The news trucks have returned. On Clarkson, that's rarely good news. (Is it EVER good news when the local news shows up on your block? Makes you think about what it takes for something to be called "news" at all.) Last night, on the 6th Floor of the most infamous building in the neighborhood - 60 Clarkson - a young woman, just 22 years old, was stabbed to death by an irate, insanely jealous, probably intoxicated, man. The woman, essentially homeless but bouncing around, had recently left the building only to return, caught up in a bad crowd, part of an extended family that long ago should have been moved from the building to provide a safer environment for the many children, younger than the victim, who are part of the household. And yes, they were there when the man broke the door down to gain entrance.
The Q learned some other tidbits best shared with the police. Imagine living in a building where an angry man busts down a door and in a fit of rage grabs a knife, and maybe someone neglects calling 911 long enough for the assailant to get away? The details will be rehashed I'm sure, but the murderer has fled, though by all accounts he won't be able to get far, since he's been identified as the assailant by many.
Once again, the Q's heart is heavy, knowing that a life was needlessly lost, and many children scarred by this tragedy, not just the misery of poverty and dysfunction and the inability of a City to shut down a monstrous landlord - Barry Hers.
Folks, this could have been easily prevented with proper security in the building. How can you have a de facto homeless shelter for families, with many of the mothers being victims of abuse, and not ensure the safety of the people inside? How much does that even cost? More than the cost of human lives apparently. That was the sick calculus that led to this young woman's death. The cops might not haul you in, Barry. But in the court of morality, you are guilty of the most heinous crimes. May you suffer torment and the pangs of a guilty conscience, if not here, at least on the other side. Feel free to go there anytime. We won't miss you.
15 comments:
Yes. It's definitely the landlord's fault not the guy with the knife! And, even if you have Homeless Police there it would not have stopped this. 681 Clarkson have dozens of officers at that facility 24/7 and there are assaults, disputes and drug activity there on a daily basis. Gotta love it! Bourgeois liberal preaching and pretending to care as though you learned it in some textbook or the Bourgeois bible the NYT. As annoying as Corey Booker was at least he preached what he practiced and actually lived in a housing project.
You live across the street but you don't live it. You are nothing but a disconnected spectator in other people's misery. Do you really care? Then come out from your puerile blog and actually do something. Perhaps if 60 Clarkson is such a threat to human life as you claim maybe you should help Ms. Cox's family by bringing them to the safety of your home. At least they will be safe from that rampaging murderous landlord. But you won't because you really don't care like so many overly educated people. Misery is nothing but another platform for your masterbating liberal semantics. Words and ideas are more important to you than human beings. You try so hard to pretend you have some connection or understanding with people of color when in actuality you might as well be back in Iowa because that is as close as you will ever be. And, Alicia is the crazy one, right?
Go on. You're getting somewhere with your feelings and I don't want to stop you.
Yes, it is absolutely the landlord's fault. The most basic security measures would have easily prevented this tragedy. And when it comes to 60 Clarkson, the Q is the only reason the building got any attention in the first place. That's certainly how we (CHTU) found out about what was going on. So you can sit from your anonymous perch and place blame on whomever you want. The rest of us, Q included, will be busy ensuring Barry Hers gets his due. He has blood on his hands.You are defending this monster while hiding your identity, which makes you a coward. C O W A R D! Yes, you! My name is Esteban, and I'm proud of my neighbor, the Q for the work he's put in at 60 Clarkson. Someday maybe even you,"anonymous," will find a place in your cold black heart to bestow some humanity on to the people that you're denigrating. Punk.
A loss of words from such a pithy gentleman. Very disappointing. Your little bourgeois piglets must be keeping you busy on such a lovely weekend. Children are wonderful aren't they? They are like leaches sucking the life out of you. You just hope they suck the goodness out of you and not the evilness. Well, Mr. Thomas I will leave you be so you may attend to your domestic duties. What's that hippy song? Teach your children well....look your spawn in the eye tonight and tell them that there is nothing more sad than a sanctamonious charlatan in the world. You really should run for office.
Guten nacht und sube traume
Herr Thomas.
I'm so sorry. Our time is up for this week. The receptionist has your bill ready. Remember, I'll be away for the month of August, so if you're in a desperate state I have the number of a colleague you can call. Oh, and the word "pithy" seems inapt. Try the dictionary.
The mentioning of children, however, has forced me to take note of your IP address. I think it's high time you move along now.
Ah Herr Thomas it's cute that you have your friend do your dirty work. You see he is loyal to you. A very honorable trait. He is also very "proud" of you. "Proud" such an interesting word n'est-ce pas? It kind of evokes a certain elite structuralism....then he spoils it with punk. Pretending to be from the "street" I guess. He should certainly be "proud" of his university education as like you Herr Thomas. Those wonderful ideas you paid so dearly for will certainly improve the miserable lot at 60 Clarkson. Just as the ideas at Alexandria did for the ancients. Senor Girona you are correct I am a simple COWARD you hides behind the moniker of anonymous. This is so true! And, I hope to die as I came into this world. Anonymously. I guess I am not smart enough to actually believe I could be so sanctamonious in such an expansive universe. Das Schwarze Herz.
Okay. Herr Thomas. I don't mean to scare you. I apologize. Good luck and good bye.
Hey Tim, this is not intended to be published although i don't mind if you do. I want those homeless people out of that building and out of PLG. Please understand that it isn't because I don't care about their plight because I really do. What has gone on in that building is sickening and tragic. It's just that I don't see what difference it makes to them if they're in PLG or ENY or East Hampton as long as they have a safe, clean place to live. But it does make a difference to me and most other homeowners in the nabe that a homeless shelter with all it's associated violence and drama exists in it. Home values and sense of safety are affected and continued investment discouraged by 60 Clarkson. I fully understand that development will continue with or without homeless folks living and dying in that building but NIMBY. Sorry man. Anyone who says different is lying to you.
Given what I've read on your blog, I'm sure you'll call me a callous uncaring bastard. It's just not true. I just think you need to adjust to the reality that when enough people are paying what they're paying for PLG homes they will not tolerate (no matter how tragic) 60 Clarkson. You can call be an asshole but you're swimming upstream on this one.
No, I'm not going to call you a callous uncaring bastard. I would like to see solutions. For some of the residents, the solution was a Section 8 voucher that allowed them to move into (hopefully) better accommodations. For some, moving to another Barry Hers facility down the road was a sideways move that merely kicks the problem down the road a few blocks.
From discussing the problem with a longtime resident at 60, some of the last holdouts in the building are some of the toughest cases. Including, as we've seen, situations involving drugs and violence. There was a big bust there a few weeks back that I didn't even bother to comment on. These folks aren't new; the problems have existed for years and years. Some of the traffic is coming from Woodruff, but that's another issue to be addressed.
My first choice would have been to see Hers convicted on many counts, and that may still happen. And I would want the longtime tenants to be able to stay in their apartments at the correct stabilized rates, and have a decent building and proper maintenance.
The homeless system needs an overhaul - we can't continue to prioritize substandard homeless housing at inflated prices in rent stabilized buildings. These apartments should be for general tenants and not taken out of the system to solve another crisis. This is a beautiful building, and its stock should be taken care of and properly managed. It's a great place to live; Barry turned it into a hellhole.
As for anyone responsible for selling drugs, creating unsafe situations for children and expressing violence - they should be dealt with in criminal and civil court. Thankfully even on a block with lots of poverty, the cases of abject depravity and disregard for human life are relatively rare.
This building should be in some sort of receivership until the problem is fixed. I would argue that we're in the middle of a solution, but nowhere near its end. If you want to help, feel free to email me offline. There is always a humane way to deal with any problem, if we don't simply turn our backs on it and let people get away with (literally) murder. To a certain extent, this is like a "refugee crisis."
Lastly, I would remind everyone, that while violence so near to home is disturbing, this did not happen to you, or me or our families. It happened. It just happened to be nearby. When gunplay happens in the streets, I take that personally. All of the balloons and tears in front of 60 yesterday suggest that this is a true tragedy that has affected many people. As my antagonist was right to point out, we are merely observers, too close for comfort, but still just observers. Hopefully, we are able to muster the courage to help persuade officials of the best course of action.
Trust me, I'm not turning my back for a minute.
If Hers, the owner, is responsible for murderers entering his property and committing homicides, then surely Larry Silverstein should be held accountable for the loss of life in his buildings -- The World Trade Center -- on 9/11.
To think that seizing real estate from opportunistic landlords would somehow erase or minimize the social pathologies that afflict the tenants of these buildings is the most abusive form of magical thinking.
The landlord with the worst record of building management in NY City is the City itself. If you want life to become even more miserable for the people in 60 Clarkson, the City can deliver.
On the other hand, if Hers has his way, the property would become a site filled with solvent, rent-paying tenants and the building would become a net contributor to the tax-base of NY City, thereby providing some funds to help people who have fallen into the plight of needing full-time, 100 percent coverage of all their expenses in life, and probably death.
Taxpayers will probably get the bill for costs tied to the recently deceased murder victim, not least of which would be the expense of catching, prosecuting and incarcerating the killer.
Where is all the anger coming from towards Tim? Geez... he writes an interesting neighborhood blog - in my humble opinion. I have lived on Winthrop for 20+ years - my first apartment was on Clarkson in the mid 80's and believe me first Clarkson (between Bedford and Flatbush) has always been a rough block. Tim, I believe - is simply saying that Barry Hers makes a ton of money. Roughly about 3K off of every single member of each homeless tenant. Meaning a family with 3 people in a single unit would pay him (correction:the CITY would pay the landlord) 9K a month. On a side note I saw this week that 9 state Senators from NY are in Federal Prison and evidently another 5 more are due to join them but haven't been sentenced yet. Each Senator had his own scheme going. Corruption is rife in NYC and NYS government. Maybe 60 Clarkson and some of the homeless system will get cleaned up as a result of it. It is awful that a domestic violence/ homeless shelter doesn't even have a basic cameras especially after all of the money that is given to the Landlords to provide basic services.
OH and PITHY isn't a word ----- I think you were looking for PITY----I am just looking for change- hoping change for the better for everyone.
To the comment about Public Housing, I think you're dead wrong. Bad shit happens in NYCHA buidlings, but for the most part it's an outstanding option for lower income folks. The waiting lists attest to the need and desire for more. Millions have lived successfully in NYC housing, and while it ain't perfect, it's what we have to offer. And some of the apartments are breathtaking in size and views. I hope someone who lives happily and peacefully in a NYCHA building will read this and take you to task.
As to Larry Silverstein...you're not serious. The comparison is absurd. Silverstein didn't create the environment for airplanes to crash into his buildings. And pathologies aside, I didn't suggest Hers be tried for murder. He created a dangerous environment that by law should not have existed. Security measures were a requirement of his contract with the City, as well as proper upkeep of the building and humane treatment of tenants. He failed for years. Throw away the key.
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