Not exactly, but almost. Five years in and around midtown east, then 7 years in astoria, now 13 years in midtown east. Not the same apartment, obviously, but

Not exactly, but almost. Five years in and around midtown east, then 7 years in astoria, now 13 years in midtown east. Not the same apartment, obviously, but same enough that I pass by the same places that I was passing by back in 1998. In my experience, the places that were sketchy back then in Manhattan are still sketchy today, but the radius of sketch is much smaller and the demarcation line much brighter. To use your examples, I agree that bushwick today is grittier than BH in 2000, but my impression is that it compares similarly to, say, avenue C in 2000, where there were hipster bars and restaurants popping up, but it was still considered less safe than the area around washington square park. I don't live in bushwick, though, so I'm sure its an imperfect comparison.