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On a much smaller scale, one of the first apartments I rented ended up being on the other side of the fence of an alleged local Hell's Angels hangout. At first,

On a much smaller scale, one of the first apartments I rented ended up being on the other side of the fence of an alleged local Hell's Angels hangout. At first, it freaked me out. But I never heard a peep, and the neighbourhood was surprisingly peaceful given the location. (It was surrounded by fairly rough areas.) I later learned that this was not a coincidence. Their presence kept trouble away from the block, and they never caused trouble themselves. In other words: No one wanted to mess with them, and the Angels weren't gonna "sh*t where they eat". I'm not saying this was a net positive. I'm glad I don't live there anymore, as there was a persistent anxiety about the potential for that peace to be disrupted. But it was the closest I ever got to experiencing what it's like to living in a gang-controlled area, and it was weird.

bklyn11201 6y ago
It's peaceful until it's not! https://gothamist.com/news/hells-angels-brand-new-clubhouse-shot-unknown-gunmen https://gothamist.com/news/hells-angels-brand-new-clubhouse-...
- nickelcitymario 6y ago
  This was always my biggest fear. But in fairness, in my community, gang violence rarely if ever seems to escalate to this point. That said, they did bomb our local police station back in '96 (before my time): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/biker-bombing-anniversary-1.3896648 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/biker-bombing-anniver...
Loughla 6y ago
In the rural area that I live, Bike 'Clubs' are popular. There are a lot of bankers and other white collar workers that LARP as bikers, but raise money for charity. Then there are the actual biker 'clubs'. What's confusing is that these guys are full on associated with the Hell's Angels or some other similar group. . . And still do all the charity stuff. So they raise money for childhood cancer or a local family whose house burned down during the week. And on the weekend, they beat the shit out of a local bar owner who wouldn't let them drink for free because they're keeping him safe, then burn his bar down. It's the most confusing thing.
- dfxm12 6y ago
  It's the most confusing thing. It's PR. You get a few feel good stories on the local news, and convince your neighbors that you do good for the regular people in the community and that if you're violent, it's only toward criminals. "These guys helped that child with cancer. They're such nice guys. That bar owner must've really deserved it." People eat that up!
- jstarfish 6y ago
  There are also some biker clubs (unclear if "legit" or not) that do outreach for abused children. If you're being beaten or molested or whatever, you can call them, a bunch of bikers show up and conspicuously hang out with you for a bit. The implication is that you have friends in low places so if you just said the word... CPS is incompetent in my experience (they are auditors, not investigators) so I can imagine how bad it can get for victims to need quasi-legitimate services like this.
grawprog 6y ago
Lived up the street about half a block away from an HA club house for just over 5 years. When we first moved in the landlord straight up told us, then said that it was a safe neighbourhood because of it. He mentioned the one time some kids decided to spraypaint a bunch of doors in the neighbourhood, nobody called the cops, but the next day those kids were cleaning everything up. There was never an graffiti or anything in the neighbourhood until after they closed the clubhouse down. They didn't seem to do much. They'd show up in nice trucks pulling trailers with bikes, then hang out sitting on their bikes watching tv. Pretty sure they owned a few of the other warehouses on the block. There was one that was completely fenced and barricaded off you never seen people going in or out of, but there was always people there. No signs or any indication of what the place was. >But it was the closest I ever got to experiencing what it's like to living in a gang-controlled area, and it was weird. The thing i've come to learn, is that even if an area doesn't seem like it's gang controlled, it probably still is. They're just more discrete about it. You won't find out unless you're involved in shady things though.

bklyn11201 6y ago

It's peaceful until it's not! https://gothamist.com/news/hells-angels-brand-new-clubhouse-shot-unknown-gunmen https://gothamist.com/news/hells-angels-brand-new-clubhouse-...

nickelcitymario 6y ago
This was always my biggest fear. But in fairness, in my community, gang violence rarely if ever seems to escalate to this point. That said, they did bomb our local police station back in '96 (before my time): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/biker-bombing-anniversary-1.3896648 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/biker-bombing-anniver...

Loughla 6y ago

In the rural area that I live, Bike 'Clubs' are popular. There are a lot of bankers and other white collar workers that LARP as bikers, but raise money for charity. Then there are the actual biker 'clubs'. What's confusing is that these guys are full on associated with the Hell's Angels or some other similar group. . . And still do all the charity stuff. So they raise money for childhood cancer or a local family whose house burned down during the week. And on the weekend, they beat the shit out of a local bar owner who wouldn't let them drink for free because they're keeping him safe, then burn his bar down. It's the most confusing thing.

dfxm12 6y ago
It's the most confusing thing. It's PR. You get a few feel good stories on the local news, and convince your neighbors that you do good for the regular people in the community and that if you're violent, it's only toward criminals. "These guys helped that child with cancer. They're such nice guys. That bar owner must've really deserved it." People eat that up!
jstarfish 6y ago
There are also some biker clubs (unclear if "legit" or not) that do outreach for abused children. If you're being beaten or molested or whatever, you can call them, a bunch of bikers show up and conspicuously hang out with you for a bit. The implication is that you have friends in low places so if you just said the word... CPS is incompetent in my experience (they are auditors, not investigators) so I can imagine how bad it can get for victims to need quasi-legitimate services like this.

grawprog 6y ago

Lived up the street about half a block away from an HA club house for just over 5 years. When we first moved in the landlord straight up told us, then said that it was a safe neighbourhood because of it. He mentioned the one time some kids decided to spraypaint a bunch of doors in the neighbourhood, nobody called the cops, but the next day those kids were cleaning everything up. There was never an graffiti or anything in the neighbourhood until after they closed the clubhouse down. They didn't seem to do much. They'd show up in nice trucks pulling trailers with bikes, then hang out sitting on their bikes watching tv. Pretty sure they owned a few of the other warehouses on the block. There was one that was completely fenced and barricaded off you never seen people going in or out of, but there was always people there. No signs or any indication of what the place was. >But it was the closest I ever got to experiencing what it's like to living in a gang-controlled area, and it was weird. The thing i've come to learn, is that even if an area doesn't seem like it's gang controlled, it probably still is. They're just more discrete about it. You won't find out unless you're involved in shady things though.