BUSINESSMAN IN A BLACK GHETTO

• NCJ Number: 29817
• Author(s): D S DAVID; J VORENBERG; I F LUKOFF
• Date Published: 1972
• Length: 50 pages
• Grant Number(s): NI-71-046-G; 72-NI-99-0008
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Columbia University; Harvard University
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS PAPER EXAMINES SEVERAL ASPECTS OF BUSINESSES IN THE BEDFORD-STUYVESANT/FORT GREENE SECTION OF BROOKLYN IN AN INVESTIGATION OF THE STEREOTYPE OF A HIGH DEGREE OF VULNERABILITY TO CRIME OF BUSINESSES IN THE GHETTO.

Abstract

DATA PRESENTED IN THIS REPORT IS BASED ON THE RESPONSES OF 50 OWNERS AND MANAGERS OF AREA MANUFACTURING, SERVICE, AND RETAIL BUSINESSES. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON THE BUSINESSMEN IS PRESENTED FIRST, FOLLOWED BY AN ANALYSIS OF THE REASONS RESPONDENTS GAVE FOR HAVING A BUSINESS IN THE AREA. THE CENTRAL FOCUS OF THIS PAPER IS THE EXPERIENCE OF THIS GROUP WITH CRIME - THEIR VICTIMIZATION, PERCEPTION OF CRIME, AND PROTECTIVE MEASURES TAKEN. ALSO INVESTIGATED IS THE RELATIONSHIP PERCEIVED BETWEEN CRIME AND DRUG USE IN THE GHETTO. THE LAST SECTION OF THIS PAPER DEALS WITH THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE BUSINESSMEN AND THE EFFECT OF THESE DIFFERENCES ON ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS. SURVEY RESULTS SHOWED THAT AREA BUSINESSES TEND TO BE STABLE AND THAT A LARGE MINORITY OF BUSINESSMEN LIKED THE AREA BETTER THAN OTHER PARTS OF NEW YORK CITY. AMONG RETAILERS AND SERVICE MERCHANTS, FEELING PART OF THE COMMUNITY WAS THE MOST COMMONLY GIVEN REASON FOR HAVING A BUSINESS IN THE AREA. MANUFACTURERS STRESSED THE AVAILABILITY OF EMPLOYEES AS THEIR PRIMARY CONSIDERATION. NINETY-TWO PERCENT OF THE BUSINESSMEN REPORTED ONE OR MORE INCIDENTS OF VICTIMIZATION, WHILE 90 PERCENT REPORTED TAKING ONE OR MORE PROTECTIVE MEASURES BECAUSE OF CRIME IN THE AREA. ABOUT HALF OF THE BUSINESSMEN BELIEVED THAT MUCH OF THE CRIME AGAINST THEIR BUSINESSES WAS COMMITTED BY ADDICTS. BLACKS INDICATED THAT THEY HAD BUSINESSES IN THE AREA BECAUSE THEY FELT A PART OF THE COMMUNITY, IT WAS CONVENIENT TO HOME, AND THEY LIKED THE AREA. WHITES HAD BUSINESSES IN THE AREA BECAUSE BUSINESSES WERE ALREADY WELL-ESTABLISHED, AND BECAUSE THEY SAW OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AREA, PAID LESS RENT THAN ELSEWHERE, HAD A SOURCE OF AVAILABLE EMPLOYEES, HAD A GREATER VOLUME OF BUSINESS, AND WERE CLOSER TO THE SOURCE OF SUPPLIES. WHITES WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE VICTIMIZED FOUR TO NINE TIMES IN A YEAR THAN BLACKS - 63 PERCENT COMPARED TO 48 PERCENT. IN ADDITION, MORE WHITE THAN BLACK BUSINESSMEN PERCEIVED CRIME IN THE AREA AS HIGH (50 PERCENT AS COMPARED TO 19 PERCENT).