My niece is 19 years old and moving to the neighborhood of the 92nd Street Y in New York City this fall. I am just being an overcautious uncle and wanted to know if this is a safe neighborhood for her to move into. Please give me any of your thoughts and suggestions.
The Upper East Side is a very nice, safe area. She shouldn't have any trouble, assuming she has street smarts. That being said, East Harlem technically starts/UES ends at 96th Street. East Harlem has been greatly gentrified, especially the southern part (high 90s-low 100s), but it's not as ritzy as the UES and has some rough patches. NYC is generally pretty safe as far as cities go, but it's a city, so you have to be careful.
I would tell her to avoid going much above 96th street and in truth, there is little reason why she would need to. There's a Thai place that I like on Lexington at 101st and by that time, it feels a little dicey especially after dark. Up to 96th, there shouldn't be a problem. As was said, just stay alert as you would in any big city and trust your instincts, If something doesn't look right to you, go with your gut and don't think ah it's probably nothing.