Tag: Crown Heights

September 28, 2009 / / Politics

What are the cops in your neighborhood up to? In the past 30 days, there have been 21 homicides in New York City – 29 less than the same period last year. Twelve of the homicides in the past 30 days took place in Brooklyn. Specifically Brownsville, East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Clinton Hill – and it’s clear that more officers are on the streets of Crown Heights these days after a summer punctuated by the sound of gunshots.

September 24, 2009 / / Politics

Residents, elected officials and family members gathered at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Fort Greene this week to remember Shem Walker’s life – an innocent Clinton Hill resident fatally shot by an undercover police officer – and discuss the implications, policy and the prevention of tragedies like this one.

September 12, 2009 / / Housing
September 9, 2009 / / Politics

A shot was fired on Dean Street between Bedford and Nostrand Avenues in Crown Heights last night around 9pm, striking a victim in the chest. According to officers at the precinct reached by phone today, the victim survived and was taken to Kings County Hospital. The motive was unclear and an investigation is pending.

August 18, 2009 / / Politics

The Red Hook Community Justice Center is housed in an old parochial school at 88 Visitation Place and at its core, is a courthouse with Judge Alex Calabrese presiding over cases involving civil, criminal and family law issues. It offers a holistic approach to criminal justice by attempting to redress the underlying cause of the crime and prevent recidivism through social services such as education workshops and mental health counseling. After ten years, why are the Justice Center’s successes still unique in the Borough?

August 9, 2009 / / Housing

In fiscal year 2009, 311 records indicate Brooklyn had 4,042 complaints of bed bugs and 1,729 violations. These numbers place Brooklyn first among all boroughs in number of complaints, with over 50% more complaints than the next closest borough, Manhattan. Dr. Louis Sorkin, a bed bug expert and entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History, thinks the City should offer its residents more education on preventing the spread of these tiny terrors. Here’s the scoop on what to do if you find yourself with these unwanted house guests.

August 9, 2009 / / Music

Dollar Van Demos, a YouTube upstart founded by Brooklynite Joe Revitte, seeks out and promotes local singers by filming them in the most local form of transportation: the dollar van. Brooklyn’s next generation of talent could be belting it out next to you on your way to work.

July 30, 2009 / / Politics
July 13, 2009 / / Politics

In spite of the menial attention garnered by Brooklyn’s violent and pervasive drug trade in the local news media, borough residents are making sure you’ve heard about their loved one, or even strangers, senselessly gunned down – but they’re not snitching.

June 18, 2009 / / Politics

With the recent controversy over a condo development turned homeless shelter on East New York Avenue in mind, I looked up the city budget for homeless families on David Yassky’s new site ItsYourMoneyNYC.com. On average, according to the budget, the city pays $32,400 per year to house homeless families.

That’s about the same as what the city has offered per family to Avi Shriki and HQ Marketing Partners for housing 67 families in their failed condo development on East New York Avenue in Crown Heights.