New York City

Like I said, you've gotta start the conversation with New York City. It's the biggest and has the most hoods of any city. In NYC gang related incidents went up 47.3% from 2005-2006. You can find Latin Kings in NYC and North Jersey. And the Bloods have a strong presence in Newark. There are MS-13s even out in Long Island now. And New York has always had a strong Mafia presence with the amount of Italian immigrants coming into Ellis Island back in the day. There is also a strong Latino/Puerto Rican Mafia gang structure alive in the city. Despite New York not making the most dangerous list, I would still have to say that in certain parts, you can find the most hardened gangsters in the U.S. But, there are many hoods out there.

You start out with Harlem. It doesn't get better than summertime at the Rucker. As the United States moved from an agrarian to an industrial society many impoverished minorities had to move from rural areas to urban centers to find work. Harlem became a home for many people searching for work. With an incredible amount of unemployment and a rapidly growing population, it became a crime filled area.

Harlem is located in the borough of Manhattan. Since the Harlem Renaissance it has been considered the birthplace of African-American culture in the U.S. West Harlem is west of St. Nicholas Ave. and north of 123d St. In Central Harlem you've got Marcus Garvey Park and Sugar Hill. And East Harlem is Spanish Harlem (south of 116th). The crime rate has gone down in Harlem as of late but back in the 80s and early 90s the crime in Harlem would probably have earned it the title of most dangerous. There were different Cuban, Puerto Rican and African American gangs competing for control over crack on the streets. Everything was out of control.

Brooklyn- Crooklyn definitely keeps it very hood. There are Bloods and Crips out in New York now. They can be found in all the boroughs. If you're talking about Brooklyn you've gotta get into Bedford-Stuyvesant, "the livest one." Bed-Stuy is bordered by East New York, Brownsville, Canarsie and Crown Heights. As Harlem became very overcrowded, many African-Americans moved into Bed-Stuy. Home of Biggie and Jay, Bed-Stuy has been a center for many African-American movies as well as artists. "Do the Right Thing" was shot there. But the crime in Bed-Stuy has gone down a little bit as of late. Bed-Stuy has been territory for a lot of gang violence too.

Queens - Queens has probably been the borough reppin' the hardest as of late. There is a strong gang and violence presence there. And Queens has been getting crazy spins on the radio. Fifty, Nas and Mobb Deep come to mind. But what about Pappy Mason and the Son of Sam. What you know about the Supreme Team? These are real gangsters. Not the fags you see dancing on MTV. You hear rappers mention Prince and Supreme in some of their raps. The Supreme Team worked like a company, selling 25,000 vials of crack a week in Jamaica Queens. Many in the area have tried to emulate their operation. They were revered as stars. Many accounts say they were pulling in easily over 200,000 bills a day. Run by Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and Gerald "Prince" Miller. For some more in depth info about Prince and Preme check out the Gorilla Convict Blog http://gorillaconvict.com/blog. It is one of the best blogs out there about the streets I have ever read. I would have to say Queens is now the hardest borough in New Jack City.

South Bronx, South South Bronx - The birthplace of rap. The Bronx is definitely a very interesting place with a rich history. In some ways it is a sad history because the Bronx has been home to strong racial tensions over the years. This is not saying that the same things haven't happened in other boroughs but the Bronx has seen too much violence due to racial issues. A Bronx Tale, a gangster story with Robert DeNiro portrays the Bronx back in the day. A mafia area with high racial tensions. The Bronx is definitely a crime-filled area. The Bronx is the northernmost borough and touches the New York City mainland.