Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
Live From The 94th Precinct Community Council Meeting
Filed under: 11101, 11211, 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
(Or: Special full-sized flag edition!*)
Part I: Roll Call, Meeting Minutes, Etc.
Part II: C.O. Ryan Gives The Rundown & the Question and Answer Session Commences
- C.O Ryan gives the low-down.
- Interesting/noteworthy: felony assaults for the last month were ten, which is (to use Mr. Ryan’s own words) “up from four”.
- C.O. Ryan outlines a city-wide grand larceny scam.**
- Graffiti is a serious problem.
Part III: More Q & A
- I ask C.O. Ryan a couple of questions. He confirmed that an armed robbery came to pass at Continental Auto Parts on Ash Street within the last month.
- Soundbite of the evening “What kind of a jerk puts a sign behind a pole?”
- A Maspeth Avenue resident asks questions about a recent mugging on her block, how concerned citizens can start a neighborhood watch group and exactly what is the “protocol” when when a crime happens between two jurisdictions. In her case: the 90th and 94th Precinct.
Part IV: The Conclusion
- The matter of vandalism/graffiti at 268 Norman Avenue is brought to the table. The medium was glass “etching” fluid. The cost to this business (Broadway Stages) was $8,000.
And so it goes for what is (in yours truly’s recollection) the shortest— and least punctual— 94th Precinct Community Council meeting in years.
*Props go out to Elizabeth Hulson for this!
**As outlined per the NYPD per an anonymous tipster:
The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance with locating and apprehending the following 3 suspects wanted in connection with 12 grand larcenies that occurred within Queens. Details are as follows.
In each incident, the victim is approached by one of the suspects who distracts the victim usually by informing them that their vehicle has a flat tire. When the victim goes to inspect the damage, the other suspect(s) removes property from the interior of the vehicle.
Incident# 1 (109 Precinct) On Thursday, August 9, 2012 at approximately 1500 hours, the victim exited a Bank of America, located at Parsons and Northern Blvd, as he drove away, he was stopped by one of the suspects who informs him of a flat tire. As he inspected the damaged tire, in front of 35-10 College Point Blvd., a second suspect removed property from his vehicle.
Incident# 2 (111 Precinct) On Saturday, December 15, 2012 at approximately 1500 hours, the victim exited a TD Bank and headed to his vehicle when he was he was approached by one of the suspects who informed him of a flat tire. As he inspected the damaged tire, a second suspect removed property from the sun visor of his vehicle.
Incident# 3 (106 Precinct) On Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at approximately 1435 hours the victim noticed she had a flat tire and pulled her vehicle over at Crossbay Blvd and 163 Ave to inspect the damage. One of the suspects approached the victim and offered to assist. As she returned to her vehicle, she realized her property had been removed.
Incident# 4 (109 Precinct) On Saturday, January 19, 2013 at approximately 1240 hours, the victim was exiting the Chase parking lot, located at 33-45 154 Street, when she was approached by one of the suspects who informed her of a flat tire. When she pulled her vehicle over a short distance later to inspect the damage, the suspect removed property from her vehicle and jumped into an awaiting car.
Incident# 5 (109 Precinct) On Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at approximately 1033 hours, the victim noticed he had a flat tire and pulled the vehicle over in front of 150-02 Northern Blvd to change the tire. The victim was approached by two male suspects who offered to assist. As one of the suspects assisted, the other removed property from his vehicle.
Incident# 6 (104 Precinct) On Friday, February 1, 2013 at approximately 1340 hours, the victim was approached by one of the suspects who informed her that she had a flat tire and offered to help. As they worked on the tire, an second suspect removed property from the passenger side of her vehicle.
Incident# 7 (109 Precinct) On Saturday, February 2, 2013 at approximately 1508 hours, as the victim approached his vehicle, parked inside a supermarket parking lot located at 144-50 Northern Blvd, he noticed his car tire had been slashed. After changing the tire, he noticed property missing from inside his vehicle.
Incident# 8 (106 Precinct) On Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at approximately 1230 hours, the victim was informed, by one of the suspects, that she had a flat tire and offered to help. Upon changing the tire, the victim realized property missing from her vehicle.
Incident# 9 (105 Precinct) On Friday, February 15, 2013 at approximately 1330 hours, as the victim approached her car, parked in the vicinity of 216-03 Jamaica Ave, two of the suspects waved a parking ticket claiming that she was ticketed. Additionally, the victim stated that she believed one of the suspects sprayed shaving cream on the back of her jacket and began to wipe it off. When she returned home, she discovered that property had been removed from her jacket.
Incident# 10 (102 Precinct) On Friday, February 15, 2013 at approximately 1520 hours, as the victim was driving, he noticed that he had a flat tire and pulled his vehicle over at 94-24 131 St. to inspect the damage. One of the suspects approached the victim wearing an orange vest and offered to assist. Upon changing the tire, he noticed property had been removed from his vehicle.
Incident# 11 (108 Precinct) (That’s Long Island City, gentle readers— Ed. Note) On Thursday, February 21, 2013 at approximately 1600 hours, three suspects approached the victim at 38-20 Review Ave to inform the victim that she had a flat tire and offered to help. The victim declined and drove to a tire repair shop, located at 38-18 Queens Blvd, to have the tire changed, The suspects followed the victim to that location and offered to help again while another suspect removed property from her vehicle.
Incident# 12 (109 Precinct) On Thursday, February 28, 2013 at approximately 1557 hours, as victim pulled into a parking lot along Northern Blvd, one of the suspects approached the to informed him that he had a flat tire, while another suspect sprayed an unknown substance onto his jacket. The first suspect convinced the victim to remove his jacket and placed it in the car. While the victim was distracted, the second suspect removed his jacket and fled the location.
Video attached from incident# 12.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers’ website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.
All calls are strictly confidential.
**** UPDATE DUFFY 4/01/13 ****
The following incidents have been added to the above listed citywide grand larceny pattern:
Incident #13 (61 Precinct) On Friday, 22, 2013 at approximately 1500 hours, when the victim pulled her car over near East 2 Street and Avenue T to check on a noise coming from a tire, one of the suspects approached, wearing an orange construction vest and holding a white bucket. The suspect stated he had a can of Fix-A-Flat and offered to assist her. While the suspect helped the victim, the second suspect went into the victim’s vehicle and removed cash.
Incident #14 (19 Precinct) On Monday, March 11, 2013 at approximately 1010 hours, the victim was sitting in her vehicle near 1st Avenue and East 82 Street when she was approached by a suspect who said that one of her rear tires was flat. The suspect offered her a can of Fix-a-Flat and told her to hold it against the tire. After the suspect walked away, the victim realized her handbag missing from inside the vehicle.
Incident #15 (102 Precinct) On Saturday, March 23, 2013 at approximately 1240 hours, the victim was parking her car near 101 Avenue and 121 Street when she was approached by a male wearing a construction vest who told her the air in her rear tires was low, and offered to help. While the suspect distracted the victim, a second suspect opened the victim’s vehicle and removed her purse.
Incident #16 (94 Precinct) On Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at approximately 1235 hours, the victim parked his car near Withers Street and Union Avenue and was approached by a suspect who told him the back of his jacket was dirty. The victim took the jacket off and placed it in his vehicle, before driving a short distance away. After parking, the second suspect approached the victim and told him the air was low in a rear tire. The suspect offered the help change the tire or to use a can of Fix-a-Flat. As the victim bent down to inspect the tire, the first suspect entered the victim’s car and removed cash from the victim’s jacket.
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Shots Fired On Dupont Street?
Filed under: 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
A lass named Laura writes November 3, 2012:
Hi Heather!
I just came home from helping a friend clean up after the storm. When I left the building I didn’t notice the bullet holes in both front doors of my building. Mike called the precinct at about 12:30 pm today to find out what the hell happened and why we weren’t told about it. Mike spoke to Detective Lopez who said someone came into our building and shot our doors. They don’t know who did it yet. We heard from neighbors that it happened at about 3-3:30 am. We’re mad as hell that the police didn’t ring bells and let tenants know. I’m all the way up on the 5th floor. And don’t always hear what’s going on downstairs. But my daughter often comes home from work in early morning hours and could have ended up as a victim. Detective Lopez said that the precinct can’t station a car out front to warn tenants. Duh! But they could have rung the bells! Lopez told Mike, “I’m sure they did”. Well I checked with other neighbors on my floor, and none of their bells were rung. Furthermore, I was up and down in bed last night because once or twice I heard loud voices downstairs. So I would have heard my bell ring.
I don’t care what the 94th precinct says. Crime is escalating in N. Greenpoint. I personally want to know if this incident ends up as an actual report. Mike’s calling 311 right now. We’ll be calling our building’s managing agent on Monday to push for cameras in this building.
Yikes! This is as good a reason as any to remind everyone this month’s 94th Precinct Community Council meeting will come to pass this upcoming Wednesday, November 7th, at 7:00 p.m.
94th Precinct Community Council Meeting
November 7, 2012 starting at 7:00 p.m.
Church of the Ascension
122 Java Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
TOMORROW: 94th Precinct Community Council Meeting
Filed under: 11206, 11211, 11222, Criminal Activity, East Williamsburg, East Williamsburg Brooklyn, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Just a quick reminder that the 94th Precinct Community Council meetings resume tomorrow!
94th Precinct Community Council Meeting
September 5, 2012 starting at 7:00 p.m.
Church of the Ascension
122 Java Street entrance
Brooklyn, New York 11222
LAST GASP: Robbed At Gunpoint On Commercial Street?
Filed under: 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic
Yes folks, it would appear this has come to pass. You can review the full list of items stolen by clicking here. Although I am very grateful no one was seriously hurt, yikes!
P.S.: Special thanks go out to Eva and Lisa for tipping me off to this. Thanks!
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Pedestrian Struck?
Filed under: 11211, East Williamsburg, East Williamsburg Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
A person we’ll call “T” writes today, August 2nd, 2012:
Hi Heather. Do you know where to find a police blotter for S. Williamsburg? Last night, at around midnight, a livery cab hit a pedestrian. Right in front of Legion, Metropolitan & Humboldt. I live across the street and heard the impact. He didn’t move at all (and I thought he was dead) but when the ambulance showed up 5 mins later and he was loaded on the gurney, he woke up and started screaming. I’d like to know if he’s OK and what happened. It sounds like the cab blew the light and nailed him in the crosswalk (I overheard the Legion witnesses giving statements to the police.)
Per “T” the victim was only 3-4 feet from the curb (using the crosswalk) and was thrown into oncoming traffic— on his face, no less— upon impact. This sounds really bad folks. I suspect I speak on the behalf of everyone reading this when I write that my heartfelt support goes to his family and loved ones and I hope he makes a full recovery.
I have contacted our wonderful 50th District Democratic Leader, Lincoln Restler, and am pleased to announce he is looking into what happened. If/when I hear something, I’ll share it here. In closing, I’d like to note this makes the third accident hereabouts in as many weeks. It is the second involving a livery cab. At what point are the powers-that-be going to acknowledge that we have a problem?
UPDATE, 10:21 p.m.: I have been told by an unidentified (but reliable) source that the individual struck was riding a skateboard the wrong way down Humboldt Street and, as a result, was struck by a livery cab. He was (obviously) injured, but survived. That’s good news if you ask me. Whether or not the livery cab was, in fact, running a red light (as alleged) has yet to be determined.
Spotted On Manhattan Avenue: National Night Out
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
Although I have posted about this already, here it is anyway!
National Night Out
August 7, 2012 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Meserole Avenue at Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, New York 11222
New York Shitty Videos Du Jour: Live From Graham Avenue & Driggs Avenue
After receiving a tip about— and later receiving a downright scary personal account from— the lady cyclist who was hit by a car at this intersection earlier this week, today I decided to see for myself exactly how the stop sign in question is obeyed. Or not— as you’ll see.
New York Shitty analysis:
- Props go to the livery cab driver who pulled over to let the ambulance pass.
- Otherwise, simply slowing down and peering around the corner does not a “stop” make.
- Methinks some traffic enforcement is in order.
As luck would have it the Commanding Officer of the 94th Precinct— Deputy Inspector Hurson himself— spied me walking down Woodpoint Road shortly after I shot the above footage. He pulled over and we talked. I told him about what I saw at this intersection, noting the recent accident (of which he was familiar). Hopefully we’ll see some action here moving forward…
UPDATE, 9:34 p.m.: I informed the lady recovering from this accident, who we’ll call “C”, of my findings. Here’s what she had to say.
…thank you for putting my story w. the photo on new york shitty. a friend said she saw that i commented… i told her she was nuts… but then we figured it out!! i spoke to (Good Samaritan — Ed. Note), one of the guys that helped me. he was actually driving behind the guy that hit (me) and said he didn’t stop. he actually sped up!! (Good Samaritan) has photos and took notes!!…
To be continued…?
From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part II: McGolrick Park, Worse Than Ever?
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Bum Shit, Dung of the Day, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Other Shit, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
In an email addressed to Assemblyman Joseph Lentol’s office, the 94th Precinct’s Community Affairs Office, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner (Kevin Jeffrey), Community Board 1’s Parks Supervisor/Open Space Alliance North Brooklyn’s Executive Director (Stephanie Thayer); City Councilman Steve Levin’s office and 50th Assembly District Democratic Leader (Lincoln Restler), among others a lady named Holly writes today, July 2nd, 2012:
I am writing this as a follow-up to the December 9, 2011 meeting concerning conditions at McGolrick Park. While it was said that a subsequent meeting would be held in April 2012 to readdress the issues presented, that of course never happened. And now seven months later, McGolrick Park is in worse shape than ever.
I will try to keep this letter as brief as possible, because I am very tired. . . tired of constantly volunteering and fundraising for a park that is continually destroyed, tired of continually pointing out problems that need to be addressed only to have those concerns fall on deaf ears, tired of being forsaken by the Parks Department and local politicians (with the exception of Lincoln Restler) who obviously do not care about the well-being of the park itself and the community that surrounds it.
I am attaching pictures I took today of the degenerating conditions of the park, and they should speak for themselves, but I would like to make the following important points:
1) The middle entrance on Monitor Street between Nassau Ave. and Driggs Ave. has become a residence for local drunkards. The area reeks of urine and alcohol and there are copious amounts of garbage and liquor bottles strewn about the area. They have literally lived in that unmaintained, isolated “meadow” for the past two weeks. It is disgusting and absolutely unacceptable. (Photos attached. I have taken the liberty of assembling them into a slide show which graces the beginning of this post. — Ed. Note.)
2) The benches at the center of the park have been destroyed for probably the tenth time since the December meeting. Graffiti is rampant. The Belgium stone surrounding the Monitor statue has been vandalized. The bulletin board has been broken – again. Garbage is openly thrown around the center of the park by the group of destructive and abusive teenagers that continue to haunt the center of the park. (Photos attached.)
3) There are trip hazards throughout the park. My group, The McGolrick Park Schools Alliance, donated and laid 1 ton of new top soil in the spring, filling in several of the larger trip hazards, but many remain. The other day my 2 ½ year old son was running through one of the lawns and suddenly fell directly on his nose. It was a large hole obscured by grass that made him fall.
4) Many people of this community blame the seasonal workers for the poor maintenance of the park. It is true that you can often see these workers sitting in the shack or on the benches. But let me be clear that the park workers are NOT to blame. If they are not working to their full potential then it is only because they are not receiving sufficient supervision and guidance. Moreover, after volunteering with some of these workers I was appalled to discover that they don’t have one functioning pincer and no work gloves – they have to buy their own safety supplies, and that is a travesty. So I gave them a bag of work gloves which is apparently more than their employer is willing to do. Also, I want you to be aware that these workers are verbally abused by aggressive teens and drunks on an almost daily basis. These workers, who literally have to clean the shit of the park, are treated as such, and they are given no support or power to improve their working conditions/our park. There should be a protocol put in place whereby workers are given the ability to call for police support at even the inkling of being threatened, or as soon as they see vagrants or vandals.
5) As has been true for years, the bathrooms of McGolrick Park are absolutely disgusting. Parents resort to allowing their children to relieve themselves on the perimeters of the playground rather than risk exposing their kids to the horrible bathroom conditions. This of course presents another set of health and safety issues. Moreover, urine and feces from resident drunks can still be found/smelled throughout the park.
6) The center pavilion is in absolute disrepair. Bird nests have destroyed the woodwork and so much graffiti has been haphazardly painted over that it looks atrocious.
7) I feel it should be known that following the December 9 meeting, and announcing that I would be starting a community group for McGolrick Park, I received a call from park officials “encouraging” me to work with The Friends of McGolrick instead of starting my own group (which would target children and families of our local schools). In addition, I was told that any police reports concerning the park should be left to Morgan Pehme (Mr. Pehme is the head of the Friends of McGolrick Park Group— Ed. Note) to make. So essentially, I was being asked to give up my fundamental rights as a citizen to accommodate the needs of others. Thankfully, I stuck to my guns and refused to work with “The Friends” as I clearly knew from the start that the group was impotent. To my knowledge they have not held one clean-up or community event within the park, and what is more infuriating is that they were handed $2500 from Exxon Mobil that has not been used or accounted for. This is money that should have been used for the benefit of our park and community and no one knows where it has gone.
This will be the last time I will reach out to those civil servants who are responsible for maintaining the health, safety, and beauty of our local park. I no longer wish to see my hard work and energy go down the drain because the people in charge just don’t care. However, if you are a community member reading this letter and are as outraged as I am, please forward this to others, and contact those officials that this email is addressed to. Tell them that you agree with these words – maybe then, someone will be held accountable and our park and neighborhood can change (back) for the better.
Holly
Here’s the deal, folks: Holly is not the only concerned citizen who is disgusted with the deteriorating state of this park. It was brought to my attention after last week’s Public Safety Committee meeting by a life-long Greenpoint resident and yet another parks patron has seen fit to do some documentation of her own. Her focus was on public defecation. Without further ado, here are her findings.
I honestly do not know what I can say that I have not said many times before— but I will do so (again) anyway. Until we as citizens, our civil servants and elected officials take up the matter of the homeless (and addiction) problem here honestly and realistically, I do not see anything changing. I was both saddened and disgusted when I happened upon a man who was clearly in need of medical help today in plain view of the McCarren Park Field House and the recently (re)opened pool. The latter of which, not surprisingly, has been receiving a great deal of police attention the last two days.
UPDATE, 6:51 p.m.: There appears to have been another incident at the McCarren Park Pool. Click here for Gothamist’s take.
UPDATE, 7:47 p.m.: Holly gets a response— and responds!
From The New York Shitty Inbox: A Dispatch From The McCarren Park Pool
Filed under: 11211, 11222, Criminal Activity, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn
A person we’ll call “E” writes (in an email entitled “McCarren Pool/Hot Tip!” at 6:33 p.m.):
the pool is lovely. up until the lifeguards tried to get someone to stop doing something. lifeguard jumped in the pool. another got pushed in. fracas! punches were thrown, not too many people involved. they kicked everyone out and closed the poop an hour early. 2 squad cars and 2 unmarked cars were on the scene. alas, no photos.
Interesting/relevant fact: We used to have a Parks Enforcement Police “PEP” Officer in our district. The powers-that-be got rid of him. Happy Friday.
UPDATE, 8:33 p.m.: Here’s the 411 per 94th Precinct’s Community Affairs office:
No riot… Just a fight involving 3 people and then a lifeguard tried to intervene (and) got hit by accident (no injuries).
Thus, the person witnesses saw taken away in an ambulance was a lifeguard— and the above missive from the 94th intimates his injuries were not severe. Does this mean this incident isn’t worrisome? It is. What transpired today raises (in my opinion) a very important question:
Exactly what IS the protocol at the McCarren Park Pool for handling emergencies— be it a fight, a medical emergency, accident, etc.?
Unlike McCarren Park (or any park here, for that matter) pool users probably do not have cell phones handy to call 911 if /when an emergency arises— so who does? Thoughts/information, anyone?
P.S.: While I am fairly certain “E” meant “pool” in the third sentence, it gave me an opportunity to share one of my favorite parts of Caddyshack (and there are many). Such is one of the perks of being one’s own editor.
P.S. #2: Why is it whenever something bad happens at McCarren Park it is located in Greenpoint?
I’d really like to know.
From The New York Shitty Inbox: From The 94th Precinct
D.I. Hurson writes:
Need your help again we found this dog yesterday on Manhattan avenue. Could you post this picture on your blog.
Gladly! If anyone reading this post knows to whom this lovely and well -behaved lass belongs please contact the 94th Precinct at: (718) 383 – 3879. Thanks!
P.S.: I have taken the liberty of creating a print quality 8.5″ x 11″ flyer (which can be seen above) for those of you who may be interested in posting/distributing them. You can download this by clicking here.
NYS Flickr Pool
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