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.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

First Civilian Observation Patrol (C.O.P.) In Many, Many Years

Now THAT was fun. Riding around in a cop car with working sirens and lights and loudspeakers, jabbering away with a new friend. Playing Hutch to his Starsky. Or rather, doing nothing but driving around, down Parkside, up Winthrop, down Hawthorne, up Fenimore, down Rutland, up Midwood, down Maple, up Lincoln, down Lefferts, up Sterling, round Ocean, Clarkson, New York, Empire...and as much Flatbush as possible.


Riding Shotgun With Partner
Six of us so far have signed up and got the hour long talking to that's required, that and the fingerprinting. (Convicted Felons Need Not Apply. A couple misdemeanors, hey, everyone makes mistakes). We are absolutely NOT doing any policing. The idea is for us to get to know the neighborhood better, its hangouts and hotspots, and to report anything we see. Most of it will probably be common knowledge to the precinct, but at least we'll be able to hold them accountable for taking notice. Plus, it never hurts to have another vehicle trolling the streets, letting folks know to keep it civil. (There are four basic sounds the cop cars can make, and they are a lot fun. It will take a lot of discipline on the Q's part not to push them. A lot.)

So, we need more recruits! I don't expect you'll do more than drive a three or four hour shift once a month of your choosing (like the Park Slope Food Coop!), or you could do more if you like, of course. Do it with a friend and make it a date! It is most definitely NOT a dangerous job, and you will have no weapon or really any authority to do anything but observe. Is it helpful? We think it will be when it's happening more regularly, and this way we can create a community of concerned neighborhood types who have a regular and meaningful dialogue and trust with the 71st.

So...send me an email if you're up for it and when I get six more, I'll schedule another orientation with Vinny Martinos.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

For some reason the name of this initiative (C.O.P.) made me think of the movie Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol. :)

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Q, that last comment was mine.

CHJCC said...

leader of Crown Heights patrol group has criminal record

A top Jewish leader of a new Crown Heights, Brooklyn, neighborhood patrol group created to improve racial harmony has a criminal record for beating a black girl 14 years ago, the Daily News has learned.

Leib Skoblo, 33, who appeared with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly at the group's launch last week, spewed racial epithets and punched a black girl in 1995, court records show.

Skoblo's victim said he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a group designed to lower tensions between blacks and Jews.

"I think it is disgusting," said Izena Goudy, 25, now a member of the Army National Guard. "It is the same thing if a pedophile applies for a job in a kindergarten."

Goudy's ordeal began as she walked her little sister to school at Public School 161 on Crown St. on March 30, 1995.

Leib Skoblo's younger brother, who was 12 years old at the time, started taunting her with racial slurs, Goudy recalled.

Skoblo, then 19, and his mother, Ella, followed Goudy and chased her away from the school screaming threats.

Leib Skoblo finally caught up with the much younger girl on Nostrand Ave. nearby and took a swing at her.

"He hit me so hard it stunned me," she said. "It left me a nice bruise."

Skoblo and his mother were both arrested, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child on Sept. 27, 1995, and was sentenced to three years of probation.

The nasty incident didn't prevent Skoblo from being feted last week as one of the coordinators for the new integrated Crown Heights patrol.

He and the group were outfitted with black jackets, ID cards and hybrid cars with NYPD emblems after 60 hours of training.

"The Police Department is reviewing the matter, including his application to participate," said Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne.

Leib Skoblo said he was too busy to talk yesterday, and his family later said he had left for a vacation in Israel.

His sister said cops should have known about Skoblo's record.

"All I know is that he didn't do anything wrong," said the sister, who wouldn't give her name.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/jewish-leader-crown-heights-patrol-group-criminal-record-article-1.375749

Mario Roca said...

I would like to join this patrol. I'm a Brooklyn resident and currently attending the NYPD Citizens Police Academy. Please contact me at mmamarior@gmail.com. Thanks