What's the vibe in University Park (MD)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why UP is so white? Is there something historically that made that particular area not welcoming to non-whites?

Yes, it’s predominantly white, but I’m not white and my neighbor across the street is also not white. I think that it’s predominantly white because it has always been one of the nicer neighborhoods in PGC. My spouse grew up in the neighborhood and went to the local publics. The UP kids were considered “the rich kids” in middle and HS.

Right, but why is that particular small area one of the nicer neighborhoods?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speculate away. Nice calling me a racist.

OP, This is who you’ll be living near in University Park.

Three people were shot in 2022 at the mall. Two of those died. A 17 year old was also shot dead at the metro station, and another person was knifed at West Hyattsville.

Not all were targeted but even if they were? Do you hear yourself—as if “targeted shootings” are cool. No worries there. Nothing to see, people! Just a dead body.

If someone wants to move here, I won’t be the one to lie about the issues. I hated it when people did that to me.

Not to stir up anything, but I'm curious where you live and where you shop? If you live in the Route 1 corridor, where do you get your groceries and run errands?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speculate away. Nice calling me a racist.

OP, This is who you’ll be living near in University Park.

Three people were shot in 2022 at the mall. Two of those died. A 17 year old was also shot dead at the metro station, and another person was knifed at West Hyattsville.

Not all were targeted but even if they were? Do you hear yourself—as if “targeted shootings” are cool. No worries there. Nothing to see, people! Just a dead body.

If someone wants to move here, I won’t be the one to lie about the issues. I hated it when people did that to me.

Not to stir up anything, but I'm curious where you live and where you shop? If you live in the Route 1 corridor, where do you get your groceries and run errands?

I'm one of the locals. I do most of my grocery shopping at MOM's, but also get a weekly farm share year round and order from Whole Foods when I just need to do curbside pickup for schedule reasons. It's also easy enough to pop into Safeway or one of the other stores when the situation calls for it. Pre-pandemic, I shopped at the PG Plaza Target a ton (and the Beltway Plaza Target occasionally). With the pandemic, I got into online ordering for everything, and now I mostly do curbside pickup when I need Target stuff. I do go into the TJ Maxx and Five Below at PG Plaza occasionally. We use the CVS in College Park for all our pharmacy needs, and we take our bikes to Proteus. I can't think of anything else we do in person anymore!!

[Anonymous]

I get that there is maybe more crime here than in richer parts of town, but I do not feel unsafe at the mall or the metro any more than anywhere else. I mean how many shootings is okay? None, of course, but that’s not the world we live in. My chances of being a victim of a violent crime here are extremely low. Certainly low enough for me to feel totally fine about going to Target. I think when people make these safety assessments it’s very, very easy for implicit racial biases to be involved because it’s kind of hard/impossible/crazy making to make a rational assessment. I think when I try to make a rational assessment, I think I’m just about as safe at this Target as any other, which is to say very safe but with a small risk. An uptick in crime that makes the small risk bigger, while it’s still staying very, very small, doesn’t meaningfully change anything. So when you’re saying you ban your kids from Target, I’m feeling like that’s not really rational. This is like thinking about mass shootings - I can’t base my decisions on that. I have to live my life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Speculate away. Nice calling me a racist.

OP, This is who you’ll be living near in University Park.

Three people were shot in 2022 at the mall. Two of those died. A 17 year old was also shot dead at the metro station, and another person was knifed at West Hyattsville.

Not all were targeted but even if they were? Do you hear yourself—as if “targeted shootings” are cool. No worries there. Nothing to see, people! Just a dead body.

If someone wants to move here, I won’t be the one to lie about the issues. I hated it when people did that to me.

Not to stir up anything, but I'm curious where you live and where you shop? If you live in the Route 1 corridor, where do you get your groceries and run errands?

I’m not that PP but in the area there are a ton of grocery stores and other shopping. It’s very easy to get errands done here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why UP is so white? Is there something historically that made that particular area not welcoming to non-whites?

Yes, it’s predominantly white, but I’m not white and my neighbor across the street is also not white. I think that it’s predominantly white because it has always been one of the nicer neighborhoods in PGC. My spouse grew up in the neighborhood and went to the local publics. The UP kids were considered “the rich kids” in middle and HS.

I also think that there much greater diversity in the younger families. I don't think I know of any resident who is 55+ that isn't white, but I know several families of color with children under 10. UP is definitely less diverse than some surrounding areas though.

There is definitely a price premium for UP v.s. University Hills (the Hyattsville neighborhood across Adelphi Road) or Hyattsville proper (the part of Hyattsville between South of 410, between Queens Chapel and Route 1). Though some of that is also just differences in housing stock. I think Calvert Hills is fairly comparable on price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get that there is maybe more crime here than in richer parts of town, but I do not feel unsafe at the mall or the metro any more than anywhere else. I mean how many shootings is okay? None, of course, but that’s not the world we live in. My chances of being a victim of a violent crime here are extremely low. Certainly low enough for me to feel totally fine about going to Target. I think when people make these safety assessments it’s very, very easy for implicit racial biases to be involved because it’s kind of hard/impossible/crazy making to make a rational assessment. I think when I try to make a rational assessment, I think I’m just about as safe at this Target as any other, which is to say very safe but with a small risk. An uptick in crime that makes the small risk bigger, while it’s still staying very, very small, doesn’t meaningfully change anything. So when you’re saying you ban your kids from Target, I’m feeling like that’s not really rational. This is like thinking about mass shootings - I can’t base my decisions on that. I have to live my life.

I'm genuinely curious if your premise is even true--that there's more crime "here" (UP? PG Plaza?) than the richer parts of town. Sure, there's probably more crime here than in Potomac or Great Falls, but those simply aren't comparable based on density. Is there more crime here than around Tysons or Rockville Pike or Upper NW or any of the other somewhat dense, somewhat wealthy areas? My sense is that all these areas have a baseline of crime--wasn't there a thread on here just a couple days ago about Tyson's? I'm not sure I care quite enough to look up data and do the comparison myself, but I'd sure love to hear about it if anyone else has done that kind of comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious why UP is so white? Is there something historically that made that particular area not welcoming to non-whites?

I'm not an expert on the history at all, but I think it's the same general set of factors that created many white communities--redlining, restrictive covenants, racial disparities in wealth, etc. There was a conversation on the neighborhood listserv just recently about how to get the racist language out of home deeds (even if it's no longer enforceable).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lots of friends there. Some kids play together but they gravitate to school friends, especially as they grow older. The nearby mall has crime problems, and my children are not allowed to go there (shootings).

Sure, some people are welcoming. There is a list serv and some local activities (races each year) that bring people together.

It’s a place to live if you want a decent house among trees that is about $900-$1m or more.

If you won’t let your children go to PG mall, you shouldn’t live here for sure. I am at PG mall all the time with my toddler. There HAS been one shooting there I can recall since we moved here. It wasn’t random, and I’m very comfortable going there and being a normal level of vigilant and alert. There was a shooting at Montgomery Mall a few years ago too. I bet the PP would let her kids go there, and I can speculate about why.

There were 2 shootings last summer. One was random and the other was not.
To be fair--Tyson's Corner also had a handful of shootings last summer but I am not sure anyone was actually killed.

It's not like the Montgomery County State's Attorneys office has a shortage of murders to prosecute either.

why are you bringing up MoCo? Is that your automatic response whenever someone mentions crime at PGPlaza?

Because I worked in the prosecutor's office there and know that every place carries some risk of violent crime. The difference between PG Plaza and other areas isn't as great as most posters here make it out to be. Too many people think that your risk of violent crime is determined by whether the businesses around cater to the wealthy, but it's really not. You can still get murdered in a Lululemon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why UP is so white? Is there something historically that made that particular area not welcoming to non-whites?

I'm not an expert on the history at all, but I think it's the same general set of factors that created many white communities--redlining, restrictive covenants, racial disparities in wealth, etc. There was a conversation on the neighborhood listserv just recently about how to get the racist language out of home deeds (even if it's no longer enforceable).

Yes, I don’t know the specifics of UP but just down the road in Brentwood there is still a barrier in the road between Brentwood and North Brentwood that relates to segregation and the violent enforcement of it. They’re making it part of a park of some kind I believe. All the little towns along the way have that history (similar to everywhere else). I don’t know how you can look it up for UP but I bet there is some sort of historical work being done by someone and hopefully preserved by the town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lots of friends there. Some kids play together but they gravitate to school friends, especially as they grow older. The nearby mall has crime problems, and my children are not allowed to go there (shootings).

Sure, some people are welcoming. There is a list serv and some local activities (races each year) that bring people together.

It’s a place to live if you want a decent house among trees that is about $900-$1m or more.

If you won’t let your children go to PG mall, you shouldn’t live here for sure. I am at PG mall all the time with my toddler. There HAS been one shooting there I can recall since we moved here. It wasn’t random, and I’m very comfortable going there and being a normal level of vigilant and alert. There was a shooting at Montgomery Mall a few years ago too. I bet the PP would let her kids go there, and I can speculate about why.

Speculate away. Nice calling me a racist.

OP, This is who you’ll be living near in University Park.

Three people were shot in 2022 at the mall. Two of those died. A 17 year old was also shot dead at the metro station, and another person was knifed at West Hyattsville.

Not all were targeted but even if they were? Do you hear yourself—as if “targeted shootings” are cool. No worries there. Nothing to see, people! Just a dead body.

If someone wants to move here, I won’t be the one to lie about the issues. I hated it when people did that to me.

NP. I saw this link and map over the weekend as it related to crime in cities over a multi-year period and how it can vary widely block to block of the same street.

You can put in a location a see the data. Searching on Univ. Park, it returns:
https://www.thetrace.org/2023/02/gun-violence-map-america-shootings/?place=University-Park-Maryland

1 person was killed in a shooting on November 17, 2021 at 4000 block of Underwood St in University Park, Maryland.

You can increase/decrease the map and see the marker dots and data of nearby e.g.,

1 person was killed in a shooting on August 18, 2022 at 3500 East-West Hwy in Hyattsville, Maryland.
1 person was killed in a shooting on March 25, 2022 at 3500 East-West Hwy in Hyattsville, Maryland.
1 person was killed in a shooting on August 18, 2022 at 3500 East-West Hwy in Hyattsville, Maryland.
1 person was injured in a shooting on February 5, 2022 at 6235 Baltimore Ave in Riverdale, Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lots of friends there. Some kids play together but they gravitate to school friends, especially as they grow older. The nearby mall has crime problems, and my children are not allowed to go there (shootings).

Sure, some people are welcoming. There is a list serv and some local activities (races each year) that bring people together.

It’s a place to live if you want a decent house among trees that is about $900-$1m or more.

If you won’t let your children go to PG mall, you shouldn’t live here for sure. I am at PG mall all the time with my toddler. There HAS been one shooting there I can recall since we moved here. It wasn’t random, and I’m very comfortable going there and being a normal level of vigilant and alert. There was a shooting at Montgomery Mall a few years ago too. I bet the PP would let her kids go there, and I can speculate about why.

There were 2 shootings last summer. One was random and the other was not.
To be fair--Tyson's Corner also had a handful of shootings last summer but I am not sure anyone was actually killed.

It's not like the Montgomery County State's Attorneys office has a shortage of murders to prosecute either.

why are you bringing up MoCo? Is that your automatic response whenever someone mentions crime at PGPlaza?

Because I worked in the prosecutor's office there and know that every place carries some risk of violent crime. The difference between PG Plaza and other areas isn't as great as most posters here make it out to be. Too many people think that your risk of violent crime is determined by whether the businesses around cater to the wealthy, but it's really not. You can still get murdered in a Lululemon.

I mean, too soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious why UP is so white? Is there something historically that made that particular area not welcoming to non-whites?

PG county was predominately white for a very long time, especially areas like Bowie. It changed in the past 30 years maybe? UP/CH have stayed very white bc there is so little inventory and very few if any new houses being built. And I've met many people here who have inherited their homes from parents or family member. And a lot of the homes are still occupied by original homeowners.

And there are whispers of steering by some of the older real estate agents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious why UP is so white? Is there something historically that made that particular area not welcoming to non-whites?

Yes, it’s predominantly white, but I’m not white and my neighbor across the street is also not white. I think that it’s predominantly white because it has always been one of the nicer neighborhoods in PGC. My spouse grew up in the neighborhood and went to the local publics. The UP kids were considered “the rich kids” in middle and HS.

Right, but why is that particular small area one of the nicer neighborhoods?

It has no apartments. SFHs only. Less density and crime and poverty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have lots of friends there. Some kids play together but they gravitate to school friends, especially as they grow older. The nearby mall has crime problems, and my children are not allowed to go there (shootings).

Sure, some people are welcoming. There is a list serv and some local activities (races each year) that bring people together.

It’s a place to live if you want a decent house among trees that is about $900-$1m or more.

If you won’t let your children go to PG mall, you shouldn’t live here for sure. I am at PG mall all the time with my toddler. There HAS been one shooting there I can recall since we moved here. It wasn’t random, and I’m very comfortable going there and being a normal level of vigilant and alert. There was a shooting at Montgomery Mall a few years ago too. I bet the PP would let her kids go there, and I can speculate about why.

There were 2 shootings last summer. One was random and the other was not.
To be fair--Tyson's Corner also had a handful of shootings last summer but I am not sure anyone was actually killed.

It's not like the Montgomery County State's Attorneys office has a shortage of murders to prosecute either.

why are you bringing up MoCo? Is that your automatic response whenever someone mentions crime at PGPlaza?

Because I worked in the prosecutor's office there and know that every place carries some risk of violent crime. The difference between PG Plaza and other areas isn't as great as most posters here make it out to be. Too many people think that your risk of violent crime is determined by whether the businesses around cater to the wealthy, but it's really not. You can still get murdered in a Lululemon.

Oh please. Workplace violence is hardly random.

https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime/The-Lululemon-Murder