07. The Yards

With its proximity to other troubled, service- sector neighborhoods in Newcastle, the casual visitor might expect the Yards neighborhood to have significant troubles of its own. The truth of the matter, though, is that the Yards is almost a model neighborhood, from the responsible functionality of its chemical conglomerate anchor to the quiet respectability of its middle-middleclass residents. It’s a conservative neighborhood, with most of its horror represented by the existential angst its comparatively privileged teenagers sometimes feel, or the shock encountered when it turns out that the guy who lives down the street is actually gay.

Background

The Yards has been an almost idyllic neighborhood for the past 60 years, with almost a television- quality perfection and complacency to its prim housewives and well-kept lawns. Therefore, the occasional aberrations it does experience seem quaint, such as “street gangs” that are just collections of shiftless high-school students instead of the armed, drug-dealing hardcore of the inner city, or the sexual predator who is simply a groper rather than an actual rapist.

Alternative Name(s)

Chemical Plant

Type

District

Location under

New Castle