Tree Branch Breaker

Talked to some folks on Sterling today. Guess the Parks Department has been trying to pay a visit to his apartment. Took some pictures of the carnage at his house, but am I an ignoramus? I can't figure out how to post 'em.

And if you don't have a Flickr account?

At 693 Sterling, between Bedford and Franklin. Thank you, Steve.

some more photo evidence of what seems to be tree breakers work here:
http://umbrooklynborn.blogspot.com/2010/06/tree-is-ripped-off-in-brooklyn.html

I submitted a report of illegal tree damage (theoretically punishable by a fine of up to $15k and 1 year in jail) directly to the NYC forestry division. Others can do the same here:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_permits_and_applications/forestry_service_request.html

The police will not do anything about this guy because they don't care about the neighborhood. Sadly, the only way to get this guy off the street, even temporarily, will be to call 911 and ask for an ambulance for an "EDP" who is "acting crazy" and "might be a threat to himself and others." Once the FDNY bus gets there and the guy refuses to come with them, NYPD will be called to restrain him and facilitate his safe evaluation in the hospital. If he's truly as crazy when talking to others as he is in his behavior, he will be spending some time in the hospital. If this happens to him a few times, he may change his behavior.

chances are this guy is already well known to the system.

It wouldn't surprise me if he already had an ICM or was served by an ACT team...

They may be of some use if we could find out who they were...

he doesn't seem to be hard to find....

Wow, now I know what happened to the tree in front of our house....
I also felt terrible seeing the tree I called the Parks Department to plant ripped apart. I called 311 and they connected me to the Parks Department.
They came within an hour and made a clean cut of the torn branches.
Now I know it is a crazy man damaging all the trees in our neighborhood.
Something has to be done....next community meeting is this coming Monday at CNR I believe. Hopefully this issue can also be addressed there.

MHA --> Mental Hygiene Agent

Here's the thing: I think that other people have done this. In conversation with people about this guy I vaguely recall it being said that he has been picked up and assessed, and he was gone for a few days, but then later, he was back -- that when he is off of his medication he acts this way. I feel like I am just another iteration of Neo in the Matrix. Will there be peace this time?

Peace? Doubtful. But we could at least get the guy evaluated again, and perhaps move the process along.

Here's more than you ever wanted to know:
The process often begins with a family member or citizen filing for a mental hygeine warrant (as described above), but can also be started via a 311 call to Adult Protective Services (APS).
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hra/html/directory/adult.shtml

Experience has shown this writer that APS is the slower, and less reliable of the two options....

Regardless of which method you choose to pursue, the person is then brought (often repeatedly) to the hospital for evaluation, and each time the hospital gets to decide whether he meets the stringent criteria for a involuntary hospitalization.

Even if he is admitted as a result of this process, even more stringent criteria must be met in order to hold him involuntarily beyond 72 hours or for any significant length of time. [translation: Chances are that tree branch breaker will be back, perhaps with some monitoring, but he'll be back]

More frequently, such folks are not admitted as an inpatient. In those instances we can atleast hope that the ER visit, and the offer of outpatient services is consistently recorded....

Once there is a pattern of ER visits and/or admissions, someone (landlord, family member, mental health worker, MD, etc) can argue that the guy should be brought into Civil Court and mandated services as per Kendra's law.

http://www.omh.state.ny.us/omhweb/kendra_web/khome.htm

While Kendra's Law has helped make the process easier, it is still lengthy and difficult. If Steve the Tree Branch Breaker gets this far in the process, he would receive an attorney thru either the Legal Aid Society or Mental Hygeine Legal Services to help defend his interests in the process. These "defense attorneys" are very good at what they do: Steve is likely to be released into the community, perhaps with little or no mandated monitoring.

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ad4/mhls/mhls_default.htm

Basically an ongoing, harmful pattern of refusing voluntary mental health treatment must be shown in order to get the court to mandate services or meds.

An even higher standard must be met in order to convince the court that a person should be hospitalized for a long period against their will.

So, once a pattern is established, the guy is usually mandated to receive services from either an ACT team or an ICM program in combination with a clinic:

http://bi.omh.state.ny.us/act/team_directory?p=team-directory-listing&c=New York City

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/dmh/oas.shtml#3

People yelling "Steve, leave that tree alone. Go home Steve!"

...might change his mind as well.

Alright, everyone. Let's pass a bunch of these out 'round the neighborhood...

Um, good luck with that argument, but it doesn't reflect the present reality of how criminal law or the mental hygiene laws are written or enforced.

In other words, you are describing a world that is different from the one we live in. [whether the world you are describing would be better or worse, is an issue I will leave for a different day].

That said, I will put the following opinion forward:
In reality, the public was lucky to get Kendra's law passed, and it was subject to huge controversy. (as alluded to above, Kendra's law is still very problematic when it comes to implementation)

http://community-2.webtv.net/stigmanet/KENDRASLAW/

Jails and prisons should not be the largest providers of inpatient psychiatric care, but -sadly- they are. While the police are required to bring such individuals to the hospital for evaluations as described above, they are given very few incentives to arrest a person in the above circumstances.

Sadly, both jails and psychiatric hospitals both have revolving doors.

....about 10 years ago, we didn't even have ACT teams.

Agreed, MHA, there are some very discouraging aspects to this situation. I haven't given up hope yet though- i think we can collectively raise attention to the level where something gets done. But we're not there yet.

In the meantime, if you want to help counter some of Steve's actions, Prospect Heights Community Farm (St Marks btwn Vanderbilt and Underhill) is hosting a tree care day tommorow afternoon, which includes mulching, plantings in tree beds, and - unfortunately - pruning activities to address some of the half broken branches Steve has left hanging from trees. All are welcome to join - I believe we are starting around 1pm.

I know its a little disheartening to expend efforts to clean up after someone else's unpunished crimes, but I generally believe that raising awareness of the neighboorhood trees will give us more voices against Steve, and any other vandals that follow in his footsteps.

I'll be there - although only half-useful since I got hit by a cab while biking on Vanderbilt yesterday, and now have a broken hand. If you can't make that event, there's another on June 12th.