A Neighbor's Take on the Cops

First off, plans are being made for that "beat cops" meeting with the 71st. It'll be a T,W or Th in the coming couple weeks. Stay tuned...

Recently I got an email I thought I'd share regarding a comment made on the Yahoo list serve. I've heard it enough times anecdotally, and twice to my face - local cops saying "why don't you move?" or "what did you expect?" or "what are you doing in this neighborhood anyway?" There are many stereotypes that exist about police (and about whites moving into majority black neighborhoods for that matter), but one thing is certain - most policemen do not live in the neighborhood they serve, and a huge proportion live in leafier parts of the metropolitan area. It's not just longtime black or immigrant Brooklynites who experience the cultural disconnect; there's long been a blue-collar/white-collar divide in this country that can expose a gap nearly as wide, often within people of the same ethnic origin. Dating back to the days when the NYPD was largely Irish (many still are, of course), NYC residents have often viewed the cops as a breed apart - to be feared, but sometimes even ridiculed. I think of all the movies and TV portrayals of dumb Irish cops I've seen through the years. It's often uncomfortable to confront the stereotyper in all of us. Hey, I still feel comfortable mocking a Transylvanian accent when I do my best Dracula impression. "The Sopranos," as entertaining as it was, probably set back attitudes about Italian-Americans a few decades. Even the "immigrants work hard" statement implies that others don't - it's an implicit stereotype that we're reinforcing.

What does this have to do with the price of donuts? Well, I know it offended me the first time a cop told me to "move" when I asked what could be done about the knuckleheads on my block. But just as a Tottenville, Staten Islander might not understand the new young educated person's desire to live in central Brooklyn, that same youngster might not understand why anyone would want to live in the homogenous suburbs. The point is that we all want safer streets and homes and trains and buses and parks. If we live here, we don't want our choices (or circumstances) questioned. Case in point below from a reader, who retells and examines one such incident:

It makes me happy to see so many of us jumping at the comment made by police. It's been interesting to see how the police react to each of the different times I've interacted with them. There does often seem to be an exaggeration, I've been told by many officers that I should reconsider living in the area bc bluntly, I'm a young, nice, white female. I push back against the comment every time, expressing how wonderful the neighborhood is, how much I love my neighbors and we watch out for each other. I've lived in the area since the summer of 2009 and the few "incidents" I've had could have happened back home in Boulder, Colorado. And none of them involved a weapon or violence, or robbing me, Ramble.

It seems there is so much collective effort being done on the relationship between the community and the police, including the wonderful (and reportedly successful) efforts to add beat cops to Flatbush and Nostrand. In light of these recent comments towards this particular crime [mugging mentioned in list serve], I continue shaking my head at the extreme disconnect between NYPD's vision and attitude towards this neighborhood and the reality for us living here. (This goes both ways too--the perception of frequent violent crimes on one side and the ignoring of drug dealing out in the open on the other.) And the inequality of resource distribution on all these fronts. (I could write a whole novel on the incident whereby SWAT knocked down the door of an apartment above me one Saturday morning at 5am...to recover basically nothing, while i watched three deal happen on the street 1/2 block away).

POINT: is it time to rethink how we are approaching our relationship with the police as a community? What previous efforts have been made and who is currently leading our liaisoning with the 71st? I'm right on the border at Clarkson but was in the 71st when I was living on Empire. My negative interactions have been with the 71st while my (albeit slightly) better ones have been with the 67th.

Anyways. I have some background in community organizing, but more than that I want a better relationship with the police. Of course there are a lot of overarching policy barriers that will always cause friction, including the ridiculousness that is CompStat/CrimeStat and how numbers are reported. I could go on about some of the idiocy but at the end of the day, the cops have to work within the same bureaucracy. On some level, I think its about getting them to see the neighborhood through our lens, not theirs. Is it time to rethink our approach? And if so, who... is we? Can we have a sit down with them, presentation, well formed, thoughtful, about this disconnect? IDK. Am I an idealist? 

Anyone want to chime in?

Waynie's Waffles on Weekends

Whoa Nelly! Leave it to Michael Campbell of local wine store 65 Fen to sneak up on us. After months closed, the space next to his wine store (at 65a Fenimore) is open again, as Delroy's during the week, but...get this...as Waynie's Waffles on the weekends for brunch. The waffleist in question is named, coincidentally, Wayne, and apparently his Waffles are aWard Winning. Check 'em out in the coming weeks and let the Q know what you think.

;

To answer the third most-oft-asked question in my in-box, MC's PLG Outpost two doors down encountered technical difficulty, not unlike the the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and may never carry passengers again. While orders were made and shelves built, the operation is as stalled as Moses Fried's NoTel Hotel at 205 Parkside. C'est la vie, mes amies. That's French for "no baguettes for you!"

In Memory of Ed Koch, A Car Torching Worthy of the Late '70s

This, last night, from outside the Q's window. Sorry to have missed the flames for the video (got to keep the camera by my bed). The orange spikes were pretty spectacular in the frigid air. The firemen were very professional, very quick. We are lucky to have such brilliant protectors. FDNY 1, Prometheus 0.

Best Local Drug Store: Lincoln Neighborhood Pharmacy

It all started when I went to the Duane Reade to fill a prescription for my wee one. It was a pretty routine antibiotic...nothing fancy, nothing involving gene-splicing or alchemy. They didn't have it. Wouldn't til Monday, and it was Friday. "Maybe you could try the Duane Reade on 7th Avenue?" Like beans I'm gonna trek up the Slope for a bottle of 'cillin. So I says to myself, why not try the place two doors down, at 730 Flatbush? It's near those gangsta-style boutiques blaring ridiculously foul mouthed hip-hop (don't they know there's non-explicit versions of those thumpy thumps? I mean little kids, not Lil' Wayne, pass by there all the time), but that's no reason not to slip inside Lincoln Neighborhood Pharmacy. It always seemed clean and sweet, and the only reason I'd started going to DR at all was because my other shop closed down. I went in, was surprised by the good prices on kid's Advil, then slunk up to the counter and put in my order. I walked out of there with it in four minutes, a smile from the proprietor, and the same exact co-pay. What was I thinking for the last couple years? Duane Reade isn't even owned by New Yorkers any more. "Your City, Your Drug Store" my fat rump. It's part of the Walgreen empire now. Don't let their slick "Apartment 5" and DeLish brands fool you. Duane Reade is a typical corporate money sponge, and while there's reason to go in there for certain goods, why not support a local guy with a family to feed? And if you have recurring prescriptions, it's awful nice not to have to drop it off then return. You can head straight home and into your jammies and never have to head back out in the freezing cold. Lincoln Brown is originally from Jamaica, but he's been here a good long time, plying his trade. There's no reason not to give him a shot. He's professional, knowledgeable, amiable. His staff is sweet. It's never too crowded and they don't have "light rock" blaring from the speakers like at the DR. Not that I don't love a little America or Bread or even Counting Crows now and then. Just not when I have a fever, boils, diarrhea and the bends and quickly need some under the counter drugs.

So here's to Lincoln, and thanks again for the quick service this evening.

Philosophical Question of the Day

If a Tree Limb Falls Onto the Trashy Sidewalk, Does Anybody Clean It Up? I'm curious...which City agency are people expecting to deal with this?

President of Medgar Evers Resigns

I'm often surprised how few locals know that a university lives among us. Climb the mountain of Bedford just north of Empire and you hit CUNY's Medgar Evers college. It's a full-on four-year school with a number of world-class professors. It launched during the groundswell of support for better urban education after the turbulent post-MLK '60s. The venerable Bed-Stuy Restoration Corporation was instrumental in creating it, along with a bevy of strong local community leaders that emerged during the era's civil rights push. Some even got streets named after them...like longtime councilwoman Mary Pinkett.

William Pollard was president of the school for just under four years, but he turned a lot of heads with his forceful, and some would say disrespectful, leadership style. Early on in this blog, the Q reached out to his office for an interview and was abruptly declined. I didn't take it personally, but it seemed odd coming from the head office of a public university, particularly someone often at odds with the community.

Most recently I'd been arguing in favor of Pollard's desire to shut down the barren stretch of Crown Street between college buildings to create a green space "campus" for the school. Locals don't want their traffic and parking messed with. But dig beneath the surface, and it's clear that Medgar Evers has done a poor job of community outreach, leading to many resentful neighborhood complaints through the years.

We can only hope that with a new administration a new dawn will break for this important institution that's served central Brooklyn well for more than 40 years.

 

Spyro Gyro

After many months of carnivorous salivation, the NY Gyro Place finally opened at 188 Parkside. Feel awful? Why not try their falafel? Starting to sob? Grab a kebab. Just back from Cairo? Why not eat a...

Look, it's not going to win culinary medals, but it's a pretty decent new option. I've given them a hard time on the Q for "appropriating" the NY Giants logo. I mean, people pay good money for proprietary fonts. (Ask Toby Frere-Jones, whom I met when he was still in high school, and I peeked in to his bedroom one day to see him meticulously copying typefaces and thought to myself, that poor geeky child, he doesn't stand a chance.) Past posts here have come down hard on their old sign, then their abrupt change of scale, still leaving the blatant "come and sue me" graphics. Below is what it USED to was:

Still, I'll take a gyro over a crummy burger any day. It would appear from my prior post re: March Pattyness that Lincoln Park Tavern is the only burger anyone can recommend around here. And yet, it was that very same order that turned me off to the place. Ask any friend of this corn-fed Iowan, I'll eat pretty much anything that doesn't slither. And yet, LPT made me the single WORST burger I've ever eaten, and I've been around the burger block a time or two. It was way overcooked, puny, with crappy bread and those pure pink tomatoes they sell at the bodega. Even the pickle sucked. Was I there on an off night? Tell me it is so, and I'll try again. Once bitten, never shy, that's my motto, when it comes to the Burger of Ham.

A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

The Q gets asked questions through the course of the day. Unfortunately, I don't know all the answers, and as has been proven many times before, even when someone gives me a tip it doesn't always turn out be so. That's why I rely on you all to set me straight if you know better! And it's why I never moderate the comments...though I keep on eye on them for patently offensive or personal nastiness, which frankly rarely happens. Some things that have been dominating the airwaves:

• Yes, Purpleberry closed. And yes, it reopened with a new look. Check 'em out and share your thoughts here! (Pic below)
• When the Q surveyed the neighborhood for dead trees a while back, the list went to Pearl Miles who speedily sent them with instructions to parks and their "million trees" initiative. Some were actually planted this winter (Winthrop, in front of PS92), which seems like a strange time to plant, but they will definitely need TLC from the community through the spring, when many other trees are slated for planting. It's all of our jobs to see that they survive.
• The beat cops are indeed coming, and precinct commander Lewis wants to set up a meeting to introduce them to the community to talk about how it will work. I have plans to meet with him next week, so look here for more info.
• Those granite blocks at the BP are not really working according to plan. There needs to be more of them, and better located. There's a meeting of the Transportation committee next Monday at CB9 where DOT will be, and we'll share our thoughts about their ineffectiveness.
• According to a commenter, the speedily constructed strip mall at Bedford and Empire will include a liquor store and 7-11 convenience store. So pick up a pint of Popov and drop it in your Slurpeetm for an inexpensive winter vacation! (no drivin'...)
• The DOT is also planning a meeting for community input on plans to make Flatbush safer, though nothing is on the books yet.
• CB9's transportation committee is talking about moving the B41 limited stop to a newly designed spot at the BP at Lincoln. Think about it; fewer pedestrians dodging traffic to get to the subway?
• There are spaces open on the Community Board, as a few members have been tossed for non-attendance.  I hope a few of you put your hat in the ring; the deadline comes up at the end of February. It's a great way to get to know the workings of government as they relate to our nabe. Applications through your councilperson or borough pres office at Brooklyn-USA.org.
• Sneaker Store near the north PLG Subway Sandwich shop is closed. A resident notes that after talking to workers, it's merely a renovation.
• The community service workers helping to clean trash on Flatbush are amazing, and the street looks a million times better when they're out there. Gotta make that permanent!
• A committee met to determine next steps for the Q at Parkside plaza. DOT has made a tentative commitment to improvements. More info here as it becomes available.
• This Monday at 7PM, David Eppley will present to the CB9 Transporation/Parks Committees his brilliant idea for the green Flatbush Trees at Flabush/Empire/Ocean. Come by and chime in!
• Babs noted that the new grocery store at the old Papa & Sons (Lincoln/Flatbush) is NOT owned by Koreans. I was merely speculating, given the proliferation of upscaling happening at greengrocers throughout NYC. No offense intended.
• I met with the outreach person for new charter school Citizens of the World this morning. It's opening in District 17 this fall, and offers yet another alternative for local parents. I'll post on that soon.

Pictures, pictures, pictures.:

Lincoln Road Vacant Lot In All Its Wintry Glory

The New "Gourmet" Deli In the Making

Purple Berry rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise

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Blogger's Band Babe the blue Ox Releases New Record Today

The Q didn't start this blog because he has a band. In fact, I rarely write about music. But music is, was, will be, such a huge part of my life, I can't help but share my excitement with y'all that after 15 years of fits and starts, my band Babe the blue OX has a new record to share. All of our albums, dating back to our Homestead and RCA days in the '90s, have been named for Barbra Streisand records. There was Je M'Appelle Babe, and Color Me Babe, and People and The Way We Were. (all available on the iTunes etc. by the way). I can assure you they sound nothing like Babs, but we're quite certain she would approve, even if her lawyers might not. But now, there's:

babetheblueox.bandcamp.com

Guilty.

Just go to the babetheblueox.bandcamp.com and you can listen for free or download if you so choose.  Remember that each song sounds quite different, so if the first one scares you (and it should) just move to track 2 and so on.

My best pals Hanna, Eddie and Rose are my dear connection to my past and companions in my present. We all had kids. We've got jobs. We don't tour and I don't wear my hair long or paint my fingernails or wear women's clothing (much). H&E live in the neighborhood. Rose lives in Clinton Hill. We've been in Brooklyn so long we remember when the word Williamsburg was more likely to conjure images of role-playing ye olde-tyme blacksmiths on a pre-industrial Virginia themepark. Of course, the irony there is that ye olde-tyme blackmiths have made a comeback in "dream of the 1890's" Brooklyn, to the point that you could call that 'hood in north Brooklyn "Colonial Williamsburg." I hear you can slaughter your own pigs and jam your own jellies there. To which my grandfather, who retired from farming at the age of 60 or so after years of backbreaking work would probably say, "why on earth would you want to do that when you can afford to have someone do it for you?" Well said grampa. Well said. (In honesty, even after he and my gramma moved to town they kept an extensive garden and canned stuff. In tiny Mt. Carroll Illinois. Their house was next to the only bowling alley in a 30 mile radius. My gramma's mom, my great-gramma, lived upstairs in an area that was set up like an apartment. We called her gramma Upstairs. They were really into sustainable farming, organic foods, and reflexology - a sort of acupressure. It seems to me that would have been right at home in today's Brooklyn!)

But we did it OURselves, with help from our dear pal Dan Littleton as producer. Chris Edwards mixed and engineered. Dan and wife Elizabeth Mitchell are the band IDA and also make unbelievably necessary albums as Elizabeth Mitchell with daughter Storey. (And they just got nominated for a Grammy!) We made the record up at their house in Saugerstock, NY, a non-existent town that resides between Woodstock and Saugerties. I suspect that this record will NOT be winning any Grammies (plural of Grammy?) but that doesn't prevent us from saying it's pretty darn good just the same.

Hamburger Madness Comes to Empire

This coming March, look for both college hoops' March Madness AND another running of the Fast Food Wars. Checkers, a chain originally out of Mobile, Alabama, will open a new branch near the McDonalds and Wendy's across from the Popeye's and Dunkin' Donuts and Western Beef and a block from the Burger King. The Checkers is nearly done:

Having determined that this corner, near the Park and Botanic Garden, is the perfect spot for needless calories and delicious fries, R&D departments at other major chains are now considering opening as well, perhaps even a drive-thru built under the Phat Alberts.

Given the head-to-head matches that confront hungry residents, it's once again time to place your bets on this year's match-ups for Hamburger Madness. Checkers is not currently rated in the Sweet Relish 16, but maybe next year after red-shirting dynamo sophomore Johnny Ketchup?

"Do Fries Go With That Shake?" - George Clinton.