Posted to NYC News on
By Mike Mclaughlin and Ben Chapman for the New York Post

BROOKLYN — Crime is down so far this year across the city, but some Brooklyn neighborhoods have seen a surge of shootings, NYPD statistics show.

There were 240 gunshot victims in South Brooklyn through early October, up from 179 during the same period in 2008 because of a spike in violence in Crown Heights, East Flatbush and Coney Island.

Crime Down Around City, but Spiking in Crown Heights

By Mike Mclaughlin and Ben Chapman for the New York Post

BROOKLYN — Crime is down so far this year across the city, but some Brooklyn neighborhoods have seen a surge of shootings, NYPD statistics show.

There were 240 gunshot victims in South Brooklyn through early October, up from 179 during the same period in 2008 because of a spike in violence in Crown Heights, East Flatbush and Coney Island.

“You hear gun shots all night long around here,” said Dwayne Knowles, 55, of Coney Island. “Hell yes, it’s getting worse.”

According to crime statistics for Coney Island’s 60th Precinct through early October, there were 19 shootings , up from 8 during the same period in 2008. Those incidents wounded 22 people, a jump from 10.

Murders are up there too, doubling to 10. Yet overall crime fell by 16.3% in the 60th precinct because of drops in robberies and burglaries. The problem is similar in East Flatbush’s 67th Precinct, where 77 people have been shot so far in 2009, up from 59 a year ago.

“There’s been a lot of shootings going on,” said Erasmus Neighborhood Houses executive director Yves Vilus. “There are too many guns on the streets.”

The rise in gunfire – which many people said came from gangs and drug dealers – has conjured fears that the city could slip back to the crime-plagued 1980s.

“Perception is what’s real,” said State Sen. Eric Adams (D-Crown Heights), who held two town hall meetings last week about the increase in shootings from 24 victims in 2008 to 35 this year.

“The police can easily point to a decrease in some predatory crimes, but what troubles people are the overt indicators of violence returning, such as drug dealing and graffiti,” said Adams.

A spokesman for the NYPD stressed that even though shootings are up, crime is down even in the most dangerous neighborhoods.

Citywide, crime is down by 11.4%. Murders dropped to 354 through early October from 410 last year.

But parts of Brooklyn are defying other crime-fighting gains made this year.

The borough has the deadliest precinct – East New York’s 75th Precinct – and it’s gotten worse.

This year, 19 people have been killed, up from 11 last year.

Experts say that small groups of people can force the crime rate to swing from year to year.

“When this street population is quiet, there’s not that much violence. When it gets perturbed for some reason, like a beef between gangs, it can spike heavily,” said David Kennedy, director of the Center on Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The police also reported a 17.4% reduction in robberies and a 9.9% drop in burglaries for the entire city.

But in Williamsburg’s 90th Precinct and Bushwick’s 83rd Precinct, burglaries are on the upswing. The two neighborhoods lead the city in break-ins this year. Williamsburg reported 355 this year, up from 292 in 2008 and Bushwick has had 356, up from 333.

Residents think thieves have set their sights on newcomers in the rapidly gentrifying areas.

“There are a lot of easy picks around here,” said Phil DePaolo, 46, a Williamsburg activist. “People move here under the impression that it’s the safest big city in the country. They leave their doors and windows open, but this is still Brooklyn.”

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12 Comments

  • Cop- Criminals On Patroll

    And this is with the COP?
    Can’t be, They are over 100 people driving and patrolling all night, how can that be?
    criminals

  • Where is Peter Simonetti?

    i find it odd that they have no statement from our inspector Mr. Peter Simonetti, on why he thinks this is the case.

  • BORN & BRED IN CH

    WHERE ARE THE STATISTICS FOR OUR 71ST Precinct???
    WE KNOW & FEEL CRIME IS UP IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. THIS ARTICLE DOES OUR RESIDENCE A DISSERVICE. WHAT ARE THE REAL FACTS, THIS SHOWS HOW THE POLICE BY REFUSING & GIVING US A VERY HARD TIME FILING OUT POLICE REPORTS US SKEWS THE RESULTS.
    WE NEED TO MAKE OUR PEOPLE AWARE ON HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO MAKE A POLICE REPORT AND CALL 311 FOR SMALLER PROBLEMS.
    I WOULD LIKE SUGGEST TO OUR VAAD THAT WE NEED TO HAVE AN ADVOCATE IN THE COUNCIL TO ASSIST THE PROCESS IN FILING A POLICE REPORT.

  • mark my words

    I await to see when he makes his (upcoming) departture from the 71st who will mark his stay here as a failer and a success.

    it will be intresting to see wether or not he will like all others move up in the ranks or move down.

  • antimesira

    How can Simonetti fight crime when all he can think think about is how hes going to get Shomrim.

    http://www.youtube.com/watc…

    Forget the Bad guys (the robbers and killers), we must stop Shomrim from G-d forbid helping others.
    Shomrim is the real threat.

  • Figures lie, liars figure . . . .

    B“H

    If these are the REPORTED statistics, you can be sure that the ACTUAL situation is much worse!

    Bloomberg likes ”data-driven“ policy-making. If a precinct’s statistics say that crime is down (even if they had to fudge the numbers, to make it look like crime is down!), then that precinct looks good.

    SO MANY reported crimes never get properly documented. Still more crimes never get reported.

    G-d forbid you should be a crime victim, but if you ever are, REPORT IT at the Precinct, AND FOLLOW UP TO GET THE REPORT IN WRITING!!!!! Don’t let it end up in the abyss of ”trying to keep the stats low”!!!

  • MR P

    if they where able to not ignore and not report murders that would be down too. The real story is crime reporting and documenting is down with police refusing to file reports.