Council Member James invites you to a town hall meeting

So what

i saw this on WWW.Brownstoner.com

June 13, 2006
James, Hynes To Host Grand/Putnam Town Hall

We were pleased to see a police car standing guard at Putnam and Grand on our way home from the office on Friday; and we gather that they've assumed a similar position at various times since the shooting two weeks ago. Of course, we haven't seen them there at night. Nor have they been there in the mornings when we walk past on our way to work. In fact, on Friday morning we asked a cop who was standing guard on the busy subway platform full of dangerous businessmen and women on their way to work why he wasn't over on Putnam and Grand instead. He muttered something unintelligible and then said something about how there might be a greater presence there when the new class of recruits comes aboard in July. Hmmmm.

In the meantime, there is some reason for hope. On June 21 at 7 p.m.. Letitia James, DA Charles Hynes and the 88th Precinct Captain will host a town hall meeting at 966 Fulton Street to specifically address the "quality of life issues" at Grand and Putnam. It's unusual to get this line-up of higher-ups for such a local forum so we hope there will be broad attendance from the community--not just the block. Does this represent a change in attitude from the political and law enforcement leaders who have ignored the magnitude of the problem in the past? We can only hope. We also hope that they come to the meeting with more than pat answers about how they are working on long-term solutions with undercover cops and how there aren't enough resources. If so, the members of the audience (aka the voters) won't be buying it. As we've said before, this is going to become a single-issue point of accountability for all the leaders in the neighborhood. Let's hope they rise to the occasion.
Will The Cops Show Up Now? [Brownstoner]

Posted by brownstoner at June 13, 2006 09:28 AM

The police have been patrolling Putnam and Grand for several years. Not so long ago I saw a SWAT team stationed outside the apartment building setting up for something. A "senior" woman who lived in the building was quite distressed about how to get into her apartment -- clearly this was not the moment to go home, but where else should she go? I recommended that she hang out in "Bargain 'R Us" for a while. There have frequently been police cars by the apartment building and clearly some illegal activity is going on that they can't quite squash, perhaps for the difficulty of getting absolute proof. Meanwhile, so many families with small children live there. There seems to be a recent vacancy, so I'm not sure that the police are doing nothing.

They have also stationed uniformed cops at Putnam and Irving to address the drug buys in the area. But it can't be easy. I've seen people clearly on the look-out, and people looking to buy, and even people in a stupor that makes you worry if they will fall into the street and seriously hurt themselves, but I can't yet identify the house that's selling the stuff. I think the police are onto the problem but unable so far to get the proof needed to make the arrests.

Oh god if Tish James is involved then you know that annoying guy Bill Batson will be there. I'm really looking forward to that. :roll: