and now back to my own personal soapbox. in case anyone missed it, here is a crappy new report that came out today announcing that over-the-rhine is the most dangerous neighborhood in the country. i clicked on that link, took one look at the map outline, and immediately ignored the damn thing because even a newbie like me knows that is not an accurate geographical depiction of OTR so why even bother reading the report.
in order to combat this ridiculousness, 3CDC put out the following press release today to clear things up (thanks to brian for passing this along):
Statement from 3CDC in regard to the study by Location Inc, published today on AOL.com on the 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America.this is just the kind of bullshit that people who do not live here read about cincinnati and makes them scared. but worse than that, this is just the kind of bullshit that keeps actual cincinnatians in the suburbs and out of their actual city.
The study released today regarding Over-the-Rhine (OTR) focuses on approximately 20 square blocks, some of them not even located in OTR and is based on data that is more than two and a half years old. In fact, reported crime through 2008 in the area of OTR south of Liberty Street, known as OTR Gateway, is down 37% since 2004.
OTR is 110 square blocks and includes several neighborhood districts including OTR Gateway, centered at the corner of 12th and Vine streets. This area, and other OTR census tract areas, was not part of the study.
It is unfortunate and intellectually dishonest that the entire neighborhood was labeled in such a negative way. The fact is, $84 million has been invested in OTR Gateway since 2004 and new home owners and business owners are investing in the neighborhood. This past Saturday, a 5K run and day-long Summer Celebration arts festival brought about 2,000 people to the corner of 12th and Vine to shop, eat and listen to music. The only problem was that some of our vendors didn’t anticipate such a large crowd and ran out of food.
for more on this absurd report, check out queen city discovery, urbancincy, queen city survey, and 5chw4r7z. i am sure other bloggers will have something to say about this too in the next few days. if you want to learn more about OTR, check out urbanup's history and photographs.
when i moved to cincinnati, the first place i lived in was an apartment at 14th and broadway. when i told my new coworkers where i lived, they freaked out. i thought it was a beautiful, interesting neighborhood and never once felt even remotely threatened at any time wandering around at all hours of the day and night. to this day i truly do not understand the fear so many people have of OTR, and i cannot help but suspect that the problem is rooted more in racism than anything else.
what about you guys? are you afraid of over-the-rhine or do you love it, or are you somewhere in between? what have your experiences been with this fascinating, history rich, drama filled corner of the city? and getting to the bigger question... gentrification: good or bad?
9 comments:
When they first started opening stores and condos in "The Q", we stood at 12th and Vine and said no way last year would we be standing here, it was bad.
But that was so long ago, the place is fantastic, the energy in OTR now is incredible, its your loss if you decide, without ever stepping foot there, that its dangerous and not worth it.
Click here and be amazed.
I conceptually think of the Gateway Quarter as an extension of downtown as far as the demographic goes (When the gateway buildings were first being built, there were several protesters asking for the city to keep the "yuppies" out of the OTR). I personally think that the OTR-taken as a whole-is a relatively dangerous place. Is it the MOST dangerous place? Certainly not. I have no doubt that the report is bogus, but the crime rate is undeniably high.
I'm not so sure that racism is necessarily at the root of the fear of the OTR. We have the ability to recognize patterns that can serve us well. They can certainly cross the line to an irrational fear and prejudice. Still, I think that it's fair for people to want to avoid something that their senses tell them is dangeous--even if they are informed by people who have not spent quality time in the neighborhood.
Neither do I blame people for wanting to live outside the city (I live downtown). The city is loud and obnoxious. Sometimes I like that; sometimes I hate it and just want to escape from the bumping bass of any vehicle--whether it is spewing hip hop or NPR. I'd love to have a place way out in the woods where I don't have to deal with cigarette smoke in the face.
The answer is that people should probably stop trashing the OTR. It's rapidly becoming a strong and unique community. At the same time, OTR supporters can lighten up and accept that there are still considerable challenges involved with living in the area.
You're right; it doesn't take much digging to realize that the claims made by this study are inaccurate, outdated, and sensationalistic [but I'm glad that so many people have done the research and published rebuttals].
From a selfish perspective, I'm so relieved that all this negative attention wasn't bestowed on OTR a week ago, before the RUN and the Summer Celebration. I met so many people on Saturday who don't know or hang out in the area, and who were pleasantly [and tentatively, I think] surprised by what they found. Arrgh!
In response to the anonymous post above, I think you're comments are fair and I agree with you for the most part. However, I don't think you should be so quick to say that neighborhood supporters should just "lighten up." I also think that you underestimate the degree/severity of racism and ignorance that runs rampant in our city and especially the suburbs.
The media crapping on OTR is an especially hurtful thing in Cincinnati because people here actually believe everything they hear on the news. Trust me, I grew up in the suburbs of this city and I know the type of people (my parents) who live there very well. They really will believe FOX 19 when they hear that "OTR is the most dangerous neighborhood in the country." Then they will go around to all their friends and say the same thing. Before you know it the entire region is in complete agree-ance that OTR is a terrible place and that no one should ever go there. This hurts the neighborhood and all the positive efforts going on there immensely because our suburbs here are still VERY POWERFUL and INFLUENTIAL.
Residents of OTR who are trying to change it for the better and preserve its historic architecture and buildings have to be VERY aggressive in fighting negative media feedback. Such negative remarks on the news and in the newspapers can absolutely destroy all the progress we've made if we're not careful.
So, even though your thoughts are being fair to both sides I think you are underestimating just how big of a deal this issue really is. We shouldn't just "probably stop trashing OTR" We have to ABSOLUTELY STOP TRASHING OTR! Its a national historic treasure for god's sake! Its the largest collection of italianate architecture and most complete example of late 19th century urban life in the entire country! We would be absolute morons to just let it continue to rot. It has to be preserved not only for the sake of history, but for the sake of future generations of Cincinnatians who deserve to know where they came from.
While I agree that a disproportionate amount of crime takes place in the general area known as OTR (the reasons for that have, not surprisingly, remained unexplored and un-reported by individuals and the mainstream media), I couldn't tell based on this past weekend.
I posted about the OTR Gateway Celebration on my blog, and could not have had a better/safer time.
According to statistics I have just received this is the scariest blog in America.
Just like any city, if you have "street smarts" then you don't get into situations where something bad can happen, but to say OTR is the least safe place to live is total crap. Just like any city, the atmosphere changes street to street. If it looks a little out of your comfort zone, don't go places you don't feel safe! Does stuff happen in OTR that's bad? Yes. That being said, there was a brawl in Rookwood Mall the other day, some guy got shot behind Mulligans in Hyde Park a few years back, and there was a triple homicide in Sharonville a few years ago. Newsflash folks - shit happens everywhere!
I live basically at the crossroads of OTR and the West End, and have not had a single problem. My friends who have come to my house for parties and then walked to fountain square would agree with me as well. If people don't want to come downtown out of fear, its their loss - i have never been happier with where i am living, nor have i more enjoyed the ability to buy goods and services from independent store owners. I also love that i can get around town and not have to use a car. Things like that you can't replicate anywhere other than the inner ring suburbs, if even there.
There are a lot of good folks downtown that are trying to make a difference.I hope this "study" doesn't detract from their hard work.
People in Cincinnati have an attitude that certain neighborhoods are for certain kinds of people. They think OTR is for outcasts and that outcasts are scary.
Claims of racism are overblown.
What really peeves me are people who are there every day & think the place is horrible & scary even though, day in & day out, for years and even decades, nothing bad ever happens.
If this is the same Location, Inc. located in Rhode Island, they operate a website called NeighborhoodScout. The "about" page web address is below. Their own search engine does not even recognize Over-the-Rhine as a search term. When you search by zip code, you find that Location has compiled statistics by subdivisions of zip code, possibly what the Postal Service calls CARTs, or possibly by another system. Anyway, Location's method is more complex than the report might have led readers to believe. The crime stats vary according to what part of OTR you do your search about.
A guy named Dr. Andrew Schiller came up with a "patent pending" search method that Location and NeighborhoodScout are using. But this method does not seem to be complemented by anybody actually, physically going to the neighborhood being described. For example, they refer to a "School of Music" on Central Parkway, but it sounds like they're talking about the CSPA construction site.
http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/about-neighborhoodscout/
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