The Brownsville neighborhood in Brooklyn is considered one of the most dangerous in the entire city, and is statistically considered the murder capital of New York City. Brownsville has long been a dangerous area, dating back to the 1930s with the formation of the notorious mafia arm Murder, Inc. Even today, with crime decreasing annually in the city, Brownsville's crime stats remain mostly unchanged. Likewise, it has also remain untouched by the gentrification that has improved once crime-ridden neighborhoods such as Bed-Stuy and Bushwick.
It should also be of no surprise that Brownsville is also plagued with poverty, with a median household income of less than $16,000 a year. The New York City Housing Authority runs 18 public housing developments in Brownsville, the most of any neighborhood in the city. Together, they account for over a third of the neighborhood's housing units.