In East Harlem, where Officer Randolph Holder was killed Tuesday, some residents have complained for some time that their neighborhood is not as safe as other parts of the city.

Jose Zapata has lived in the East River Houses, a public housing project on 105th Street, for 18 years. He said he never spends his free time in the area.

“After a while you get used to the environment, how people behave, but it’s very violent,” he said. “I usually don’t hang out around here. I go somewhere else, especially when I'm with my daughters and my son. It’s very dangerous. I think the city has left us in some way alone.”

NYPD statistics show major crimes have gone up 45 percent at the East River Houses so far this year, but that's actually just a small number of incidents. Some residents here complained on Wednesday of shootouts between rival crews from three area projects.

Officer Holder was killed near the FDR Drive Tuesday night while he was chasing a suspect in just such a shootout. Kimani Jenkins, 20, said she got caught in one a year ago.

“I was in shock,” she said. “I didn’t really know what to do or how to maneuver. But being in it you realize they [neighborhood crews] don’t really know what they’re doing. They’re not shooting at anyone in specific. They’re just letting bullets fire, which I think is the scariest part.”

But Jenkins said it was an isolated incident and she feels pretty safe in the neighborhood. Belinda, another Harlemite who was born here in 1961, agreed.

“I like living here,” she said. “For the most part the neighborhood is good. It’s just that you have a certain set of people that kind of change the atmosphere a little bit.”

Chris McCoy, 27, who’s lived his whole life in the East River Houses, said his impression was that the number of shootings has decreased significantly from 10 years ago.

“From my experience as walking through, coming home – it seems like it’s improved dramatically,” he said. “I feel safe.”