OT: Does anyone live in Downtown Hartford?

[Whtdmd]

Hartford is safe if u r there to do what u r suppose to. I have no problems walking by myself at 11 pm at night from the XL center through Bushnell park to the state offices. That is where I still park my car after 8 incident free yrs. Use common sense; If u r looking for drugs or Hoes, u r looking for trouble and will find it. It is safe if u r coming in to see a game or for a dinner. I guess growing up in NYC taught me a thing or two about safety

 

[Ha Who]

That's an email that is likely just applying all of Hartford's crime stats (which are concentrated NOT in downtown) to downtown. I don't need a letter from the lawyer of a management company telling me something I know from living and experience. I will walk anywhere downtown, at any hour. I am not scared of people, or I would move to a parcel of land in Montana. Also, your management company is just as paranoid it sounds, or have not made these walks themselves. I entirely disagree that a 2-block walk in downtown Hartford is questionably safe/unsafe - "concrete dead zone (can that be more dramatic?)"or not.

What do you call the area from Travelers on Main Street to the UConn campus Oh yes it’s a greenway. You are welcome to walk from Front Street to Spectra at 2 am. I guess I’m a wuz

 

[husky8273]

Wrong. This was in response to a guy knocked unconscious by a group of kids by Hartford Steam Boiler

How did such an assault escape media attention?

 

[Ha Who]

Hartford is safe if u r there to do what u r suppose to. I have no problems walking by myself at 11 pm at night from the XL center through Bushnell park to the state offices. That is where I still park my car after 8 incident free yrs. Use common sense; If u r looking for drugs or Hoes, u r looking for trouble and will find it. It is safe if u r coming in to see a game or for a dinner. I guess growing up in NYC taught me a thing or two about safety

I agree with you and do similar things. It’s just common sense. To act like it’s a stroll through Peyton Place is setting you up for a fall

 

[Robertelamin]

Do you think Bushnell Park is safe?

 

[XLCenterFan]

Do you think Bushnell Park is safe?

Just like Whtdmd, I park on the other side of Bushnell Park for events. It's one of the few places where you can find free street parking, and whether I'm with my father, mother, wife, friends, or solo, I always check that spot first for parking (blowing my secret here I guess). If all you're doing is walking though the park to get to your car, I feel 100% safe, anytime of day, and have never questioned it. If you want to hang out in the park during the day, again, it's 100% safe. However, if you were to hang out in Bushnell Park from sundown to sunup, something may happen to you eventually. So overall, yes, Bushnell Park is fine.

 

[Robertelamin]

Just like Whtdmd, I park on the other side of Bushnell Park for events. It's one of the few places where you can find free street parking, and whether I'm with my father, mother, wife, friends, or solo, I always check that spot first for parking (blowing my secret here I guess). If all you're doing is walking though the park to get to your car, I feel 100% safe, anytime of day, and have never questioned it. If you want to hang out in the park during the day, again, it's 100% safe. However, if you were to hang out in Bushnell Park from sundown to sunup, something may happen to you eventually. So overall, yes, Bushnell Park is fine.

Dude that’s my parking spot. And at least another poster here too.

 

[XLCenterFan]

How did such an assault escape media attention?

Right? I read The Courant daily and watch local news almost daily. This would have made perfect scare-the-suburbs-away-from-Hartford fodder.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Dude that’s my parking spot. And at least another poster here too.

Would you agree with my critique of the park?

 

[Robertelamin]

Would you agree with my critique of the park?

I would. I have no idea how it is really late/early but I’ve never been uncomfortable at all there.

 

[superjohn]

You would think suburbanites were getting offed on a daily basis from reading the threads about Hartford. What a bunch of wusses, grown men terrified of walking around downtown Hartford.

 

[Robertelamin]

You would think suburbanites were getting offed on a daily basis from reading the threads about Hartford. What a bunch of wusses, grown men terrified of walking around downtown Hartford.

But the islands!

 

[Ha Who]

Right? I read The Courant daily and watch local news almost daily. This would have made perfect scare-the-suburbs-away-from-Hartford fodder.

If you guys insist on me doing work on a Sunday

Hartford Police Probe Two Violent Downtown Robberies

 

[XLCenterFan]

Let's just dig up every criminal act ever, and apply it to what will happen to us if we walk 2 blocks in downtown. I saw lots of people get slapped around at my suburban high school and beat-downs issued in bars frequented solely by suburbanites. There was drug dealing, stealing, and vandalism going on too. Should I avoid those places as well now?

 

[husky8273]

If you guys insist on me doing work on a Sunday

Hartford Police Probe Two Violent Downtown Robberies

Thankfully Hartford's finest's efforts have prevented any further instances since last November.

 

[Ha Who]

Thankfully Hartford's finest's efforts have prevented any further instances since last November.

Love a guy with a sense of humor. As for XL fan, he has a tough time with facts. He must be a lawyer He reads the Courant every day but goes into full attack mode when confronted with the truth

 

[XLCenterFan]

Love a guy with a sense of humor. As for XL fan, he has a tough time with facts. He must be a lawyer He reads the Courant every day but goes into full attack mode when confronted with the truth

If we're saying that crime occurs in downtown Hartford, as it does in every other city, that IS a fact. If we're saying that crime is SO prevalent in downtown Hartford, that a rational person should be afraid to walk 2 blocks, that is NOT a fact. I jumped into this convo when the statement was made that walking from Spectra to Front Street was a hazard to our health, which I would also say is NOT a fact.
Mind you, I have walked many blocks downtown at night. I have lived in the South End, by the corner of Adelaide and Franklin. I have walked 2 blocks there as well, day and night, where crime is more prevalent than downtown, to Mozzicato bakery, the old D & D Grocery, etc, and never had any issues. Should I go play Powerball because I am SO lucky? Or, is the crime in DOWNTOWN just being over-exaggerated? I am also not saying that certain parts of the city shouldn't be avoided for an evening stroll. There are parts of the city I would absolutely not walk 2 blocks at night, but downtown ain't it.

 

[Ha Who]

I’m not sure why we got sidetracked on the safety issue as I walk all over Hartford. My real issue is I’m depressed by the lack of business and people downtown. Sure when we play Nova I see people. When I saw Roger Waters and the Dead, I loved the vibe. But when I walk at lunch there are depressingly few people. It’s even worse in the evenings or weekends when there is not a major event. My point is the city needs thousands more living downtown to get that city feel. I guess we both love Hartford. Perhaps, you see the glass half full and I half empty.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Fair points Who Ha. I agree with your post above. My wife and I went downtown on a warm weekday last week for mid-day sandwiches at Blue State Coffee, and we ate outside. The mix of people walking around was 50/50 of people who seemed to be working, and people who seemed to be looking for work. Besides places to live, and getting people to move there, we need jobs, jobs, jobs, for city residents-which is tough when many of the residents don't have the skills necessary to fill many jobs. There also needs to be a grocery store, but I always have the chicken and egg debate about both. Will a grocery store move in if people move there first, or will more people move in if there is a grocery store? Should we incentivize job-skills programs before the jobs come, to attract employers? Or, should we attract employers, and then help/incentivize residents to attain the skills? These are the great urban debates being had nowadays and must be figured out, especially in a city like Hartford, which it seems many (at least I am) are rooting for, and would love to see flourish again. Cheers dude!

 

[polycom]

Smh what happened to this thread. A bunch of old men worrying about how “dangerous” Hartford is as if random acts of violence happen daily. Go take this stupid argument to the pool. Bad things happen to good people, as long as the frequency is low it doesn’t matter. Way to ruin a solid thread smh.

 

[Deepster]

Smh what happened to this thread. A bunch of old men worrying about how “dangerous” Hartford is as if random acts of violence happen daily.

They do.

 

[Deepster]

If we're saying that crime occurs in downtown Hartford, as it does in every other city, that IS a fact. If we're saying that crime is SO prevalent in downtown Hartford, that a rational person should be afraid to walk 2 blocks, that is NOT a fact. I jumped into this convo when the statement was made that walking from Spectra to Front Street was a hazard to our health, which I would also say is NOT a fact.
Mind you, I have walked many blocks downtown at night. I have lived in the South End, by the corner of Adelaide and Franklin. I have walked 2 blocks there as well, day and night, where crime is more prevalent than downtown, to Mozzicato bakery, the old D & D Grocery, etc, and never had any issues. Should I go play Powerball because I am SO lucky? Or, is the crime in DOWNTOWN just being over-exaggerated? I am also not saying that certain parts of the city shouldn't be avoided for an evening stroll. There are parts of the city I would absolutely not walk 2 blocks at night, but downtown ain't it.

Do you think that just because you haven’t experienced violence (yet) that it doesn’t exist?

 

[XLCenterFan]

Do you think that just because you haven’t experienced violence (yet) that it doesn’t exist?

I'm saying that I've had a better chance than most to have experienced it in Hartford, since I've lived there for three years and have been frequenting the city since I've been in middle school, and I have not. I can't even tell you of a friend who has been physically accosted or assaulted. Most of the beatings I heard about or witnessed were white on white crimes in college bars. I know that violence exists there, just as it exists in every metro area with high rates of concentrated poverty. It's far more likely to exist in those places than it is in my hometown and current town of Wethersfield. I'm just arguing that the downtown area (not other parts of the city) is much safer than most suburbanites portray it.

 

[Ha Who]

Smh what happened to this thread. A bunch of old men worrying about how “dangerous” Hartford is as if random acts of violence happen daily. Go take this stupid argument to the pool. Bad things happen to good people, as long as the frequency is low it doesn’t matter. Way to ruin a solid thread smh.

You talking about me?

 

[superjohn]

I'm saying that I've had a better chance than most to have experienced it in Hartford, since I've lived there for three years and have been frequenting the city since I've been in middle school, and I have not. I can't even tell you of a friend who has been physically accosted or assaulted. Most of the beatings I heard about or witnessed were white on white crimes in college bars. I know that violence exists there, just as it exists in every metro area with high rates of concentrated poverty. It's far more likely to exist in those places than it is in my hometown and current town of Wethersfield. I'm just arguing that the downtown area (not other parts of the city) is much safer than most suburbanites portray it.

You're talking to a guy who is the stereotype of every scared old guy from the burbs, "urban people" are terrifying to him.