Penn South Towers Remain Safe in a Growing Chelsea

The residents of Penn South continue to enjoy their quiet and peaceful pocket of Chelsea, even as shimmering upscale apartment towers sprout up around the neighborhood.  None of the people interviewed this weekend at the affordable housing project, also known as the Mutual Redevelopment Houses, had encountered any crime first-hand there.

            “It’s a great place to live,” remarked Edith Melaned, a retiree.  On Sunday morning, Melaned was wheeling a small cart past the 23rd Street subway stop, on her way to do that week’s grocery shopping.  She has lived at Penn South for 21 years, and has always loved Chelsea, even as it’s become “a little more upscale.”

            Penn South is comprised of ten residential towers spread out over six blocks between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue.  It is a cooperative, built in 1957, which aims to “provide good housing at a moderate cost.”  According to its website, approximately 55% of its residents have incomes of less than $40,000 a year.  The buildings are surrounded with small paths and green space, and the four churches and school within the development provide a sense of community for those who live there.

“There’s very good security,” said Melaned, but acknowledged that “it’s gotten better since I came here.”  Although there are few break-ins anymore, she remembers they used to be more frequent.  “Sometimes there was a problem with people getting in,” she said, but ever since the towers had cameras installed, it’s been easier for the security guards to catch intruders.

Penn South is part of the NYPD’s 10th precinct, which covers a chunk of Manhattan’s west side between 14th Street and 43rd Street.  Crime in the area has generally trended downward for the past 20 years, with a small increase of burglaries and larceny (theft) in the past two, according to police department crime statistics.  Compared to neighboring precincts, Chelsea is doing well.  Both Midtown and the Flatiron district had about twice the number of severe crimes in 2012.

The area’s most alarming statistic is that grand larceny, or theft of property worth over $1,000, grew 70 percent between 2001 and 2012.  However, an officer at the precinct office, who was not authorized to speak to the press and could not give his name, explained that all incidences of stolen credit cards, no matter how they were used, are counted as grand larceny.  The increase could be attributed to the growing population and visitors to new tourist attractions, like the Highline and the Chelsea gallery district.

On Saturday, by Penn South’s Episcopal church, a woman runs over to a nearby NYPD van with an urgent question.  “Can I park over there?” she asks, leaning down to the van’s window and pointing across the street.  “The sign just says Monday to Friday.”  The two officers inside appear to consult each other before answering her, making sure they’re correct.

The NYPD doesn’t have too hard a time keeping Chelsea safe, as evidenced by the number of officers on patrol.  The van was the only police vehicle seen at Penn South, and the officer at the precinct office reported that there were only twelve officers working on Saturday, with eight of them out on patrol.

            When he lived downtown, Jay Stapleton “used to hear the sirens” more often, but says he feels completely safe living at Penn South, even without an obvious police presence.  But, he said, “I still watch out…like anywhere else in New York.”  Stapleton moved into his tower “about three and a half” years ago, just after his daughter was born.  On Sunday, he was watching her roll a bouncy ball around at one of the private basketball courts.  “I like the parks” he said, of Penn South. “It’s a nice place.”