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.
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True, 1:08. There are few native-born blacks in those neighborhoods.
Black neighborhoods can be safe too, but stick to the immigrant hoods. Flatbush, East Flatbush, Crown Heights South, etc.
2 teenage black dudes tried to mug me once on Eastern Parkway. I’m a 6’2″ white dude wearing a suit in Crown Heights, so I guess I looked like an easy target. Sucks for them that I train seriously in Muay Thai. I doubt they will ever look at white people the same again, as I proceeded to kick one guy in the shins with my allen edmonds wingtips. The other guy was so shocked he just stood there, then ran away. The old timers on the benches gave me a round of applause it was a good day.
PERFECTLY safe in my neighborhood of Sunset Park. I don’t know why you people put up with that stuff. Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Kensington… all way better alternatives.
blacks are gonna cause the whites to fight back. in a major way. don’t f*ck with whitey.
blah!!!
12:07, MizJenkins sounds like the racist. She is conflating ghetto culture with black culture. She thinks cussing and listening to Young Jeezy will lessen the chances of a random assult.
The vast majority of blacks do not behave in the feral manner exhibited by these young hoodlums. Packs of violent youth are not seeking respect or understanding, and nobody’s (re)actions on the street will mitigate their idiocy.
And why do poor black girls have to get a fresh weave?
That just reeks of self-loathing.
I’m all for getting involved in the community and having respect and understanding the socio-economic realities of race and crime, but at the same time I can appreciate the fact that if a group of kids try to mug someone and one of them gets beaten to within an inch of their life, or even worse, takes their first step on the road to a long life with the criminal justice system, then they have only themselves to blame.
In the end, we are all ultimately responsible for our actions. Even the teenagers.
By the way, suggesting that all white people who move into black nabes listen to Coldplay, drink PBR, wear Vans and are motivated by a sense of entitled colonialism is racist too.
It works both ways MizJenkins.
Maybe the next time you get followed around a department store by some white guy in a blue blazer you will have a little more sympathy for white people who look over their shoulder when they get out of the subway in certain neighborhoods.
12:07, MizJenkins sounds like the racist. She is conflating ghetto culture with black culture. She thinks cussing and listening to Young Jeezy will lessen the chances of a random assult.
The vast majority of blacks do not behave in the feral manner exhibited by these young hoodlums. Packs of violent youth are not seeking respect or understanding, and nobody’s (re)actions on the street will mitigate their idiocy.