When I was out today around noon people were everywhere, out shoveling their walks, and I felt safer than I had a few moments before when a friend told me there'd been a mugging around the corner from her house on Seeley Street. Yesterday at 3pm a woman was mugged on Prospect Avenue by Seeley St., which is near the tunnel usually strewn with debris that is hard to identify. Anyway, a woman had witnessed the mugging from her kitchen window and the mugger was chased off but escaped by automobile.
I was all set to let my 11-year old walk to her friend's house 4 blocks away when I heard about the frightening incident. It was one of those grievous moments when one has to choose between fear and freedom. Advice appreciated. I suppose the first thing to remind myself is that vulnerability is unavoidable.
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4 comments:
Oh boy. Tough one. I guess the first thing to do is avoid using anything (these days phones and music devices) that are easy pickings. Walk in pairs, have active neighbors.
My kids are still figuring out how to walk, but if they were 11, I'd probably call the other parent as they left, watch them leave, and demand a call when they arrive. That, or keep them locked in their rooms until they turn 25.
What has also been incredibly frightening is the amount of pedestrian accidents on sidewalks.
Good luck navigating the fear/freedom line.
Thanks! Pedestrian accidents on sidewalks? What happened?
Oh dear. I hadn't heard about this, and just down the street from where I live. And one of the things I like about our neighborhood, compared to Park Slope, is that so many of the kids walk to school without their parents escorting them.
The toddlers in the Chinatown tragedy, and more recently, in Bed-Stuy two brothers were hit when a car jumped a curb. I'm sure there are more, but those were the two I was thinking of.
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