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