Count is up to 10
While the East Hampton crowd had their own drama to content with this weekend, those who spent the long weekend in the city know that there was a shooting spree that to
ok place last night along 125th and Lenox and extended up several blocks. Earlier reports noted that the number of wounded were thought to be only 6 victims, but the latest reports show that as many as 10 people were shot. The original six victims were shot at Marcus Garvey Park, according to the Daily News, while the remaining four were shot in unrelated incidents extending as far north as 144th Street.
“It’s not surprising. Harlem’s changed, but it hasn’t changed that much,” said Stewart Wetstone, who owns a video store at Lenox Ave. and W. 128th St.
“The troublemakers come in packs and when I see them crowd outside we close down early.”
My thoughts: When we should have been commemorating fallen veterans we are instead witnessing an ongoing war in the streets of our own communities. In my opinion, guns have no place in the streets. If someone chooses to keep a gun inside their home for protection then it needs to stay inside their home locked up and away from the kids. There was no need for innocent bystanders to become part of someones temper tantrum this weekend. While we march with Rev. Al protesting the excessive shots fired on Sean Bell, we also watch mutely as the next generation annihilates itself.
One solution might be to get rid of the fashion that glorifies guns. Mike over at Greasy Guide suggested that we might have more productive recreational activities for the youth to keep them out of trouble. I don’t know if there is a one size fits all solution but I know that these annual shooting sprees on the streets of Harlem need to come to an end. Any proactive suggestions for helping Harlem put a moratorium on gun play?
Stumble It!
Thanks for the post.
Here are a three unfortunately reactive things to try:
(1) Wednesday’s rally against gun violence will start in Marcus Garvey Park on Madison Avenue at 5 p.m.
(2) Thursday’s town hall meeting and youth summit, organized by the Perfect Peace Ministry, will be held at 6 p.m. at the New York City Mission Society at the Minisink Townhouse located at 646 Malcolm X Boulevard. They say members of 25 organizations, including gang members, will be on hand to try to find a way to solve their problems without violence.
(3) If you have any information that could help, call the Crime Stoppers Hotlines at (800) 577-TIPS anytime.
For a proactive suggestion, try:
Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E.
http://harlemmotherssave.com/
This shooting over the holiday appears to me as an organized action to put a dent into the rehabilitation of Harlem. If you read the accounts in the papers, they say it stemmed from a basketball game. If this is true, then why were there “gunmen” deployed far north as 144th street? and South to 125th street, where most of the victims were randomly injured. The game was over hours before the shootings started and nothing is mentioned that the victims had attended or participated in the games.
This incident played out as a orchestrated action.
There is very little question about the effect that gun culture has on America. It simply plays out differently depending on what part of the country you are. In other parts of the country that are considered “gun states” you have people who vehemently defend their right to access firearms. They range from normal families to crazed gun collectors to paramilitary compounds. They are able to get guns at expos and stores with great ease. And in these states there are relatively few homicides. However, in the inner-cities where gun laws are most stringent and carry hefty penalization this is where street culture glorified by gangsta’ rap has created a false romanticism with having your “tool”. And the most unfortunate victims are the children and other bystanders who almost inevitably get caught in the crossfire. Tougher penalization has not worked. Tougher gun control laws are the only deterrent. Unfortunately because of the folks on the other side who control political constituencies and do not suffer the loss of friends and family to stray bulletes this does not seem likely to happen anytime soon. EVERYONE must be on board if we are to save our children.
Sorry Narmer, but I have to disagree. If it was an organized action, then why target young people of color? Unfortunately I have seen this type of issue many times. Rival groups from different neighborhoods converged on the Park. Tensions escalated and the result was a running gun battle up Lenox Ave. Details are still sketchy, but there was a similar incident on 145th last year, in that incident, only an innocent mother crossing the street was hit, which thankfully didnt occur this time. All the people shot seem to have been the intended targets of the gunmen. I plan on going to the Town Hall meeting on Thursday.
While I hate to put restrictions on the rights of people peacably to assemble, it seems that there should be restrictions on large random gatherings in MGP. I suggest requiring permits for large gatherings or perhaps ban barbequing without a permit (or maybe all together). Also, MGP should have a strictly enforced closing time. The residents’ rights to not have people shooting on their doorsteps outweigh someone else’s right to barbeque.
If you think that this is a reaction to an isolated incident, it isn’t. I cite last Spring’s shooting of a man in MGP by two thugs in a robbery.
People around MGP are angry. I suspect that there will be more than lip service this time. This is a national story that’s getting a lot of attention.
MMP – I think you’re onto something…..maybe you should reach out to the local precinct and/or the community board to see if the restrictions can be implemented. Good luck!
All this is nothing new. It’s only a story now because the new occupants of Harlem are concerned about their safety. If the quality of schools, recreational activities, proper nutrition, drugs, negative hip-hop culture, unemployment and just general despair were addressed years ago, it would be different. Where were the authorities when drugs were being pumped into Harlem in the 50s 60s and 70s? What have politicians past & present, black & white really done for the Harlemites on the street? How come we have a 3rd world country literally minutes from the richest real estate in the world?
If you treat these people like animals, cage them up in an existence they feel they cannot escape, they will act that way.
If you were put in the same situation you would act the same way.
Stop wishing it will go away, and do something for the community. Instead of just taking from it and enjoying it selfishly.
iloveharlem – Stop claiming victim status and do something about it.
Aha, I have my friend! Rattled a conscience I see:)
I basically followed my parents tradition. My mother was a school teacher in a Harlem school and because she gave up a more profitable job in Westchester. My father retired from medicine to be a minister.
So down the years I…
At age 14 I worked as a tutor to younger kids in schools. Taught music at the PAL at 18. I worked in substance abuse programs, donated musical instruments to schools, volunteered at Hale House holding and ministering to crack babies, had my television production firm donate computers to schools…
I can go on. What have you done? What do you plan to do? Nothing.
Because you wish that I would not bring anything up doesn’t mean that your responsibility ends. If you live in Harlem or Riverdale you have a commitment to your community.
Stop putting your heads in a hole and look around you.
And I’m not a victim. I probably make more money than you do. Not all blacks are poor. I work as a chief financial officer and I was born and raised on the streets of Harlem. So I know you better than you think I do.
Deal with it. You are responsible to your community. If this were Riverdale it would not even be an issue.
Wow this “CFO” sure has a lot of time on his hands.
iloveharlem – what happened and/or did not happen in the past is just that……the past. Do your good work NOW and help mold the FUTURE of the community you love. Brining up the past really accomplishes nothing….people just wind up attacking you.
Still working now my friend sponsoring basketball tournaments and working on the Victoria Theatre development. And to my other cynical pal I’m currently on vacation. I guess a black man being a CFO is just really too hard to believe.
However jokes and what I do or did does not change anything. Face up to it.
Harlem will never be what you want it to be unless people do something
about the condition of the “other people” living there.
If your home was on fire you would want me to help, if someone attacked
you in the street you would want my help. If there was a water main
break on your street you would want my help and sympathy. Would you be a victim? That’s part of being a community.
Supposed I just turned my head and said “stop being a victim and do something”.
Something to think about. And forget the jokes they just mask your selfishness and help you avoid the issue.
You may wish that I eat my fried chicken and just shut up. No. And you can attack all you want. It just proves my point.
I am sick of this. Parents should be blamed. Period. It is not society, it is this culture of violence perpetuated in Hip-Hop and Rap that causes this stuff to happen.
People scream “but we are poor!” BS! I know tons more poor people – Chinese, Albanians, Polish, Spanish youths and they are not shooting each other up? Are they? No! It is only in this Culture that guns and violence are a problem.
Come to grips with it. If friggin Al Sharpton wanted to voice his anger and put his energy somewhere – then stop blocking traffic and start raising your children right and taking responsibility!
Totally Pathetic!
Last post, maybe:) Collard greens are burning.
I am sick of this too. Hip-hop does play a part, but who’s financing it. Conglomerates. And violence in Harlem precedes hip-hop. Parents are responsible, we are all responsible for what we do. My parents did the best they could. I turned out well but my brothers did not.
And about the Spanish, Albanians and Polish, read your history and your current events. Something called Kosovo? Darfur? Ah, the Mafia. The Russian Mob in Brooklyn. There are a lot of guns there too, right? New York at the turn of the century. Very brutal. Aid organizations are predicting food riots because of high prices. This stuff is going on all over the world. But again somebody tries to do something to stop it. Obviously the people themselves could not.
You live here too my friend, so you are responsible. Too bad. Man up.
Blaming society means blaming someone elese. I also think that the parents are partly responsible. Not only the parents of the shooter, but the victims.
MGP is not a safe place for a grown man to be after dark, let alone a 13 year old boy, or an 18 year old boy. The parents should have told their kids that.
Sadly, like a lot of things that go on in the city that the majority don’t approve of, there will always be illegal firearms.
It is, however, sad that a 15 year old boy thought that using a gun to maim people was an appropriate way to solve an argument.
If anyone is interested in the activism that ILOVEHARLEM is talking about, there’s a wonderful Harlem organization called Brotherhood SisterSol. They run their services out of a converted brownstone on 143nd St. off of Amsterdam Ave. Their webpage is http://www.brotherhood-sistersol.org/
This is an extremely worthwhile organization and your can contribute time, money or good wishes…whatever youre comfortable with! Please give them a look as they are producing real results that speak directly to the issues discussed here today.
**EMERGENCY COMMUNITY MEETING**
State Office Building 2nd Floor Art Gallery
(163 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027)
Friday, May 30, 2008
6:00 PM -7:30 PM SHARP!
IN WAKE OF THE RECENT SHOOTINGS AND RISING CONCERNS FROM THE COMMUNITY
ELECTED OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS ARE CALLING FOR SOLUTIONS
TO
***ADDRESS GUN VIOLENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY***
STATE SENATORS BILL PERKINS, ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN, JOSE SERRANO
CONGRESSMAN CHARLES B. RANGEL, GOVERNOR PATERSON’S OFFICE
BOROUGH PRESIDENT SCOTT STRINGER, PUBLIC ADVOCATE OFFICE
ASSEMBLYMEMBERS KEITH LT. WRIGHT, DENNY FARRELL,
ADAM CLAYTON POWELL, DANNY O’DONNELL
COUNCILMEMBERS INEZ E. DICKENS, ROBERT JACKSON,
MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO, MIGUEL MARTINEZ
CHIEF RAYMOND DIAZ, COMMANDER, NYPD MANHATTAN NORTH
25TH PRECINCT, 28TH PRECINCT, 32ND PRECINCT, PSA 6, HARLEM MOTHERS S.A.V.E.S
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFFICE, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY OFFICE
HARLEM HOSPITAL-DR. JOHN PALMER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
LIST IN FORMATION
PLEASE RSVP @ SENATOR BILL PERKINS OFFICE 212-222-7315