Having moved into Arlington in early 2010....I’ve learned a number of things about the DC region over the months.
First, northeast DC is not really the same neighborhood that existed back a decade ago...because yuppies are moving in and picking up houses on the cheap, and renovating the neighborhoods. However....NE DC still has a significant gang and drug problem. Eventually....all of these yuppies will price the neighborhoods out and the gangs will clear...maybe in twenty years.
Second, there are alot of naive individual living in NE DC, and thinking that things are fairly safe. The cop presence in that part of town is not the same as Georgetown. So if a taxi drops you off two blocks from your house in NE DC....like in this case....then it wouldn’t be smart to walk near midnight.
Third and final....just in general...I can’t think of too many neighborhoods in DC, except Georgetown....where it’d be safe to walk in the evening hours. Even the Metro stations in DC are generally unsafe after 10PM on most evenings. The cops do what they can....especially for Georgetown....and the rest of DC is getting marginal service. That’s life in DC. If anyone dislikes it...they can move across the river into Arlington, Fairfax, or Alexandria....and have a Virginia law enforcement presence.
Except for the communist government, which isn’t as communist as Arlington, I love Alexandria.