Enough With the Marauding Teenagers!
A couple of months ago as we were walking East on Greene Avenue between Waverly and Washington we noticed in our peripheral vision someone approaching fast from behind. When we spun around, it was a teenage boy, probably about 15 years old, who had crept up and was hovering inches from the back of our…
A couple of months ago as we were walking East on Greene Avenue between Waverly and Washington we noticed in our peripheral vision someone approaching fast from behind. When we spun around, it was a teenage boy, probably about 15 years old, who had crept up and was hovering inches from the back of our head mocking us provocatively to the clear delight of his jeering friends. Ever risk-averse, we quickly walked out into the middle of the street and starting dialing on our cell phone. With a few shouts, the pack continued down the block. We jogged back to a police car we had noticed parked back on Vanderbilt, told the cops what had happened and went home. The next day we heard that a woman had been mugged half an hour later a few blocks from there by a bunch of teenagers. We’ve heard of several similar instances in the area in recent weeks. And it’s not just Clinton Hill. A post on Brooklynian describes how a trio of teenage girls (19, 17 and 12) mugged five different people in Prospect Heights on Saturday night (and how only one of them decided to press charges) and an email we received yesterday told of a violent mugging of a twenty-something male by a group of boys at around 8:15 Monday night at Dekalb and South Oxford Street in Fort Greene (above). What can the community do to combat this activity? Obviously greater police presence would help, but given the paltry resources the NYPD devotes to this part of town, it’s going to take a lot of vigilance on the part of residents in terms of reporting even small incidents of harassment and pressing charges. And everyone should be aware that a lot of these muggings are happening during daylight hours, often between the end of school and dinner time, so it’s a good idea to minimize iPod and cell phone usage during those times. Please use this comment thread to document other similar incidents that you know about in recent months as well as to suggest ways to address the problem.
my sister was jumped by a large group (8-10) of teenagers last week on willoughby right near home depot, before it was even dark out. they hit her on the back of the head, knocked her to the ground, kicked and punched her all over her body until she gave up her bag (with her laptop in it). she is a freelance writer–the laptop’s her livelihood–and living in bed-stuy. some nice people saw it happen, one guy went after the kids and got her bag back. another couple walked her home. 15 minutes later the police picked up three teenage girls around the corner–they pulled the same stunt. of course, no one could ID anyone and the teenagers scattered.
i’m all being aware, but that’s hard to do when you’re 5’1″, caught by surprise, way outnumbered and lying on the ground getting kicked.
if she had been hurt worse, the cops may have done something. she reported it, but without an ID or anything to go on, it was obvious they weren’t going to follow up (even though at least 3 people saw the whole thing).
http://www.1010wins.com/Tourist-Fights-Off-Attacker/2436510
1. This occurred on the Upper East Side.
2. Potential “victim” showed lots of guts, unlike scaredy cat Mr. Brownstoner.
3. She’s pretty good-looking!
Man that’s some pic 4:34. Hyenas & baboons!! What city is that??
these kids definitely not afraid of dogs. i took a pic of them right after brownstoner’s “incident”
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff161/finos3/ghetto202ou522.jpg
First, don’t waste your time reading blogs if you feel you are not prepared for being harrassed, assaulted or mugged. Take at least a few, (one is not enough), street self-defense classes. Take classes where you actually are hit & learn to hit back; learning to yell is important too. You will learn how to avoid situtions in the first place (most important) & deal with them physically and/or verbally if you have to. You can reduce your risk but you cannot eliminate it. This is life. If something serious does happen to you you should file a police report. blogging will not solve your problem; stop wasting your time & instead contact you local martial arts center & sign up; you’ll reduce your risk & gain some confidence. for those who want to discuss MMA; see you on Bodog but not in this forum. Osu.
4:24
Where was your stroller?
and your child??
and what were you doing home early enough for children to be awake? how can you afford to live in PS and NOT Be at work until 0200?
imposter.
How about those confrontations that we all have with two or three stroller moms? Its not only when they come up behind you but even when you’re facing them head-on they raise your blood pressure to the boiling point.
The entitlement of these white women with their $600- 1,200 strollers is what makes people sorry they evr learned of brooklyn…especially Park Slope!
I was once confronted by a roving group of exceptional children in Park Slope. They surrounded me, then proceeded to tickle me until I cried.
What should I have done?
1 – White people who live in black neighborhoods are prone to think race is 100% the reason for whatever crap they are dealt. The reality is teenagers are nuts, some more than others, and they will satisfy whatever chemical need that violence satisfies whether the victim is white, brown, or black. They will pick on anyone they think they can take. End of story.
2 – It is PRIDE that would makes you feel stupid or weak for not fighting back. If you want to risk getting beat up to protect your pride, then go for it. But it is not weak to turn the other cheek.