Police blocking Bergen st btw classon ave and washington

travelriter

Does anyone know whats going on? Doesn't look lile a normal crime scene w 1 or 2 cop cars. There are tons of cops plus guys in suits. Its abt 10am sat.

ribbons

There was a shooting last night on Bergen by Grand. Per gothamist it was at 3:30, but I spoke with someone who heard it and he said 4:30. I also heard it was a homicide but I could be wrong.

vick5y

DNA's got the scoop- Shootings across the city Saturday- Aug. 24, 2013

redheeler

By my count this is the 5th shooting/shots fired within the last two months within a 50 yard radius of grand ave and St. Marks.

whynot_31

Does it seem as if drug traffic has infiltrated the affordable housing buildings in the immediate area?

-The large Knox complex.

-The smaller 408 - 416 St. Marks series of buildings, with the telltale accessible ramps.

redheeler

The Knox hat factory seems pretty well established middle-class from what I've seen. There's a strip between Grand and Classon (opposite the Knox complex) that has a lot of late night activity that seems to go beyond just hanging out.

I'm finding myself waiting for the weather to cool off so the shooting season ends.

renoqueen

I've lived on the block for 10 years and there has been an active but self-regulating (ie keep it quiet so business is not affected) drug trade the whole time. Until the murder on the block from a few months ago and the recent murder this weekend, the police seemed unconcerned. However, between the noise, ambulances, fights and screaming that emerge from that row of apartment buildings (not the Knox building, but the ones across St Marks), it is like a hold-over from the 1980's, when the Knox Hat Factory was an empty crack den, parking was easy to find, and the block was so rough it was known in the neighborhood as "Vietnam".

whynot_31

Yes, those are the 408 - 416 St. Marks buildings.

Some quick research seems to show they are run by a non-profit, which then contracts out the property management.

Name of non profit: Aspire Housing

http://apartable.com/buildings/408-st-marks-avenue-

Parent of Aspire Housing: Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement Association

http://www.thebnia.org/programs

http://www.thebnia.org/subsidiaries

Aspire Houses HDFC, Inc. - BNIA founded Aspire Houses, HDFC in 2003 to acquire, develop and manage properties in Crown Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant under HPD’s Third Party Transfer Program (TPTP). Aspire Houses was awarded 5 occupied (TPTP) and 2 vacant buildings under the Participating Loan Program (PLP). The 2 vacant buildings were rehabilitated and completed in August 2008. BNIA is currently working to relocate the tenants from occupied building in order commence the rehabilitation of the properties.

Based on the ramps, and appearance of this set of buildings, it seems as if they have already been rehabilitated.

Basically, non-profits are awarded buildings that have been legally taken over by HPD (for neglect, non-payment of taxes, etc), and then are given them to rehab under the condition that they use them to house people who are very poor.

Often, they are the same poor people who endured the building when it was in a state of disrepair under landlord which had them prior to HPD, -in this case- during the "Vietnam Period".

redheeler

What recourse is there here? I live around the corner on Grand (just down from that Task Force precinct) and we had shots fired in the middle of the afternoon a week ago (2 pm 12 shots fired up Grand ave! kids out playing - the whole thing, fortunatly no one was hurt). I see cops walking a beat on Franklin all the time but I never see them over here on foot. I also rarely see patrol cars. Its like this area becomes a blind spot for the 77th. Tucked between Barclays and the 76th(?) on Dean to the west and the breaking wave of gentrification out east beyond Bedford this area seems like the 77th only shows up after the fact.

whynot_31

As a result of not being in an area with an established "voice", you are in a difficult situation.

The opening of 1000 Dean may bring some more people with power into the area. Such folks are able to pressure the police and get the attention of the nonprofit.

I'd start by secretly polling the people who live in the buildings to see whether they are annoyed at the nonprofit and the property manager for not taking action against the subset of the buildings that is disruptive neighbors and their guests.

Specifically, I'd start with any women you see coming home after working all day. They are easier to reach than the old people who tend to stay in their apartments.