As a neighborhood, Bushwick has seen some darker times. Just a few decades ago, the area was riddled with crime, sometimes even in the light of day. 

“Bushwick was horrible,” Stephen Ficala, who was born and raised in Bushwick, told City Limits in a recent article about the neighborhood’s improved safety. Ficala went on to mention the roadblock that had been on Troutman for two years, where cops would check residents’ ID in an effort to weed out the neighborhood’s drug dealers. It’s a reminder of how much Bushwick has changed. 

The Brooklyn neighborhood’s changing face is reflected in more than the memories of its long-time residents. According to the City Limits report, the number of crimes, arrests and criminal summonses, and stop-and-frisks in Bushwick have gone down in recent years.