Mrs. Kang's neighborhood

This morning as I was walking to the post office, I was thinking about where I live. I live a block south of the unofficial border of Harlem, 125th St. on the west side of Manhattan. Across the street from me is public housing aka "the projects." On the other side is a gentrifying neighborhood filled with many affiliated with Columbia University. I do most of my socializing and business on the Columbia side.

Generally, safety isn't on the foremost of my mind. When I first moved here (Ezer already lived in the complex) Ezer would ask if I felt safe walking home from the subway station. Most of the time I feel fine unless it's very late at night - then sometimes Ezer meets me at the station. There's another subway stop on a different line a few blocks east of us on 125th. We generally don't use that one at night. We agree that mostly things are okay but that packs of young men are to be avoided.

I read in the paper this morning that there was a fatal shooting at McDonald's last night - it's right next to the "safer" subway stop, just a block north of my home. These are the things not to tell my mother-in-law - she worries enough already.

Recently, Ezer and I have been thinking about what it means to raise a family here. We love our complex - it's a great mix of ethnicities, mostly middle class. But the local elementary school isn't that great and 85% of the kids qualify for free lunches. Where are the parents in my complex sending their kids instead?

Part of me feels like we should send our kids to whatever the local public school is, trust they'll be okay, work to be a positive presence, etc. Ezer has shared concerns about how much kids influence other kids, how his friend's children have started acting out after moving to a less challenging educational environment and has mentioned a private school he's heard of from neighbors that has a waiting list. I've even borrowed a couple books from the library on New York's private schools and selective public schools as well as one on New York's best public elementary schools. It feels so early to do this, we don't even know how long we'll be in New York for, we aren't starting a family, yet, but maybe it's needed?

It was such a contrast to spend the weekend in the suburban D.C. area (wedding). We stayed with Ezer's friends. Their neighborhood is soooo quiet (that was nice), the houses so spread out, so much grass everywhere, lots of Chinese families but hardly anyone outside, lots of good schools paid for by local property taxes. We wouldn't trade, but it's interesting to think about what the trade-offs are.