Hells Kitchen

You should go to the local police station and they will have all the statistics.

It used to be the red ligt district for sure. But, it's changed so much over the past 10-15 years, there's almost no trace of the xxx industry. You should feel safe, though West End Highway still has some rough spots.

I have lived in HK for over 10 years, moved here back when the landlords gave you a free month for moving into their apartments. I used to pass at least 6 prostitutes on the way home from work every night, but that hasn't been the case for at least 5 years. On the other hand, there have been more XXX stores added to the upper 30's and 40's along 8th Avenue - a byproduct of cleaning up 42nd Street [not really that effective since the stores just moved around the corner]. Last year, someone tried to open a XXX store on 10th Ave between 45th & 46th - the nieghborhood ran them out, and the store was closed WITHIN 3 DAYS

I have lived in HK for over 10 years, moved here back when the landlords gave you a free month for moving into their apartments. I used to pass at least 6 prostitutes on the way home from work every night, but that hasn't been the case for at least 5 years. On the other hand, there have been more XXX stores added to the upper 30's and 40's along 8th Avenue - a byproduct of cleaning up 42nd Street [not really that effective since the stores just moved around the corner]. Last year, someone tried to open a XXX store on 10th Ave between 45th & 46th - the nieghborhood ran them out, and the store was closed WITHIN 3 DAYS

Comment 4 cont'd:
Several of us in the neighborhood were thrilled to see that the locals could close the shop - - I'm all for letting XXX places exist, just not less than a block from an elementary school! The neighborhood has been steadily improving ever since I moved here - - new restaurants, more gyms, etc. The only sad thing is that many "mom & pops" have had to close due to higher rents on 9th Avenue. There has been plenty of building in the neighborhood in the last 5 years, and it is continuing. Each new building seems to get much more expensive, but much nicer. However, some services are not available west of 9th Ave - only cable choice is Time Warner, no Verizon FIOS available, and in some buildings you can only get DSL internet other than dial up. Be sure to check if that stuff is important to you.

Let's get one thing straight: There are prostitutes all over the 5 boroughs. There are prostitutes on the upper east side and brothels workinging out of mansions in Riverdale and Prospect Park. Most (but not all) prostitutes have moved from the streets to more organized operations. But in general, prostitution is only dangerous for the prostitute herself. I wouldn't (and couldn't) avoid a neighborhood because of prostitution.

I live in Hell's Kitchen now and love it. If it is further "developed", I will probably leave. I love the restaurants on 9th and 10th Avenue, the bodegas and small shops, and the general atmosphere. Move in a California Pizza Kitchen and a Banana Republic and it just won't be interesting to me.

A lot of the new construction is, IMO, very bad value. I just looked at something on 47th and 10th that was 1700 a square foot, with high common charges and only a part time doorman. It just wasn't as nice as the apartments I could get for 1000 a square foot with lower charges and a ft doorman.

Thanks for everyone's comments. my worries stemmed from this article:

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NEIGHBOR FURY AS KITCHEN GETS TOO HOT
By DOUGLAS MONTERO and PERRY CHIARAMONTE

WAKE-UP CALL: No, this isn’t Hell’s Kitchen, circa 1980 - it’s yesterday. Newcomers say prostitution is back in broad daylight.

Photo: N.Y. Post/G.N. Miller

Newcomers to Hell's Kitchen, who pay top dollar to live in the hot neighborhood, are having a devil of a time dealing with a resurgence in some of the area's longtime inhabitants - prostitutes. The in-your-face, scantily clad night crawlers, who for years discreetly plied their wares from pimp-owned cars, are back to their pre-Giuliani days of streetwalking, traffic-stopping parades in front of flesh-hungry motorists, according to residents and community leaders.

The Post recently spotted about a dozen of the hard-working, high-heeled hookers strutting up and down between Ninth and 11th avenues - not far from cops posted at the Lincoln Tunnel to thwart potential terrorist attacks. Several shocked newcomers to the area - including some young families dishing out up to $3,000 a month in rent - said realtors had assured them that the neighborhood was "up and coming." But baby-carriage-pushing moms en route to a local playground at 8 a.m. say they now see some skin dealers openly working overtime - sometimes until 11 a.m. "I walk out of my building in the morning to see these girls with their asses hanging out," said Kimberly Solop, 34, who shares a $3,000-a-month two-bedroom with her husband and their 2-year-old son, Simon. "I don't want him growing up looking at that," she said. "It's a lot of money to be paying to have this activity going on." Even longtime residents who survived the more hard-core days of the 1980s say they began noticing the increase shortly before Fleet Week. And the hookers are not alone, they add. With them come pimps in music-blasting vehicles and do-ragged street thugs who serve as muscle. "It's a pain in the ass," said Junior Gonzalez, 68, who's lived on West 47th for 40 years. "It's hard to sleep at night. They're shouting; they're fighting. "There's this boom-boom-boom coming from the speakers they put in the trunks of their cars. My windows vibrate."

Residents say that they've complained to the cops but that the hookers have always come back. "I'm scared," said a resident too afraid to provide his name. "I have two kids, and I live on the first floor, and I don't want anything coming through the window."

Elke Fears, president of the Block Association, notes that the hookers and pimps are no fools: they skirt the area whenever the cops turn up the heat. Their territory goes as far south as 43rd Street and as far north as 48th.

Fears and others suspect that some of the women are looking for business from patrons of several new upscale "gentlemen's clubs" in the area.

Deputy Inspector Edward Mullen said the NYPD, aware of the resurgence, is planning to crack the whip. "It is a precinct condition that both the precinct commanding officer and the NYPD Vice Enforcement Division are addressing," he said.

Solop, meanwhile, said she just hopes the city will improve the quality of life for her and for her daughter, the sooner the better."It brings a bad element to the neighborhood," the young mom said. "They are everywhere."

douglas.montero@nypost.com

I think that Post article is over the top. I live on Ninth Ave in Hell's Kitchen and love it. The restaurants are amazing, you can get a cab any hour of the night (or walk a few blocks to Times Square and get on any subway). When it's nice outside, I walk to the Union Square farmer's market (or to the great flea market on 39th and Ninth, after brunch at the fun HK restaurant). I feel safe walking by myself after midnight (the streets are as lively as if it were noon.) I also love walking to work in midtown. My only complaint is that you're always tripping over tourists (it gets nutty around Christmastime) if you walk toward 8th Ave, but it's OK. And I've seen one prostitute maybe, or perhaps she was a teenager on her way to the clubs on 27th street.... overall, though, I love hell's kitchen and think it's safe and a great investment. Especially when the 7-train is expanded to 41st and Tenth....

Agree wurg #9. I lived in Hells Kitch for 7 yrs and really liked it. It really is nutty around the holidays. From Thanksgiving through early January expect tons, tons, tons of tourists on 8th.

what about west of 8th ave? like 10, 11, 12?

it gets significantly quieter going west of 8th avenue, but still loud as hell. If you can block out noise it's a fun neighborhood, but traffic, sirens, TONS of broadway/times square tourists on the sidewalks in "jersey barrier" configuration, I found it way too insane, even though I'm not that old, well into my 30's, ok maybe that's old, maybe I was just too old for the neighborhood hehe.

If you see prostitution & it bothers you, just call the police - every time you see something. If you allow it & don't report it then you condone it!

is it really that noisy?

yes, it's really noisy. I lived on 54th and 8th and there were fire trucks racing up 8th at all hours. And, I was 20 stories up!

wow... now that sucks.

There is definitely something up with the sirens in this here neighborhood, they are ALWAYS wailing somewhere. I have been trying to figure this out because there aren't 100,000 people getting shot, set on fire and sent to the hospital everyday. It seems like the cops, fire engines and ambulances just use them to get around so they don't have to wait in traffic sometimes!

Also 57th is the first exit off Hudson Parkway so you get SOOOO many BIIIG trucks coming onto 9th avenue feeding the city: traffic, diesel clatter, honking rigs much worse than downtown, oh yes.

so which streets should i avoid? there's so many new constructions in this area?

Avoid 46th Street - it seems to be a major street for traffic, especially trucks headed to "Restaurant Row." Ideally, try to find an apartment in the back of the building that doesn't front on the street - you will hear much less noise from traffic and people. I have a freind whol lives in the Strand on the 22nd floor, and hears every bit of traffic from the street. We live in an apartment in the back of the building of 44th street, and hear much less noise, although you still hear some. I don't think you will find a silent apartment in midtown - there's just too much activity.

is that only 46th st near restaurant row between 7th and 9th ave? or does it go further down to the 10, 11, etc? there's a brand new condo construction on 46th and 10th being built and one that's finished on 47/10. is that a noisy area?

Arent most women in Manhattan one form of prostitute or another? Dont they all want a rich man?

The prostitutes aren't usually coming out of the Time Warner Center. Other than that they look and behave the same as the other Manhattan women.

any treeline quiet areas in hk?

46th and 10th... for noise should be OK, but not near a subway and closer to lincoln tunnel. As for treelined streets, try 49th, 51st, 53rd, 54th, 55th all between 8th and 9th.

is there alot of traffic in that area becasue it is closer to the lincoln tunnel? i believe the subway is on 8th ave? so 3 blocks of walking isn't far. why 8th and 9th? beyond 9th is not tree-lined?

why not 48,50,52?

#22 There are plenty of whores that live in the Time Warner Center.

really? name a few...

The new building on 46th/47th between 10th/11th Ave is built over an overpass for train tracks. Trains do still use these tracks, so I would not buy in that building. Restaurant Row is between 8th/9th Ave, but the trucks use 46th from the West Side Hwy to get there. 44th St is pretty quiet and tree lined. 49th and 50th are pretty heavy traffic streets as well.

what time does the train run? the new development is at 517 West 46th Street

is it very noisy? will it rumble/shake the building? i know the building is still being contructed... any residents next door have comments?

I'm looking at that new development also - any thoughts?

I think the nabe is still sketchy. You can get more bang for your buck there, but if it's at the cost of safety, its so not worth it. Plus, street walkers are not the eye candy you would think they are. Pretty gross.

i have been in the neighborhood for about 5 years, and thought i knew it well -- until i moved a few blocks -- what a surprise!

i would say that HK definitely has a core, "spotty" area that is shrinking. in my opinion, it goes from about 44th st through 53rd st, west of 9th avenue. i used to live at 41st and 10th and thought the neighborhood was fine. i had friends at 55th & 10th and thought the same thing. i moved recently to 48th and 10th and am amazed at what a difference a few blocks make. i feel nervous walking home late at night, going crosstown between 48th and 53rd. i think the area north of there, as you get closer to 57th, is more like an extension of the upper west side, at least along 10th, and is pretty quiet and safe, anchored by roosevelt/st lukes hospital. the area south of, say, 45th, is more like manhattan plaza (the high rises at 43rd/9th-10th), and gets more commercial, but is also within site of the special police station at 42nd bet 10th/11th, and also feels safe. i think a lot of the scarier, more thuggish folks are in that 48th - 53rd corridor, west of 9th.

if a neighborhood is going through changes, they will be most visible when the weather gets warm. i saw a prostitute along 10th avenue for the first time about a week ago, about 10pm on a sunday night. my overall gut feel is that the sketchiest core of HK has gotten worse over the past year, while the circumference continues to get more cleaned up.

people have always told me that a few blocks makes a big difference in neighborhood in HK, but now i know what they meant!