Photo by myself near the World Trade Center at the corner of Church and Vesey Streets.
Just across from the World Trade Center, this mammoth limestone building at 90 Church Street suffered extensive interior damage from the 9/11 attacks.
There is a US Post Office on the ground floor. Federal offices are located on the upper floors.
You know it's reassuring that at any moment of any day, you can get the statistics for homicides in New York City (this entails all 5 boroughs, mind you, not Manhattan alone).
Right on the first page of the Metro section of the Times, is the link to an interactive map. We've had 299 homicides this year. Hooray.
Turns out, you're most prone to be killed if you're an African-American male, between 18 and 34 years old. And your killer is likely to be an African-American male between 18 and 24 years old. You're also most prone to be killed at night, during the summer in Brooklyn.
Each homicide is marked with a dot on the map. It's incredible to move your mouse over the map, showing what each little dot symbolizes - a victim, a killer, a motive and a weapon.
Please note that despite this information, New York is rather safe! Don't change your travel plans! New York has come a long, long way from how it was in the 1970s, when people couldn't walk through any public parks. I have not had a problem in all my 10+ years in New York.
New Yorkers, if you're curious about your neighborhood, the map allows you to zoom in to see the cross streets of each dot.
For the interactive Times homicide map, click here.
Related posts: On the World Trade Center and My Big Toe, Night View at the World Trade Center and Salvaged from the World Trade Center.
6 comments:
New York a bien changé Forum Wired. Pour les touristes NYC est devenu une ville assez rassurante. J'ai vu à coté de mon hôtel, un seul homicide..
Hi Kitty,
I couldn't help myself, I took a look at the map...it's kinda creepy, (but then maybe I am a softy from living a reasonably sheltered life in New Zealand). I thought the homicide rates in New York had decreased...299 for 9 and a bit months still seems like alot!
Thanks Olivier, that's a good point.
I will add that to my post. Visitors should not worry at all. It's still exceedingly safe here.
Hi Otautahi
Yearly we average about 500, so in fact, we're doing pretty well right now.
It's strange that when you live here, you hear of homicides rarely. Much goes on unreported. I'm sure many of the victims and perpetrators know each other.
I'm such a voyeur for crime maps and statistics - I'm always checking the sexual predator map see if we have any new undesirable neighbors - and I don't even have kids at home anymore!
I really love how this building provides the entire background for this photograph. So cool.
Interesting statistics. I remember a friend once telling me she was never afraid to walk through the city at nite because women rarely get attacked at night in manhattan. She said women are more likely to get attacked between 6 & 7 AM. I wonder if that is true. I guess there are exceptions to every rule.
PS
When you consider the millions of people that reside in these boroughs, 299 isn't so bad- though zero would be optimal.
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