Punky Kids + Bottle = Objects flying at my face

rah

Just a little warning that there were some punky neighborhood kids on the corner of St Johns and Classon that have taken a liking to heaving bottles at people. They threw one at me last night (8:30pm) and followed it up with "I hope you got the message bitch." I'm pretty sure the message wasn't "Don't forget to recycle." Anyway, just keep an eye out...

alafairnadia

yikes, are you ok?

rah

alafairnadia wrote: yikes, are you ok?

I'm fine. Luckily their aim was off by a couple inches and I was only a couple feet from my apartment building.

But seriously, teenage boys are the worst. They have no boundaries...

alafairnadia

RAH wrote: [quote=alafairnadia]yikes, are you ok?

I'm fine. Luckily their aim was off by a couple inches and I was only a couple feet from my apartment building.

But seriously, teenage boys are the worst. They have no boundaries...

I'm going to start carrying an empty champagne bottle around in my purse. next to impossible to shatter, they make fantastic clubs.
glad you're okay, though! did you call the cops?

stacey

alafairnadia wrote: [quote=RAH][quote=alafairnadia]yikes, are you ok?

I'm fine. Luckily their aim was off by a couple inches and I was only a couple feet from my apartment building.

But seriously, teenage boys are the worst. They have no boundaries...

I'm going to start carrying an empty champagne bottle around in my purse. next to impossible to shatter, they make fantastic clubs.
glad you're okay, though! did you call the cops?

RAH that sucks. Im glad you are ok.

Here's one - instead of a bottle you can carry a roll of quarters in a sock :twisted:

I also used to tape a lighter to a small bottle of hairspray to create my own flamethrower.

alafairnadia

stacey wrote: I also used to tape a lighter to a small bottle of hairspray to create my own flamethrower.

somehow I think walking around with a contraption like that would get me a visit from homeland security.

armchair_warrior

you should just threaten to beat the senses out of them or call the cops. last time this happen to me i went crazy and grab like sticks near a garbage can and they started to run. after throwing a bottle at me.

stacey

alafairnadia wrote: [quote=stacey]I also used to tape a lighter to a small bottle of hairspray to create my own flamethrower.

somehow I think walking around with a contraption like that would get me a visit from homeland security.

LOL - I figured that mace is illegal, stun gun is illegal, blackjack is illegal but hairsprayand a lighter are not

armchair_warrior

stacey wrote: [quote=alafairnadia][quote=stacey]I also used to tape a lighter to a small bottle of hairspray to create my own flamethrower.

somehow I think walking around with a contraption like that would get me a visit from homeland security.

LOL - I figured that mace is illegal, stun gun is illegal, blackjack is illegal but hairsprayand a lighter are not ;)hairspray and lighter takes too long to light! just take the sack of pennies and wack them against the kids ;p cheaper and if you do get robbed. you'll lose only pennies.

zoë

Subject: who are those kids, anyway?

The after-dinner hour actually seems like The Time for that sort of behavior on our block. I would walk to my guitar lesson down Classon and across St. John's to Washington, and never could I get by without a comment from one of those little snots (thankfully I haven't had to dodge bottles, tho).

On another note, neighbor on St. John's and Classon, what's up with the all-day-all-night drug dealing on the west side of the street between St. John's and Lincoln? Is it my imagination or has it picked up a lot recently? I hear whistling that is not bird-related at all hours. They don't bother me so much, but not exactly a fam-friendly environment going on.

rah

armchair_warrior wrote: you should just threaten to beat the senses out of them or call the cops. last time this happen to me i went crazy and grab like sticks near a garbage can and they started to run. after throwing a bottle at me.

well since five teenage boys could very easily whoop my ass I didn't attempt a beat down. nor did I call the cops because my fucking phone was dead.

rah

Subject: Re: who are those kids, anyway?

Zoë wrote:

On another note, neighbor on St. John's and Classon, what's up with the all-day-all-night drug dealing on the west side of the street between St. John's and Lincoln? Is it my imagination or has it picked up a lot recently? I hear whistling that is not bird-related at all hours. They don't bother me so much, but not exactly a fam-friendly environment going on.

I haven't noticed, but a drug deal could happen right in front of me and I would probably remain clueless...

anonymous

RAH wrote: [quote=armchair_warrior]you should just threaten to beat the senses out of them or call the cops. last time this happen to me i went crazy and grab like sticks near a garbage can and they started to run. after throwing a bottle at me.

well since five teenage boys could very easily whoop my ass I didn't attempt a beat down. nor did I call the cops because my fucking phone was dead.

You should still call Det. Raton at the 77th precinct 718-735-0634 and let him know whats happening on your block. If enough people complain they will send the sector car around more often. Also go to the precinct council meeting next Monday,7:30pm, April 10 at CNR 520 Prospect Place, Entrance on Classon and Park.

realtor guy

guest is right! call the cops and report it... we HAVE to make sure it gets out there!

ar

Rah,
That sucks!
Really sorry to here that.
I've been harrassed by the kids too, but some people (on the CH board) acted like they didn't believe me or somehow it was my fault ( ie.., "It's about how you carry yourself", blah blah blah) Glad your ok, we will see how the kids are this summer. Reason tells me BEWARE.

armchair_warrior

RAH wrote: [quote=armchair_warrior]you should just threaten to beat the senses out of them or call the cops. last time this happen to me i went crazy and grab like sticks near a garbage can and they started to run. after throwing a bottle at me.

well since five teenage boys could very easily whoop my ass I didn't attempt a beat down. nor did I call the cops because my fucking phone was dead.didnt mean you should actually do something like that unless you know you can take them with sticks and stuff. darwin would eventually get those punks!!!

anonymous

Rah I didn't hear anything about this at the 77th pct meeting, I can only assume that you didn't go. Did you at least call the precinct and let them know?

dan.h

damn RAH glad youre ok. You should give me a buzz next time, or if your phone is dead, click a flashlight on and off pointing at the moon. That will be our DH rescue signal.

In all seriousness, im sick of little punks with no respect. :evil:
Lets kill them all!!!!!!!!!!!!! :twisted:

whyfi

dan.h wrote: damn RAH glad youre ok. You should give me a buzz next time, or if your phone is dead, click a flashlight on and off pointing at the moon. That will be our DH rescue signal.

In all seriousness, im sick of little punks with no respect. :evil:
Lets kill them all!!!!!!!!!!!!! :twisted:

That is one of the great things about having a tough-lookin' dog (yes, we still have Lucy!)- those little punks part like the Red Sea... (I always make a point not to go around 'em :twisted: )

jack krohn

Subject: Re: Punky Kids + Bottle = Objects flying at my face

"Just a little warning that there were some punky neighborhood kids on the corner of St Johns and Classon that have taken a liking to heaving bottles at people. They threw one at me last night (8:30pm) and followed it up with "I hope you got the message bitch." I'm pretty sure the message wasn't "Don't forget to recycle." Anyway, just keep an eye out..."

Don't worry, in a few short years all of these kids will be in prison, and by the time they're released the neighborhood will be too expensive for them to afford. This attitude might not reform criminals, but at least it moves the problem out of my neighborhood.

candicissima

Subject: Re: Punky Kids + Bottle = Objects flying at my face

Jack Krohn wrote: Don't worry, in a few short years all of these kids will be in prison, and by the time they're released the neighborhood will be too expensive for them to afford. This attitude might not reform criminals, but at least it moves the problem out of my neighborhood.

Nice and classy there, Jack.

anonymous

Subject: Re: Punky Kids + Bottle = Objects flying at my face

Don't worry, in a few short years all of these kids will be in prison, and by the time they're released the neighborhood will be too expensive for them to afford. This attitude might not reform criminals, but at least it moves the problem out of my neighborhood.

Thats not the answer either. We as a community need to find something for these kids to do. They damn politians aren't helping them any. They don't have centers to go to or a positive place to hang out. We need to help them as much as we can. If the do go to prison like you said and they can't afford to live in the neighborhood that they grew up in they still come back. Then they become homeless adults and because this place is all they know they end up on the streets of our neighborhood. We have to do better then this people. Like it or not they are our future.

dan.h

Nice message, but - as a community? How about their freaking parents??

whyfi

dan.h wrote: Nice message, but - as a community? How about their freaking parents??

No, no, no- very rarely are parents the best option for sculpting their young in to responsible adults. What do you think this is? A place where people take responsibility for themselves and their kids?

Come on now- I'm all for giving a kid a chance but I'm sure as hell not about making excuses for them or their parents. Find them something to do? Uh, how 'bout go to school. Study. Work. Do something to improve your life. Not having a rec center where you can play ping pong doesn't make being a thug acceptable or even understandable.

candicissima

nybt wrote: Come on now- I'm all for giving a kid a chance but I'm sure as hell not about making excuses for them or their parents. Find them something to do? Uh, how 'bout go to school. Study. Work. Do something to improve your life. Not having a rec center where you can play ping pong doesn't make being a thug acceptable or even understandable.

It's not that the lack of a rec center makes the thug life attractive, it's that a rec center would be a place to simply do other things besides hang out on the block. Or is that just stating the obvious? Community/rec centers and after school programs give a lot of kids a place to study, do projects, play team sports, and all those other things that kids everywhere else do. It's not about replacing parents, it's about giving kids an option of a place to do fun positive stuff and be kids.

And another thing, most of the threads on the board are reminding me of a pet peeve: groups of young black guys standing around -- probably in front of where they live or with their friends -- are not automatically thugs. A good 80% of the time, they're just...guys standing around.

whyfi

Candicissima wrote: [quote=nybt]Come on now- I'm all for giving a kid a chance but I'm sure as hell not about making excuses for them or their parents. Find them something to do? Uh, how 'bout go to school. Study. Work. Do something to improve your life. Not having a rec center where you can play ping pong doesn't make being a thug acceptable or even understandable.

It's not that the lack of a rec center makes the thug life attractive, it's that a rec center would be a place to simply do other things besides hang out on the block. Or is that just stating the obvious? Community/rec centers and after school programs give a lot of kids a place to study, do projects, play team sports, and all those other things that kids everywhere else do. It's not about replacing parents, it's about giving kids an option of a place to do fun positive stuff and be kids.

Your points are valid and I'm not saying that a rec center wouldn't be a great thing, but what I am saying is that a lack of one isn't an excuse for this unacceptable behavior. The previous poster said "They damn politians aren't helping them any." Why would anyone think that they should be? That's the type of statement that I would associate with someone expecting a handout. When that handout doesn't come through, it's all too convenient of an excuse for failure. "Well, I didn't get any help from so-and-so, it's not my fault." That's my pet peeve- people so busy looking for inequalities that they completely overlook (and sometimes just outright ignore) opportunities.

anonymous

Your points are valid and I'm not saying that a rec center wouldn't be a great thing, but what I am saying is that a lack of one isn't an excuse for this unacceptable behavior. The previous poster said "They damn politians aren't helping them any." Why would anyone think that they should be? That's the type of statement that I would associate with someone expecting a handout. When that handout doesn't come through, it's all too convenient of an excuse for failure. "Well, I didn't get any help from so-and-so, it's not my fault." That's my pet peeve- people so busy looking for inequalities that they completely overlook (and sometimes just outright ignore) opportunities.

Well, when I said that the politicians aren't helping I was only trying to make a point that we as a people need to get up off our asses and make a difference. No, its not an excuse and no I don't think that we should feed today's youth with a silver spoon, but we could give them a little push in the right direction. Its obvious that most of them don't get the guidance that they need from their parents so instead of complaining about them all the time why not try to help them.

jack krohn

These kids don't have anywhere to go? Gee, it's amazing that they've probably lived their entire lives in the neighborhood and managed to miss the basketball and handball courts on Prospect Place, or the main branch of the Brooklyn public library five minutes away, or one of the largest parks in all of New York City a stone's (or bottle's) throw away. I had homework at that age, but perhaps schools have done away with such nonsense? Many kids read books or draw or get involved with their religion, but I suppose that it's asking too much to expect the same from these particular kids.

Like Nybt, I get sick of hearing people make excuses for idiots who hang out on the street and hassle passersby. To say that the behavior of these kids rests with an indifferent society is an insult to all of the teenagers in this neighborhood who are well-behaved and respectful, kids, who despite facing hard knocks, still manage to do what's right.

Regarding your pet peeve, Candicissma, no one said anything about race, that is, except for you. The original poster did not criticize these teens for being black or for hanging out on a street corner - he criticized them for hurling a bottle at him and then shouting profanity.

candicissima

Thanks for your opinion as always, Jack.

sweet tea

something i try to keep in mind as i tie myself in knots over these things (my bleeding heart self wrestling with my puritan self for control of my mind) is that no matter whose fault these problems are or aren't, the fact is, the problems in question do exist. so whether or not parents and politicians and pre-algebra teachers should be doing things they aren't or are already doing more than anyone should have to or whatever, we (where we = the set of people who don't want bottles thrown at us and do want to live somewhere we can afford) need to think about what more can be done to make things better.

or, as dr. king said, where do we go from here?

anonymous

sweet tea wrote: something i try to keep in mind as i tie myself in knots over these things (my bleeding heart self wrestling with my puritan self for control of my mind) is that no matter whose fault these problems are or aren't, the fact is, the problems in question do exist. so whether or not parents and politicians and pre-algebra teachers should be doing things they aren't or are already doing more than anyone should have to or whatever, we (where we = the set of people who don't want bottles thrown at us and do want to live somewhere we can afford) need to think about what more can be done to make things better.

or, as dr. king said, where do we go from here?

I have to agree with you and Dr. King Where do we go from here? Do we just ignore them and let them keep right on doing what they do? or Do we try to do something constructive and help them? For all of you that think that its that easy for them I would like to know.

As a matter of fact there was the case of Benny Lyde who was killed last year. He was a good kid, attended LIU and did what he had to do but he also liked to hang out and and have some down time just like any other kid it our neighborhood. Where did going to school and doing the right thing get him. This is what these kids look at and think. We have to do better.