New Yorkers please advise - current situation

[Anonymous]

Looking for advice from anyone *actually living/working in Manhattan right now.* What’s the situation in terms of safest neighborhoods if one were to do a quick weekend trip? Before the pandemic I always stayed in Chelsea or the Flatiron near Madison Square Park. Any first hand experience with what is going on in those areas right now? The open-air drug situation in Chelsea sounds pretty scary - is this overblown? What’s currently the best bet in terms of a NYC (Manhattan) neighborhood for a reasonably safe and fun weekend right now? Just looking to walk, shop, and eat.

[Anonymous]

Are you talking about staying safe from drugs or Covid… Or both?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you talking about staying safe from drugs or Covid… Or both?[/quote

Really just want to find things open and not be stepping over too many junkies.

[Anonymous]

Friend lives in Hells Kitchen...it's fine. Seems perfectly normal. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Friend lives in Hells Kitchen...it's fine. Seems perfectly normal. Hope this helps.

Thanks, appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

We were just there. Stayed in Chinatown. It was perfectly safe.

[Anonymous]

I'm on the UWS, streets are packed, everyone out and about. I am not in fear of my life.

[Anonymous]

"Safest"? What are you worried about, exactly? Manhattan is incredibly safe. All of my ILs live there and my husband goes for work frequently. I was there for a work trip a month ago myself.

[Anonymous]

OP here, for everyone (or maybe just one suck puppet) freaking out about my so-called freak out, here’s an example of media coverage that led me to ask what I think is a simple question, posed to people actually living in the area. From the Wall Street Journal just a few months ago. Just gave me a little pause, that’s all.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-police-target-midtown-crime-increase-with-patrols-blockades-11623675600

“The New York Police Department has set up a mobile command post and increased patrols in the heart of Midtown Manhattan following a surge in robberies, assaults and shootings along a corridor popular with tourists and office workers.

The command post was installed on June 4 at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and West 38th Street near several hotels, stores and offices. The setup includes an NYPD truck and metal barricades that run along the city block to carve out a staging area for police.

An additional 24 officers have been dispatched on daily patrols along Eighth Avenue and Ninth Avenue from West 36th Street to West 46th Street to reassure the public and deter crime, according to NYPD Assistant Chief Stephen Hughes. Homeless outreach workers are also assisting officers in interactions with homeless people where public safety isn’t an issue, he said in an interview.

Police officials say the rise in crime in the area has been fueled by an illegal narcotics market that sprung up on Eighth Avenue between Penn Station and Port Authority Bus Terminal after the city rehoused thousands of homeless people in area hotels during the Covid-19 pandemic. Local residents say it is the first time in decades that police have had such a significant, protracted presence in the area.”

[Anonymous]

Just got back from a weekend there and we were all over. Penn Station, Chelsea and Long Island City (Queens) late at night and lower midtown, upper west side, and Chinatown during the day. Visited those areas a ton and it seemed no different. We actually saw a LOT less homeless people than on prior trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Safest"? What are you worried about, exactly? Manhattan is incredibly safe. All of my ILs live there and my husband goes for work frequently. I was there for a work trip a month ago myself.

https://nypost.com/2021/09/25/nyc-drug-users-shoot-up-in-broad-daylight-in-midtown/

[Anonymous]

New Yorker here. UWS, UES are totally fine. Chinatown, Little Italy, East Village are OK too. The only part of Manhattan that I find really unpleasant these days is the area in midtown around Penn Station and going West to Hudson Yards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New Yorker here. UWS, UES are totally fine. Chinatown, Little Italy, East Village are OK too. The only part of Manhattan that I find really unpleasant these days is the area in midtown around Penn Station and going West to Hudson Yards.

Thank you, that’s exactly the type of info I was looking for, from someone actually living there. Appreciate your kind and helpful response. I think I’m going to pass on Chelsea this visit and stay in one of the other areas you mentioned.

[Anonymous]

My son is also at Fordham RH. Are you planning to visit your daughter for parents weekend? Or are you scoping out safer areas for your daughter to explore? Let's commiserate OP.

[Anonymous]

I have been traveling to NYC for work frequently over the past few months - I stay near Madison Square Park and walk to and from Hudson Yards everyday. I have lived to tell the tale.