THAT'S for sure! You would not want to take a wrong turn and find yourself in THAT nabe. My first teaching assignment was in that area. You simply did NOT go out for lunch. You parked your car in the morning and left very promptly after school. I remember how excited we were to see a white kid in the school. There was just that one.
There are wall-to-wall fast food joints in the area, so what's the big deal about adding a Denny's? Charles Barron is a very radical Black Nationalist, so it must have something to do with Denny's politics.
Ein, as a young banker, many years ago, I was sent to cover for someone at a branch in the City Line section of East NY. It was quite an experience, to say the least. In later years, when I was running the bank, I never traveled there without my security guys who were all former NYPD officers. I am glad you survived your time there! Many don’t!