I'm not moving there. no way, jose.

If it has higher crime rates than normal then there's no point moving there. Besides, if you're a minority (different skin tone) then you might be more likely to be targeted.
I base my answer on the statistics you provided, not some idiotic stereotype of people with darker skin.

There are nice gentrified neighborhoods near Brooklyn Heights. Check them out.

This is happening all over the country and has been for the last 30 odd years. The yuppies like you have been moving into bad neighborhoods in places like Jersey City and Detroit (just to name two) and in doing so they are getting great deals on homes that increase in value tremendously, almost over night. As these people move in, so does police protection, government services and the bad element moves out, as property values skyrocket.
Your wife and her friends are right, if you want value for your money. Otherwise, you are moving into a neighborhood where someone else has made the huge profits by being the first ones in. Do a bit more research into this and perhaps you'll come to agree with her.

It is dangerous, but it's also a fun and amazing experience. Whether or not it's a racial thing, your scared. Sometimes you just have to take risks, buddy. Move on out there.

If you really can't come to a fair and reasonable dissension, rock paper scissors.

Ur wife sure sounds like she's in the "level headed making decisions" kind of state lol. Raising your child in a safe neighborhood is way more important that how liberal and progressive she looks to her friends. It sounds like a terrible idea to me. I'd pull up some actual crime statistics for the area she wants to move to compared to where u wanna go. Show her in logical black and white why it's a bad idea and that it has nothing to do with skin black and white. U don't want your kid going to school somewhere they have to have metal detectors and security like an airport.

If you were single or if you and your wife weren't expecting I'd say do it. That way the two of you could move in, seriously feel the place out and get to know a couple neighbors and decide if they'd like to raise kids there. But to just move a new family/baby into the situation seems too risky.

I personally wouldn't move there. Ever.

This is not a new phenomenon in that area. The move into brownstones in Harlem was going on when I left the city 11 years ago. Infact the Harlem revitalization was one of the reasons Bill Clinton choose Harlem for his post presidential offices and that was 15 years ago. Though I wouldn't call it the best neighborhood in the world, Harlem has changed dramatically in the past 2 decades. It is not as bad as it used to be, not even close, but neither is the city in general.

But because of this, those brownstone bargains that existed 15 years ago really aren't there anymore. You have brownstone in Harlem going for well over a million dollars. You would be lucky to find one under a half million, and if you did, I suspect it would require a significant renovation investment. Though nothing in Manhattan is really reasonably priced, there are better options on the island for the money.

Though you would lose the convenience that comes with living in the city, if you did go the Westchester or Rockland County route you would certainly get a lot more for your money, and the neighborhoods are safer then anything in Manhattan. You can also find some really nice neighborhoods in Bergen County right over the GW.

I could not imagine living in NYC. I live in a town of about 45,000 population. I can see one end of town to the other. And we actually own vehicles, and very few taxis out here, in small rural Oregon.

Beats the Bronx these days.

I'm not too familiar with the neighborhoods of NYC but what is the school system like? Now that I have kids, that is a major factor in my house hunting.

Could be worse, you could've moved to Redfern.