I'm looking at some houses in Rochester and I found a good spot but it's in the 19th Ward. I've heard mixed things about it so I'm curious to hear what it's actually like. I've heard about the crime, but for reference I'm from New Orleans so I don't know what the comparison is like.
Posted Feb 22, 2018, 6:09 AM UTC
So I mostly lived in a few different parts of the 19th Ward for a few years between about 2011 and 2014 and honestly, it's fine? Some areas are dicier than others crime-wise but it's not the worst area of the city, I liked it because rent was cheap and it was near school/work when I was an undergrad/recent grad, so that was a huge draw but compared to a lot of other neighborhoods in Rochester, it's almost entirely residential, largely mixed between students (closer to UfoR's campus) and working class, but in terms of shops/services/etc, it's pretty barren. [If you haven't stumbled upon RocWiki yet, it gives a pretty good overview of the neighborhood's character, amenities, etc] (https://rocwiki.org/19th_ward), so you can get a good idea from there.
Basically: the 19th Ward is affordable and livable enough. It's not hell on Earth, but crime does happen (I moved out bc in the span of a year two different people were shot in the parking lot of a Family Dollar next door) --if you are a young professional, I think it'd be worth it for you to keep looking if you aren't totally smitten with the house itself.
I'm actually only going to be there for an internship for 2-3 months so the house isn't important. I was just a bit concerned because a lot of people seem to be saying it is hell on earth but others are saying it's fine.
Oh, I read "looking at some houses" as "looking at houses to buy," as in you were looking to settle down in the 19th Ward. Honestly if it's just a few months over the summer, it's definitely fine, especially since most likely any of the rental properties you're looking at that are going to be short-term summer leases are University of Rochester student apartments that are in the better parts of the 19th Ward. The whole area used to be substantially worse, so the people calling it hell on earth most likely are either older and remember how it was in the 90's or are just straight-up racist college kids who think that any predominately black neighborhood is hell on earth. There are still certain parts of the neighborhood I probably wouldn't venture to by myself at night, but it sounds like you should be fine.
If you want to double check that the places don't happen to be in one of the less savory portions of the Ward but don't want to publish your potential summer addresses, feel free to shoot me a DM-- I still have a good feel for the neighborhood and I can double check they aren't in a dicier section.
I'll DM you when I get the chance! Thank you!
My neighborhood in the 19th ward is predominantly black, and all of my neighbors are great. Most people own their homes and are raising families. Some low key renters. This is a bit closer to U of R/Elmwood/Genesee Park, though, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere up Plymouth. When I was first renting in Rochester, I didn't want to be in this area, but now I wish I had saved money by living here instead of renting an over priced place in the Wedge (though of course the South Wedge has its own attributes, like nice bars to walk to).
Oh yeah I left that intentionally vague because j figures I would get a more honest description of the area that way. But that's great to hear. I live in a not so great neighborhood right now in a predominantly black neighborhood so I'm totally used to what you described.
If you are ok with Henrietta, you could probably snag a sublet for pretty cheap. Check out park point or Province, they tend to have sublets over the summer. Their apartments are fully furnished and utilities/cable/internet is included in rent.
If I had to do it all over again I'd buy a house in the 19th ward over renting in Park Ave for 5 years. I would have had a nice chunk of equity built up when I wanted to upgrade.
My wife talked me into buying in the 19th ward years ago. We've been renting that house out for a while now. At times I've regretted the decision due to the headaches of being a landlord. But overall it was a very smart move.
It's block by block. Best advice is to drive over and hang out for a few hours and see what the activity level is like and see if you are comfortable or not. Walk around a bit too. If you are from NOLA I doubt there is anything that will terrify you but still its smart to keep your wits about you. i lived in the ward for 5 years. Nothing awful happened but I have some fucking crazy stories for sure.
Nothing awful has happened? Are you sure?
Did you miss the part when I was speaking from my own personal experience?
It certainly appears that they did!
I lived there for three years, and just moved out a few months ago. I lived on Chandler St. I had zero problem while I lived there. The south half seems to be better that the north. Biggest issue is there's not much within walking distance. Other than that, super cheap rent, and my neighbors were mostly quiet. It's a poor neighborhood, but poor doesn't mean shitty. There is "Brooks Landing" at the corner of Brooks/Plymouth and Genesee which has Brue Coffee shop which was nice and The Wok which was pretty decent pan-asian food that's cheap. These were only 1/4 mile from my street, so it was an easy walk.
Also shout out to Campi's on Scottsville, doesn't look like much but they make a mean Reuben and steak sandwich. Also Genesee Waterways Center on Elmwood if you're around during nicer weather. You can do kayak rentals and some other things; the river is nice and it's right at the intersection with the Erie Canal so you can do some exploring around there, plus the Genesee Valley Park is adjacent to it.
I moved out of the area a while ago but glad to hear Campi's is still going. Those bombers are so good. They probably would be the death of me if I stayed around there.
YES CAMPI’s!!!
I lived in the 19th Ward during my undergrad at U of R. Not somewhere I would walk alone at night. There were numerous muggings/robberies every year, and a drive by shooting happened a couple summers ago not far away down Genesee St.
The 19th Ward varies wildly from block to block. My experience is with living the the very south east tip of the 19th Ward, right next to Genesee Valley Park. That area is wonderful. My neighbors are friendly and we haven't really had much crime on our street other than someone stealing a couple of chairs off a neighbors porch a few years back. As other people have mentioned, there isn't too much as far as great restaurants and such, but in the area where I am it isn't too bad to walk to College Town. Biking unlocks a lot more options though. With really easy access to the river trail and canal path you can get around very quickly on a bike.
The block thing is accurate. Some blocks are all families. Some blocks are just ridden with boarded up homes and gangs. I’d judge by how decent the porches look if I was to drive around. OP could just post a street name and we could confirm if it was decent or not?
Why is it called 19th ward? Is there a 1st-18th ward?
Yes see this map http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=129
Why did the other wards get renamed?
nicknames and common use mainly. As neighborhoods established and individualized themselves, they started using more marketable and unique names instead of just Wards. Third Ward and Tenth Ward get used occasionally still, but mostly by older folks who grew up in those areas (which are more commonly known as Corn Hill and parts of EMMA now).
EMMA
Haven't heard of that one yet.
Interesting, 19th Ward is up by Maplewood or there about.
Oh wait, I read it wrong. What are the red numbers? I didn't the see the black numbers denoting the Wards at first.
Looks like the red numbers and lines correlate with the neighborhood maps further down the page. Black numbers and background colors denote wards. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
The 19th ward is the only neighborhood in Rochester typically referred to by Ward. Most others have specific names like Park Ave, Southwedge, etc. Also, nobody refers to any part of Rochester by those silly new signs (i.e. Center City - Northeast)
People still use Center City. Otherwise I agree, there's St. Paul Quarter, Midtown, Washington Square, Wadsworth Square, Grove Place, East End, etc. Every neighborhood has their smaller pocket neighborhoods.
I've lived here all my life and have never used Center City. If it is being used, probably by new residents, and only since they put up those signs. People typically say 'Downtown'
So have I, and with all the people I talk with through what I do, it comes up more than you might think.
I always felt like center city should just be called city center. Center city sounds like a lame attempt to be edgey
It's not unique to Rochester, I know at least Philly uses Center City too.
My sister rents in the southern tip South of Brooks Ave by the airport. From what I've seen and what she's said it's not that bad really. She walks her roommate's dog often and things seem pretty quiet and safe.
Back in '09 or so, I lived on Seward St. (Genesee/Jefferson St.) for about two months, I came home from work and I heard some guy on the corner yelling into his phone, "Ni**a, I don't want to do 45 to life." An hour or so later, some guy walked into a place two houses down and shot three ppl. One died for sure. We moved shortly after that.
That's a five minute drive from what Google maps considers the 19th Ward. So I don't know how relevant the is to this.
😂 there was a gang that used to sell stuff off the corner of Seward and genesee. I guess it does depend on the block. Honestly it’s a hit or miss.
Hey OP, you can check out crime street-by-street here: https://www.trulia.com/NY/Rochester/#map-crime
I'm sure there's a better place to get that map but this is just where I know to find it offhand
You will get a lot of different answers about the 19th ward because of it's size. Some parts are great, others are not. Anything SOUTH of Brooks is pretty good, north some areas can get sketchy. I have a house on Brookdale, was the first place I lived on my own and had no issues. Good neighbors, quite street. Only once did someone steal something and that was a bike and a shitty scooter from my unlocked garage, was some kids. The area I circled I know to be good.
My dad bought his first house there just out of college in the eighties. He was never robbed or anything like that but he did have his fair share of strange folks coming to the door asking for money or other such things. Like others have said, some parts are worse than others and some areas are genuinely nice.
You’ll be fine. It’s better than some areas up north.
I'd suggest looking up the various homes of interest in Trulia. Once you have the map open you can switch on the "crime" layer. It'll give you an indication of which neighborhoods are more/less savory than others. It's not perfect, but relative. You can also compare to other parts of the city.
It varies but overall has improved over the past 10 years. Thurston Zoo (gang) has been gone for at least that. Closer to Brooks Ave is generally better than closer to Chili Ave.
Mixed things is accurate. My sister in law teaches in the 19th and there literally the worst people, and some of the best.
Questionable
Swillburg and Brighton are a lot better in terms of property crime. South wedge suffers from spillover on the ford st bridge as well as the highrise on south ave. I had 5 bikes stolen in the ~7 years I lived there, 2 cable locks and 2 U locks cut (one U lock they broke the porch it was attached to), and one stolen outside of a takeout restaurant.
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Says you!
Corn Hill is quite nice.
My friend living on weldon street had someone poop in her front yard at 7AM, cut off his underwear with a pocket knife, wipe his ass with the underwear, and leave the poop, the underwear, and an empty slim Jim box in the yard.
So, can confirm.
You'd be amazed of the 'nice' neighborhoods that have homeless problems.
I lived there like six years ago next to Genesee Valley Park. If you like to walk places like trendy bars it's a bit far. If you don't mind driving places it's a good place though. Crime is higher than say Park Ave, but it's way cheaper and not as high as the fatal crescent.
That's an understatement.
I've witnessed some guy do petty larceny repeatedly during summer. I followed him going north on Oxford and turning East onto Park with a stolen large green trash can. On Oxford he stole some dudes bag, including wallet, from next to his car, then several houses up he opened up a package on a stoop. Then park picked trash and went inside at least one fenced driveway to snoop. Crime happens in every neighborhood.
I had my basement broken into twice when I lived on Hamilton in the South Wedge.
I had my car broken into twice when I lived in Corn Hill.
Nothing happened to my car when I lived in the 19th Ward though.
I'm living in this area now. Fortunately, with the new retail/restaurants at Mount Hope/Elmwood, you have walkable options depending on where you are in the 19th Ward. Uber gets you to the trendy bars easily. I haven't had any issues with crime- but that's not to say there isn't any. There is, like anywhere else. But, my initial concerns have been unfounded and talking with neighbors, I haven't heard of any issues.
I would use the term "walkable" lightly here. It's a 25 minute walk at best to anything in Collegetown.
Good point- for me anything under 1.5 miles is walkable, but not everyone is up to that. I live near the park, so it's only 15 min for me, 20 if I drag my feet.
That's great to hear!