Two decades after the Crown Heights Riots, much has changed within this neighborhood. Having lived in Crown Heights for seven years, I have witnessed the change that has taken place.

Whenever I tell friends that I live in Crown Heights, thoughts of ghettos, robbery, and murder typically come to mind.

“My first thought of Crown Heights is that it is a very ghetto neighborhood in Brooklyn,” said Justin Lopez, a senior at St. Francis College. “It has a bad reputation. I know this from what I hear and see on the news and from friends.”

Misconceptions, such as these, blind people from the beauty and history of Crown Heights.

Before 1916, Crown Heights was originally known as Crow Hill. Crown Heights is located between a number of streets including Ralph Avenue, East New York Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue. It is also surrounded by areas such as Flatbush, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, and Downtown Brooklyn.

Crown Heights is not a place where it is dangerous to walk the streets. It is a beautiful and culturally diverse community home to South Asians, Jamaicans, West Indians, and Caucasians. Recently, yuppies have started to move to Crown Heights.

Gardens have also sprung up around Crown Heights. During the summer, beautiful flower and vegetable gardens bring a natural splendor to the front yards and back yards of the community’s residents.

You’d be wrong if you assumed that Crown Heights is still an unsafe place; all areas have a risk of robbery and crime happening within them. Crown Heights, compared to two decades ago, has changed a great deal.

So from now on, when you hear the words “Crown Heights”, I hope your initial thoughts will be: urban gardens, beautiful brownstones, and cultural diversity.