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CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] — On Wednesday night, the first night of the holiday of Sukkos, police went in an all out war with the community’s neighborhood Jewish volunteer patrol, Shomrim.

Police Take the Gloves Off – All Out War with Shomrim

CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] — On Wednesday night, the first night of the holiday of Sukkos, police went in an all out war with the community’s neighborhood Jewish volunteer patrol, Shomrim.

As thousands of residents were on their way home from Shul they were treated to a rather bizarre sight of a massive NYPD tow truck hooking up the Shomrim Mobile Command Post and towing it away.

After more then 5 years in which Shomrim has been parking the vehicle on Kingston and Crown for better access, in case of an incident heaven forbid, and as a deterrence, police decided to show the community that it is only the cops that they can rely on to protect or to help them.

Last year Simchas Beis Hashueva police wrote the command post no less than 15 tickets, in an attempt to intimidate and to scare off Shomrim from the service that they perform, costing Shomrim over $3,000 in fines.

This year resident watched in horror as Sergeant Robert Troise stood and commanded the reluctant tow truck driver to move the command post. The driver at first refused to stating that it was too large to safely tow, but after Mr. Troise yelled at him that he must tow the truck he yielded and towed it away.

“The command post belongs to the community” said Aron Hershkop, one of the coordinators of Shomrim. “The festive event that runs on the nights of Sukkos has no provisions for how to deal with missing children, or victims of minor crimes,” he said adding that this is that void that Shomrim has been filling for the past 5 years on the corner of Crown and Kingston and for the 10 years before that on Montgomery and Kingston, both of which Shomrim was forbidden from parking there.

This is yet another attack in an elaborate series that was perpetrated by Inspector Peter Simonetti, commanding officer of the precinct, in his bid to crush and destroy Shomrim, one which they vowed would not deter them.

“It’s a modern day David versus Goliath” said another Shomrim coordinator, “the police being Goliath, and the community being David left without the services it demands.”

For the time being the Shomrim Command Post is fully functional and operating in the alleyway between Dr. Rosens office and Primo Hatters on Kingston Avenue.

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31 Comments

  • A community member wrote:

    SICK! Please instruct us Shomrim how we can help you! You do SO MUCH FOR ALL OF US – without discrimination!

  • Supporter

    Disgusting! We should all start bombarding Police HQ with respectful, but firm, letters pointing out that for years, it is Shomrim who looks out for us & not the NYPD.

    I’ll start. Please let us know names & addresses. Let’s not forget Karim Camara, Letitia James, & the other officials who should be watching our backs. And while we’re at it, once again our esteemed JCC seems to be taking a back seat. Their silence is deafening. IF they are doing something, SAY SOMETHING! If you’re silent, well, the conclusion we draw is that the Community Council is throwing us to the wolves, something they have a history of doing no matter who is in power.

  • keep your heads up

    i feel really bad for you guys, you are up against low lives that could not make a career anywhere else. the only thing they are good at is getting bribed and being bullies. I hope u guys get the better of them, don’t let this get you down.

  • MaDDinBklyn

    So now we know why the mossrims COP car is still kept in Crown Heights all year, and what did Zaki Tamir and Yingy Bistritzky have to do with towing the Shomrims command post?

  • scared of anti-semites in America

    I guess it was a matter of time before this would happen. Having the command center in full view may be embarrassing for police, who can’t show much for their value (except in doughnuts).

  • watch out Shmira

    if the shmira use the police to help them fight a fellow jew what will stop them from respecting us as a family. this is what happend back in germany. shmirah watch out before its to late.

  • ch

    This is a chutzpah! what I want to know is why chanina and yingy bistritsky were present at the time the command post was towed? how did they know to come? and did they play a hand in all this?

  • Ferdinand

    Inspector Simmonetti is a famous lowlife.
    He is hated in the NYPD by many of the upper brass.
    Don’t forget his sidekick Lenny. What a thuggish team they make.
    They will stop at nothing to get their way.

  • Frustrated

    The inspector should focus more on the high crime level rather then harassing a volunteer organization which does some good in our community.

    This is a Chutzpa and it will not be tolerated.

    I also wounder where the shmira mesira were this past summer, why they wake up now all of a sudden?

  • call 311

    Remember you are the boss of the Police. u pay their checks every friday.

    call the city and tell them…

    1. you are upset the police moved a safety command that has been their for 15 years, that is placed to make it easier for police if something to were go wrong.

    2. you are upset that the 71pct has spend too much time on community politics and not enough time fighting crime.

    3. you are upset the 71pct has caused MORE community infighting then ever before.

    4. you are upset that the “blue” community affairs officers have added a new meaning to “community” and what we stand for.

    take down the report number and follow up on the status 48 hours later to see what was done and pass the information to ch.info th only site willing to stand up for what it right…

    dont sit back and read this, saying this is a good idea, ill let someone else do it.

    the more calls the higher chance for a internal investigation of the 71pct. something that sure is to restore the true blue honesty and justice that our community needs to have.

    do we all need to be reminded of klien obm… how about the resent killing on eastern parkway and utica…

    need i say more, make the call, its your right, and duty.

  • I-m not always on their side

    I disagree with the shomrim on many community issues, including the recent elections. However, they have done more for protecting our community then anyone else, they have my full support on this one!

  • I second Supporter / 6

    I agree with supporter 6 as above – if we all make an out-cry and do something with calls or letters – something good should come out of it,
    Please give us links or addresses / phone numbers to ‘harass’ the right ppl,

    thanx

    A grateful ch-er who supports Shomrim 100%!!!

  • worried

    last night, motzai yom tov, I was pulling into the alleyway(on Albany,between Crown and Montgomery, across from the Lubavitch Yeshiva) and standing in the dark,a few garage spaces in, was a yarmulka clad man. He was clearly not a community member, and the time and place,his demeanor etc, made us very uncomfortable.
    We drove slowly down the alleyway and then watched for a bit.
    I began trying to find shomrim’s number. The man left the alley.
    No doubt I should have called anyway.It never occurred to me to call the police ( and possibly have this escalate into a huge deal.)
    Last year, on Shabbos/Friday night, we saw a man going up and down steps of houses on Montgomery bet Kingston and Albany, presumably trying to find an open door. We turned to the Shomrim van that was conveniently situated.They came back with us quickly, before the guy disappeared and dealt with the situation effectively.
    I am really heartsick at how dysfunctional we are as a community and how ineffective our community council is in dealing with the police and other significant issues.

  • yechi me

    It’s amazing how “Shmira” runs to volunteer to do the dirty work for the police aginst other jews (example; blocking the Shomrims command truck with their car when when then 71st is in no shortage of cars to use)

  • Upset

    what about the equipment that the cops tampered with, and haven’t returned yet? Yet these are the people who uphold the law? Instead of using your energy to make the street safer, simonetti and crew feel the need to fight shomrim! My questin to simonetti is, last week there was a shooting on eastern parkway and utica where a person lost his life! The killer has not been found! Why not use your energy to find the killer?! On rosh hashsna a 16 year old life was cut short by a bullet on maple and Kingston and the killer is at large?! Last week there was shots fired on crown and schnectaty and again no shooter or suspect in custody!? What seems to bother you is the shomrim command post!? Shame on simonetti and troise and crew for behaving like fools!

  • JJ

    Everyone should write to Rich Lamb at WCBS AM Radio 880 and let him know the mayor of this city is anti-crime fighting on a local level. When you’re done emailing him, start calling his radio show, then move on to 710 AM and call Simone and that radio show. The mayor can’t get away with this.

  • Despite all Odds

    It seems to me that Shomrim is like Israel – a small piece of land that everyone wants to rule over and all think it doesn’t have the right to exist, yet they continue to live on depite all odds! Go Shomrim! Continue doing your work leShem Shamayim and Hashem will protect you and us!

  • oy veyz mir

    It vet, maybe Rubashkin can talk to the police for us. chabad has great connections with police. I just love crown heights

  • Capos

    History repeats
    in 1987 the infamous j.b. spielman
    made a deal with mayor Koch to dismantle
    The Jewish patrols
    and that is the direct cause of the 1991 riots. The infamous
    Pogrom on Jews in the summer of 1991 where
    YANKEL ROSENBAUM HY”D
    Lost his life on the steps of spielmans house
    but no lesson was learn .
    Now the infamous schmukaneti with some capos
    are doing the same.
    And again the ch residents are going to the
    Slaughter house quiet.

  • Jojo

    Maybe the inspector can figure out how to stop murders in Brooklyn neighborhoods and his pals in the NYFD can figure out how to get people to stop setting their apt bldgs on fire every 2 seconds instead of ruining a ethnic party. If it was an italian block party some of his buddy’s would be busy figuring out how to issue permits to the same handful of garbage mongers that attends every street fair where certain minorities never seemed to get hassled. I guess Wednesday is Prince speghetti day for him .

  • Yossel

    B-H

    Until the PEOPLE of this ‘hood decide to unite and make our voices heard to the cops on NY and Empire, nothing will be done; the cops will continue to harrass us any way they can, after all, we’re those “jew boys” that goyim have no love for. Remmeber that “Aisov hates Yaakov…”

    Well???!!?????