Crime in and near DCPS and Charter schools

[Anonymous]

The other threads have me worried about my child's safety in some school neighborhoods so I am starting a new thread. What about places like Columbia Heights, Petworth, and 16th St? Many charters with good reps and scores but what about crime? What should I be worried about and where?

[Anonymous]

I would avoid areas that have either drug or gang activity. So much urban crime is based on those two factors. Rarely is it random acts of violence and when it is it tends to be the by-product (collateral damage) of drugs and gangs.

IOW, stay away from gang turf and drug markets.

[Anonymous]

hi. i just finished reading all of those posts myself and i am kind of...puzzled by it all. let me say a few things:

i live in adams morgan. my child goes to school in columbia heights. i love the nabe, the nabe around my child's school and i almost never think about crime and safety beyond what is considered good sense in an urban setting. and i am not naive or anything of the sort. to be frank, i consider myself to be something of a nervous nellie about such things.

i think there is one poster posting all of those articles and stories. and if you look, many of those stories are dated years and years ago. this poster strikes me as kind of alarmist, frankly. i am not sure what her motivation is, but i do not share her impressions of this area.

i sincerely hope that some other folks who either live in or whose children's attend school in adams morgan/mount pleasant/CH jump in here because i am starting to feel like an alien in my own backyward after reading these posts. those posts don't describe my experience of these neighborhoods. in fact, i've been spending a lot of time recently struggling to figure out how i can keep living in adams morgan, as i am essentially being priced out. it's not the ghetto. far from it.

btw, crime stats for adams morgan need to be taken with a grain of salt because of all the alcohol-fueled shenanigans that go on in the bars (courtesy of the bridge and tunnel crowd) on weekend nights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would avoid areas that have either drug or gang activity. So much urban crime is based on those two factors. Rarely is it random acts of violence and when it is it tends to be the by-product (collateral damage) of drugs and gangs.

IOW, stay away from gang turf and drug markets.

can i ask you an honest question? why do you think real estate in these neighborhoods is so damn expensive?

[Anonymous]

I think that people want to live close in to have shorter commutes. I think a lot of people don't like the idea of the burbs. I know of at least a few families who had no idea what they were getting into when they bought in neighborhoods like Columbia Heights, they have since moved. I think a lot of 2 lawyer couples can afford very high prices. Really interested in what others have to say...

[Anonymous]

I also live in Adams Morgan, I think a lot of it depends on where you live and walk and what your schedule is. A friend lived on Ontario near Mary's Center and did say she heard a lot of shots at night. Probably gang or drug stuff but you might not want to be parking and walking a few blocks home. She moved. A friend on Euclid had her car and house broken into and then her car was stolen. She moved. A friend on the Lanier Heights part of Ontario feels very safe. We have very little kids so don't tend to be out and about much at night anymore. I go to Safeway after work so I don't know if the document business is still so big. I do think that the area around Euclid is really rough, which would give me pause about H.D. Cooke, we are years out from elementary though. It might change, like Logan did after Whole Foods.

It has gotten astonishly expensive, hasn't it? I've been here over 12 years and I can't believe how much it costs to live here now. It was all nonprofit types when I moved in.

[Anonymous]

I can't think of much crime committed by drunk suburbanites, although they are frequent victims. The vast majority of the crime I've seen or been told about in Adams Morgan has been commited by teens.

[Anonymous]

Everyone has a different sense of safety. Go and walk around the schools you are considering several times, during the day and at night. See how safe you feel, just like when you are considering a new urban neighborhood to live in. Are there sketchy people hanging out? Is there a lot of gang graffiti? Are there police cameras? I think you can look up crime maps for different areas.

Just because an area is expensive or a school has a long wait list doesn't mean that you should suspend judgment. Nor should you assume someone else has the same sense of safety you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:btw, crime stats for adams morgan need to be taken with a grain of salt because of all the alcohol-fueled shenanigans that go on in the bars (courtesy of the bridge and tunnel crowd) on weekend nights.

I read some of the links too. What do the bridge and tunnel crowd have to do with crimes commited by area gangs (primarily teens)? A lot of it is teen on teen crime, often killing each other, sadly, but not so good to be standing nearby when the bullets start flying. It's true that a lot of people who come into Adams Morgan become the victims of crime. Are you suggesting that DOD contractors from Arlington are jumping people in that infamous alley on Champlain? Is the camera up at 17th and Euclid to catch their illegal parking? I love Adams Morgan but Disneyworld it isn't. I've seen people carjacked outside my lovely 1 M rowhouse, on a Sunday night at 6:30. What exactly do you think the police helicopter is doing up at all hours of the day and night, tracking folks headed back home to Bethesda? Uh, more likely tracking teens who have carjacked someone and who are out for a joyride, looking for a place to dump their car. I think a lot of people in Adams Morgan just go to work and go to Pierce and The Diner on the weekend and just aren't really aware. If your routine is such that you have not felt unsafe in Adams Morgan, then you are probably fine. Knock wood, we have really enjoyed living here. I had not personally realized the level of crime right in the area around Cooke since I don't really travel on that block. Something to consider when we get to school age.

[Anonymous]

What about Cap City or Haynes? I know that Haynes is on a pretty seedy stretch of Georgia but think I heard that they are moving? What about Two Rivers? It's kind of way off by itself on Florida.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would avoid areas that have either drug or gang activity. So much urban crime is based on those two factors. Rarely is it random acts of violence and when it is it tends to be the by-product (collateral damage) of drugs and gangs.

IOW, stay away from gang turf and drug markets.

So, having grown up in the burbs, how do I know how to do that?

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the school plant and your transportation too. We did a stint at Haynes before moving and while the neighborhood was seedy, it was fine. We dropped DC off and picked him up by car due to time/distance, and there was no playground the kids congregated on after school. If it was a school like Murch where the kids wanted to hang, I'd have different standards for the neighborhood. Same if I planned on walking. Most nabes are totally fine in the early morning, if I planned to walk or hang out I'd check out the neighborhood at 3:30 a couple of times. We never went to the school much at night, would have been weirded out by the strip club, I think. If the school has a lot of evening programs for the kids or parents, I'd check out the nabe then, and the parking/safety of walk or walk from car. Trust your gut.

[Anonymous]

Cap City - the lower school is in a super busy area with another charter, a middle school and a high school all close together. I work, so I don't know what it is like after school but I'd check it out then. The playground is on the roof, so a non-issue. I don't know that I'd plan to commute by metro, a lot of crime in Columbia Heights seems to take place around the metro station. Great school, go and see for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Neighborhood listserves and blogs are a great way to get the scoop on schools and crime. We go to Haynes and I read The Prince of Petworth. I think a lot of "opinion" on DCUM is not firsthand, so I'd try to go to the source and also visit for yourself. I know that Adams Morgan has a yahoo group and a blog The 42 Bus. Don't know about Columbia Heights, but maybe someone will chime in. HTH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cap City - the lower school is in a super busy area with another charter, a middle school and a high school all close together. I work, so I don't know what it is like after school but I'd check it out then. The playground is on the roof, so a non-issue. I don't know that I'd plan to commute by metro, a lot of crime in Columbia Heights seems to take place around the metro station. Great school, go and see for yourself.

i am starting to feel like a real renegade on this board! i take the bus home from cap city at 6pm every night with my young daughter (42 line). have never had a problem or felt unsafe. i also frequently use the CH metro day and night and walk home from the washington sports club at around 9pm, from CH into AM. never had a problem. don't feel nervous or unsafe. and the funny part is--i am the nervous type!

i have to admit, i am really taken aback by this safety conversation. i mean, yes, these neighborhoods are urban and you should take precautions. and i am aware of the gang issues in these areas, past and present. i just hope these discussions don't give people the wrong impression about what i think is a really vibrant, fun, diverse area of the city. but it IS THE CITY folks.