Barbara Rushkoff may have to change the name of her Babble blog. As noted on OTBKB as well as many other blogs, her husband Douglas Rushkoff was mugged at gun point on Christmas Eve. They’re both mad as hell and can’t take Brooklyn anymore.
Brooklyn, Schmooklyn. Yeah, it’s pretty here, but we are surrounded by crime. Kings County (Brooklyn’s county) is one of the highest crime areas in the country. Insurance is more here than almost any other place. It costs $2000 a year to insure my wedding ring. Most other cities it would cost $150. The other day we saw a coke deal go down in front of the post office while Bugaboos passed. The diner up the street (the one next to the hospital) was robbed on Friday night. Nah, I am not liking it here much now.
She makes a good point. And getting robbed at gunpoint just made matters worse.
It’s not cowardly to leave a place you love because you have a family now. I say it’s brave. It’s hard to leave what you know, who you know, the city you once loved, for a calmness, a stability, a not so fast pace that might be a little boring. But we are a family now, and it’s not about being close to Manhattan. Mamie doesn’t know from Manhattan. She wants to be outside and not in a park where rats roam as soon as the sun goes down. She wants to be a kid. And I want to give that to her as safely as I can. Is it worth staying here knowing that she will most likely see muggings, and most likely get mugged herself? Do I want her seeing dope deals go down right around the corner? Will I have to buy her pepper spray for her bookbag? I don’t want to think about things like this, but if we stay I will have to.
Yes, I’m upset, and yes, I may be overreacting. But man, I am too old and tired for this.
We outta here.
I wonder where they’re going?
I am having an incredibly hard time rousing up sympathy for someone publicly complaining about the $2k/year cost of getting insurance for jewelry, when many in this country can’t even get healthcare. I realize that they’ve suffered a horrible and traumatic experience, but please.
Yeah, what’s going on here? Was it a knife mugging as her husband wrote or a gunpoint stick-up as she wrote? I opined about this on Gothamist today. I don’t feel like going into it again. Suffice it to say, I agree with Bob. This happens. It sucks. But we live in New York, not a Utopia.
It was actually knifepoint, not gunpoint…if that makes any difference.
I feel bad for this family, but what does she think – the suburbs have no crime? Fat chance. Shit happens anywhere. Even in Pennnsylvani Amish country a lunatic can walk into a school and kill 10 kids for no reason. I guess you have to live where you are most comfortable, even if it is a false sense of security. Good luck lady.
I fully sympathize, one who has a ring so expensive that it costs $2000 to insure it, assuming that’s not a typo, is clearly out of the Park Slope, or maybe even Manhattan, league.
Could you please link the blog post you’re referencing? I think in general that’s a good idea.