Long one of the biggest drug spots in the borough, the corner of Putnam and Grand has remained a big problem even as the values of the surrounding brownstones have tripled over the past 5 or 6 years. Living in the area for the past year, we’ve been amazed at the almost complete lack of police presence on the block. So it was not a huge surprise when we heard 10 or 12 gun shots at around 7 pm on Monday. Turns out that one of the frequent dice games which the drug dealers and their hangers-on play on the corner had gone bad. Three people were shot and two of them killed in the incident. We gather that two of them were from the immediate neighborhood and one from a little further out in Bed Stuy. We can only assume that the lone candle on the sidewalk is for one of them. We’ve been unable to find any mention in any of the local papers about the shootings.

When called about the incident, Letitia James has given her stump-speech line about how there are undercover cops on that corner all the time and that they’re on the case. Right. How about a consistent uniformed police presence? We also realize that it’s hard to make drug charges stick (a valid point someone made the last time we brought this topic up). Not to pick on Ms. James, who has done a good job in some other areas (she’s certainly stuck by her guns on Atlantic Yards and has been very helpful to some neighborhood business owners we know), but she has failed quite miserably in marshalling the necessary resolve and resources to solve this particular problem. We doubt it’s from lack of concern (heck, she lives within four blocks of the shootings) and suspect that she just has no sway or leverage over the police in her district and not enough pull in the Bloomberg administration to go over the precinct’s head.

We are curious to hear from readers how they have addressed these kinds of problems in their own neighborhoods. It occurs to us that a good place to start is to contact Councilwoman James’ office at 67 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217. You can also call her at 718-260-9191 or email her at james@council.nyc.ny.us. If you’re feeling a little bolder, why not give Captain John Cosgrove at the 88th a call? He can be reached at 718-636-6511. And if you know anyone else in the press or in the Bloomberg administration, please forward them the link to this post.
Pivotal Condo Project for Clinton Hill [Brownstoner]