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edacraThe rule of thumb with New York safety is that you only really have to worry in desolate areas. If there are people on the streets, or some traffic, then you're safe. So in that regard, there are some streets in Harlem that are safer then yuppie Tribeca.
Brooklyn still has some strange pockets they just label Williamsburg to lure people in. In general, anything near the L has either gentrified, or will be soon. They've sped the L train up so it runs more frequently now to accomodate the influx of new residents looking for slightly cheaper rent. Frankly, I find Brooklyn to be a bit cultish and a lot of the people moving there are a bit naive in that these are the same people who would have been scared to even visit not to long ago...but it really is safe by city living standards. There are some beautiful and peacefull blocks, and the interesting thing about NY is if you're ona ghetto run down street, you can probably walk a few blocks and find one of the nicest city streets in the nation. Brooklyn is compressed so that you can ride on a bike and and cross through it in a flash. As long as he doesn't mind the commute, I wouldn't say he's missing anything by not living closer to campus. You move to New York because it's New York. The kids who stick to Manhattan schools like they're on a campus in Michigan are really missing out. Mind you, I live in Manhattan most of the year, and would have trouble leaving, I do find myself having to reverse commute now for social obligations. So I still have to ride that darn L train at 3am!
About the Lower East Side - the weekends are attracting what we call a Bridge and Tunnel crowd now. The rent isn't cheap. It's a very youth oriented fun area but the only advantage would be convenience (as in, he could run home between classes instead of having to kill time somewhere). The problem with living in the East Village is the apartments are mostly cramped in walk up tenements. The rents don't really reflect that anymore.
Like Barry said, he's fine unless he's going home super late, and even then it's not like he'll be stepping into a warzone. Just tell him for your own piece of mind that you'd like him to take a car service home past anytime past 2:30,and pay for it. Consider it part of renting in Brooklyn.