety reasons.)

I would have no qualms whatsoever about that block. The entire south side of 43rd between 9th & 10th Aves is the Manhattan Plaza complex - an apartment building for people in the performing arts (actors, directors, tech types, etc.) It actually takes up the entire square block between 42nd-43rd, 9th to 10th Aves. Lots of theatre and dining related activity in that area - 42nd between 9th & 10th is Theatre Row; West Bank Café, Esca restaurants are on the ground floor level of Manhattan Plaza. That entire area is getting more and more upscale.

10 pm is not late in NY. Still street life.

and 43rd between 9th and 10th is busy but is your rental legal? Hopefully you are renting a room in an apartment where the owner is living. and hopefully you didn't answer an ad that was too good to be true on Craigslist and pay a lot of money up front.

Agree that 10 pm is not late in NYC - and there will be a lot of streetlife - but if you come from a small town you might consider some of it quite colorful.

Agree that it's safe - just way too busy for where I would want to live - I like the quiet sidestreets of the leafy upper west side.

Thank you so much guys!:) I have lived in Beijing and Rome, now I am studying in Milan. These cities are very safe even at very late night. Just New York is much bigger than Milan and more multicultural, I really like that but also makes me little concerned about the safety:)

And what do you think about the West End Avenue in Upper West side? I searched it on Google and it looks to me a little desolated, not a busy area and little people, I wonder at night how safe it would be. I am looking for a room to stay on Airbnb so I am choosing the best ones.

Thanks so much!:)

Where is your internship?

I would try and stay some where near the same subway line and make life easier.

West End Avenue, while not particularly busy late at night because it's predominately residential, is one of the more expensive places to live in NYC and among the safest.

New York City, particularly Manhattan below, say, 125th Street, is among the safest places in the city, and New York City is by far the safest large city in the US, considerably safer than Rome or Milan if you are talking about street crime. While I wouldn't take unnecessary chances, I think you will have few problems in any of the areas you describe. (In NYC, 10pm is early, not late .... 2 am is late.)

West End area is very upscale and exclusive - depending on what street you are at. You would need to know the exact address or the cross street - 86th St is a lot different from much farther uptown.

And yes, this area is much quieter at night since it is all residential - but there will be a lot of life on Broadway - a couple of blocks over - where the subway and all the shops and restaurants are. (And the local restaurants are typically open until 11 or midnight - and quite a few delis or "diners" operate 24 hours (as does the subway and buses).

I suggest you provide links here for the places you are considering and people can provide better information. (As for renting a place without having the exact address - that is not something I would even begin to consider. Potential for scams - or just major misunderstandings - is way too great.)

The airbnb does not allow to have the precise address until you book the room. So I can not know that before booking:(
The rooms I am considering are :
https://zh.airbnb.com/rooms/57987
https://zh.airbnb.com/rooms/1472262h.../rooms/1076797
https://zh.airbnb.com/rooms/1091840?...out=2014-07-31

Because it's hard to find a room for total 3 month now (I start booking too late) so I need to move twice or three times during my three-months stay in NY. My internship address is on the 145 West Street.

Any suggestion/opinions would be appreciated! Thanks again for all the help!

One more question: Is the Harlem district really that unsafe? The rent there is cheaper yet I read some bad reviews about this district.

The first one is very expensive; the others are a bit more reasonable. Is this a paid internship?

Kikis, not to be a PITA but is your internship on West Street or on West 145 Street.

West Street is downtown and West 145 St is in Harlem.

And for someone who does not know know their away around town and is concerned about West 43 and Ninth Ave, I suggest that she not live in Harlem, no matter how much that area has changed and it has.

@IMDonehere: It is downtown. It's first time to go to NY so it's true I don't know anything about it.. Thanks for the inf anyway!:)

Make triple sure that you are typing the addresses correctly before hitting submit.

Thank you very much Kikis.

If you can afford it, I would stay on West 43rd St. On nice days it would be about 35-40 minute walk otherwise it would be near to trains or bus. 145 West Street is near Houston St. In NYC we pronounce it HOW-stin.

West Street itself is an extremely bust street but I think you are across the road from the Trapeze School.

Thank you all for all the suggestions! They are indeed helpful for me!! :)

I agree that if you're working downtown, you want to rent on W.43rd and not on West End Ave. The area is generally pretty safe, especially in the summer months.

I work at a college and we get mailings from here offering summer housing so I just thought I would share it in case it is helpful:

http://www.fitnyc.edu/3184.asp

Musicfan

That would be great for her.

Thanks for your input! I'm glad to know that. Ironically, very few of the students who attend my college are in a position to take advantage of this information so it would be nice if it could help SOMEONE! :)

I took at look at the app. The season started and does not state whether they would pro-rate the rent.

Agree that FIT would be great if the time frame fits.

If the job is on West St - that is downtown and I would not consider the UWS - and certainly not Harlem. Even 43rd St will take a while to get downtown.

And I couldn't link to all of the uptown apts - but the first had an awful price - almost $4k a month for just a small room without even a private bath.

When I posted this, I didn't expect so much help and useful suggestions! You all are so nice!

@musicfan, I already send an email to the college to ask for more inf:)

Grrrrazie!!

I hope it works out for you! Come back and let us know and best of luck with your internship.

Hi guys!
I want to ask you about the area river state park, near the city college. Would you recommend it for long-term renting?
Thank you so much!!:))


Ada

I assume you speaking about City College at 137 st and Convent Avenue. If so, the answer is no,

CUNY or the City College of New York has many branches however in all the boroughs. And just to confuse matters, there is one school still called City College.

$4k a month without a private bath? You are being taken IMO!

If you man Rivrbank State Park there are 2 problems:

It is a "park: built above a sewage plant and not a pleasant area

It is very inconvenient if you are working downtown, not a great area and too far.

If you provide a link to the apt and what you get for the price people can advise you better. But $4K per month for a room without a private bath is outrageously expensive. For that you should be able to get your own room and bath in a share in a MUCH better neighborhood. (If a long-term lease you could get your own one-bedroom apt for that.)

It's not that 4k/month one:)

Here is the link of the room:https://zh.airbnb.com/rooms/3534065

The landlord said the area is safe.. yet I am not sure about that. It is near the 135th st and upper manhattan.

What do you think?
Thank you guys so much! You really helped me a lot!

I would not stay that far uptown.

Here are the crime stats for the precinct around W 135 st

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloa...s/cs032pct.pdf

Here are the crime Stats for the area around FIT.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloa...s/cs010pct.pdf

That area is, at best, in transition. It's not particularly dangerous (certainly not during the day) but also not particularly safe (especially at night). I would not recommend it for a young woman who is not familiar with the city and who often comes in late and alone. But I see two other problems. First, it's an illegal rental (the owner claims to live nearby ... only rentals where the owners live in the apartment at the same time are legal), so if something happens, you'll be stuck.

Second, the poster is lying about the room. The ad says it has a "queen size" bed (i.e., a rather large bed suitable for 2). It has a twin. If the poster is lying about something as obvious as bed size (you can see that in the photo), what else is the poster lying about?

The other issue is that the listing says AC OR FAN. In NYC In the summer AC is absolutely imperative - it can get incredibly hot and humid. And that room does not show any AC.

I would not touch it with a barge pole.

Bad location, tiny room, tiny bed and you'll swelter to death.

So what are you doing?