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A tipster pointed out to us that the Carlton-Willoughby Block Association began passing out these flyers on Tuesday. The flyers warn that there have been three muggings in as many weeks in or around the Fort Greene area, and that residents should be more inconspicuous and careful when walking alone with iPods and mobile phones. Of the three muggings, fortunately no one has been seriously injured.


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  1. Minard, your attitude is exactly what I was describing as tolerance. There is nothing inevitable about muggings. I’ve lived in various large cities all my life, and I found there is no reason to tolerate petty crimes. If we can lower crime in Alphabet City and on the Bowery, there is no reason it can’t be done in Fort Greene.

  2. twice I was almost mugged when I lived in Bklyn Heights and only because I was very aware, was I not. the first time I saw someone right behind me and everytime I turned my head he tried to step out of my line of sight. Just so happens I have very good peripheral vision,I turned and walked into a store- he followed me right up to the door, then fled.

    The time I actually was mugged was a good deal part of my own stupidity. I stopped to pet a cat- on my own street- and saw a group of kids coming up on my side. I was so blase and stupid. Just because it was my street and there were people around I thought nothing of it. Wrong- they held a gun to the back of my head and took my money.

  3. PEOPLE – PASSING JUDGMENT ON SOMEONE WHO COULD HAVE AVOIDED BEING MUGGED BY EXERCISING A MODICUM OF GOOD JUDGMENT AND COMMON SENSE IS NOT – I REPEAT NOT – THE SAME THING AS SAYING WE SHOULDN’T MAKE THE STREETS SAFER AND TRY TO ELIMINATE MUGGINGS.

    Sheesh. The simplest of premises has been completely misconstrued.

  4. “This poster is less than useless, you could be walking smart and listening up on to your 6am shift at the hospital on a darkish residential block, it won’t matter a bit.”

    Bingo – being alert helps in the rare situation that fleeing is a possibility, but as Maly said, muggings are more of a ‘wrong place @ the wrong time’ situation.

  5. Let’s deconstruct that poster, shall we? The two points most emphasized are walk smart and listen up, which may or may not be helpful. I think muggings occur as crimes of opportunity, at times and in areas that have low traffic and low lights. That mean residential blocks without any retail, or very early mornings. The aggressor(s) have the advantage of surprise, and of picking the time and place. There’s the Baghdad solution: walk in packs, take a cab if you’re alone, or between 11pm and 7am, don’t display jewelry, hide your valuables and keep a few bucks in your front pockets. Then there’s the urban planning and policing solution: zone for street level retail around subways and on street corners, institute random and frequent community police patrol at peak crime hours, improve and mandate lighting on residential blocks, publicize community meetings.
    This poster is less than useless, you could be walking smart and listening up on to your 6am shift at the hospital on a darkish residential block, it won’t matter a bit.

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