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.
the what dog fighting?
nothing but asshats do that
i love dogs do not get one for protection get one for a pet and a companion
dog fighting -freaking lowlife
bay ridge? might as well be staten island
none of this crap happens in my area
and i pay alot less then most of you people pay
if you do not like it move or change your routine
100% agreement with 1:50. Seriously. The incident that spawned this whole thread was essentially brownstoner getting teased by a group of kids. They laughed at him, took him by surprise, and all of a sudden he makes the assumption that they’re out to steal his wallet or iPhone and runs across the street.
Let’s get some perspective here. I don’t mean to be harsh or dismissive, and I’m sympathetic to plight of people who’ve been mugged or accosted by a group of kids. On the very pages of this blog many times over the past few months brownstoner has reported shootings and gun violence in his neighborhood. I myself have had run-ins twice with a group of three teenagers in my neighborhood. (Both ended with me looking at them as if they were ridiculous, them laughing and hurling a couple of insults, and they and I both going on our way.) But part of the equation that’s being left out is the assumption that violence is the necessary next step in any interaction with a group of kids who are enjoying what little power they have by picking on oblivious people roaming around the neighborhood as if these kids are invisible. And it happens all the time out here. Is it any wonder things escalate when, instead of looking at the kid like the little blockhead they are and sending the message that their attempts to intimidate are wasted on you, you immediately begin fumbling with your phone and running away?
And carrying a weapon of any sort is stupid. If you’ve taken a self-defense class of any sort, you know that a weapon is far more likely to be taken from you and used against you than it is to save you from a violent attack. The introduction of the weapon escalates things from frightening to terrifying and life-threatening immediately. Please don’t let’s start thinking that every kid who throws a snowball at us and calls us “b**tch” is going to pound us into the dirt. And if someone does mug you, give them your stuff and report it to the police. That is an actionable offense. Simply getting called names and laughed at isn’t actionable, is a waste of police time and energy, and might very well be part of the reason cops don’t come running every time a person cries “assault!” when someone gives them the finger.
What:
So dogs can be “well bred”, but the same doesn’t apply to humans?
Funny how the dogs in this borough always seem so much better behaved. Now I get it.
Help me out, people:
If a white person is walking in a black Brooklyn neighborhood, does that mean s/he is an affluent and entitled liberal? You know, by default?
“you are right about the potential terrorists in Bay Ridge, the muslims are a problem. But having them close lets us keep an eye on them.”
If you’re an NYC cop, you have about as much chance of catching a real terrorist as you have of negotiating a apropriate contract. It’s completely beyond your means. Stick to comething you know, like busting turnstile-jumpers.
2:15,
Hi Larry David.
I used to have a dog that would just bark and growl at any black person that walked by. It was so embarrasing. He was a totally racist dog. Unbelievable, and I couldn’t figure out why. Anyway, trust me, black folks would cross to the other sidewalk when they saw me and my crazy dog coming.
It was a group of maruading teens that chased a man to his death on the Belt Parkway in Howard Beach and shot a man who made the mistake of going to Bensonhurst to buy a used car.
When was this 20 years ago. and that is your one example.
Let’s not forget one thing. Maurauding teenagers are not unique to Fort Greene. It was a group of maruading teens that chased a man to his death on the Belt Parkway in Howard Beach and shot a man who made the mistake of going to Bensonhurst to buy a used car.