October 20, 2009

Closing Bell: Another Curbside Memorial

On the way to the office this morning we pedaled past this small memorial in front of 97B Vanderbilt Avenue, site of last evening's shooting. As The Local reported, a 28-year-old man who lived there was shot by a 20-year-old man who fled the scene. As of earlier today, he had not been apprehended.

October 14, 2009

McDonald's Robber Apprehended in Slope

According to the reader who sent in this photo of a gun on the sidewalk outside Bread and Bagel Co. on Union Avenue, an armed robber stuck up the McDonald's on 4th Avenue last night. Evidently there were cops and barricades up all over the place. Anyone else pass by this scene?

October 2, 2009

The Mob Infiltrates the DOB

"The Buildings Department has a history of corruption scandals," says The New York Times, such as the plumbing inspector extortion cases in 2002, but now the DOB can add mob infiltration to its list of black marks on its record. Yesterday prosecutors accused the Lucchese crime family of installing three of its associates in the DOB, who then participated in bribery, abuse of power, gambling, drug-trafficking, extortion, and loan-sharking. Three others from the DOB were also accused, and 27 of the 29 people named in the indictment have been arrested, according to the Times. Last year, the long string of accusations against the DOB led to scrutiny from the Department of Investigation, which in turn led to the resignation of former Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster. The new commish, Robert D. LiMandri, expressed an intent to crack down on the department. Regarding the Lucchese family indictment, he told the Times: “As a precaution, the department has visited all of the buildings associated with the investigation to ensure safety, and we expect to complete all reinspection work soon...These former inspectors are accused of betraying the public and this department for their own selfish gain, and they should be prosecuted to the full extent under the law.”
Mob Infiltration Is Seen in New York City Agency [NY Times]
Agency With a History of Graft and Corruption [NY Times]
Image of Gaetano Lucchese, co-founder of the Lucchese crime family, from Wikipedia Commons

September 25, 2009

Look, Ma, No Wheels

Fort Greene has been very, very good to one band of merry car strippers. A reader sent this photo in yesterday of an Infiniti sedan—minus four tires—parked on Cumberland Street off Lafayette Avenue. That's gotta hurt.

September 11, 2009

Crime Down in Fort Greene, Despite Unease

“There’s an overall feeling that things are not going right in Fort Greene,” Paul Palazzo of the Fort Greene Association told The Brooklyn Eagle. Several crimes in the area have made the news, adding to the foreboding feeling in the neighborhood: the brutal attack on Pratt student Eddy Sanchez and disposed human remains found in the trash along Walworth Street. “You get the impression that the sky is falling in Fort Greene,” says Captain Anthony Tasso, commanding officer of the 88th Precinct, but at Wednesday night's meeting of Community Board 2, he stated that overall crime is down 12 percent—the only crime to increase, he added, is residential burglaries, which went up 13 percent compared to last year; otherwise, robberies, car break-ins, rape, and shootings are all down. He also mentioned a recent increase in robberies around Fort Greene Park at night, and has increased patrols accordingly. If you look at the statistics (PDF) for the year to date, for example, all categories of crime have decreased compared to the same period of 2008. Meanwhile, reportes Brooklyn Heights Blog, crime is also down across the board in the 84th Precinct (Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Boerum Hill) as well.
Crime in Fort Greene Is Down, Captain Says [Brooklyn Eagle]
Despite Brutal Assault, Crime Down in 88th [Brownstoner]
Precinct Crime Statistics [NYPD]
Photo by Dominic Ridolfo

September 4, 2009

Crime Map Offers Easy Access to Stats

The folks at PropertyShark sent us notice that they've unveiled a new crime statistics site that allows you to enter an address and view the corresponding crime stats for that precinct. So if you happen to live, say, near the laundry at 323 Flatbush, you can plug that in and find out that there have been 131 burglaries and 10 murders in that precinct so far in 2009; by contrast on the other side of Atlantic Avenue in the 88th Precinct there've been 117 burglaries and just two murders.

September 2, 2009

Muggings in Fort Greene

A tipster pointed out to us that the Carlton-Willoughby Block Association began passing out these flyers on Tuesday. The flyers warn that there have been three muggings in as many weeks in or around the Fort Greene area, and that residents should be more inconspicuous and careful when walking alone with iPods and mobile phones. Of the three muggings, fortunately no one has been seriously injured.

August 20, 2009

Closing Bell: No Reward Is Its Own Reward

Spotted recently in Williamsburg...
Photo by Yankel Frankel

August 12, 2009

Despite Brutal Assault, Crime Down in 88th

The recent assault on a Pratt Student at Grand and Lexington has shaken many of our nerves—as have other recent crimes—which is why The Local, a New York Times blog, reminds us that crime in the 88th Precinct (Fort Greene and Clinton Hill) is still decreasing. According to the NYPD's crime statistics, even assault is down by 6 percent from this time last year. The message we're supposed to get is that, while these recent crimes are certainly disturbing, they do not necessarily indicate that the neighborhood is going to seed. Update: The Local points to an ABC News story reporting that one of the teens has been arrested.
The Week in Crime: Crime's Down. Really. [The Local/ NYT]
Pratt Student Still in Coma [NY Daily News]
Photo by lesterhead

July 9, 2009

Massive Mortgage Fraud Ring Busted

A fraud ring involving 13 people and potentially $100 million of losses was charged yesterday by the Manhattan District Attorney. Much of the illegal activity occurred over the past four years in the East New York and Cypress Hills sections of Brooklyn, according to the NY Times. The ringleaders of the scam, which involved targeting troubled homeowners and duping buyers with good credit into purchasing the homes at inflated prices to suck out the largest mortgage possible, were three principals in the Long Island-based AFG Financial Group.

July 8, 2009

Sky Watch Sets Up Shop on Franklin Avenue

A couple weeks ago we spotted one of the NYPD's Sky Watch towers at Nostrand and Lexington Avenues. This week, reports I Love Franklin Avenue, one of the anti-crime structures is stationed outside of Nam's market on Franklin Avenue at St. John's Place in Crown Heights. According to an officer on the scene, the tower is a response to a "rash of shootings and other crime" in the immediate vicinity. Evidently, this corner is a favorite with some of the local entrepreneurs.

June 24, 2009

Police Tower Now on Nostrand

Biking down Nostrand Avenue on Monday, we couldn't help but notice the police surveillance tower that had been set up at the corner of Lexington Avenue. A tweet from @FreshDotDaily yesterday reminded us that we'd snapped a photo. (The official name for the tower is Sky Watch. It was set up in Dumbo last year.) Anyone know when this was set up or why? Was there a particular incident recently that might have caused NYPD to take it up a notch on this corner?

June 1, 2009

Teen-on-Teen Shooting on Downing Street

We received a tip—which we've since been able to confirm—that there was a double shooting on Saturday night in the schoolyard at PS 56 in Clinton Hill. Evidently there was some kind of gathering (described by one neighbor as "insanely loud") that had a number of teenagers at it and that at about 8:45 p.m. a boy and girl (ages 14 and 15) were shot by another teen who is still at large; neither victim was killed. Unfortunately, there seems to be a incident like this every year around this time. Any other neighbors hear the goings-on or witness the aftermath?

April 24, 2009

Body Washes Up on Red Hook Pier

This is a little different than our typical first post of the day but you play the hand you're dealt and this photo came in from a reader (and one with rather enviable views, we might add) last night. What you are looking at, according to this tipster, is the scene on the pier between Fairway and the Revere Sugar Factory. We've got no other info and haven't seen anything else in the papers. Leads?

April 2, 2009

The Month in Crime in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill

There were 63 reported crimes in the 88th Precinct between March 2 and March 29 and NYT blog The Local has categorized and mapped all of them. Despite the fact that their "weapon-wielding green man" looks more like a golf player than a violent criminal, we're giving the concept and the execution high marks. We were also interested to see that there were no incidents (reported, that is) on the corner of Grand and Putnam. There were a couple just a block away on Cambridge Place though.

March 30, 2009

Death at Eastern Parkway Drug Den

A ground-floor apartment at 201 Eastern Parkway (across the street from the Brooklyn Museum), long a hive of drugs and prostitution according to a tipster, is now a homicide scene. Per the tipster:

On Saturday afternoon two college students from Tennessee went into 1M. On Sunday afternoon one came out on a stretcher, the other in a body bag. According to the cops on the scene, they had OD'd on heroin spiked with rat poison. The guys who run the ring in 1M (the actuall tenant lets them use it in return for free drugs) actually were the ones who called the cops, who said all evidence was gone by the time they arrived. It's not clear if they're going to be able to charge them with murder or not. Guess it depends on if the other kid survives and can testify (I don't know his condition).

A television news van is parked outside right now, but we haven't been able to find any reports online. Any neighbors have more details?

March 23, 2009

Overheard in Twitterland

From a resident of Quincy Street in Bed Stuy: "Spent hours last night convincing cops that men breaking in to house next door were not owners - no arrests but they all left."

February 17, 2009

Crime Rose in Most Precincts in 2008

Sparked in good part by a sharp rise in juvenile muggings, crime rose in every precinct in Brooklyn last year but three. “Electronics still drive our robberies,” explained Chief Joseph Fox, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South The biggest percentage rises came in the Brooklyn South neighborhoods like Benonhurst, Bath Beach, Flatlands, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Mill Island and Mill Basin. Crime in Brooklyn North was actually down slightly on a percentage basis but still was almost 20% higher than Brooklyn South on an absolute basis (4,086 versus 3,375). If you take out the rash of teenager-on-teenager robberies of ipods and cellphones, other crime in the borough actually declined. For example, the number of burglaries, assaults and car thefts all fell last year.
The Easy Crime - Robberies, Muggings Up [NY Post]

February 12, 2009

The Feds Ordered Sixpoint to Shut Down 'Hop Obama'

A tipster just forward an email that just went out to Facebook fans of Sixpoint Craft Ales alleging that the Federal Government ~~raided the beer maker's Red Hook headquarters~~ recently forced the beer maker to shut down production of its popular 'Hop Obama' line started during campaign season. Even the Department of Homeland Security got involved, threatening to seize the brewery. Bummer: It may be the best beer we've ever tasted. (N.B. It's Sixpoint Night at Barcade next week.)

January 26, 2009

St. Felix Rape Aftermath

In the wake of Thursday morning's rape on St. Felix Street in Fort Greene, Council Member Letitia James held a press conference on Friday afternoon and the story ended up getting picked up in the mainstream media including Channel 2 News whom we spotted interviewing block residents when we rode down the block on Friday evening. The other thing we noticed when we visited the block that evening at around 7 p.m. was the noticeable lack of lights on the front of buildings. (While the police won't say exactly where it happened, this stretch shown here is our best guess based on correspondence with someone who lives on the block.) It's easy to play Monday Morning Quarterback on this one, but the truth is that basic lighting can go a long way towards creating a safer environment. If there's not a law requiring building owners to have at least one light on the front of there building, there should be.
Sexual Attack on St. Felix Prompts Press Conference [Brownstoner]
Ft. Greene Residents Respond to Rape [Brooklyn Eagle]
Fort Greene Residents Call For Greater Police Presence [NY1]
Doctor Raped and Robbed in Brooklyn [WCBS]
More Foot Patrols Demanded After Fort Greene Rape [Gothamist]

January 23, 2009

Sexual Attack on St. Felix Prompts Press Conference

Yesterday morning shortly before 6 a.m a woman on her way to work at Brooklyn Hospital was sexually attacked on St. Felix Street between Fulton and Dekalb Avenues. Here's what was posted on the Fort Greene Kids list by someone who spoke to police on the scene:

A young female doctor was assaulted, raped and robbed at around 5:45am on her way to work at Brooklyn Hospital. The attack occurred on St Felix Street between Fulton & Dekalb. Supposedly, the attacker dragged her down a stoop and hid behind some garbage cans. As far as I know, he got away. This was a very bold sexual assault - outdoors in freezing weather in the middle of a residential block on a garbage pick up morning and around the time the NY Times delivery guy comes by.

We were able to confirm that as of last night the police had no one in custody. City Councilmember Letitia James will be holding a press conference today at 3 p.m. at the corner of Fulton and St. Felix to call for more police presence in the area and to raise awareness about safety measures.

January 12, 2009

Murders, Binge Drinking Up in Park Slope Last Year

While overall crime was down in Brooklyn South last year, murders were up more than 35 percent to 92 from 68 a year earlier. Such was the case in Park Slope where the number of homicides rose from one in 2007 to three in 2008. Meanwhile, says The Post, binge drinking was higher than other neighborhoods around the city: 20 percent of Slopers ranked binge drinking as their favorite activity. "It's the real people, and you feel like you are on 'Cheers,'" said Samantha Stewart. "I can just go to the bar and see 10 people that I know." The preference ties in with another borough-wide stat for 2008: Drunk driving violations were up 1.6 percent in Brooklyn last year, reports The Daily News, while they were down 3.4 percent around the city as a whole.
Murder Rate Skyrockets in 2008 [NY Post]
Home Is Where the Health Is [NY Post]
Increase in Brooklyn Drunk Driving [NYDN]

January 7, 2009

Supreme Court Weighs House of Detention Re-Opening

Following a 75-person rally (that included Comptroller Thompson, Senator Adams and Council Member James and Yassky) on the front steps of the State Supreme Court building yesterday morning, Justice Sylvia Hinds-Radix began hearing arguments from the City and from the community group called Stop BHOD which had filed a lawsuit arguing that the city acted improperly by failing to alert the public about the reopening and planned expansion of the facility and not submitting its plan for an environmental impact analysis. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, The argument seemed to boil down to whether or not the city had technically closed the jail back in 2003, and thus would have to re-open it, or whether it had continued to operate it, albeit in a diminished capacity. “This is a closed prison,” argued Randy Mastro on behalf of Stop BHOD. “Five years later, you have a transformed neighborhood.” Countered the corporation counsel: “There is a jail in Downtown Brooklyn. It exists. It has existed for 50 years. We need it.” Both sides have until February 11 to submit additional documents to the court; in the meantime, the city will not house additional overnight prisoners in the facility.
Judge Hears Arguments For and Against ‘Reopening’ of Jail [Brooklyn Eagle]
Closing Bell: HOD Rally Coming Next Week [Brownstoner] GMAP
Inside the Brooklyn House of Detention [Brownstoner]
Not Enough Cash for the HOD [Brownstoner]
HOD Re-Opens for Business [Brownstoner]
Saying No to House of D [Brownstoner]

January 2, 2009

Another Mugging in Fort Greene

While it pales in comparison to some of the other crime that took place over the holidays, this one may be of local interest: On the day after Christmas a thirty-something couple was mugged on Adelphi Street off Dekalb Avenue. One of the two teens grabbed the man and told him to “Give me what you have,” reports The Brooklyn Paper. The couple coughed up $50 in cash and several credit and banking cards.

December 29, 2008

Break-In at Kush

Holiday cheer didn't last long on Putnam Avenue. On Friday night, someone broke in to Kush, one of the older restaurants in the area. Someone was sleeping in the back and scared the intruder away, but not before he had busted the window and put another smear on the notorious corner's record. When will it end. GMAP

Crime