[nggallery id=”21567″ template=galleryview]

Yesterday’s press conference at the corner of Grand and Putnam avenues about the recent wave of violent crime in Eastern Clinton Hill (photo on the jump) must have touched a nerve: Less than 12 hours after Councilmember Letitia James and Deputy Borough President Yvonne J. Graham finished decrying the lack of resources being devoted by the city to the 88th Precinct, a traffic cop was shot at just yards away. According to a detective we spoke with this morning, the shooter fired on a traffic policeman in his patrol car between 2 and 2:30 a.m. this morning; the bullet missed its mark. The street is now closed off and the detective going door to door, in marked contrast to the shrug-like response that last week’s drive-by shooting on the corner elicited from the law enforcement community. The casual attitude taken by the precinct towards the situation was crystallized by a comment the same detective made to us. Because the corner was much worse a decade ago, he suggested, everyone should just be happy and stop complaining about it now. (This sounds remarkably similar to a comment another cop made to someone we know a couple of years ago that if she didn’t like the way things were in the neighborhood she should move out.) This from a guy, we can assure you, who lives nowhere near the neighborhood he works in. We’ll see whether this latest attack on their own gets the police to focus on this problem that has been under their noses for years. A good place to start might be the hours of videotape that the landlord of the problem building has of drug transactions going on in broad daylight. Up to now, the police have shown zero interest in viewing them. Maybe DA Charles Hynes can make the time.
Another Shooting on Grand and Putnam [Brownstoner]
Turning Up The Pressure on Grand and Putnam [Brownstoner]
Murder on Putnam: Will The Cops Show Up Now? [Brownstoner]

james-rally-0508.jpg


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

  1. OK. Let’s take a look at that corner. Dealing goes on in broad daylight every day. Guys on bikes have weed in bags shoved down their pants. Stop and search and you will find.
    Secondly, the corner block and the white building next to it on Grand are both home to drgu dealing activity. The white building has a constant day and night flow of degenerates moving through its doors. They sit outside and deal, at night “guards” take watch.
    It’s not a question of “whether” something is going on. It’s in plain view to residents. The rights I care about are those of law abiding citizens and the vast majority of people in the area are exactly that. If you see anything, call the police. Keep calling them. And keep calling them. Day and night. Let’s get these rats out of our community – let them think the whole community is watching them, taking their picture. They are weak individuals and we can BEAT THEM.

  2. I read this site on a daily basis and am a huge fan.
    However I have to weigh in on this.
    But honestly the 88th has their hands full. Im not saying that they should ignore the issues and it IS up to us to raise it but not many people know what goes on at the 88th on a daily basis.
    I was there not long ago when some kid tried to rob me on my way home from work and when I wouldnt let him take my back he followed me and yelled profanities in my face. I went to the 88th to put in a formal complaint because I figured this kid was probably doing this to other woman. Well, The things i saw in that precient made me thank on a daily basis that I was not a police officer in the 88th precient. Im also appalled at the poor salary the city pays them to put up with what they put up with.

1 11 12 13