Murder on Putnam: Will The Cops Show Up Now?
Long one of the biggest drug spots in the borough, the corner of Putnam and Grand has remained a big problem even as the values of the surrounding brownstones have tripled over the past 5 or 6 years. Living in the area for the past year, we’ve been amazed at the almost complete lack of…
Long one of the biggest drug spots in the borough, the corner of Putnam and Grand has remained a big problem even as the values of the surrounding brownstones have tripled over the past 5 or 6 years. Living in the area for the past year, we’ve been amazed at the almost complete lack of police presence on the block. So it was not a huge surprise when we heard 10 or 12 gun shots at around 7 pm on Monday. Turns out that one of the frequent dice games which the drug dealers and their hangers-on play on the corner had gone bad. Three people were shot and two of them killed in the incident. We gather that two of them were from the immediate neighborhood and one from a little further out in Bed Stuy. We can only assume that the lone candle on the sidewalk is for one of them. We’ve been unable to find any mention in any of the local papers about the shootings.
When called about the incident, Letitia James has given her stump-speech line about how there are undercover cops on that corner all the time and that they’re on the case. Right. How about a consistent uniformed police presence? We also realize that it’s hard to make drug charges stick (a valid point someone made the last time we brought this topic up). Not to pick on Ms. James, who has done a good job in some other areas (she’s certainly stuck by her guns on Atlantic Yards and has been very helpful to some neighborhood business owners we know), but she has failed quite miserably in marshalling the necessary resolve and resources to solve this particular problem. We doubt it’s from lack of concern (heck, she lives within four blocks of the shootings) and suspect that she just has no sway or leverage over the police in her district and not enough pull in the Bloomberg administration to go over the precinct’s head.
We are curious to hear from readers how they have addressed these kinds of problems in their own neighborhoods. It occurs to us that a good place to start is to contact Councilwoman James’ office at 67 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217. You can also call her at 718-260-9191 or email her at james@council.nyc.ny.us. If you’re feeling a little bolder, why not give Captain John Cosgrove at the 88th a call? He can be reached at 718-636-6511. And if you know anyone else in the press or in the Bloomberg administration, please forward them the link to this post.
Pivotal Condo Project for Clinton Hill [Brownstoner]
“I guess that there really are very good reasons why there is a premium paid for Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope.”
Brownbomber- you can do this. You’re passionate about the neighborhood, up on the issues, you are invested in real estate-I know it cuts into your time, but it something like that needs a strong person at the head.
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The silence is deafening…..
Re: the police report posted by 11:13…Isn’t this Clinton Hill? But when there’s a murder involved…oh, it’s suddenly Bed Stuy.
I see lots of cops around Fulton and Nostrand area, but I haven’t been living there that long and don’t even know what precinct that is yet.
11:52, please read 11:44’s post.
Bed-Stuy Lover: the fact that people didn’t care about crime in Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill before they moved there is wrong, but pretty understandable. You can justly criticize people for turning a blind eye to conditions in the hood, but not for caring about the safety around their own homes. But you are right, people do get killed every day…
Bed Stuy Lover, what is it you’re saying? That only “other people” think being shot is a problem, not you? Perhaps you’re a little more zen than most folks… but I’m not aiming to get killed anywhere– my apartment, my block, sitting in a cab, waiting for a train, anywhere– anytime soon!
Not sure what your point is, but if your recommendation is that everyone just sit back and let their (and your) neighbors get shot, where does that get you?
Brownstoner, I’m glad you posted about this and put some important names and numbers in. I don’t live in your area but do live in BH in an area familiar with similar crimes– and a bodega frequented by dealers 24/7– and the only thing that stops it/slows it down is neighborhood people banding together to demand better protection by their police and elected officials. The 1:44 pm poster’s apathy is what often allows police precincts to get lazy about enforcing the law in their areas. It would be a shame if everyone thought that way.
Thanks for the good ideas.
Last night there was a murder on Stuyvesant Avenue between Jefferson and Hancock, supposedly the safer landmarked area (Stuyvesant Heights). http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4225176
I live about a block away. I don’t know what to do about it. Part of me is scared shitless and the other part of me says it can happen anywhere. My hunch, purely on anecdotal evidence, is that crime is increasing and the police presense is not. Residents pretending everything ok is not going to help either.
I can’t understand why there aren’t more cops walking the streets of Bed Stuy.
I work in midtown and there are more cops just hanging around street corners and subway entrances than i’ve seen total in bed stuy in three years. i wonder if we are being hurt by terrorism?
Brownstoner, I heard about the incident on Monday after returning home from a holiday picnic. It happened around 6pm and a few friends of mine heard the shots too. I immediately thought about you and your family and I’m happy to hear that no one got hurt in the crossfire. My heart goes out to you, your family and neighbors.
As I proposed on various other threads, I think we (residents of CH) need to form an organization (community wide) that specifically focuses on the issue of crime in CH. At this point it’s quite obvious that individual block associations can not do the job alone. It’s going to take many blocks coming together to tackle this problem collectively.
The problem areas in CH are clearly (1) Grand and Putnam, (2) Fulton and Washington, (3) Grand and Lafayette, (4) Fulton and Classon; (5) Fulton and Franklin; and (7) Classon and Lefferts Place. NYPD cameras at these locations are a start but it has to go much further.
IMHO, Southeastern Clinton Hill will not entirely change for the better without: (a) a consistent police presence; (b) the installation of cameras on various street corners; (c) the closing of the methadone center on Fulton and Waverly; (d) the turnover of certain trouble buildings, e.g., (i) Putnam and Grand, (ii) Washington and Fulton, (iii) Classon and Lefferts; and (e) the elimination of the three short term hotels in the area, e.g., (i) Washington Ave, (ii) Classon and Fulton and (iii) Lefferts and Classon. The methadone clinic and short term hotels are perhaps the biggest problems because their very existence creates a corridor that nurtures, supports, and promotes a criminal element in the area.
Now we can talk about street violence and crime in CH until we are all blue in the face but nothing good will ever happen unless we join forces and put forth a definitive plan to eliminate this problem. We can’t afford to wait five more years for gentrification to bail us out – it might not! What happens in the interim? Why should it take a stray bullet striking a “white 3yr old” for folks to take notice and action? Part of the problem is that the old residents of CH have become immune to the crime and violence and simply chalk it up to it being “part of life in the hood”. Another part of the problem is the utter unwillingness of gentrifiers to admit the real extent of the problem for fear of diminishing their property values and slowing down the rate of gentrification in their nabes. Either way you slice it both groups are not living in reality.
Now what’s next? Who’s willing to step up and form something tangible to address this very serious problem? I’m in. Who else? Brownstoner, perhaps you can help us organize?
This kills me!! I’ve lived in this area all my life and had to put up with this shit. Now all of sudden when other people move in to this area, now we have a problem..
Folks it is what it is. People get killed everyday. Now move along now nothing to see here.