To be fair to the NYPD, is there any proof that there was a decision not to put more cops on 125th Street? I certainly see more officers walking the beat on 125th than I do in Soho.
That ^ is the question I'm asking. Reports have stated that these guys hesitated to go after another potential victim because they saw a patrol car. I would hope to hear that there had been more foot patrols instigated around 125 / Park -- as cops on foot can be far more effective in deterring incidents on the street than the occasional passing of a patrol car.
You're right
Originally Posted by lofter1
Hi, I live in the neighborhood where JB was attacked. Police foot manpower and the lack is a major complaint with this precinct. Also, Metro North has state police manned at the 125th location. They are never visible or posted in the very corners that JB was running for help.
When the cops are around, they deter crime. In the last recruitment, this area received less than 10 new recruits to cover 62,000 square miles.
The real culprits in JB's death is the community board, the local politicians and community leaders that continue to substandard police protection.
Remember JB
I just want to add how sorry I am about JB. He seemed like a fine young man with great promise and love of life.
I would like to add that while the police is lacking in the area, the community here should also take responsiblity for breeding and upbringing of these type of young people. The one school we had that required testing for admissions was kicked out.
The community includes the schools, community centers, parents, and community leaders who are great at getting grants, but not dispersing them properly.
This area is marked for a Con Edison substation, new luxury condominimums, a new hotel, $1,M brownstones.... and yet they cannot control youth crime.
Dont' believe that hype about gentrification in Harlem. If there truly was gentrification, JB would still be alive.
Sad commentary on the state of East Harlem.
NYUNews.com had an online report yesterday that showed the area where JB was hit. It was a daytime photograph and it looked dark and dreary. One can only imagine how dark it may have been at night. I get torn over the issue of police quotas. But, police quotas eliminate any kind of reluctance to pursue a violation because of "the paperwork."
This still points back to the "downside" of gentrification. I have a friend who lives in Williamsburg on South 1st Street and the crime in her building was rampant (a burglary every day of the week for three weeks straight in her building). It is intolerable to me that whole communities can just be displaced because development has suddenly become ripe for the area. Today's article in the NY Times about 421-a tax credits for buildings that provide no affordable housing is also very relevant. Pardon the over used metaphor, but it is a perfect storm.
It's no excuse for violence, but desperate people act in desperate ways. If only the issue got as much play on the major news outlets, print and tv, as they do here. For every nano-second of hard issues like these we get 20 minutes of American Idol news. George Bush's America.
I am sad to learn of TLOZ's death. His posts were always intelligent and well written, and I will miss his insight. He was very well informed about issues involving cities other than New York, although New York was obviously a passion of his. He made a number kind and astute posts about Saint Louis, which I appreciated.
My sympathies to his family and friends.
Thanks for posting the announcement, Edward.
JB Hehman Memorial Project Details
http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/sh...3&postcount=38
This is tragic news. I didn't personally know him, but I find this news to be deeply disturbing.
Who were the young men chasing him?
Brooklyn: "It is intolerable to me that whole communities can just be displaced because development has suddenly become ripe for the area."
Yes, and now with eminent domain for "blighted areas" everything is up for grabs.... and we know what "blighted areas" is code word for.
It´s a big, big picture. Funny, while working I´ll occasionally switch to an American oldies radio station over the internet. It floors me to remember that there was a time when pop culture sang about peace and love...understanding... and "coming together". To hear that stuff today... it actually sounds subversive.
I had read the out-of-forum news on his death but not read the connection here until just now. Its a tragic loss, I didn't know him personally but I always appreciated his posts and thoughts. He will be missed.
From the Daily News:
City briefs
Fat Nick att'y decries bias
Howard Beach attack suspect Nicholas (Fat Nick) Minucci's lawyer used the tragic mugging of a white NYU student in Harlem to argue the city has a double standard for hate crimes. Albert Gaudelli said black teens who chased Broderick John Hehman to his death yelled, "Get the white boy!" but weren't charged with bias.
Meanwhile, he argued, his client is being penalized for using the N-word during an alleged bat attack on a black man in Howard Beach. "My client used the term, 'Wha up, n---a,' which is not racist. The word n---a is a word of address," he said.
Gaudelli made the argument during an application for bail for Minucci, which was rejected.
Austin Fenner
N, when used by ANYONE who is not your friend or a familiar, is an insult.
You don't say "What up B" to any woman you don't know, or say "You F'r" to anyone who is not your friend unless you are looking to start something.
The thing that gets me though is the delineation between going out and beating someone up for no other reason than the fact that you want to beat someone up, and doing so because they are of a different race.
How does this change the punishment?
Does it mean that if anyone were to go out and mug someone (Including beating them), it would be less serious if they:
1. Picked someone of their own race
2. Did not use racial epithets while doing so
I understand that the law is trying to address the serious issue of racially motivated crime, but does it really do this, or does it simply bring more attention to an already sticky issue?
PS, I believe that this was more than a simple mugging. It was a targeted beating, but would it have been any less serious if JB was black?
Read about this tragedy on SSP. I'm reposting my post I left there, because it pretty much sums up what I have to say.
Some things, well, they just seem unreal. It's hard to imagine that the events in the article have actually happened to one of the guys that just posts here with us. Rest in peace JB, **** the punks that took this person's life, and may God let not anything of the sort happen to all of you out here.
I am also very proud of WNY's response to the tragedy. This is definitely how I envision seeing our community in a newspaper article, but seems like the Internet, once again, amidst its rampant with and corruption, brought together well-meaning intelligent people and is helping one of its members even after his death. You know a forum is on the right path when it reaches out to one of its members by much more than mere comments.
i've been reading this forum for years without contributing and always appreciated his posts. i can't believe this has happened. he was so young.
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