Crown Heights, a tale of two cities at least

Thanks to Facebook I've learned of an episode of gunfire in Crown Heights on Crown St. near Utica Avenue which makes it the Eastern side of Crown Heights to some or as long term residents would recognize the part of Crown Heights furthest from the warm glow of the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

Yesterday I learned from reading the IloveFranklinAve blog of a shooting that wounded a man on Franklin Ave & St Johns Place.

Two shootings in one area in less than a week may very well provoke the worn conversation among new comers of whether Crown Heights is "going back" to something dangerous and negative. I hate that conversation. it's simplistic, reactionary not supported by facts and I hate the what it implies and what the conversation omits, namely that for some crown heights residents hard times never ended.

Crown Heights is a large area. It measures two miles long by a mile. Part of it is seeing a boom of new activity shops that were redundant are having their rents raised by their owners in the hopes of attracting the next artisanally prepared cash cow. Vacant spaces are being cleaned up for the same in the areas around Franklin, Bedford & Nostrand Avenues. Personally I think the new consumer options are great and the process by which their made unfortunate and sometimes unfair.

This past weekend while enjoying the sun and sounds of teens playing in Brower Park on Brooklyn Avenue near Prospect Place I noticed across the street on the wall of a school annex a mural created in 2009 by high school students and the non-profit Groundswell dedicated to the problem of gun-violence. Gun violence never stopped being a problem for many in Crown Heights.

Despite all the fuss about things of relative little consequence like bike parking spaces, there are people in Crown Heights who are working class, and spend much of their time trying to make ends meet in a section of the neighborhood that doesn't get the New York Times and New York Magazine coverage so generously bestowed on the Crown Heights just one mile west.  

Meanwhile on commercial strips like Kingston and Utica Avenues (between St. Johns & Atlantic) there is nearly the opposite situation with some addresses looking ready to collapse under the weight of time and disregard.

It's nearly a tale of two cities. Go ahead, google "Crown Heights Shooting" see which comes up first and which has more listings. The Franklin Ave shooting barely comes up. I doubt that's the story anyone wants to tell of gentrified Franklin Ave. The story of the shooting near Utica Ave is hard to miss.

You have one Crown Heights where owners decide to unleash building improvements and investment spurring increases in city services, police protection, beautification, bike racks and the other where many commercial and rental owners haven't made investment possibly because they're waiting for a community different from the current one, to take root. This is a big part of why it's destructive and simplistic to sub-divide Brooklyn neighborhoods as has been commonly done and at a hyper rate for the last ten years. Once there was Crown Heights. Now there is Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and there appears to be attempts at making distinctions between West & East Crown Heights. Before I drag out my soap box to shout about the past when a resident didn't need geographical distinctions to the name of their neighborhood, because they knew their neighborhood, I'll bring up what I think the bigger issue is. Changing the name of the "improved" part of a neighborhood only increases the likelihood that the "unimproved" part of the neighborhood won't get better.

Imagine braking your leg and rather than give aid to it, you cut it off. That's what happens if points East of Kingston Avenue (to pick a street) become unhinged from Washington, Classon & media daring Franklin Avenues. Separating one part of Crown Heights from the other means separating the stories that are told of those places, and those stories become the public realities. So shooting on Franklin get's a certain type of media attention if for no other reason than it's contrary to the expectations now existing (and reported) for Franklin Avenue. While a shooting near Utica is reported as the same old song.

The conversation I've heard after almost every violent crime is committed in this neighborhood of over 150,000 people is "Is it going back?!?" The reality is there are a lot of people who never got to go forward.

Crown Heights will have occasional violent episodes, just like most New York City does. Those tragedies when they occur will less a harbinger of new comer doom than a sign that long term residents are still struggling in crisis.

Finally Friday

Been a long week, and I've yet to post about the positive community meeting regarding rezoning and landmarking proposals in Crown Hts or the many new businesses blooming on Franklin Avenue or the hundreds of bike share docks popping up all over northern Brooklyn but that's what's on my mind. Here's some pics in the meantime:

Photo Wednesday 11/17/10 New To Market Edition

hah. I just noticed my last few photos all seem to happen in the wee hours of the night. Working 55 hour weeks will do that.

and yet there is no end to the activity on Franklin Ave day or night. And it's good stuff at that as witnessed by today's Wednesday photo featuring the new market opening between Sterling and St. Johns in place if the former "Nairobi's Corner" daycare. (in Crown Heights of course)

Word on the skreet is it's a new market that will feature an eat in area an specialize in Asian items. The skreet also claims this new business is a spin-off of current Quasi-health/fruit market, Nam's.

stay tuned for more.

Pawn Shop Alternatives : Tonight

If you haven't heard there's a pawn(shop)war going on in Crown Heights (or if you prefer Crow Hill)

The gist, the owners of a local laundromat at the corner of Park Pl and Franklin Ave have decided to setup a PawnShip in the rear if their building.

This caused much sadness and consternation among many residents (this writer included) because of the way in which Pawn Shops ensnare lower income peoples in a negative cycle while the fast cash offered obscures those negatives.

Residents were so motivated they contacted one another, including and other local businesses including the multifaceted arts space Launch Pad who with councilwoman Letitia James held an impromptu rally.

All of this was and continues to be well covered by the ilovefranklinave" blog

During the rally concerned residents expressed many truths about pawn shops and how instead of provinding economic opportunity to people with low funds they actually help keep people down. This post is intended as a brief but I'll be happy to go into details in the comments section of this post.

Regarding the pawn shop it's placement, questions of zoning and the overall legality of the business were also called into question.

The result seemed to be successfully preventing the pawnshop from opening. But like a bad penny the shop has since turned back up and seems determined go open soon.

Video from the protest rally against the shop brought some interesting aspects of the debate about pawn shops. A small but vocal number of residents came out in support of the planned pawn shop and stated their intent to do make use of it. These residents expressed their frustration that they could not find any other access to credit or loans and that for them the pawnshop was the only option. Some of those in support said they intended to look for work in the pawn shop and that despite several new businesses on Franklin Ave in the last two years, they weren't able to find employment from them.

The video especially impressed me for the thoughtful and civil nature of the public debate despite obvious passions and personal interests.

As the debate continued residents opposed to the Pawn shop suggested other methods of credit and loans to the shop supporters and the result so far is in the photo above.

Tonight at the LaunchPad space at 7:30p there will be a with the purpose of connecting people with few credit options to local bankers who can offer options.

Launch Pad is located at 741 Franklin Ave between Park and Sterling Places. I encourage you to attend even if you don't have a financial need. I expect it'll be a great way to stay aware of how the community doing.

1 Shot on Franklin Av

Yesterday afternoon in the midst of a beautiful summer's day there was that most unfortunate activity on Franklin Avenue. According to eyewitnesses a verbal altercation between two young (possibly teenaged) males turned lethal as one male pulled a handgun out and began firing at the other. Eyewitness report one shot fired followed rapidly by two more. The intended target was shot once in the leg. He was said to bleed profusely and was taken away by ambulance. Police arrived shortly after, and again according to eyewitnesses a suspect was apprehended within hours.

I was showing my cousin how the neighborhood changed when I ran into people who told me what happened.

In my mind of course this is arguable the worst aspect of crime taken place in the area, my sources indicate the shooter was erratic, which may account for him shooting three times at nearly point blank range and missing twice. Not that I am wanting professional marksmen to be committing gun crimes, but the only thing worse than criminal behavior to me anyway is wild unfocused criminal behavior.

The shooting took place on Franklin between Anyone passing by could have gotten shot. Which brings up my next thought, as much as people want to talk, or imagine, what the "bad ol' days" were like, let me tell you, people did not pull out guns at 2pm in the middle of a crowded street. Granted there were those crack days where anything goes and a drive by would happen, but and understand I am not condoning anything merely stunned by the lack of logic, those idiots doing drive bys had an escape planned. Apparently the shooter had so little awareness of what his actions would lead to that he then ran, down Franklin Av, past dozens of people. More baffling to me is Franklin Av is heavily policed these days. Since the shootings that happened a few months back (this brings the total of shootings on ten block strip of Franklin Ave this year to at least three) and an increase in robberies (which I personally experienced in May) local Police authorities and representatives have saw to an increase in foot patrols that is visible on and around Franklin av, day and night.

Again I'm not really seeking logic from the type of individual who would pull a gun in broad day light as a means of winning a verbal disagreement, but it just increases the concern factor. As I have written my belief is personal vigilance lowers the risk of being caught up in a crime/violence situation. But random ignorance is a lot harder to protect against. Stray bullets even harder.

A friend was attempting to walk down the street when it happened and he had to duck for cover. Thank goodness for his quick reactions but who wants to be dodging bullets in their neighborhood?

Photo Wednesday 04/14/10 : Guard Your Grill Edition

Taken on Franklin Avenue near corner of Lincoln. (No bailout here)

Franklin Avenue in the (say it with me) Crown Heights section of Brooklyn has had a lot of rough and occassionally violent goings on lately. To be fair, ten years, twenty years, even thirty years ago, this would not have been news. But the Ave has been getting noticeably better, garnering news coverage, blog posts, and a neat crop of new businesses especially eateries, so it can be shocking to hear about rooftop snipings (I'm sure they were targeted, but still) and brutal slashings (again targeted but still..) Anyway, we live in a big city, not everyone in this and often other city neighborhoods beamed down from college, loaded with dreams and a taste for IPAs. There's at least two worlds existing side by side, with some broad overlap but not alot.

Some people (especially young ones) are living in a state of mind that offers extreme views and more extreme choices. Last night while I was sitting at Franklin Park (a fave) on St. Johns, a series of loud screams erupted outside in the street. Suddenly a line of figures went sprinting horizontally like two-dimensional characters in a Scooby-Doo episode. They were teens, across the street, running top speed, police officers followed right behind, and inexplicably another line of teenagers ran after the cops. All of them yelling at each other.
After, I and the rest of the outdoor beer garden patrons of Franklin Park watched the HDTV like scene and then turned back to our beers and socializing.

It's logical to fear random violence, which by definition can happen anywhere to anyone but these recent acts aren't random. Sad but not random. A friend living on Crown St. is considering a move after hearing about the rooftop shootings, and I can understand that. I would say that you generally can't escape New York's mean streets entirely, but staying aware is a big part of not being a victim.

UPDATE* Media reports the rooftop shooter suspect apprehended by Police (according to reports the 21 year old was a "rival" of the intended victims and was found hiding under the bed of his sister's apartment. Classic.

Hold the pickles, hold the fries, hold the burger......

It seems the Dutch Boy Burgers that and I and others have been blogging about with mouthwatering suspense, won't be firing up the grill just yet.

The yet to be opened food spot's window went from sporting a Stop Work" order to a straight up menacing "VACATE" sign (Pictured above) at first I thought it said "VACA te" which coulda made sense but nope.

It means until further notice everyone is barred from entering. Worse yet it includes Franklin Park's large bar room (not the small one at the end of the beer garden, that's open). Sad. When will it be burger time?

I wonder if Matt the owner feels like this: