Tree Branch Breaker

There are also a pile of big branches on Lincoln, near ther corner of Franklin Avenue --across the street from where that young man was shot a few weeks ago. Also, earlier I said that it seems as if Steve damaged a London Plain on Sterling; make that 2. He apparently broke large branches off a London Plain closer to Franklin Avenue, as well as the London Plain closer to Bedford Avenue. I am tempted to follow an earlier example and gather these branches and throw them into his yard, but the irony would be getting stopped by police and accused of the crime. No doubt my sanity would be my undoing.

This is so unlike every -- I mean EVERY cop show I have ever seen. I know cops have it hard, but dear god, you call 911, you call 311, you call and email a detective, you stop cops on the street, you follow Steve, you stop cops in real time and you tell them ' Hey THAT guy just ripped THOSE branches off a tree', you beg them to do something about it -- all of this has happened by the way -- and absolutely NOTHING is done. NOTHING. I hope this isn't interpreted as trolling, but seriously. Look at all the trees damaged and killed because of this guy; these are all trees the police could have done something about at least 2 months ago -- and they failed to act. Think of the cost of planting these trees and the concomitant care that was invested into them over the time that they have been planted. Yes there is murder going on in Crown Heights; the trees are being slaughtered.

Something KWAC said on a thread now closed has me thinking that what appears to us lay people (affronted by Crazy Steve's behavior and the police's seeming indifference) as a no brainer might be more complicated than we think; indeed, it has to be.

For anyone who has ever done any waitering in a restaurant, and been on the receiving end of a request for something simple such as a glass of water or a cup of coffee, you may know what I mean. Sometimes such a request requires machinations that would shock the customer. Sometimes there are no clean glasses or cups and the waiter has to go all the way downstairs where the glasses are kept, or maybe the coffee just ran out and all of the coffee is kept in a storage container way in the back, and it's under lock and key, and said waiter doesn't have the key; the manager has the key, and he's at lunch, so to stem the tide waiter goes across the street to by a container of coffee; and when the customer says, 'It shouldn't take so long to get a cup of coffee,' they just don't understand what is sometimes involved. You get the point.

The reason Crazy Steve is still on the street has to do with something that we are obviously oblivious to. I mean, it doesn't make sense that the police would almost unanimously be so unresponsive, right? I just wish I knew what the answer is. What gets me about the 'There are rapists and killers out there' rhetoric is that no detective work is necessary to take Steve into custody. Indeed, he WAS taken into custody and then released. It's the releasing part that doesn't make sense to us, I gather. I guess the crime falls underneath the radar because he is not ascertained to be sane, essentially, just like KWAC said.

The 'beating the fuck out of him' tactic is laudable, but yo, have you SEEN Steve? Unless you're a mixed martial artist I wouldn't recommend it. A cop I told about Steve when I made my 311 call cautioned against it when I told him I wanted to beat him with the limbs he broke off trees. He said that the insane have an eerily high threshold for pain; it's as if it isn't even there, he said. Most of the branches ripped from trees are at least the girth of an adult arm. Steve has been ripping branches off trees for years. I am pretty sure he can do the same to a human limb. I wouldn't advise it.

Whynot-31 -- I disagree with you. I've had discussions with at least 5 people and all have felt that Steve is potentially violent. The most recent conversation was between a superintendent of a building who had a hammer and displayed it to Steve as he approached her -- and then he backed off.

I don't think a protest at Steve's home will do anything because the word on the street is that Steve's own mother is worried about his welfare and does not know what to do about him. I am going to make attempt in the coming week to contact Hakeem Jefferies and Leticia James and let them know what is going on. I urge others to do the same thing. Maybe this is a situation where political input can best solve the problem, or at least alleviate the symptoms. You can go and protest on Sterling Place if you want, but be forewarned, your not in Switzerland when you're on Sterling Place.

Have you ever seen Steve? I really think you need to see him.

I overheard a convo between a Crow Hill higher-up and someone asking her quesitons about Steve. There is a plan to have a conversation with Steve's mother; to literally ring her doorbell and present to her options she can explore for his internment. Apparently his mom is totally frustrated by the situation because obviously, she is quite embarassed by all of the attention this has garnered, and she is worried about his welfare. Apparently he has undergone the mental hygiene warrant process before (or something like it) and after giving him a presciption for meds and a certain amount of time under observation he was let go. Steve's own mom has some fear of him, especially now, because he's not taking his meds.

Steve has a thing for Michael Jordan. I took a late walk and I JUST saw him walking northward on Franklin. He had on a red Michael Jordan t-shirt (oversized) baggy oversized denim shorts, and he was wearing white high-top sneakers with red trimmings; the sneakers have the Michael Jordan logo on them.

There will be a Crow Hill association meeting this Tuesday in Launch Pad. It's the last one. Leticia James is supposed to be there, as is a representative from the 77th Precinct:

Tuesday, June 15 at 7:30
LaunchPad - 721 Franklin Ave (between Park & Sterling Pl)
2 special guests:
77th Precinct
&
Council Member Letitia James

Be there!!!