Dublin now worse than NYC for junkie scum on the streets?

Saskia

Hi all, Im just back from New York where I couldnt believe how safer it felt compared to Dublin. All the beggers from years ago seem to be all but gone but more importantly I felt SAFE.

Compare to this to Dublin where walking down Eden quay or O Connell street during the DAY and you'll see or be approached by someone off their head.

How can somewhere like New York now be safer than Dublin?

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major drug/knacker problems in this country?

johnnyrotten

Saskia wrote:

How can somewhere like New York now be safer than Dublin?

It's Not

Saskia wrote:

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major drug/knacker problems in this country?

No

So Glad

Saskia wrote:

Hi all, Im just back from New York where I couldnt believe how safer it felt compared to Dublin. All the beggers from years ago seem to be all but gone but more importantly I felt SAFE.

Compare to this to Dublin where walking down Eden quay or O Connell street during the DAY and you'll see or be approached by someone off their head.

How can somewhere like New York now be safer than Dublin?

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major drug/knacker problems in this country?

No

Ruu_Old

What part of New York were you in?

Saskia

Ruu wrote:

What part of New York were you in?

Manhatten. Not a single Heroin head harrasing us anywhere we went. And we walked all over it and surrounding areas.

magick

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major drug/knacker problems in this country?

not really but their like zombies in that way, always needing to feed. We have to watch out before theirs too many of them.

Besides if u want to be completely surrounded by homeless crazy people just go to San Fransico in Union Square, although their everywhere u feel completely safe because the place is also mobbed by cops, the SFPD dont f*ck about!

scojones

All the heroin users are in their mansions in Long Island.

Rb

New York safer than Dublin?Lol.

Obviously didn't take a trip to the Bronx, though you apparently walked "all over it".

Tom Dunne

Saskia wrote:

Hi all, Im just back from New York where I couldnt believe how safer it felt compared to Dublin. All the beggers from years ago seem to be all but gone but more importantly I felt SAFE.

Compare to this to Dublin where walking down Eden quay or O Connell street during the DAY and you'll see or be approached by someone off their head.

Maybe I am walking in the wrong places, but I have never been approached by someone off their head. I have seen a prostitute though.

Saskia wrote:

How can somewhere like New York now be safer than Dublin?

Because (a) people are actually afraid of the law (b) they have a moderately comptetent police force, not like our bumbling oafs.

Saskia wrote:

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major drug/knacker problems in this country?

No.

Steoob

rb_ie wrote:

New York safer than Dublin?Lol.

Obviously didn't take a trip to the Bronx, though you apparently walked "all over it".

he said he walked all over manhattan... i mean have any of you people critisising the OP ever been to new york? your all just pumped with propaganda and media stories/film/television programs and instantly think that new york is a hole

spurious

Parts of New York are rough as feck - parts of Dublin are rough as feck.
There's a surprise.

One difference is that most of our junkies do not have access to guns and god knows what other sorts of weapons.

I've always found the boardwalk junkies to be fairly mellow and almost oblivious to 'normal' people around them.

I didn't find New York that much dodgier than Dublin either, although when I went (last time was in 2000) there seemed to be lots of nutters in the subway. Might have got better since then. I wouldn't say I felt safe there though - loads of dodgy characters around the Port Authority, on the bus, etc. When you consider the population difference though, you'd think Dublin would feel a hell of a lot safer, and it doesn't.

Obviously didn't take a trip to the Bronx, though you apparently walked "all over it".

That wouldn't be comparing like with like. The OP has been all over Manhattan, which is comparable to an American tourist sticking to the city centre and main areas of Dublin. If you want to bring the Bronx into it, then compare it to the stereotypically 'deprived' areas of Dublin like Ballymun and Tallaght if you want a fairer comparison. Every city has bad areas. Although as far as I've seen, the Bronx isn't even that bad in most areas, some areas are actually very nice and upmarket.

wingnut

Been to New York, lived in Limerick, Cork and now Swansea. Can safely say Dublin is the dodgiest city I've been as regards to feeling personally safe.

Lirange

I've plenty of experience in both cities. You're still more likely to get offed in NY ... but these days the OP is right you're more likely to get hassled in Dublin. Last year I witnessed two happy slapping skangers do their work on a couple of Dutch tourists. Myself and some other bystanders warded them off but not before they got in our faces with that indecipherable new language they've invented.

America's urban crime reputation and the fact that the Big Apple is America's largest city people tend to think it must be seedy and dangerous. But by American standards NYC is surprisingly safe. Many of the blighted areas of yesteryear have become gentrified. Space is at premium and there has been a property boom. Even once dreadful areas such as the South Bronx and Bedford-Stuyvesant aren't quite the foreboding places they once were. Some of the large Jersey burbs across the Hudson are much worse than anything you will encounter in any of the Boroughs.

You're much safer in NY than in other U.S. cities such as LA, Miami, or D.C.

tom dunne wrote:

Because (a) people are actually afraid of the law (b) they have a moderately comptetent police force, not like our bumbling oafs.

I'm not so sure the NYPD are more competent ... more assertive definitely. Certainly more intimidating than the Gardai.

gandalf

tom dunne wrote:

I have seen a prostitute though.

Hope your missus doesn't find out

Never been approached by a junkie either I feel left out. One thing I agree with is that Dublin is more intimidating than most cities I have been to, but thats probably because I was aware I was walking through a dodgy area. Whereas abroad I was just clueless

uglyjohn

i've never been to america.....but i was abroad for a year until last september. when i got back i felt like there were far more beggars around the city than when i left.does anyone else agree? maybe if i had been here the whole time i wouldnt have noticed the gradual increase.

ChRoMe

beggers and drug addicts are more visable in Dublin when compared with other (larger) foreign citys. The reason is really simple due to the fact of Dublin being such a small city there is more of a overflow between areas that are considered dodgy and safe.

When I was living in Sydney I met another Irish person who said they were so amazed that Sydney didnt seem to have the problems with addicts and beggers as Dublin...... he had never visted the western suburbs

Victor

Saskia wrote:

Manhatten. Not a single Heroin head harrasing us anywhere we went. And we walked all over it and surrounding areas.

And the coke and crack heads?

thebaz

i feal safer in Dublin, i certainly fealt pretty threatend down some subway NY stations at night .
Last Sunday i took my camera around Dolphins Barn , to snap the scenery, got a few dirty looks and a verbal threat , but i was more frightened that i broke the camera , when i dropped it -- they looked fairly weedy .
Anyway the results of my expedition to the barn, are on page 1 and 2 , of my flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebaz/

and i lived to tell the tale

stovelid

thebaz wrote:

Anyway the results of my expedition to the barn, are on page 1 and 2 , of my flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebaz/

and i lived to tell the tale

I didn't actually look at your photos of The Barn but don't think for a moment that I'm not very proud of you....

Sangre

New York City has about 8 million people and 10 ten times the murder rate of Ireland. Yeah, real safe.

Another example of someone judging an entire city/country on their experience of 2 weeks of the service industry. You just don't know the dangerous areas and assume they're safe.

plasterboard

Saskia wrote:

Compare to this to Dublin where walking down Eden quay or O Connell street during the DAY and you'll see or be approached by someone off their head.

Not exactly a random selection of streets there. The couple of blocks between Parnell St. and Eden Quay now have the heaviest permanent concentration of addicts in Ireland. It's the only place they can hang out in the city centre, the flash commercial ventures have generally speaking stayed away. I would say the same thing has happened in New York only you didn't realise it, because they moved the junkies away from where you were used to seeing them. And it's still hard to get shot for your wallet in Dublin.

Tha Gopher

Saskia wrote:

Hi all, Im just back from New York where I couldnt believe how safer it felt compared to Dublin. All the beggers from years ago seem to be all but gone but more importantly I felt SAFE.

Compare to this to Dublin where walking down Eden quay or O Connell street during the DAY and you'll see or be approached by someone off their head.

How can somewhere like New York now be safer than Dublin?

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major /knacker problems in this country?

How often do they harass you in Dublin? I could count on one hand the amount of times per year a junkie looks for something off me, and usually its nothing more than the usual "do ya have a euro for a phone call/bus/luas bud" and nothing more.

Manhattan is, by and large, far away from infested residential areas (bar north manhatten, which borders Harlem and Wahsington Heights iirc). Compare it to Dublin, where the main shopping streets are litreally three minutes walk from Cathal Brugha/SHeriff Street/Dominic Street etc. The shopping areas are essentially the local area of alot of the junkies, whereas in NYC the tourist areas are a good trek away from their homes.

Saskia

Saskia wrote:

Hi all, Im just back from New York where I couldnt believe how safer it felt compared to Dublin. All the beggers from years ago seem to be all but gone but more importantly I felt SAFE.

Compare to this to Dublin where walking down Eden quay or O Connell street during the DAY and you'll see or be approached by someone off their head.

How can somewhere like New York now be safer than Dublin?

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major drug/knacker problems in this country?

Class war! Da nana nana nana nana nana nana Class war!

Naked Lepper

ive lived in dublin, new york city and new jersey and have to agree that new york city is definetely alot safer than dublin

dublin is a run down old kip (that i love) and so are parts of NY, but in NY i always felt alot safer

been all over nyc as well and upstate too

0ubliette

tom dunne wrote:

Maybe I am walking in the wrong places, but I have never been approached by someone off their head. I have seen a prostitute though.
.

Youve NEVER been approached or seen smack heads in town?? Jesus, you must be one of the lucky ones. Take a walk under Tara St. dart station bridge sometime, it'll be a real eye opener for ya

gazzer

I imagine the suburbs of New York have their own problems just like in the suburbs of Dublin.

However I have been in Manhattan a number of times over the years and I think it is an extremely safe place. I would consider O'Connell St/Temple Bar to be the landmark/busiest streets in Dublin city and I would consider Times Square to the landmark/busiest area in Manhattan.

Using this example I would say Manhattan is a hell of a lot safer than Dublin.. you just dont see any trouble.. you dont see people getting mugged or getting their heads kicked in at all. Ive walked the streets of Manhattan at 3, 4, 5 in the morning as well as using the subway at those hours and i have always felt safe.. not so in Dublin

Slow Motion

Was in NYC (Manhatten) a few years ago with a mate, was wandering around at 2 a.m. Friday night / Sat morning looking for an Irish bar showing the rugby world cup game, felt a hell of a lot safer than I do in Dublin around the same time and I would be from one of those "deprived northside" enclaves. On a side note we were in Washington the previous day and got talking to an american woman who was just back from Dublin when we mentioned we were on our way to NYC she said "You'll love it, it's very like Dublin but a bit more laid back". Have to say she was right.

karen3212

Well I remember about 10 years ago discussing the cleansing of the inner cities like New York and Paris. Apparently the beggars and undesirables were annoying tourists. So they were all shipped out of tourist areas. Is it not illegal to look poor and hang around certain areas or something, if not illegal then people defo seemed to be moved along.
Lets do that in Dublin, push them all into a corner somewhere, then we shouldn't have to worry at all about them. I mean will I ever feel safe. I need a high wall between me and dirty people that just can't manage, and very high gates. I have a right to feel safe. Oh and if these people have babies or anyone near them breeds shur they'll only be influencing their own kind and our kids won't be affected in the slightest. Let everychild born in the vicinity have no outside influence either, ffs they'll most likely end up unemployed and addicted like their parents anyway. Why go to any trouble to help them, if we can keep them out of our sight then we don't need to even record the deaths of their kids.
I am being sarcastic in case anyone doesn't realize.

Tha Gopher

gazzer wrote:

Using this example I would say Manhattan is a hell of a lot safer than Dublin.. you just dont see any trouble.. you dont see people getting mugged or getting their heads kicked in at all.

But that begs the question, how many people have you seen getting mugged or beaten on O`Connell Street? Ive seen the odd row at night, but it isnt the re enactment of the 2nd assault on Fallujah that Prime Time used to portray it as every third episode. Dublin is much safer in terms of drink fuelled fighting than most towns down the country.

Although in regards to Dublin vs European cities, alot of the Western Europeans I work with are frankly terrified of this place. Some of them have been pickpocketed 3 times in about 2 years, and they generally regard Ireland as a violent place.

nesf

Saskia wrote:

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major drug/knacker problems in this country?

Just a point but how exactly did you go from Dublin having a drug problem to the entire country having a drug problem?

magpie

Yes, NYC feels safer. As do Paris, Rome, Madrid etc. Why? Because their police forces are on the streets and forcibly eject ne'er-do-wells when they see them. The Guards basically tolerate everything.

On a vaguely related note I had a beggar shouting at me down the street the other day at 3.00 pm on Merrion Square that I was a "german loving nazi fascist bastard" because I committed the crime of declining to give him money. English dude, carrying a vast amount of stuff in a trolley, bald with a tache - his schtick is being super polite asking for money, and then screaming abuse at you if you don't cough up.

gazzer

But that begs the question, how many people have you seen getting mugged or beaten on O`Connell Street? Ive seen the odd row at night, but it isnt the re enactment of the 2nd assault on Fallujah that Prime Time used to portray it as every third episode. Dublin is much safer in terms of drink fuelled fighting than most towns down the country.

When I lived in Mountjoy Square I would walk down O'Connell St most Friday and Saturday night and there was always trouble.. more often than not there would be fights.

Temple Bar also seems to have its fair share of drunken and drugged up idiots kicking the head of each other and other people that just happen to be walking by..

DarkJager

Did you go back and knock him out?

Sangre

Just because you feel safe there doesn't make it safe.

magpie

Did you go back and knock him out?

No, I gave him a quick click of the heels and nazi salute which seemed to enrage him further.

nesf

Tha Gopher wrote:

But that begs the question, how many people have you seen getting mugged or beaten on O`Connell Street? Ive seen the odd row at night, but it isnt the re enactment of the 2nd assault on Fallujah that Prime Time used to portray it as every third episode. Dublin is much safer in terms of drink fuelled fighting than most towns down the country.

The difference is that in most towns you might have a higher chance of being punched, in our cities you've a higher chance of being knifed etc. I've seen less violence since I've moved to Cork but what I've seen has been definitely more dangerous. There's something about being more anonymous that brings out the worst in people. Stamping on a guy's head isn't a very bright idea if him and his mates know where you live, who your parents/relatives are etc.

magpie

Cork is dog rough by night - full of boy racers / hoodies hanging around causing grief. Beautiful place by day though.

Its a shame we can't have the continental european thing where cities are full of life at night, with people having picnics, going for walks etc rather than being somewhere you take your chances to go out drinking en masse.

nesf

magpie wrote:

Cork is dog rough by night - full of boy racers / hoodies hanging around causing grief. Beautiful place by day though.

I find it depends on where you are drinking though and whether you're drinking with a bunch who are likely to end up in a fight. It's gotten a lot better in recent years in my opinion anyway.

magpie

I was near Cypress Avenue (the venue) and it was Skangaland.

Heinrich

Brian Johnson feels safe in New York. Fact!

nesf

magpie wrote:

I was near Cypress Avenue (the venue) and it was Skangaland.

That part of town is not too bad usually. Plenty of drunk people but not that much trouble.

Depends on the night though I suppose.

exCrumlinBoyo

I live in Florida and Dublin born and bread. I defiantly feel safer in Florida and some parts of my town have it own dodgy ness about it. I was only home in Dublin for the month of March just gone and I can vouch that I am feel safer in Florida than I do in Dublin. Dublin is full of brave scum bags and the likes waiting to rob the eyeballs from your head.

In Florida, I can leave my car unlocked, which I have done several times, actually most of the time and not even think about it. I can leave my house unlocked and again not think about it.

Sure when I was home in Dublin, staying with my mother in the house I grew up in, my first time walking up to Crumlin Village, I turned the corner and this little 4 year old the size of a midget turns to me and says “get the **** out of my way or else,” I told him where to go, and he swung a boot at me. Now I was not afraid of a 4 year old, my point is that’s what Dublin has to look forward to. Junkies, Drunks all waiting for a window of opportunity to make a few euros at your expense.

Dublin is a rough oll shop. Period.

griffdaddy

Apparently since Zero Tolerance was introduced New York isn't as bad as it used to be. It also helps that the Gramercy Riff's plan to unite the gangs in the late 70's never really got off the ground, that would have caused absolute chaos.

Slow Motion

griffdaddy wrote:

Apparently since Zero Tolerance was introduced New York isn't as bad as it used to be.

Indeed it was Mayor Rudy Juliani (sp ?), he called it the broken windows efect, basically get tough on crime and deal with even the smallest and it will have a ripple effect up the seriousness chain of crime, seems to have worked, we could do with it here, instead minor crimes are ignored or dealt with far too leniently therefore the criminal is not deterred

Raekwon

magpie wrote:

English dude, carrying a vast amount of stuff in a trolley, bald with a tache - his schtick is being super polite asking for money, and then screaming abuse at you if you don't cough up.

Is that the same bloke who stands in a doorway beside Game on Dawson Street?

magpie

Is that bloke a bald english dude with a tache and a trolley full to the brim with stuff? If so, its probably him. Try calling him a fascist and see how he reacts.

Raekwon

magpie wrote:

Is that bloke a bald english dude with a tache and a trolley full to the brim with stuff? If so, its probably him. Try calling him a fascist and see how he reacts.

From your description he sounds like the same bloke. He comes across as very polite and says 'Good afternoon, spare some change please' but I have yet to see his darker side

Zambia

I worked securty in Dublin City for ages and saw more than enough to convince me Dublin is a rough ole kip and its well worth keeping your wits about you

1: There are always Drug users on the Streets
2: I constantly found users in public Toilets of restaurants
3: On nights out I have on several occasions seen these same druggies roaming around.
4: I have had one aids test over dealing with these eejits (clear but its not nice)
5: We have Security on almost 95% of Dublin city shops.
6: On several occasions I saw known Bag lifters in the crowds looking at street performers (the guy who does the fire limbo case in piont)
7: The drunk bloke in the Wheelchair on Grafton Street is so bad the cops wont touch him.
8: Junkies are regularly released just around christmas just to make the christmas madder than it is.
9: Several Public car parking areas near York street would almost guarantee a break in after dark.
10 : In the Dublin Courts the toilets lights are blue, stops junkies finding veins.
11: Most repeatedly homeless blokes I knew all had addictions.

I am sure New York has issues to and never having the good fortune to see it I cant say , but dublin is a rough place.

Still there have been some great nights in Dublin...

jesus_thats_gre

Saskia wrote:

Hi all, Im just back from New York where I couldnt believe how safer it felt compared to Dublin. All the beggers from years ago seem to be all but gone but more importantly I felt SAFE.

Compare to this to Dublin where walking down Eden quay or O Connell street during the DAY and you'll see or be approached by someone off their head.

How can somewhere like New York now be safer than Dublin?

Anyone else feel we're on the cusp of some major drug/knacker problems in this country?

I too felt the same but did you leave the popular touristy areas much? Consider that that that the tourish areas in New York would nearly cover half of Dublin.

jesus_thats_gre

Slow Motion wrote:

Indeed it was Mayor Rudy Juliani (sp ?), he called it the broken windows efect, basically get tough on crime and deal with even the smallest and it will have a ripple effect up the seriousness chain of crime, seems to have worked, we could do with it here, instead minor crimes are ignored or dealt with far too leniently therefore the criminal is not deterred

Incidently, did you ever read the chapter about this in the book Freakonomics?