Drug Dealing Hotspot in Crown Heights?
This was recently posted Brooklynian.com: Is it me, or is the drug dealing on St. John’s and Franklin out of hand? Perhaps it is me, because I am around during the day and I see it. But as clear as day I see hand offs, and guys going to their stash in nearby garbages. I…
This was recently posted Brooklynian.com:
Is it me, or is the drug dealing on St. John’s and Franklin out of hand? Perhaps it is me, because I am around during the day and I see it. But as clear as day I see hand offs, and guys going to their stash in nearby garbages. I guess I am just surprised by how obvious it all is. Are the cops on the take or just don’t care?
A number of follow-up comments suggest this is indeed a hot-spot. Anyone have anything to add about the history and current status of this location? This is the 77th Precinct’s turf: What have people’s experiences been with them? Maybe these new streetlights will ameliorate the problem.
tomgee – that B.S., the police will respond to complaints of dealing, its just that unless they use undercovers, etc…. they arent going see anything except a bunch of people standing around. Even if they tossed everyone, no one is likely to be holding anything more than a bag or 2. So the cops learn quick not to (improperly) just toss everyone b/c of a 9-11 call (not worth the hassle) and short of that – the normal POs and Dets are powerless to do anything more then just drive by to get the dealers to move (for about 5min).
BUT if you call the precinct, 911 and go to the precinct community meeting and otherwise make a fuss – the NYPD will send over narcotic detectives to do buy-n-busts; which over time will help abate the problem (in that location)
long and short – its not that the ‘cops’ dont care – they are restricted in what they can do.
supersleuth and crownheights2007 are right. it is the worst corner in the neighborhood, and an easy target for troublemakers. all the tenants moved in to 3 newly renovated buildings (same landlord) at pretty much the same time and everyone in the neighborhood could see that they were young white people (except me, i’m not white) with fancy gadgets. all the incidents i described did happen, but they were all confined to this one intersection.
Supersleuth,
Really great post. Thanks. I don’t claim to know everything about the neighborhood, but just give my impressions of it from my rather frequent trips there and what I read. It’s always nice to hear from those who are even more keenly aware of what’s going on.
Nothing I’ve said is meant to diminish Crown Heights AT ALL. As I’ve said before, I find all of Brooklyn really special for a variety of different reasons, and the diversity of your neighborhood is something that I wish we had more of in Park Slope. And another reason why I actually HOPE for falling prices in my neck of the woods.
My perspective on this was more about the issue of high home prices with regard to quality of life. I simply think the neighborhood could go even stronger with somewhat lower housing costs. Costs more in line with the salaries of those who most typically gentrify neighborhoods.
I trust things will continue to improve despite that, but I agree…seeing those kids out there is disheartening. They are the the ones in need of help. All this other stuff is not even close to as important.
FSQR, if you meant to engage me in a real conversation, it is odd that you chose to start it by giving me a lecture about how I should advise my clients. Perhaps if I describe my work you will better understand why I didn’t think your comment all that interesting or worthy of a response:
– I have practiced as a public defender for over 15 years. I work for an organization which teams its cases, with lawyers, social workers, and investigators focusing far beyond the four quarters of legal charges facing our clients. We track, document, and respond to patterns of arrests (trespasses, low-level narcotic arrests) which disproportionately restrict the life possibilities and freedom of movement of the communities we serve. We vigourously seek out those accusing our clients and secure statements – many of which are at sharp odds with their sworn to testimony at trial a year or so later. We also have housing lawyers and immigration lawyers on staff to advice us on the collateral consequences of pleas, and to represent our clients in housing court, other civil proceedings and in immigration proceedings. One of the unfortunate results of the criminalization of American society is that even minor infractions can have severe consequences in terms of residency, public employment and even education. Did you know that even marijuana convictions can prevent a young person from receiving financial aid for college? We worry about cases where the only evidence is “identification” evidence. We have litigated the kind of line-ups the police department does to avoid false “positives.” I worry about my young clients on probation who don’t have the family support to make it through five years of supervision. I struggle with adolescent clients whose minds are not yet mature and with adult clients whose minds have been damaged by years of drug abuse or who were never very bright to begin with, or who have been warped by a lifetime of incarceration. So many of the decisions are legally theirs, and I should be empowering them, but how do I weigh it against my responsibility to protect them from foolish decisions? I face 26 and 27 year old district attorneys who have neither the life experiences or the wish to empathetic of the less fortunate. And for the most part I enjoy it, oddly enough.
To reduce my work to “waiting for a better plea offer” and to suggest that I should be mindful about being beaten by some hot-shot district attorney was deeply ignorant and disrespectful of the time and effort I put into my work (despite the impression my postings on this site might indicate!). You took a cheap shot, I called you on it, and then you call me touchy. I think not.
As the spouse of the Brooklynian poster, I’d like to respond to a couple of things. For us this is a quality of life issue. We have never felt in danger in our neighborhood. Indeed, we rented nearby for a couple of years before buying our house, so we knew the score going in. That does not mean that we shouldn’t still be troubled by crime that appears to go unchecked by the police. The same goes for the people who have lived there for years; I don’t think it is only relative newcomers who would prefer to eliminate drug crime from our neighborhood, or, more realistically, deter the sort of out in the open sales that we see occurring. We would like to attend the precinct’s community meetings, but as I suspect is true for many people, our work schedules and other commitments do not permit it. As there is a police presence in the area, I cannot believe they are unaware of these activities, so I don’t see how further complaints would get them to respond better. But to those of you who are neighbors, make some calls when you see something. Maybe a critical mass will spur some action.
I cannot corroborate much of what saintv said. We’ve lived near this corner since 2006 and to us it appears the item sold is marijuana, but who can say for sure. I haven’t seen many obvious crackheads around. Nor did I hear anything about the drive-by, hit-and-run, hold up and in-home assault described by saintv, which seems surprising but not totally implausible. The kids hanging out on the corner every day make me sad more than anything else.
On another note, the comment about juries is complete baloney. I sat on a grand jury for two weeks and it was a real cross section of Brooklyn. I really don’t think anyone in the group could have been described as particularly mistrustful of the police going in, though the attitude of many (including myself) may have been shaded somewhat by what we learned during our service about the workings of undercover drug busts. Indeed, while I do wish the police could take some action in our neighborhood, at the same time I know that often innocent people are swept up along with the “real” criminals, if that is what you can call teenagers selling drugs for a pittance.
In spite of this one unfortunate aspect of my neighborhood, I still prefer living in a house in a diverse neighborhood two blocks from four express lines and 15 minutes from Prospect Park to living in an apartment in a white enclave on the F train and down a steep slope from the Park. (11217, as you might expect, even those of us who have purchased homes recently in Crown Heights could not conceive of affording a house in Park Slope in this lifetime. Even a two-bedroom apartment would be a major stretch.) But I’m vegan, don’t go out drinking much, and try to limit my shopping, so many of the “amenities” of Park Slope don’t appeal to me enough to sacrifice having a dining room, a basement, and outdoor space.
This picture shows a particularly ugly corner on an otherwise nice neighborhood. I have lived there for 2 years off Franklin and can attest to many changes. I have never been one for multi-family building arrangments, where you tend to get this type of trouble. Even friends of mine in Prospect Heights in multifamily buildings have similar problems…Right off St Johns and Franklin you have the very hip and happening bar “Franklin Park” (full of all sorts of people – but mostly white people) continue down Franklin and you will find a new bakery and tea shop “Lily and Fig” which will soon open, a new pizza parlour, a new Indian restaurant which opened a year ago, and new wine store (opened a year ago) with more than 500 types of Spanish wines, among others. I know people who have recently moved from Italy, japan, Germany UK, and elswhere in the US to settle in CH North in the last 4 years. This area is just getting better. Note that these are people who are here for the long haul – not just for 2-3 years. We welcome change while embracing the local community. And when I say the local community – it is full of wonderful afro-caribben people who actually own their homes and care about their community. So please now that the NEWBIES will not move on. We are here to stay. As someone said, if I need a good cheese, I go with my car to Fairway, Park Slope or order from Fresh Direct. It is no big deal really….
This picture shows a particularly ugly corner on an otherwise nice neighborhood. I have lived there for 2 years off Franklin and can attest to many changes. I have never been one for multi-family building arrangments, where you tend to get this type of trouble. Even friends of mine in Prospect Heights in multifamily buildings have similar problems…Right off St Johns and Franklin you have the very hip and happening bar “Franklin Park” (full of all sorts of people – but mostly white people) continue down Franklin and you will find a new bakery and tea shop “Lily and Fig” which will soon open, a new pizza parlour, a new Indian restaurant which opened a year ago, and new wine store (opened a year ago) with more than 500 types of Spanish wines, among others. I know people who have recently moved from Italy, japan, Germany UK, and elswhere in the US to settle in CH North in the last 4 years. This area is just getting better. Note that these are people who are hear for the long haul – not just for 2-3 years. We welcome change while embracing the local community. And when I say the local community – it is full of wonderful afro-caribben people who actually own their homes and care about their community. So please now that the NEWBIES will not move on. We are here to stay. As someone said, if I need a good cheese, I go with my car to Fairway, Park Slope or order from Fresh Direct. It is no big deal really….
Ok here is one part of this that was ignored. The police usually don’t respond or do anything about drug dealing unless someone has a gun. They have to actually catch someone in the act of dealing to really arrest them. They are business people and have figured out how to do their business. They get sloppy now and then, but they are fully aware of how to play the law. If you call 911 about drug dealing, they will ask you if anyone has a gun. The gun part will seal the deal for them and they will make a move. Here is my theory. Everyone’s gotta eat. There are people that have jobs and get paid and people that hustle and get paid. The cops know this. The city knows this. My experience in Brooklyn shows me that in any given neighborhood the MAJORITY rules. If the majority is Hasidic Jews, they dictate the behaviors and rules, In white neighborhoods, people sip wine on their stoops. In the Lower East Side the cops have been told not to respond to noise complaints because Bloomberg has declared it a “party zone” and it would be bad for business to tell the bars to keep the noise down. In poor and working class black neighborhoods there is a percentage of people that have to hustle to make a living. As long as that hustling is not hurting anyone, causing other crimes or drawing large numbers of complaints, then its business as usual. It keeps things status quo, people eat and no one gets hurt. Clampdown and well, what will folks do? Especially with high unemployment levels. The cops know its happening, but unless its really causing a problem to surrounding businesses and threatening people’s lives they do nothing really. They can’t, its majority rule basically. So until the majority swings the other way and people keep complaining, the 77th probably can’t do much.
You guys are so F-ing stupid with that “Stop Snitching” BS. “Hi it’s me…I live in a Shi*hole drug infested neighborhood…but don’t want to make it better.” “Snitching” is wrong…? Bull*hit
PLEASE! That same dude you want to “protect” by not snitching would just as well put a bullet in your face as the next guy…believe it!
Idiots!