This is an opporunity not only to learn, but also to educate others about what you think is happening with gangs in Sunset Park. Whether you are associated with a community organization, a school, or have faced gang issues yourself, this is a chance to tell the community what you think is important.

See the announcement below from Community Board 7:

The 72nd Precinct, Community Board #7 Brooklyn, Community Based Organization and Churches are working together to combat Gangs in OUR Community

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE

GANG AWARENESS FORUM

GANG VIOLENCE IS DESTROYING LIVES AND

DEVASTATING FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GANG FORUM IS TO:

• REACH OUR KIDS • INFORM THEM OF THE DANGERS OF GANG LIFE • OFFER POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES TO GANGS •

THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2010

6:30PM

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP CHURCH

545 60TH STREET (GYMNASIUM)

FEATURING:

GANG THEATER PERFORMANCE

COMMUNITY RESOURCE

PERSONAL TESTIMONY FROM FORMER GANG MEMBERS

SPECIAL GIVEAWAYS:

GAMES

RAFFLES

AND MANY OTHER SURPRISES

COME AND JOIN US!

PARENTS WELCOME

View Sunset Park Murders 2010 in a larger map
Click on the map above to see details of this year’s murders in Sunset Park

This story has received a ton of coverage in the local papers, including Crazed ex-con shot dead by NYPD officer Tara Hayes pulled trigger to shoot her partner first: police in the Daily News and Pistol-packing Brooklyn thug tried shooting at police before hero cop shot him in the Post. As you can probably tell from the headlines, the dailies have dug into the story of the gun-wielding Michael Romero, an ex-con who yesterday threatened three plainclothes officers with a .357 pistol and was ultimately to death by NYPD Officer Tara Hayes on the edge of Green-Wood Cemetery in Sunset Park. Sunset Park Chronicled’s original coverage is below, but rather than try to update the story with all of the details appearing in local papers, I’ve linked to them. In addition to its print coverage, the Post has video of the scene, as does NY1 (interesting that one of the men interviewed by NY1 said their were multiple shots. The NYPD said Hayes’ shot was the only one fired).

Police shot and killed a man in Sunset Park after he approached a car of plainclothes officers and waved a gun, according to Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos of Brooklyn’s 72nd precinct.

The shooting happened April 1 around 2:15pm as three plainclothes officers from the Brooklyn Anti-Crime Unit patrolled the area near Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn looking for a suspect in a robbery investigation.

The officers were driving near 33rd and Fifth Avenue yesterday when they spotted a man who fit the description of a robbery suspect, police said. As they pulled the car over, the man, identified as Michael Romero,32 30, approached the driver’s side window with what was later discovered to be a loaded silver .357 Rossi pistol, according to police and the New York Times. When the male officer in the driver’s seat began to struggle with the man for the gun, the female officer in the passenger seat got out of the car and fired one shot, hitting the man in the shoulder, according to the Times.

The bullet traveled through his shoulder into his chest, according to the Daily News.

Romero was rushed to Lutheran hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police say they recovered the pistol that sparked the struggle at the scene. The man was also in possession had a loadedHe had in his backpack a loaded .44 revolver and a gallon-sized of marijuana and “two wallets stuffed with cash,” according to the New York Post. police said, though it is still unclear if these were on his person when he was shot yesterday.

Police have not said if the man killed was the same who they had been seeking in connection with the robbery.

The man murdered in the early hours of March 10 in Sunset Park has been identified as Hang Yu Chen of 55th Street. He was found shot in the chest at about 4 a.m. on 53rd Street, WABC reported. “We’re pretty much where we were the day of,” said Deputy Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos of the 72nd Precinct, but the investigation is ongoing.

Police are investigating the death of a 67-year-old woman found dead in her house on 50th Street in Sunset Park on Wednesday morning, the Daily News reported. The home health care aide who called to report the death said a man burst in that morning, knocking her unconscious. When she awoke, she discovered her charge nude on the bathroom floor. Police are investigating the grisly story, and have not yet ruled the death a homicide.

Here are the latest CompStat numbers from the 72nd precinct (click to enlarge). They do not include what sadly appears to be the first murder of the year, which took place early on the morning of March 10. I hope to have more on that soon.

Below is a comment from reader and longtime Sunset Park resident Tony Giordano left on the last Crime Stats post. I thought, for those who missed it, it might provide food for thought. What’s your take on crime in the neighborhood?

March 13, 2010 at 1:12 pm: We’re coming up against an “invisible” enemy. Rudy Giuliani took credit for the dramatic drop in crime. Yet NYC crime was dropping under Dinkins before Rudy took office. In fact, crime was dropping across the nation. Experts agreed – they didn’t know what caused the drop. The traditional cause and effect items – the number of young people, the economy, didn’t correspond. In the end, no one knew why crime dropped, but everyone was willing to take credit.

The good news was, that the drop in crime allowed NYPD to reorganize their attack on crime – it gave them “breathing” space – for the first time, they were able to get ahead of the problem. The institution of ComStat was huge in maintaining the low levels. And it was for a very simple reason – supervisors were being held responsible. NYPD was notoriously corrupt for generations, now ComStat held bosses (precinct commanders) responsible for the crime in their precinct.

But we are losing ground and have been for a few years. But good juggling of statistics and creative manipulation of how to “label” crimes has kept the numbers good. But push will come to shove now. NYPD has to redeploy its cops. There are too many jobs they do that don’t require police or are more for show than for true effect. A simple example – the cops who sit in their patrol car on the Brooklyn Bridge 24 hours a day. Or the NYPD patrol boat that sits in the East River looking at the Brooklyn Bridge. Also, too many cops are used for traffic duty – waving at cars. And too many for parade duty or giving summoneses. Also, NYPD has to keep their cops longer. No more 10 to 20 years and gone. Keep cops to 55 or longer and put them on the desk duty jobs or low profile ticketing or traffic duty. And have cops contribute to their pensions.

This can go on and on. Do I feel safer? Right now yes, but i am old enough to remember Sunset Park being very dangerous because our police were not doing their job.

A 30-year-old man was found shot multiple times early this morning in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, WABC reported. Police say the body was discovered on 53rd street just before 4 a.m. He was taken to Lutheran Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. No arrests have been made yet, according to WABC.

Crime rose last week in comparison with one year ago. Robbery and burglary in particular are up–500 and 300 percent, respectively. The 28 day statistics also show more robberies, assaults, grand larcenies and particularly burglaries have increased. The  overall crime rate, however, is still nearly 50 percent lower than nine years ago.  So, what do things feel like on the streets? Do you feel safer, or less safe? Leave a comment or drop a line to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com.

Want to keep up with CompStat or see how the 72nd precinct compares to areas around the city? You can look at all precinct statistics here on nyc.gov.

*NYPD officer Justin Cracchiola was this week named South Brooklyn’s cop of the month–he has spent nearly a decade on the force, much of that as a narcotics cop in the 72nd precinct in Sunset Park. Read more here.

*Check out this Streetsblog article arguing that NY City planning may be sabotaging sustainability by parking space requirements for new development. I would think this article might raise a few backs on both sides. What do you think?

* Brooklyn in January had the highest foreclosure rate in the city, and Sunset Park has for the first time seen people being forced to giving up their homes, according to an article in the Ethiopian Review.

*Duane Reade has just been purchased by the Walgreen chain, the Brooklyn Eagle reported. What do you think, will this have any effect on the new Duane Reade on Fifth Ave?

Good morning. It’s Thursday. The weekend looms. Let’s start with the prettiest in news:

*Lush trees, boggy wetlands and birds…in New York City? That’s precisely what Joel Meyerowitz portrays in large-scale photographs of 50 city parks on show at the Museum of the City of New York. Commissioned by the parks department, the exhibit is the largest documentary of the city’s 29,000 acres of parkland since they were photographed as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s WPA project of the 1930s. Sunset Park made the cut, City Limits Online reports, offering a little bit of urban to the pastoral scenes of the lesser known green in our nation’s great metropolis. Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks, at the Museum of the City of New York, Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., adults $10, through March 21.

*Governor David Paterson led the way in welcoming Councilwoman Sara M. González at the new Sunset Park High School into her second term on the council, YourNabe reported. The comment section (ever enlightening) offers a range of reactions to the news.

*Last weekend, nearly every paper ran stories on the tragic fire that killed five in Bensonhurst, including the mother of two young children.The New York Times offered some history, and the story about how the blaze affected families of the dead in Guatemala. The Post reported while the alleged arsonist said “demons” drove him to torch a baby carriage that drove the blaze, it may have had more to do with revenge. A Daily News story portrayed 2-year-old Josias’ confusion at his mothers death. Their home destroyed, the family has taken up residence in Sunset Park.

*A string of holdups in local warehouses, including at least one in the 72nd precinct, continued this week. From YourNabe.com: On January 11, two black males armed with handguns entered a warehouse on Centre Street between Smith and Court Streets and robbed a 43-year-old man inside. Police said that cops have connected the thieves to four similar robberies in the nearby 78th Precinct in Park Slope and the 72nd Precinct in Sunset Park.

*In other crime news, a police arrested a man believed to be a thief with a thing for mailboxes. Officials alleged 49-year-old John Sturiale was one of two men who in December stole metal and plastic post office containers worth upward of $2500 (who knew?) from the post office on 58th Street, YourNabe.com reported. First email, then missing containers. Times are tough for USPS.

The NYPD Comp Stat numbers for the 72nd Precinct released today show overall crime on par with 2009’s low numbers, though the categories have shifted.

The Precinct counted 23 crimes between January 18th and 24th, including one rape and six burglaries. Rape numbers have been creeping up in the neighborhood–two have been recorded in the first 27 days of 2010, and that’s two more than this time last year.

Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos said at a Community Council meeting last year that rape victims who have come to the precinct have by and large have known their assailants.

Burglaries have risen as well, up to 19 thus far, a 90 percent increase from twelve months ago. Grant larceny and car thefts, however, have dropped. Overall, the Precinct has 67 crimes on the books this year, the exact number recorded in January 2009.

Check out the stats for yourself here.