No-go areas in New York?
 

I am travelling to the US in September and will be meeting up with my granddaughter who if flying in from London. Neither of us have been to the Big Apple before and while we are excited about exploring the city I am a little concerned about booking accommodation in a "save area". I know NY has had a "zero tolerance" policy for sometime and it is considered safe to stay and explore much of the city but I do feel responsible for my granddaughter. We will be exercising common sense about personal safety as you would when travelling in any big city but would appreciate knowing any areas considered unsafe to stay.
Jenny62

NYC is the safest big city in the US. And although no one can assure another's safety, I assume you will be in the standard tourists areas which are exceedingly safe.

Since this is your first trip to NYC, and you will want to be someplace easy to get around, and convenient to shops, restaurants and sights, I would suggest you look for accomodations in mid-town or down-town areas on Manhattan Island, itself. (Street-wise, you'll want to stay someplace between 32nd St(to the South) and 59th (to the North). There are plenty of "safe" areas elsewhere, but that should keep you within easy distance of just about anyplace you want to visit in the city...for example you could go further South, as "the Village" and "Soho" (meaning South of Houston St) are fun places, and perfectly safe. You will find public transportation easy to use and if you are "walkers" the city is laid out in a simple grid that is easy to understand.

I've lived in NYC, worked there, visited on business after moving from there, and more recently, visited my daughter who has lived in practically every borough of the city. The last couple of years she's lived up near the Cloisters museum, which I find is a terrific neighborhood -- but it is quite a distance to places you will, I assume, be visiting so I suggest you would be happier more "mid" and "down" town.

There are HUNDREDS of hotels to choose from, and not knowing your price point, or exactly what you want from a hotel, I'll not make any specific recommendations.

Please call "New York" New York City or Manhattan. Whenever I see "New York" I think New York State.

If you want advice on where to stay, I think it would be a good idea for you to tell us what you want to do whilst in Manhattan. Broadway, Lincoln Center, clothes shopping, museums, art galleries, shopping for knock-offs???????

Thin

what about the west village - is that area nice? is it safe to walk around at night?
i think we'd like to stay in an area where there's always people around so maybe midtown might be better or not really?

It's true that NYC is the safest large city in the nation. It's also true that there are areas (like Times Square) where there is more petty crime (pickpocketing etc) against tourists. This is likely in any area mobbed by tourists and with people packing the pavements - but you're still very unlikely to be a victim unless you're careless.

Any tourist area in NYC is safe. There are some areas where I would not reco tourists go - and I wouldn't go myself - but they are a few purely residential areas in the outer boroughs (NOT Manhattan) and not places a tourist would go anyway.

Naturally, as in any other city, one does not wander down dark alleys - or hang out around the docks - or wander into the woods of Central Park - alone in the middle of the night. (But if there's a special event in Central Park at night it will be mobbed and perfectly safe until a reasonable hour.)

(Some people are confused by Central Park because they are thinking of a small city park - that is manicured lawns, paved walks with benches and ornamental shrubs. Central Park has a lot of the above - but it also has a large resevoir, a large lake, a bunch of athletic fields, a zoo, a theater and several large areas that are hilly and heavily wooded. And it's big - larger than the country of Monaco.)

As for hotels - agree you need to tell us what your budget is and what you plan on doing. And while there are certainly some hotels that are quite unpleasant that you wouldn't want to stay in - all of the tourist hotel areas are perfectly safe.

The West Village is one of the most beautiful residential areas in the City where the rich have converted a number of townhouses into single family dwellings. There are also commerical thorougfares as well.

Midtown is primarily a business area - so in much of it the streets aren;t that busy at night - except in the theater district. Generally there is more street life in the residential areas - with lots of stores open, tons of restaurants, many with sidewalk cafes. You will find much more of that in the Village and on the upper east/west sides than in midtowm - unless you go to the very far east - or in some places west residential areas.

NYC is extremely safe. If you'd like help selecting a hotel, it would be helpful to tell us when in Sept. you're coming, your nightly budget, your preferences for hotels (ie big/small, independents vs. big chains, trendy vs. traditional etc.) If you are coming before the 7th, there are some great sales on travelzoo.com and quikbook.com is a good website for pricing and not having to pay upfront.

If you want a place with a kitchen, there are quite a few apt/hotels. Avoid looking at private apartments since there are a lot of scams online for these.

"Please call "New York" New York City or Manhattan. Whenever I see "New York" I think New York State."

But whatever you do, don't call it the Big Apple.

(and don't shop for knockoffs)

PAH.

If you're from New York City, then you call it New York. For many people in the other boroughs, Manhattan is "the City."

Nassau and Suffolk counties are "The Island."

Everything else is "upstate."

And unless you're going to East New York, Jamaica, Brownsville, Ocean Hill, Washington Heights, or other known urban pits in the City, you won't be in an "unsafe" area. This isn't the 1970s. Everyone who said above that NYC is the safest big city in the country is dead-on accurate.

As tourists you'll be in midtown, downtown or one of the "upper" sides of Manhattan, each of which is safe. You'll go to sights in Manhattan, in all likelihood. You will shop in Manhattan. You won't rent a car and you won't take a train out to the other boroughs. You should be fine.

East New York, Jamaica, Brownsville, Ocean Hill, Washington Heights - yes - tourists, by and large, just have no need to visit those areas. But to designate them as "unsafe" is a bit beyond the realities of today. This town has changed quite a bit in the past 10 years or so - and I'd venture to note that those areas are just as safe as others if you happen to have some business there. And I am noting that remarks such as that are an obtuse kind of racism - and we just don;t need that stuff. And - to note some realities - a good friend of ours was driving thrugh one of those areas and she had some sort of mechanical trouble - flat or something like that. The locals very graciously helped her to get going again. Try that on the Upper East Side.

we plan to go to Astoria, Queens and visit my great aunt...surely thats a safe train ride haha
we might even head out to Jersey to say hello to my mum's cousins...

For all you crime fans and worry warts, here is a map which appeared in the NY Times last Friday. which shows where murders took place in the City since 2003.

http://projects.nytimes.com/crime/homicides/map

eeekkk! thats horrible haha

I agree with JRoth. I cannot think of one area within the 5 boroughs that I would have a problem visiting and walking around.

Washington Heights is an "urban pit?" What an ignorant comment! I certainly will not mention this to my friends who live there! There may not be a reason for me to visit every single area, but you can bet that if I heard about an interesting restaurant, for example, in Brownsville, I would be there very soon!


NY has changed SO much in the last two decades! This is not to say that there is no crime, but I think it highly unlikely that a tourist will be victimized unless they do something really dumb. Probably more likely to be the victim of theft from the hotel room.

Adu,

Interesting graphic. It's useful only if you slide the bar over to 2009, however. As mentioned, the city has changed dramatically in the last 10 years.

I think the only tourist on the map to be murdered was 55 year old male who accidentally wandered into Mamma Mia.

jroth, I suggest you keep your foolish accusations of racism to yourself. The level of crime and terrible conditions of the areas I named are well-known regardless of who lives there (and each is actually a polyglot area). Please don't debase your commentary with unfounded accusations that are neither useful nor knowledgeable.

ekscrunchy, Washington Heights is an urban pit and not. You are 1/2 right, as was I. There are large swathes of the neighborhood, especially along the Hudson, that are exceedingly nice. Places closer to GW high school are decidedly less so.

This is a difficulty with naming bad areas in NYC -- most have very safe or very nice enclaves or destinations too, much like the Oak Cliff area of Dallas. After all, Peter Lugar restaurant was famously in a (formerly) bad area of Williamsburg but is a destination dining experience for New Yorkers and tourists.