We live in the city, in a section that has begun to go "south" in the last few years. It has changed for the worse quite a bit in the last 2 or 3 years in particular. Probably the biggest contributing factor to this urban deterioration is "the apartments" around the corner. They are entitled the "Valley View Apartments", which is a questionable name to begin with since they are IN a valley and therefore there is no view... Anyway, that name gives an aura of respectability, decency and class when in reality they are the among the dumpiest I've seen. One of the problems we deal with is the non-stop foot and bike traffic up and down the street, which is generally from about 8 am to 1 am, any day the weather permits. Most of this is to the store around the corner, which is the 2nd largest neighborhood problem, as they specialize in selling underage alcohol, drugs and "ghetto food" (individually wrapped prepared food with no nutritional value, like Little Hugs, Rice Krispie Treats, Honey Buns and SlimJims to name a few. I know this because I constantly pick up the wrappers from our lawn. One comforting thought is that all this was likely bought with a benefit card, so I not only get to pick up the trash, I PAID FOR IT TO BEGIN WITH!!! Today I was able to get a look at the most obnoxious of the people who use our street - the mobile urban music blaster. These are bikes fitted with stereo systems that are powered by a car battery. They are REALLY loud - they can be heard a few blocks away. True to form, Syracuse's finest don't seem to be able to do anything about it, but that's another separate topic. Looking at this sound unit, i was able to see that it had a new car battery (at least $65), several speakers and loudspeakers (at least $50 total) and an amplifier (at least $40)... A MINIMUM of $160 spent to annoy everyone within a city block when you live in an apartment that would be condemned if the city code officials ever did an inspection... The suburbs look better all the time. | 
