Nostrand Ave Dental, seriously?

Ah, I was thinking you were seeing different people who had things in common.

If you are seeing the same exact people, that may be a case of the dentist merely not preventing hanging out, or even accommodating it.

Sometimes it is good to be liked by this subset of locals.

Sometimes. 

I'm glad you posted about this. I was just thinking about these young men yesterday, as I was trying to go to Met supermarket and the sidewalk was entirely blocked by the crowd of guys hanging out there. I saw them gathering Styrofoam cups from the bodega across the street and pouring tequila openly. This bugged me, because two of my roommates have gotten tickets for having a beer on our apartment doorstep. Meanwhile, these men are drinking in a public space and blocking pedestrian traffic.

People often defend Crown Heights (and bash gentrification) by praising the neighborhood's community and culture, but a crowd of young men drinking and smoking on the sidewalk doesn't really give me a strong sense of community or family as I go about my business. Maybe because I don't consider myself part of that 'community.' But, the fact that these men are openly engaging in public drinking while others are ticketed for recycling a beer bottle (seriously, my roommate got a ticket because he brought out a beer bottle to the recycling and a cop happened to be stationed on the corner), makes me feel annoyed. I thought maybe I should report these men, but felt too ashamed because as a "gentrifier," I feel like I should just shuffle through quietly with my guilt. Also, there is the fear that these men would somehow 'know' who reported them and would then target the newcomers in the neighborhood (because they're disturbing the way of life and getting people in trouble). I know these thoughts are illogical, but I also know that they are shared by others in the neighborhood. Everyone knows what happens when you get a group of drunk teenagers together. Clearly, no one else has reported this crowd because they feel that they can drink openly in public without any fear of getting caught.

When my roommate got ticketed, the cop politely explained that regardless of the circumstances, he is obligated to ticket ANYONE *with an open container/alcohol in public because his job is to maintain "quality of life." Just something to think about.

"If they routinely bother you severely or threaten you hold your cellphone out with 9 and 1 dialed and be ready to dial 1 and hit call. "

This is strikes me as bad advice on several levels, especially because response time is not a predictable thing.

Gentrification is much like the police and all other forms of government: It is good and bad, and you should not rely upon it to solve your ills.

That said:
The 77th Precinct has community meetings every month, and one can often get a better response for long standing issues by bringing them up there.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/precincts/precinct_077.shtml

Note, although it says it is held at the same location every month, it is not. You should call first to see where they are meeting this month.

I'm sure he is right: The advice gives freshman in TN a sense of control.

Several websites state that Alexander Solovey, DDS practices out of this site.
https://www.google.com/#q="749+nostrand"+Alexander+Solovey+DDS

He is a registered dentist:  http://www.nysed.gov/coms/op001/opsc2a?profcd=50&plicno=044969&namechk=SOL

Pill mills have become harder to operate as a result of e-scripts. My hope he is not engaging in any activities like these:

http://brooklynda.org/2015/03/31/twenty-three-defendants-including-nine-doctors-charged-with-enterprise-corruption-in-massive-7-million-medicaid-fraud/

...such things annoy me.

I would almost prefer it is "merely" these guys intimidating a dentist out of his lobby and bathroom. As they state, they are known to frequent the 800 block of Nostrand:
(Language not safe for cubicles)

Our Dentist is at 749.

If I belonged to a group of guys whom a dentist relied upon for 95% of his business, I suspect I would get cocky.

We should also remember that when you are poor, the dentist sees you for about 2 minutes. The vast majority of services you receive is performed by the hygenist, or the hygenist assistant. They are often women.

There could be several of "her" on site, making as little as $12 - 16 an hour, and this pay could be contingent on how many cleanings she does.

She could be as young as 20, be black or hispanic, and be considered quite good looking by the men we are discussing.

It isn't hard for me to imagine the power dynamics; The DDS may be getting the best part of the deal.

I wouldn't let it run too wild.

"Now the dental hygienist... i'm all ready shaking my head.. I had a world record cleaning under 3 minutes.... WTF!!! I told her, that was the quickest cleaning in my history. She said, in her Russian accent " I'm nooot gon' ta pritend, like i'mmm doinnng sumthings, when there's nothingd to be done". Most hygentis" jus pritend lie therrre doin sumthingg".

http://www.yelp.com/biz/nostrand-dental-care-brooklyn-2

If they are serving patients who are among the worst off, it could be that his mouth was cleanest one she had seen in years. She may not have known how to clean a mouth that was already at a "middle class" standard.

Next!