new to ch

drkman wrote: That's messed up about the killings. Does anyone know where on St. Marks this happened?

BTW - The Sterling Place address is in Park Slope, I think.

1338 Sterling would be down past Albany, not Park Slope, although kinda a different area than what the OP posted about, but definitely a far cry closer than the explosion in Times Square this morning or the psychiatrist stabbed to death on the upper east side the other week.

I've been on St. Johns between Nostrand and New York for about a year now. I've found it to be reasonably safe. I don't have a lot of fancy things, but I would choose not to wear them openly if I did. I don't tune out with my MP3 player while walking, I pay attention. I don't talk on the cell phone, I pay attention. Some disagree with me, but I prefer to not illuminate myself with a flashing neon sign saying POTENTIAL VICTIM, MUG ME. I've found Nostrand to have a reasonable amount of people in the middle of the night, and haven't felt in danger walking down it very early or late. I've had more trouble further down St. Johns towards Prospect Heights, to be honest, where I have been targeted for mugging. I agree with whoever said earlier in this thread the best thing for you to do would be to walk around at some of the times you are concerned about. My level of comfort may not have a lot to do with yours. The neighborhood has changed dramatically in the short time that I have been here. Not necessarily for the better or for the worse, but definitely in a direction that would make "outsiders" feel more welcome. Good luck with your decision.

Athena,
are you saying you have personally witnessed shootings, muggings and assault?
I find that hard to believe unless you live in the Albany projects?

It would be helpful if those of you who witness crime/illegal activity would pass on any relevant information to the precinct (either directly or through a 311/911 call) and please keep a log of your reports.

The Coalition will be meeting with the DA and with Dep. Ins. Cosgrove to discuss the ways in which we can work together to make Crown Heights safer and it is important to be able to show community involvement.

Please feel free to pm us with your calls (date/time/complaint #/person you spoke with/reason for call) so that we have an idea of how much is being reported

Capt. Planet wrote: [quote=King without a crown]March 5th -- 1 dead in Brooklyn...
An unidentified 31-year-old black male was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in the lobby of a building at 1338 Sterling Place in Brooklyn, police said yesterday. No arrests, no motive.

So it seems that KWAC has appointed himself the official police blotter for this site. Cool. Given that there's no local newspapers to provide this function, perhaps it's a form of public service.
I guess then my job and the job of other interested parties is to provide the rest of the news coverage, the kind that fills up 90% of most newspapers.
Let's all do our bit to make sure that this blog provides fair and balanced coverage, not just crime stats.

I just figured residents might like to know that there were 2 Homicides in the neighborhood in the last few days. However, if I find no one is interested in this stuff, I won't post this information anymore. You can also speak to Errol and ask him not post this kind of stuff on here either. In the mean time, you may continue to bury your head in the sand.

I'll repeat a post I used on the Prospect heights forum - IMO the same is true for Crown Heights

"Don't panic. Some crime has always been a part of any urban area. Prospect Heights is no different. I have worked around here for 25 years and crime used to be a lot worse; mostly drugs and stealing.

The internet and blogs (including this one) advertise the slightest event and make it seem bigger.

For every one of those crime statistic reported in these posts, I heard no actual street talk in the community about it even when it was just around the corner from me. Unfortunately for the victims, small amounts of crime is just background, in every neighborhood.

There are more car accidents per day than there are muggings.

There is no crime wave.

On the other hand, don't walk around playing the role of a victim waiting to happen. If you walk around with hundred dollar bills pinned to your lapel, you are much more likely to be robbed than me."

maple?