gunshots? AND 77 PRECINCT COMMUNITY MEETING MONDAY 10/9

neene

opening myself up for the "gentrifying/hysterical/yuppie with a bagel" attack but...
i'd like a reality check if anyone else heard 4-6 shots fired in the vicinity of classon & prospect at about 9:45
people were running across st. marks & up classon so i assume i wasn't the only one

yes i called 911

ana.log

totally. i'm on prospect and grand. i'm not one to get hysterical about these things, but i am fairly certain that was gunshots, though i think it was someone just fucking around.... i think.

squeegee beckenheim

I heard it too. I tend to clear the window when things like this happen (you never know...) but my boyfriend said he saw ambulances going up my block- St Marks between Classon and Grand) toward Grand. I didn't hear anything after that.

anonymous

Subject: GUNSHOTS for real, a guy was shot in the legs on St. Marks!

My boyfriend called me at work, concerned about gunshots he just heard on our block, followed by two men running up st. marks towards the S train track... I told him to call 911! Then on my way home from work, on St. Marks right before Classon Ave., there were two police cars, 3 cops, and a yellow police line surronding a hat, a wheeled laundry cart, and a line of blood from the street onto the sidewalk. I drove right past the scene, parked my car, got out, and walked towards my building. On the corner of St. Marks & Classon was a man standing on the corner - I asked him "how you doing" , his reply was an scary and evil "you don't even know me and you're asking me how I'm doing?" then he looked at me like I was crazy and about to get killed. I met my boyfriend, and we walked around the block- back to the crime scene to talk to the cops. My boyfriend explained what he heard and saw, and we asked the cops what happened. The cops told us a guy was shot in the legs. We told the cops that we just moved here and he replied "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU MOVE HERE~!?" He continued to explain that the further you are away from Classon ave towards Vanderbuilt the better it gets, but that this bock is usually quiet. He continued to explain that beyond the S track it gets very bad. He urged us not to go out at night, especially alone, not to use cellphones, i-pods, and to carry only small amounts of money, to avoid getting held up - I'm assuming anything shiny, nice clothes, or a great haircut may also attract criminals. The cop continued, "and it won't happen 1 on 1, it will be a group of them" then he showed us how we will get kicked once we're mugged and knocked down.

VERY COMFORTING, to say the least, since we just moved to this "quiet up-and coming" area, full of "CULTURE".

ana.log

i can honestly say i've never had any issues on this block since i've been here. this is definitely the exception, not the norm.

i can't get over the reaction of the cops - this is the 2nd time i've heard someone be berated by the cops for moving to the area.

I'm assuming anything shiny, nice clothes, or a great haircut may also attract criminals.

Uh oh. I just got a hair cut yesterday.
:roll:

neene

from where i was i saw 4 people running east on st. marks from grand
2 turned north on classon and another 2 continued to run on st marks, but my recollection was (and this is only a feeling) that they slowed to a walk after classon and were only trying to put distance between themselves and the shots
i could see the guy hanging on the corner of classon as well
the cops were there extremely quickly as were 2 fire dept ambulances

at this moment i received a call from my husband and recounted the story to him, i was looking out the window but not concentrating fully
i know one ambulance left without sirens, i can't remember if i heard any sirens that would account for the other. when i went downstairs about 10 minutes after the shots i bumped into a neighbor who had also heard them. we looked up and down st. marks and there was no sign of any police activity. the guy on the corner (diagonally across the street) yelled over to us when he saw us looking, he motioned up classon and said "they ran that way". in no way did i find him threatening but i wasn't in the frame of mind to start up a conversation with someone i didn't know.

as far as the reaction of the police...
i was at the community board 8 precinct meeting last thursday and spoke at length on this subject with jesse hamilton (the chair) and det. raton. i opened the conversation by reading the statement made here ( http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=59715&highlight=#59715 ) . both men expressed great concern over a situation where cops are admonishing people about their choice to live somewhere.

i am not saying that was or wasn't lip service nor am i saying this didn't happen (i have experienced a milder version of it myself when i asked a cop on the street about living off franklin) but what is expressed by guest is extreme (guest, you live here, why not join the forum so that people at least can gain a sense of your "on-line" personna)

and i think we ALL should attend the community precinct meeting this monday night
it's in the 'hood
let's show up and voice our concerns and try to get some questions answered, our councilmember has said that she will be there as well:

Monday Oct. 9, 2006 at 7:30
Sacred Heart Church - 938 Bergen Street
(corner of Franklin Avenue).

capt. planet

I've working in Crown Heights since '87 and the police attitudes don't appear to have changed much. They still think of this as the wild west. Many think that anybody living here who isn't a perp or a perp wanna be must be crazy. I've been hearing that BS for years. I think it's about time for a change. And I think this forum can help make it happen. I mentioned "brooklynian" to one of the 77th pct community affairs officer the other day at a community event and you should have seen the look I got back! It was like "wow, those people are crazy". Good for us and too bad for them!!!

paraderest

Does everybody realize that a detective does not outrank a police officer? A detective and a P.O. are the same rank, just different pay. The two detectives that work in 77 community affairs only exist to placate the residents of the community. They are empty suits that get paid too much money. There are real detectives working in the squad that are solving real crimes and making real arrest that are only 2nd or 3rd grade detectives while the community affairs "detectives" are 1st grade! That is disgusting.

P.S. Plainclothes does not equal a detective. There are lots of cops that work in plainclothes units that are not detectives. The "jump out boys" are cops and their supervisors not detectives. Anti-crime, Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit, Burglary Apprehension Team and Grand Larceny Auto units are all plainclothes but not detectives.

captain salty

as i was standing outside my apartment on the corner of park and franklin around 10:20pm last night, somebody across the street pulled out a gun and fired a shot at 3 other guys, and everybody took off running. i didn't even realize it was gunfire at first, how naive am i?

first time i've ever been witness (less than 30 feet away!) to somebody actually trying to shoot somebody else!

it was scary and exciting at the same time.

anonymous

Subject: Re: GUNSHOTS for real, a guy was shot in the legs on St. Mar

Anonymous wrote: My boyfriend called me at work, concerned about gunshots he just heard on our block, followed by two men running up st. marks towards the S train track... I told him to call 911! Then on my way home from work, on St. Marks right before Classon Ave., there were two police cars, 3 cops, and a yellow police line surronding a hat, a wheeled laundry cart, and a line of blood from the street onto the sidewalk. I drove right past the scene, parked my car, got out, and walked towards my building. On the corner of St. Marks & Classon was a man standing on the corner - I asked him "how you doing" , his reply was an scary and evil "you don't even know me and you're asking me how I'm doing?" then he looked at me like I was crazy and about to get killed. I met my boyfriend, and we walked around the block- back to the crime scene to talk to the cops. My boyfriend explained what he heard and saw, and we asked the cops what happened. The cops told us a guy was shot in the legs. We told the cops that we just moved here and he replied "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU MOVE HERE~!?" He continued to explain that the further you are away from Classon ave towards Vanderbuilt the better it gets, but that this bock is usually quiet. He continued to explain that beyond the S track it gets very bad. He urged us not to go out at night, especially alone, not to use cellphones, i-pods, and to carry only small amounts of money, to avoid getting held up - I'm assuming anything shiny, nice clothes, or a great haircut may also attract criminals. The cop continued, "and it won't happen 1 on 1, it will be a group of them" then he showed us how we will get kicked once we're mugged and knocked down.

VERY COMFORTING, to say the least, since we just moved to this "quiet up-and coming" area, full of "CULTURE".

Did you get his name and badge number? You should go to the meeting tonight and bring this up. Let Insp. O'Connell know about this. If that doesn't work do like some of the other resident are doing and start writing letters to the people that need to hear this. Hope to see you all at the meeting.

938 Bergen Street between Classon and Franklin Avenues. 7:30pm

paraderest

Subject: Re: GUNSHOTS for real, a guy was shot in the legs on St. Mar

Anonymous wrote: My boyfriend called me at work, concerned about gunshots he just heard on our block, followed by two men running up st. marks towards the S train track... I told him to call 911! Then on my way home from work, on St. Marks right before Classon Ave., there were two police cars, 3 cops, and a yellow police line surronding a hat, a wheeled laundry cart, and a line of blood from the street onto the sidewalk. I drove right past the scene, parked my car, got out, and walked towards my building. On the corner of St. Marks & Classon was a man standing on the corner - I asked him "how you doing" , his reply was an scary and evil "you don't even know me and you're asking me how I'm doing?" then he looked at me like I was crazy and about to get killed. I met my boyfriend, and we walked around the block- back to the crime scene to talk to the cops. My boyfriend explained what he heard and saw, and we asked the cops what happened. The cops told us a guy was shot in the legs. We told the cops that we just moved here and he replied "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU MOVE HERE~!?" He continued to explain that the further you are away from Classon ave towards Vanderbuilt the better it gets, but that this bock is usually quiet. He continued to explain that beyond the S track it gets very bad. He urged us not to go out at night, especially alone, not to use cellphones, i-pods, and to carry only small amounts of money, to avoid getting held up - I'm assuming anything shiny, nice clothes, or a great haircut may also attract criminals. The cop continued, "and it won't happen 1 on 1, it will be a group of them" then he showed us how we will get kicked once we're mugged and knocked down.

VERY COMFORTING, to say the least, since we just moved to this "quiet up-and coming" area, full of "CULTURE".

Some people just don't like to hear the truth.

x-brooklynite

reading the postings surrounding the muggings in crown heights......not suprised.

I lived in east flatbush (near crown heights) as a teen and young adult till the late 80's and in visiting nyc and the area around crown heights and east flatbush periodically, I find that it's still more or less the same neighborhood I left--filthy streets, grocery stores selling nothing but brown rotting fruit, goya products and green bannanas, popeyes fried chicken and persistent property crime. The only slight difference I noticed is more west indian identified businesses. Gentrification unlike many other areas of brooklyn, with the exception of a few brave souls who've posted to this forum , is virtually non-existent.

Interesting that the race thing is still an issue round those parts: Back in the late 80's, I remember walking down linden blvd w/ my white female friend back to the subway after visiting my mother(I'm black) and some kid threw a ball at my back. When we got to the subway station at Church and Nostrand, I gave her a peck good bye and when she got on the subway, she got angry stares from most of the people on the train. She also recounted a time when she went to make a purchase inside of a west indian bakery in the same area--nobody would wait on her. Sounds like things haven't changed much as far as outsiders coming to the neighborhood even if they are not part of an interracial couple.

capt. planet

X-brooklynite wrote: reading the postings surrounding the muggings in crown heights......not suprised.

I lived in east flatbush (near crown heights) as a teen and young adult till the late 80's and in visiting nyc and the area around crown heights and east flatbush periodically, I find that it's still more or less the same neighborhood I left--filthy streets, grocery stores selling nothing but brown rotting fruit, goya products and green bannanas, popeyes fried chicken and persistent property crime. The only slight difference I noticed is more west indian identified businesses. Gentrification unlike many other areas of brooklyn, with the exception of a few brave souls who've posted to this forum , is virtually non-existent.

Interesting that the race thing is still an issue round those parts: Back in the late 80's, I remember walking down linden blvd w/ my white female friend back to the subway after visiting my mother(I'm black) and some kid threw a ball at my back. When we got to the subway station at Church and Nostrand, I gave her a peck good bye and when she got on the subway, she got angry stares from most of the people on the train. She also recounted a time when she went to make a purchase inside of a west indian bakery in the same area--nobody would wait on her. Sounds like things haven't changed much as far as outsiders coming to the neighborhood even if they are not part of an interracial couple.

If you had made these observations two years ago, I might have agreed. Since then, though, there are many signs that a new wind is in the air. First it was Tavern on Nostrand and Bagels and High Tea, then Cafe 400. There is now a nice carpet store on Nostrand and Park and a handbag store on Nostrand near Prospect. The liquor store on the corner of Prospect and Nostrand did a major facelift about a year ago as did the barber shop near Sterling. This week I noticed that a "organic produce" store is opening on Nostrand near Sterling. And most incredibly, just tonight I saw sign on the corner of Franklin and Dean announcing a that a sushi restaurant was coming.

A long way from rotting brown fruit and Goya products, although there are still plenty of those.

And I just found out that an inter-racial couple is buying on Dean and NY Avenue. Whadda know!!

anonymous

How was the meeting?

neene

without quoting anyone, i am going to try to address the last few posts

i am white, i am new and i reek of gentrification
that said, i have lived in nyc my whole life and i am in ch because i basically got pushed out of my old 'hood.

my experience coming here has been totally welcoming from the community not withstanding a certain age group that is an issue anywhere there are economic difficulties

franklin turns out to be a little more of a "drug street" with a bit more than its fair share of 'issues" than i guess i was willing to acknowledge so i have gotten involved with the community a little sooner than i had expected to

i am not looking to change the neighborhood to suit my needs (i am a total 'foodie" and i moved here knowing i was going to have to learn to "plan ahead" quite a bit more than i am used to) however i am interested in having some sort of reasonable sense of personal safety

i was at the precinct meeting tonight
there were close to 100 people there (maybe more, i'm bad at this sort of thing)
maybe 10 (probably 6) where white
i'd say 50% were over 50, and 90% were over 35
i'd say (imho) this was representative of whatever the 'real" ch is
and
our concerns were all the same:
safety
impact force
noise
trash
car break ins
methadone clinics
racial profiling
community relations with the precinct
SURPRISE

i am not going to be the one who defends nypd with respect to black youth, basically because i have zero personal experience with this, but there has been SO much tough talk on this board about the cops and injustice, and, and, and
yet NO ONE shows up to express their opinion in an open forum,
yet 100 of your community members took their time to be present and voice (without mincing words) their concerns

all i can say is that i find all this bs posturing about gentrification and yuppie suburban fears to be not only a farce but to be racist
without naming names
what makes you think that just because someone has lived here for over 10 years and/or is black and/or doesn't make a lot of money that they want to live with noise, filth, crime and gun activity???
in my 3 months of living here, talking to people both on the street and in meetings, this simply doesn't ring true.

the real deal is, that gentrification is coming and not me, you or the dealers are going to stop it
but
you can have a say in how it will happen:
keep the community divided and it will be a tidal wave that knocks everyone out
work together, work with non profits to get affordable housing in place before the prices get jacked, put the focus on education and providing alternatives to street life for kids (ok not so sexy, but real) and you have a chance at coming through intact.

neene

Captain Salty wrote:

first time i've ever been witness (less than 30 feet away!) to somebody actually trying to shoot somebody else!

just curious
did you report this to 911
if not, please do

x-brooklynite

Sushi in bed sty :shock: I grew up on Dean between Franklin and Bedford prior to moving to east flatbush. That was hardcore ghetto back in the 70's :shock: Organic Produce :shock: I haven't been to that area since the early 90's. What next in bed sty? Microbrews w/ pinball machines? Retro furniture stores? botiques? I knew that gentrification was chipping around the edges of bed sty, e.g., clinton hill, boreum hill, etc, but I didn't think it would advance that far. Maybe there is a new wind in the air to go along with the sounds of west indian doggerel and police sirens. Still waiting on east flatbush.