A Farewell and a Touch of Hope

Tonight, nearly 300 people converged on 80 Clarkson to pay tribute and to say with tears and anger that they're tired of the same ol' John Wayne/Lil' Wayne nonsense. Relatives of the family said emphatically that this must be the beginning of a new era of cooperation, lest a few gang bangers set the tone and create more fear and chaos. To all of you Q readers who showed up and showed you care, I salute you. It meant SO MUCH to the family. The aunt of the victim made it very clear to me that she so appreciated that the scene wasn't just family and friends but people from all over the 'hood, white black new old, and so many that she didn't even know personally. She kept saying "look what we've done," and she was referring to the huge crowd of people who, despite wildly different backgrounds, all care about the safety of the neighborhood and want to do something about it. When we marched to the Pioneer and back, the very route taken by Fatima Gordon on the night of the shooting, we shut down Clarkson and even the Flabenue came to a grinding halt. If only we can harness the vibe and find a way to shut down the turf wars that seem to have erupted in our midst - not just on Clarkson, mind you, but throughout the western 71st and northern 70th. Here's a video of one of Fatima's best friends reading a poem, and the crowd releasing balloons:

At this point it appears the block association will meet next Thursday the 13th at the lobby of 80 Clarkson, where we'll begin to plot a plan of action to rid the neighborhood of the worst and most frequent offenders. We will listen and learn from longtime residents, many of whom know much better who are the players, what they're up to and how to best engage them, and perhaps we can start to work with the precincts from a place of mutual concern rather than distrust. Hey, it's worth a try.