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Woman Mugged on Franklin Avenue — Brooklynian

Woman Mugged on Franklin Avenue

homeowner
homeowner
edited October 2014 in Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens
There is clearly something in the water. From Gothamist (note the crime actually happened two weeks ago)

http://gothamist.com/2014/10/14/prospect_heights_mugger_allegedly_b.php

"According to authorities, at around 2:30 a.m. on October 2nd, the two men approached a 21-year-old woman outside 680 Franklin Avenue near Prospect Place. Cops say the men punched her in the face multiple times before snatching her purse and phone."

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Comments

  • naturegirlbk
    naturegirlbk
    Take a look at this surveillance video of the brutal beating and mugging by three thugs.  This is pretty awful:

    http://7online.com/news/21-year-old-woman-brutally-assaulted-in-caught-on-camera-robbery/357961/
  • wbm
    wbm
    Oh my, that looks awful! My best wishes to the victim and her family. I hope she has a speedy recovery.
  • clayfilms
    clayfilms
    Ugh. So horrible. I can't even bring myself to watch the video. Prayers to the victim and her family. 
  • eastbloc
    eastbloc
    Yes, pretty awful, and amazing how quickly it happened.

    Hopefully, the video will yield some clues as to the identity of the perpetrators.  

    The fact that this same event has made headlines twice in a few weeks does speak to the rarity of the incident more than its frequency, though.
  • southeast
    southeast
    The fact that this same event has made headlines twice in a few weeks does speak to the rarity of the incident more than its frequency, though.
    Seriously?!  Not at all!  This would have made headlines if it happened anywhere in the city.  Pretty brutal.  And "rare" wouldn't be the word I'd use to describe crime in CH, anywhere in CH.
  • sunnyfriday
    sunnyfriday
    More importantly - how can one avoid such a thing? Is Franklin Ave really that deserted on a Thursday at 2:30am? The men weren't standing very closely together - one couldn't necessarily have known that they were in a "pack." This makes me question my Friday night weekend plans. I live off the Nostrand Ave 3 stop.
  • dac545
    dac545
    It's not usually abandoned but as others said, it all happened so fast. 

    You still see stories of people getting mugged in areas in even farther west parts of Crown Heights in broad daylight, so it really can happen anywhere. 

    ABC News was reporting from the scene on Franklin this morning.. never have I seen so much delayed coverage but at least it is being treated seriously. 
  • eastbloc
    eastbloc
    southeast, violent crime against "newcomers" in Crown Heights is rare as a proportion of the violent crime in the neighborhood as a whole.  When it happens, it makes headlines, like you said.  And these headlines aren't a daily occurrence.  

    I don't advise anyone to stay out until 2:30am.  The odds of having something happen to you that late at night are significantly higher, both due to the relative emptiness of the streets and the likely inebriation resulting from being out that late.  If you do stay out til 2:30am, do yourself a favor and call a cab to get home.  

    If you can't afford a cab, keep your eyes and ears peeled, avoid dark, deserted blocks, don't display your valuables and be ready to take evasive action.  That goes for anywhere you live in the city.  When I lived in the EV, I made sure I had a 'helper' ready in my pocket when I walked through certain areas late at night.


  • southeast
    southeast
    @eastblock - How do you define "newcomers?"  And how would the muggers differentiate?
  • MOD
    MOD
    edited October 2014
    If you are going to be coming home late please do not hesitate to call the Brooklyn Bike Patrol for a FREE and SAFE walk home from whereever you are at (bar/subway stop etc)

    Brooklyn Bike Patrol:  718-744-7592.

    The Brooklyn Bike Patrol is
    dedicated to making the people of Brooklyn feel safe as they travel from
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    Just call us ahead of time before you board your train and one of our
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    service 80 various train stops in Brooklyn, including Park Slope, Prospect
    Heights, Sunset Park, Kensington,Windsor Terrace and Carroll Gardens,
    Bestuy, Crown Heights, Borough Park, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill,
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    Bensonhurst, and Red Hook. All of our volunteers have been background
    checked by the 72nd Precinct and their pictures can be found on our
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    https://www.facebook.com/BROOKLYNBIKEPATROL/info
  • homeowner
    homeowner
    @southeast, newcomers=white folks.
  • sunnyfriday
    sunnyfriday
    @mamacita THANK YOU!! So helpful.
  • southeast
    southeast
    @homeowner - I thought that's where this was going. So @eastbloc is saying that crime against white folks are infrequent.  I disagree.

    Crime happens often.  And more often than not, it does not make headlines, contrary to what @eastbloc says.

    Again, "rare" wouldn't be the word I'd use to describe crime in CH.  
  • eastbloc
    eastbloc
    So why is this particular incident on the news, and not the other ones that you think are so frequent?

    Drug deals, burglaries, car break-ins -- sure, happen all the time.

    I've been here for five years, and just about every incident of an assault or other violent incident seems to have been covered one way or another.  And it's not that common.  Maybe you and I have different definitions of common?


  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited October 2014
    Those into seeing how much crime various neighborhoods have can play around with SpotCrime.

    About a week after a reasonably large crime occurs, it appears on the map:

    http://spotcrime.com/ny/brooklyn

    One can see that some neighborhoods have more overall crimes than others.

    And, that some crimes seem to occur no matter where you live, and seem not to vary as much as you might expect.
  • Brooklyneya
    Brooklyneya
    I agree with those that say it's not that common. Crime involving theft in particular tends to be common in wealthier areas, such as Park Slope and Midtown. Most of the crime in areas like this are interfamily/associate crime (domestic disputes, gang violence, gambling/money disputes, etc). When looking at crime rates for various neighborhoods/precincts, also
    keep in mind that the projects in the various neighborhoods tend to skew the crime rates for the whole area when a disproportionate amount of crime happens within the housing project.

    Top 10 NYC neighborhoods with the highest crime rate. A few years old, but still interesting. Spoiler: Crown Heights doesn't make the list.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-neighborhoods-in-new-york-2011-9?op=1
  • southeast
    southeast
    edited October 2014

    So why is this particular incident on the news, and not the other ones that you think are so frequent?

    Drug deals, burglaries, car break-ins -- sure, happen all the time.

    I've been here for five years, and just about every incident of an assault or other violent incident seems to have been covered one way or another.  And it's not that common.  Maybe you and I have different definitions of common?


    This one was particularly brutal so it was news worthy.  You stated previously that "The fact that this same event has made headlines twice in a few weeks does speak to the rarity of the incident more than its frequency, though."  And I disagree.  

    The victim being a white 21 year old girl "newcomer" is "news," and this "news" does not speak to the rarity of crime in CH.  I would agree though that violence of this particular nature/magnitude is not too common (lucky for us). 

    However, as far as crime in general, it is not reported more often because its so common and therefore, not "news."  Crime is not a rarity here.
  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    So @eastbloc is saying that crime against white folks are infrequent.
    Actually, what was obviously meant by the comment was not crime against white people but, as said, people new to the area. The point being that the vast majority of crime in Crown Heights - and pretty much anywhere - is between people who know each other or are in similar crowds.

    But let's be specific... you say such crime is not rare. OK, let's quantify that. How many violent attacks on people - newcomers, law-abiding middle-aged residents, the elderly, children, etc. - in Western Crown Heights who aren't affiliated with high risk behavior groups would you say happen each week?
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited October 2014
    Community leaders offered a $5k reward today for information leading to arrests 

    B0fUOAMCEAAM3OP
    photo: Channel 7


  • newguy88
    newguy88
    I am, of coursed, horrified by this crime. However, it is an extremely rare occurrence. I was initially told it occurred at the Franklin AVE subway stop. Occurrences such as this happen occasionally on the subway. But on Franklin? Man, thats nuts.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    The clearest photos of the suspects seem to have been taken by subway cameras, and these are being distributed widely, so I believe lots of people are inferring from the photos that the crime took place on the subway. 
  • newguy88
    newguy88
    Yeah, that makes sense. Plus there have been a few pretty brutal muggings on the subway this year, last year and really since we've had a subway. 
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited October 2014
    A lot of folks who commit crimes outside of the subway seem to take the subway either right beforehand or afterword.

    I suppose they could read Brooklynian and realize how stupid that is, given the most turnstiles have good cameras....       

    Re: the crime on the subway.   In that instance the police have to potentially watch the recordings from hundreds of stations.

    Whereas, in this instance they could simply watch the recording from the closest station.


  • newguy88
    newguy88
    I read the MTA is finally finally getting ready to put cameras on trains. Now the NYPD will finally only have to watch footage from a handful of cameras.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    In actuality, they don't have to actually "watch" the recordings now.   They can utilize a crappy image from a bodega camera and use it to search the MTA's network for a similar, much higher quality image.



    While such technology can be confused by an act as simple as taking off or putting on a jacket, most criminals don't seem to take such basic steps.... 
  • eastbloc
    eastbloc
    As usual, Mike Dunlap hit the nail on the head: what I meant by "newcomers" is not "white people", and they're certainly not all white.  Most violent crime in Crown Heights is between individuals who are well-acquainted with each other, whether over family spats, neighborhood beefs, or disputes over turf.  They don't need to identify their quarry by race or class, because they already know who they're after.

    Violent muggings like this one are infrequent, as they are risky business precisely because of the media and police attention they attract.   

    I believe @southeast is awfully silent when asked for evidence of his tales of rampant violent crime perpetrated against strangers in Crown Heights for a reason.

  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited October 2014
    When you don't know the victim or the perpetrator of a crime, it can be difficult to know whether they were strangers.

    Street crimes involving people of different races tend to cause people to assume they were strangers, whereas crimes involving people of the same perceived race are more likely assumed to be based on pre-existing relationships.

    These assumptions may influence the allocation of police and media resources.

    Locally, the website Crownheights.info seems to assume that when a Lubavitch Jewish person is the victim of a crime by a black person, that they are strangers. Given the amount of mixing between the groups, this assumption seems reasonable, if not always true.

    When it is assumed that the Jewish person was a victim of a crime BECAUSE they are Jewish, I find the assumption more problematic.

    The site maintains a blotter of select crimes that happen in the area: http://crownheights.info/crime/

    Reading it can add to the discussion over whether crime here is "rare".
  • southeast
    southeast
    edited October 2014
    @Mike  Dunlap: I asked what @eastbloc meant by "newcomers" and @eastbloc didn't respond (until this morning) so I went with @homeowner's definition.  I got the feeling this is what @eastbloc meant as well.  You can't always tell the difference between those who've been living here for a while and the "newcomers," but you can tell the difference between white and black.

    I did not limit my statement to Western Crown Heights.  I simply stated Crown Heights as a whole.  

    You say "vast majority of crime in Crown Heights - and pretty much anywhere - is between people who know each other or are in similar crowds." Well, I live in southeast Crown Heights and a lot of the crime has a Jewish victim.  I would venture to say that these victims "aren't affiliated with high risk behavior groups," as you described, and they are for the most part not newcomers.

    As far as quantifying, again, in southeast Crown Heights, almost daily (multiple times a week) there is either a mugging, assault, home invasions, burglaries, phone snatching, car wheels stolen, etc. most of which are not as violent as this crime which, rightfully, hit the news (and I noted that above - "I would agree though that violence of this particular nature/magnitude is not too common (lucky for us."), but violent and/or scary nonetheless and for the most part, not all reported by the major news networks.  At times, the police even refuse to file a report.
     
    @eastbloc: Seriously?! I do have a life outside of Brooklynian, and @Mike Dunlap only posted yesterday evening.  A couple hours away from this board and I'm "awfully silent."  Okay...

    As far as "evidence", I know what I see and hear.  I follow hyperlocal blogs and news sites, including Brooklynian, which note violence in CH, and as I stated above, I did not limit my comments to western Crown Heights. 

    I dont have the time or ability to generate a report with factual data as evidence that encompasses all types of crimes, including the ones the police do not write up in order to keep their numbers low.  I live here, and this is what I see.  Simple.

    Going back to your first statement, you stated "violent crime against "newcomers" in Crown Heights is rare as a proportion of the violent crime in the neighborhood as a whole."  Being that you can't differentiate between newcomer and others, I took your statement as "violent crime against "newcomers white/non-black folks" in Crown Heights is rare as a proportion of the violent crime in the neighborhood as a whole."  And I disagree with that.  Violent crime against white folks in Crown Heights is not rare.
  • whatchuwant
    whatchuwant
    Just some facts:

    1)- she grew up in the nabe and was two blocks away from her house. 

    2)- not that this matters AT ALL, but she's latina, not a 'white, newcomer'.

    I think it's more of an issue of brutal, random and very sudden violence on a woman that makes this story so striking. It's very frightening that there was no warning- no sign whatsoever, before they struck. 

  • southeast
    southeast
    edited October 2014

    Just some facts:

    1)- she grew up in the nabe and was two blocks away from her house. 

    2)- not that this matters AT ALL, but she's latina, not a 'white, newcomer'.

    I think it's more of an issue of brutal, random and very sudden violence on a woman that makes this story so striking. It's very frightening that there was no warning- no sign whatsoever, before they struck. 

    http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/victim-brutal-crown-heights-beating-speaks-article-1.1982551
    Thanks for this article.  This supports what I said above - you can't always tell the difference between those who've been living here for a while and the newcomers.

    This was a crime of opportunity; they chose a target that offers a high reward with little effort and risk.  Newcomers may not be the only ones that fit this description.
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