I live on a street parallel to The Marcy Projects - people refer to it as "Murder-Myrtle" since three to four cops are posted on each corner of a 3 block radius - and there is always shit going down. Shot, stabbed, robbed and an array of misdemeanor meet felony acts are nicely bundled into the brown brick tenements of jungle. Luckily, I haven't seen/heard/done anything that would put me at risk and despite the negative hype surrounding my quaint little street...I LOVE IT. Moving to NYC was as easy as I planned it but sustaining is a job in itself. There is a rawness about New York that no other city has. I find it refreshing and demoralizing all at the same time. During the Summer you see four year olds on their tricycles at 11:30pm. Block parties are exclusive and neighbors are stripped of competitive suburban pretense. Being assertive isn't a choice - it's a survival mechanism. I hated it here for a good while but I have to say, it's growing on me.
I have the bird lady from Mary Poppins on my block but she is in the form of a he who wears a badgered Mets jacket and faded blue cap. He hobbles down Marcy Ave. with a grocery bag filled with rice and spangles the sidewalk with it. I'm secretly in love with him because I long to be an ornithologist deep down...I just don't have the patience. I think he's awesome and Darwin would also.