The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

No Need To Worry...It's All In Your Heads

Spent some time tracking down the "real" story of the Shootout at the PLG Corral. Turns out there was no Maserati, and I'm frankly bummed about it. It added a lot of sex appeal. So the cops are saying it was just a routine dispute in the sneaker store, perhaps more mischief from the Adidas vs. Nike gangs. State Senator Eric Adams was kind enough to set up a meeting for this Saturday at his office on Flatbush at 10AM. Come by and let him, and all of us, know your thoughts about crime, or rather "perceived" crime, in the neighborhood. It never hurts to have a big public showing of concern, no matter what your concerns. For instance, I'm concerned about what to wear to a community meeting of this sort, on a Saturday no less, but I'm likely to keep those concerns to myself.

Apparently, a dispute got out of hand. No reason to be alarmed, though. Shootings may be UP in our "sector" of the precinct, murder and rape are UP, but there's apparently nothing to be UPset about. It's all under control. The fact that you never see beat cops doesn't mean they're not there, staking the drug joints and cuffing bad guys. It's all in your heads, folks! Nothing to see here, so why don't you just move along...And if you've called 911 and no one's responded, well, you must have been blow-drying your hair or something, because they stopped by and no one answered the doorbell. Also, those of you who witnessed the shooting and spoke to the detectives, apparently you didn't do so, as apparently no one would talk to the police. Well, no one worth noting anyhow.

In other news, Councilman Eugene responded to news of the shooting by issuing this press release:

STATEMENT FROM COUNCILMEMBER MATHIEU EUGENE ON THE EARTHQUAKE IN VIRGINIA

Today’s 5.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Virginia was a scary and traumatic experience. Wherever you were at the time of the earthquake, I hope you managed to stay safe and that no damage was caused to your home or business. This was a very unusual circumstance and I thank God that no significant damage or major injuries have so far been reported.

I hope you take this opportunity to reflect on how grateful we are for our lives and, while witnessing such incidents, how close we are to each other as people. I ask that we come together as a community to pray for all who may be affected by the earthquake, especially those who live near the epicenter in Virginia.

In all seriousness, I hope to see you Saturday, Working together means meeting together, and I look forward to meeting you all.

4 comments:

HC said...

Thanks for letting us know about the meeting! I live on Maple and Flatbush and have long been concerned about all of the "gentlemen" that hang out on the corners. It makes me feel unsafe, not that people are standing around, but when I am unable to walk by without being bothered. I'll be there with you on Saturday to speak to the Senator.

Bob Marvin said...

Sorry I'll be out of town and can't make it, but I guess it doesn't matter, since there's nothing to be concerned about. I'm so relieved to learn the "real" story about the shooting. Being caught in the cross fire of a sneaker-related shoot out is far less serious than being caught in a drug-related one. I'd bet the bullets hurt much less.

Old curmudgeon that I am, I ALMOST long for the bad old days when the corner drug dealers might have been unfairly blamed for this incident, resulting in a crack down on their illicit activities.

babs said...

Did Egene really issue that idiotic and incoherent "press release"? If so he's even more out of it than I thought. I'm on what was supposed to be a vacation but has turned into a hurricane watch; if we don't get evacuated in the next 48 hours I'll be here until Sunday. In any event I'll miss the Senator's meeting - good luck!

Senator Eric Adams said...

The meeting planned for Saturday, August 27th @ 10am is rescheduled due to the fact that elected officials and the NYPD are preparing for the impending storm and hurricane. The new date/time for the meeting is Tuesday, August 30th, at 7pm at our district office, which is located at 572 Flatbush Avenue (between Beekman and Midwood.