across the park

Senseless Death in PLG

Officer Russell Timoshenko, 23, died yesterday due to complications from the gunshot wounds he sustained last Monday on Lefferts Ave. near Rogers Ave.  He was a familiar face in the neighborhood - we recall seeing him at K-Dog and putting his best foot forward as a cop in a city that is generally not so easy to police.

Possibly due to his age, familiarity and proximity of the shooting to our home, Officer Timoshenko's death makes us extremely angry and sad.  He was too young, earnest and the events leading to his death unfolded much too close to our home for us to pretend that it happened in another dimension or put the event into a space in our brains where death is comprised of statistics.

Around the same time of the shooting, we learned that an acquaintance from college died in Iraq.  Again, another earnest, young person killed senselessly.

In our minds, the two deaths are related by the unfortunate reality of indifference.  We've got many levels of scum in this country, inflicting callous, contrived and ultimately self-serving actions on others.  The narcissism and interpersonal defects involved in such situations are palpable: for one president, the rush comes from inciting a bullshit war through manipulative rhetoric to keep raking in the black gold, without which he's just another guy.  For two asshole thieves, the high comes from stealing a BMW and carrying a loaded weapon, presumably to make an impression and later get some bling.

Timoshenko proudly served this neighborhood and died for utterly senseless reasons, as do many young people in Iraq.  Regardless of the sentence handed down when Timoshenko's murder case goes to trial, there will be no justice. 

It makes us sick to our stomach.

If anyone is clear on what people can do to support the family and precinct of the fallen officer, please post a comment or email us.

 

Cops Shot on Lefferts and Rogers

With luck, the dirtbags (pictured) who shot two cops on Monday while trying to make off with a stolen vehicle will be caught and punished harshly.

The injured officers were taken to Kings County, one is doing well and the other is doing not as well.  We're hoping that they'll both recover fully.

Other than keep the officers in our thoughts, the only thing we can do is emphatically agree with Bloomberg:

"The terrible events of this morning are proof once again of that fundamental truth we have learned, again and again: Guns, when they fall in the hands of the wrong people, have tragic consequences,” Mayor Bloomberg said on Monday. “Two partners, who set out this midnight to keep us safe, were shot while helping deliver the ever-lower crime rate that makes life as we know it in New York possible."

Hardcore Surveillance in PLG

A kind reader was generous enough to send us these photos of the big ass watchtower (of the non-Jehovah's Witness variety) parked at the BP station on Flatbush Ave. and Lincoln Rd.  Though our photo donor questions the settings on his camera, we find the shots artfully intriguing and pleasing.

Back to the tower: what the hell is this thing?  It's scary.  Is it supposed to deter crime?  If so, it probably will.  How long will it be around?

Can it transform into a robot?

Best News in Weeks!

Seems a reader is able to take advantage of certain resources to help us with some of our more, er, challenging commenters.

Well Franz, here are a couple IP addresses to work with:

208.53.138.227

208.53.138.24

72.232.232.210

Let's see what sort of magic you're able to work.  In the meantime, we're going back to moderating.  Sorry folks.

Someone REALLY Hates Roller Skaters

We don't spend much (if any) time on Empire Blvd. - our only reason for going there is to see just how easily we can be scammed into buying a crappy, expensive piece of furniture at Gothic Cabinet Craft.

We are saddened and kinda pissed off to hear about the shooting at the Empire Roller Skating Center.  We've never skated there in part because we've heard it's not the safest locale on our side of the park.  We hope that the victims fully recover.  No word on motive as of yet.

Spraying a public space with bullets is just ridiculous.

PLG: WICKED Dangerous

As we all know, the expert commenters on Brownstoner have confirmed again and again that PLG is horribly, exceptionally and infuriatingly dangerous.  Personally, we're grateful for the fact that we are superhumanly agile, as we would otherwise have surely been hit by the many stray bullets we dodge daily and nightly...  even when we're inside our home.

As the data tell us, our precinct's murder rate is down 20% YTD as compared to 2005.  Rape is down 22.7%; robbery down 6.4%; felony assault down 4.0%; burglary down 15.3%.  Grand larceny is up 1.6%.  Compare this with the cherished 88th precinct, which includes Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, where murder is up 175% YTD. 

It should be noted that murder rates have plunged to the extent that percent change isn't necessarily that meaningful; in our precinct the crude number of murders dropped from 20 to 16.  For the 88th, murders rose from 0 to 3.

See the complete report for the week of December 4 - 10 here: Download 12.06 crime stats.pdf 

We want to make it clear to our buddies at Brownstoner that this post is NOT a critique of their work.  We think their blog is excellent.

Wait a minute...

Elected officials can communicate directly with police to help reduce local crime?

How novel.  We assumed such action was merely a pipedream.

This from Brownstoner.

Something went down on Lincoln Rd.

When we got off the subway after a much maligned commute from Manhattan, we stumbled upon a crime scene on Lincoln Rd. in front of the laundromat, K-Dog and the bodega in between the two.  There were six or seven law enforcement vehicles and ambulances parked in the street.  An officer told us that a male was shot but he is ok.

Anyone know any details?

Attention Fenimore residents: Feeling safer?

Behold NYPD's latest safety innovation: the camera.  This modern device allows the police to watch criminals... without even being there.

This here is a photo of the camera perched at the intersection of Flatbush Ave. and Fenimore St.  Looks ok - could be a little more colorful.

So Folk of Fenimore: is the camera making you feel safer?  Keeping your street quieter?  Giving you that weird 1984ish feeling?

Do tell...

88th Precinct deals with dealers

Our buddies at Brownstoner report that the 88th Precinct has taken visible steps to curb drug dealing at the problematic intersection of Grand and Putnam.

A quote from Brownstoner:

"After all the lip service given to the topic at last week's town hall meeting, we were certainly encouraged by today's show of force. It shows that the police can marshall the resources when they want to (or if DA Hynes wants them to, as the case may be)."

Wouldn't it be nice if the 71st Precinct moved from lip service to actual service?