Downtown Poughkeepsie...unsafe?

It took me about a week to realize what my topic should be for the social problem. I thought about what I was scared about when I went to Poughkeepsie, and specifically, downtown. I remembered the argument my boyfriend and I have everytime we go there over who is going to drive and park their car on Main Street, and decided to take that a step further. I chose the fear people have over crime and the concern over their safety downtown. I went to Main Street and interviewed the manager of a shoe store named Kiza?Wiza! who had really insightful, interesting things to say (blaming the media for Poughkeepsie's bad image, saying it isn't as bad as it used to be, etc). I decided to not only explore the reasons why people were fearful of going downtown, but if those reasons were due to them holding on to Poughkeepsie's violent history, and not paying attention to attempted changes to make it a better place. I also interviewed a woman who owns a card shop on Main Street, to get another perspective from a store owner whose business is effected by fearful residents, though she didn't want to give her last name, which was frustrating. I then went to Barnes and Noble (my go-to place to interview people, no matter what city I'm in) on Route 9, which is the road where, I think it's safe to say, most Poughkeepsie residents do their shopping, dining, and generally spend their weekends. Everyone had similar feelings on downtown: though it's "getting better," they're still fearful of going, especially alone. Some had interesting stories to tell of crime. One 20 year old girl actually said that the interview was making her think it was all in her head, and that maybe Poughkeepsie wasn't such a bad place. Overall, I had good interviewing experiences, and I think I went to all the right places for the sources I needed. I think my article will shed some light on the reasons why downtown is so empty, even on weekends.