Hey, there! Log in / Register

Anecdotal evidence that crime is up in Brighton?

We've been living in Brighton Center for over a decade and until recently never had to worry about crime. The worst we had to put up with was drunken parties thrown by the BC students who rent on our block, and some years even that isn't a problem if the students are polite.

(A couple of years ago there were a couple of really talented guitar players renting across the street from us. They often jammed late into the night with their friends, but man, they were good, so we didn't care. Wish they'd stayed!)

Then, a few months ago, someone broke the rear windshield of our neighbors' car just to steal some toys and kids' cassette tapes. Man, talk about despicable!

Shortly after that, "Do not leave valuables in vehicles!" signs started popping up on the lampposts all over Brighton Center.

Still, we treated the theft from our neighbors as an anomaly. That was probably naïve, but we just didn't want to admit to ourselves that crime was going up.

Well, it's pretty impossible for us to ignore it now, since somebody stole our kids' $100 Radio Flyer wagon right off of our front stoop some time last week. We're not even sure when it was stolen; all we know is that we noticed it was missing yesterday afternoon when we went to use it to take the kids to the park.

I filed a police report to help the BPD with their statistics, and I reported the wagon missing on trace.com, but I honestly don't expect to ever see it again.

More details at http://tinyurl.com/ourwagon, along with a picture of the sign I posted in front of our house this morning in an effort to get our wagon back on the off chance that someone took it by "accident." Yeah, right, good luck with that.

*sigh*

Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

Sorry to hear about the wagon. I have friends in Brighton and it always seems like a wonderful neighborhood when I visit them.

Thanks for mentioning trace.com, I'm sure it will unfortunately come in handy some day.

up
Voting closed 0

I lived in Allston-Brighton from from 2001-2008 and always felt safe, even walking around at night. However, my car was stolen last August right by BC on Comm Ave so while I was thinking I had always been safe perhaps I was just lucky all those years. It seems that crime is up a lot of places in the city right now, unfortunately.

Karen Zgoda
http://www.karenzgoda.org
http://www.fussy-eater.com
http://editmymanuscript.com

up
Voting closed 0

How does a wagon cost $100?

up
Voting closed 0

Seriously - try to find one. Used they go for a bit less, but are often pretty much worn out. They are sturdier and more solidly built and larger than strollers and fit two kids and a cooler and/or dog - hence the expense.

up
Voting closed 0

But good answer.

up
Voting closed 0

The classic one is $100 now.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId...

I don't recall us using these as purportedly intended. Most popular uses in my family: (1) tying as trailer to back of bicycle; (2) moving firewood, broken concrete, etc.; (3) mixing new concrete.

up
Voting closed 0

Yep, we frequently used ours as a bike trailer (with or without other kids in it). At various points it had: floor mats, upholstered seats, a working horn, working turn signals, and a working CB radio (hey, where do you think my technodorkery comes from?). Also a sort-of-working weedwhacker engine that propelled it forward at a snail's pace before starting to get smoky and smell funny.

It also got used to haul leftover gravel or topsoil deliveries to neighbors, haul freshly harvested fruits and veggies to the house, move car parts that ended up being surprisingly heavy after being removed from the car.

It got used as a stepladder fairly frequently, since it can be wheeled right over rather than dragged when you only need about another 12 inches of height. One of these times resulted in my brother having a broken elbow.

For years we lived alongside a hugeass hill that had a path going straight down it, then turning sharply so as to avoid a creek, then turning sharply again and heading across a bridge over a creek. It was really fun to put a couple kids in the wagon and head down the hill to see whether we made the turn or ended up in the creek.

http://1smootshort.blogspot.com

up
Voting closed 0

IMAGE(http://thisindielife.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/calvin-and-hobbes-wagon.gif)

up
Voting closed 0

There have been a rash of bank robberies this year in Brighton Center. That never happened in the previous 10 years I've been in Brighton. I've noticed larger numbers of backyard fireworks this time of year compared to past years (although this year has been noticeably quieter than before). It wasn't long ago (2005) that a couple of punks killed that cab driver at Monastery Rd before fleeing back to the projects nearby. A few months ago I had to call police because of two guys destroying a scooter parked on the sidewalk. Police ended up catching them breaking into a nearby construction site.

It does seem like it's gotten worse lately, Kamens. So I don't think it's just you.

up
Voting closed 0