Violent Mugging on South Elliott Place
A young woman reader writes: Last Thursday night at 1:30 a.m. I was mugged on South Elliott Place between Dekalb and Lafayette by 2 young men (between 16-25, but didn’t get a good look). They came running up from behind and grabbed me (not sure if they jumped out of the bushes or a dark…
A young woman reader writes:
Last Thursday night at 1:30 a.m. I was mugged on South Elliott Place between Dekalb and Lafayette by 2 young men (between 16-25, but didn’t get a good look). They came running up from behind and grabbed me (not sure if they jumped out of the bushes or a dark area under a stoop), threw me to the sidewalk, said they were holding a gun to my head, frisked me, and took my wallet, phone, keys, bag, and then ran away.
The victim also reports that, according to a detective at the 88th Precinct, this is the third time in the last week that a woman in her early 20s has been mugged by two men of matching descriptions between 1 and 4 a.m.
Part of the reason the crime in Fort Greene can happen like this is the side streets are very dark, and and this area is very residential, 95% of Fort Greene is fast asleep by 1:30 am on a week night. This is horrible and I am glad the person involved was not hurt.
My sixth grader was mugged on Lafayette and Vanderbilt a few weeks ago. He didn’t have any money, iPod, or cell phone and he was also “frisked”. He said it was two guys and they were at least sixteen. He was too shaken to remember anything else. It happened at around 4:30 in the afternoon on the one day he stays a little later so there were no other students to walk with him to the G. I take him in the mornings and in the afternoon he comes back with other students and parents except that one day a week. The school staff was superb and if there aren’t other students going in the same direction he waits for a staff person to take him when they are done for the day.
Rob – In the case of parent-supplied laptops I think its a case of easy come easy go.
there’s a free car service that runs after midnight on weekends where a woman can call if she feels unsafe going home and has no money on her for some reason. i dont know the name of it but i read about it a while back, im sure you can find it on google somewhere.
*rob*
Sam–I agree with you about a young woman walking around at that hour but really it applies to young men (or any people really) walking around that late at night as well. Anyone can get mugged at any time in this city but in quiet dark blocks late at night truly anyone can be victimized. The moral of this story is to minimize the amount of time one spends walking dark streets late at night.
It isn’t safe for a young woman to be walking alone that late in the city or anywhere. Would she walk around the deserted streets of the suburbs at 1:30 AM? Of course not.
She should just remember that the money she is saving on not having to own and maintain a car more than compensates for an occassional cab ride home late at night.
One of the most frustrating aspects of crime in Fort Greene (and probably elsewhere in Brooklyn) is how hard it is to get accurate information on what’s going on.
The 88th has a history of systematically under reporting crime. I was mugged last year in Fort Greene–hit from behind with a blunt object and knocked unconscious which resulted in a night in the hospital, Catscan, and reconstructive dental work. This was classified as a simple robbery, with no mention of assault.
Here’s a similar incident:
http://people.tribe.net/tandava/blog/64012c11-a329-431a-8fee-28c861c4103a
Sometimes the 88th is a victim of its own undereporting, as detailed in this NYTs article:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E6DA123BF934A35752C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
I’m glad that this young woman is ok, but seriously, whether living in Manhattan or Brooklyn I always took a a cab at that hour and asked the cabbie to wait until I was safely in the door.
I don’t think Brooklyn in inherently more dangerous–but our blocks can be especially deserted late in the evening.
sometimes i’ll be walking down the street and i’ll see someone so completely obvlious that even *I* could mug them and get away with it. the worst are people in starbucks who will just get up and walk away from their laptops. i can’t tell you how many times i’ve been like jeez, no one is even watching. where do these people come from? i bet they dont even lock their doors at night.
*Rob*