Community Discusses Rise in Crime, Angered by 88th Precinct's Absence At Meeting

More than 100 Clinton Hill residents, business owners and community members gathered Monday night at Myrtle Avenue's SoCo to discuss recent increases in crime and violence in the area. 

The meeting was organized by the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership (MARP) and the Ryerson Street Block Association in response to the murder of Antonio Wilson II, 23, who was shot Friday, May 31 by a stray bullet as he exited the nearby Fork Cafe.

Those gathered took a moment of silence to remember Wilson, and many meeting attendees were angered by the circumstances it took to finally come together to address the increase in local illegal activity. 

"We feel like hostages sometimes on Ryerson Street," said one woman who spoke at the meeting. She said she has called the police four times in the last year to get a handle on the increasingly chaotic environment outside New Sapolo Restaurant, a chinese and spanish food restaurant and bar, located at 501 Myrtle Ave. 

Though the restaurant has been a staple in the neighborhood for almost a decade, over the past year inebriated patrons have become increasingly rowdy and tend to wander off the strip and into residential areas, neighbors said.

"Never in my life have I been scared to come home, until Antonio Wilson was killed," said Ebony Tay who lives Washington Avenue. "People who come onto this bock drinking don't respect the neighborhood." 

Tay also said bartenders, especially those at New Sapolo, need to learn the concept of over-serving, how to properly announce "last call" for drinks and to shut down. 

New Sapolo Bartender David Wong said the bar checks identification "very strictly," but many times a crowd of people ranging in ages makes it difficult to enforce the drinking age restriction. "There have been rumors [of the restaurant] serving underage… that's not technically true," he said. "The only thing I can do is do my part and the police do their part in controlling the streets."  

Wong was not the only one who expressed frustration with the 88th Precinct's perceived lack of response to escalating violence and crime in the area. "The 88th has not been here," said Willoughby Walk resident Steve Kadish. "We need the police here not after something occurs but before."

It did not help matters that a representative from the 88th Precinct was unable to make it to the community forum, which only seemed to further anger those in attendance. 

"There doesn't seem to be any connection with us and the police," said Michael "Zaki" Smith, a barber at Miracles Barber Shop on Myrtle Avenue. He noted community members need to make a point of showing the 88th Precinct they aren't going anywhere and need assistance, saying, "If we don't take responsibility for ourselves, they're not going to take responsibility."

Detective Martin Brown from the NYPD's Community Affairs Bureau attended the gathering and apologized for any anger or disappointment the community might have with the 88th Precinct. "It's distressing to hear the concerns I've heard tonight about the 88th Precinct," he said. "I'm going to report everything said tonight to Police Commissioner Kelly."

Michael Blaise Backer, executive director of MARP, said the meeting was scheduled and then the 88th Precinct was invited. The precinct commander, Deputy Inspector Scott Henderson, was unable attend due to a previously scheduled Compstat meeting, and Captain Ceres John's presence was delayed by a police incident.

Arriving after the meeting let out, Capt. John arrived and apologized for not being able to get there sooner. "I wanted to be here," he said. 

MARP will take the suggestions and concerns of meeting attendees and craft the information  gathered into an action plan to further address conditions on Myrtle Avenue and the surrounding area, Backer said.