Skateboarders drive ‘em nuts
By Thomas Tracy
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| Sharif Abdallah, who friends memorialized at Bartel Pritchard Square recently, died of a heart attack after a brawl near the park’s western entrance. Residents said that the teens who hang out near where Abdallah was killed are becoming a nuisance. Photo by Paul Martinka |
A crew of skateboarders is making the life around Bartel Pritchard Square a living hell.
So say some outraged citizens who plan to speak out against the teens at a meeting next week organized by City Councilmember Bill de Blasio.
“We have a big problem with underage drinkers, drug dealers and skateboarders. It’s ridiculous,” explained Prospect Park South West resident Jim Rallis, who says he has been driven crazy by the kids who have turned the western entrance to the park at 15th Street into an all−night hangout spot. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of noise they make.”
Rallis told this paper that he is one of many people who have filed complaints with the police and 311 about the unruly kids hanging out in the parking lot near the park entrance, which he believes are a crew of Carroll Gardens teens who knew Sharif Abdallah.
Abdallah, a student from Xaverian High School, died of a heart attack during a brawl inside the park on March 8 when he and his friend defended a girl being berated by another teen. Abdallah collapsed near the Bartel Pritchard Square entrance, officials said. His friends erected a makeshift memorial there in his honor.
Rallis said that on the night of June 13, the noise made by the teens was so bad that he called the police. When they didn’t respond quickly enough, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
“I went down there to tell them to be quiet and one of them pulled a box−cutter out and put it against my body,” Rallis said.
When cops arrived, they took a report, but the teen −− who admitted being from Carroll Gardens −− said he had no ID on him.
“They let the kid go,” he said. “I just want the police to do their job.”
The problem could be right where the kids are hanging out. While Prospect Park is covered by the 78th Precinct, Prospect Park South West is protected by the 72nd Precinct.
The teens hang out near the entrance to the park, right on the borderline, he explained.
“You call and one command thinks the other command is responsible,” Rallis said. “But I just want a cop responding.”
While the teens could be responsible for affecting residents quality of life, no violence has erupted from their presence since Abdallah’s death, according to officials.
Cops from the 78th Precinct said that they have responded to Rallis’ complaints and handed out summonses.
In most cases, the teens are doing nothing illegal, they said.
“We address activity in the park, but there’s not a lot you can do about kids riding on skateboards,” a high−ranking officer at the 78th Precinct said.
While Rallis has taken his complaints to the police, others have taken them to Bill de Blasio’s office.
Their calls for help have prompted de Blasio to hold a meeting where cops, community board members and members of the Windsor Terrace Alliance to speak on “issues on and around Bartel Pritchard Square, Prospect Park West and Prospect Park South West.”
The meeting will be held at Bishop Ford High School, 500 19th Street, on July 1 between 6:30 and 9:30 pm, organizers said.
“As the weather gets warmer, Prospect Park gets busier,” de Blasio explained in a statement. “We want to ensure that all Brooklyn residents can enjoy the many attractions the Park has to offer while respecting the needs of our community.
So say some outraged citizens who plan to speak out against the teens at a meeting next week organized by City Councilmember Bill de Blasio.
“We have a big problem with underage drinkers, drug dealers and skateboarders. It’s ridiculous,” explained Prospect Park South West resident Jim Rallis, who says he has been driven crazy by the kids who have turned the western entrance to the park at 15th Street into an all−night hangout spot. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of noise they make.”
Rallis told this paper that he is one of many people who have filed complaints with the police and 311 about the unruly kids hanging out in the parking lot near the park entrance, which he believes are a crew of Carroll Gardens teens who knew Sharif Abdallah.
Abdallah, a student from Xaverian High School, died of a heart attack during a brawl inside the park on March 8 when he and his friend defended a girl being berated by another teen. Abdallah collapsed near the Bartel Pritchard Square entrance, officials said. His friends erected a makeshift memorial there in his honor.
Rallis said that on the night of June 13, the noise made by the teens was so bad that he called the police. When they didn’t respond quickly enough, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
“I went down there to tell them to be quiet and one of them pulled a box−cutter out and put it against my body,” Rallis said.
When cops arrived, they took a report, but the teen −− who admitted being from Carroll Gardens −− said he had no ID on him.
“They let the kid go,” he said. “I just want the police to do their job.”
The problem could be right where the kids are hanging out. While Prospect Park is covered by the 78th Precinct, Prospect Park South West is protected by the 72nd Precinct.
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“You call and one command thinks the other command is responsible,” Rallis said. “But I just want a cop responding.”
While the teens could be responsible for affecting residents quality of life, no violence has erupted from their presence since Abdallah’s death, according to officials.
Cops from the 78th Precinct said that they have responded to Rallis’ complaints and handed out summonses.
In most cases, the teens are doing nothing illegal, they said.
“We address activity in the park, but there’s not a lot you can do about kids riding on skateboards,” a high−ranking officer at the 78th Precinct said.
While Rallis has taken his complaints to the police, others have taken them to Bill de Blasio’s office.
Their calls for help have prompted de Blasio to hold a meeting where cops, community board members and members of the Windsor Terrace Alliance to speak on “issues on and around Bartel Pritchard Square, Prospect Park West and Prospect Park South West.”
The meeting will be held at Bishop Ford High School, 500 19th Street, on July 1 between 6:30 and 9:30 pm, organizers said.
“As the weather gets warmer, Prospect Park gets busier,” de Blasio explained in a statement. “We want to ensure that all Brooklyn residents can enjoy the many attractions the Park has to offer while respecting the needs of our community.
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of yournabe.com.
T.L.P. wrote on Jun 28, 2009 7:51 PM:
" the statement that these teens are not doing anything wrong, is bullshit, the 78th knows there are drugs being sold to underage kids on a nightly basis and they chose to do nothing about it.
they have been given names address's and photos of these low life's , but have done nothing to end it..
I'll be at the meeting and will present this to Captain of the 78th. "
they have been given names address's and photos of these low life's , but have done nothing to end it..
I'll be at the meeting and will present this to Captain of the 78th. "
Julia wrote on Jun 28, 2009 10:17 PM:
" i am a 17 year old park slope kid who frequently visits the park circle. i'm aware of the slummy and trashy atmosphere of the place and i've gotten to know the kids who hang out there on a daily basis. i never heard about this so called "box cutter" incident, but i witnessed my friend beating the man described above with a skateboard.
first of all, the kid who did THAT is in riker's island right now. so don't say that the cops aren't trying. and although i'm 100% against any form of such violence, he was driven to do such a foolish thing because the man who is being made out to seem like such a victim with his "damanged vertebra" approached him and his friends and was incredibly rude and almost violent himself. keep in mind that this was on the morning after the death of my dear friend Sharif Abdallah. the man expressed no form of sympathy. certainly he had every right to be outraged having been hit with a skateboard (i thought this was ridiculous as well) but without a doubt the assaulter had been provoked.
and Hamilton, when you say that "the police were forced to act and finally arrested two of the punks", being a witness myself, one of them was actually trying to STOP the other guy from acting in such a stupidly violent manner.
you all make yourselves out to be some kinds of victims of these horrible "low lives" but the reality is that the park slope/windsor terrace crowd who is so incredibly bothered by the actions that occur at the circle are often no more decent than we are.
for example, one night after i was sitting at the circle doing nothing to bother anybody with my friends, a random old man approached us and said cruel things out of nowhere and even brought up Sharif's death in a horribly distasteful manner. i'm also well aware of the creeper in the apartment across the street with the american flag on his balcony (if you're reading this you know who you are) who likes to videotape all of us. get a life. you live in brooklyn, i really think you can deal with a few skaters.
noise is one thing to complain about if you're trying to get to bed, but skateboarding? COME ON. how does that bother anybody? even underage drinking and drug use doesn't effect anybody unless it leads to rowdy and violent acts.
violence is a terrible thing. i knew Sharif and spent a lot of time with him for only a year but i was well aware of what an amazing person he was. sure, some of the "circle" kids tend to express their anger in through fighting, but what about the middle aged full grown FATHER who beat a 17 year old to death? you can't just catagorize dozens of teenagers as "low lives" because they drink and smoke. you're only young once and some people need substances to forget about the troubles in THEIR lives that are far worse than a few rowdy kids skating across the street. "
first of all, the kid who did THAT is in riker's island right now. so don't say that the cops aren't trying. and although i'm 100% against any form of such violence, he was driven to do such a foolish thing because the man who is being made out to seem like such a victim with his "damanged vertebra" approached him and his friends and was incredibly rude and almost violent himself. keep in mind that this was on the morning after the death of my dear friend Sharif Abdallah. the man expressed no form of sympathy. certainly he had every right to be outraged having been hit with a skateboard (i thought this was ridiculous as well) but without a doubt the assaulter had been provoked.
and Hamilton, when you say that "the police were forced to act and finally arrested two of the punks", being a witness myself, one of them was actually trying to STOP the other guy from acting in such a stupidly violent manner.
you all make yourselves out to be some kinds of victims of these horrible "low lives" but the reality is that the park slope/windsor terrace crowd who is so incredibly bothered by the actions that occur at the circle are often no more decent than we are.
for example, one night after i was sitting at the circle doing nothing to bother anybody with my friends, a random old man approached us and said cruel things out of nowhere and even brought up Sharif's death in a horribly distasteful manner. i'm also well aware of the creeper in the apartment across the street with the american flag on his balcony (if you're reading this you know who you are) who likes to videotape all of us. get a life. you live in brooklyn, i really think you can deal with a few skaters.
noise is one thing to complain about if you're trying to get to bed, but skateboarding? COME ON. how does that bother anybody? even underage drinking and drug use doesn't effect anybody unless it leads to rowdy and violent acts.
violence is a terrible thing. i knew Sharif and spent a lot of time with him for only a year but i was well aware of what an amazing person he was. sure, some of the "circle" kids tend to express their anger in through fighting, but what about the middle aged full grown FATHER who beat a 17 year old to death? you can't just catagorize dozens of teenagers as "low lives" because they drink and smoke. you're only young once and some people need substances to forget about the troubles in THEIR lives that are far worse than a few rowdy kids skating across the street. "
Alex wrote on Jun 29, 2009 12:40 AM:
" I think the responsibility for this situation lies first with the parents of these freaks - who are clearly to blame for not taking responsibility for a problem they've created and secondly with the police - who are even more inept than the kid's negligent parents.
These kids are not normal children - they're ugly, hyper-aggressive, unimaginative drug-addicts who are emotionally disturbed and a needless bother to the people in the community.
They offer nothing positive and are a continuous nuisance to the functioning members of Windsor Terrace (eg. people who work for a living and pay taxes for a park they can't enjoy because of these mutants).
A lot of them aren't even from this neighborhood - they were chased out of places like Carroll Gardens because they're spineless punks.
There are parks downtown which are designed for skateboarding, but these losers lack the confidence to actually participate in a community of real skateboarders - they'd rather skate on sidewalks and bump into pedestrians because they're hostile misfits with brain disorders.
They're disruptive failures.
As far as Sharif's death - it's unlikely that old guy traveled all the way up to the park just to punch some drug-addict in the chest on a whim - I'm sure there were prior incidents that led up to that confrontation.
One of these dirtbags got stabbed the other night - this is just another example of losers attracting more losers and bringing their problems into a neighborhood where they don't belong. "
These kids are not normal children - they're ugly, hyper-aggressive, unimaginative drug-addicts who are emotionally disturbed and a needless bother to the people in the community.
They offer nothing positive and are a continuous nuisance to the functioning members of Windsor Terrace (eg. people who work for a living and pay taxes for a park they can't enjoy because of these mutants).
A lot of them aren't even from this neighborhood - they were chased out of places like Carroll Gardens because they're spineless punks.
There are parks downtown which are designed for skateboarding, but these losers lack the confidence to actually participate in a community of real skateboarders - they'd rather skate on sidewalks and bump into pedestrians because they're hostile misfits with brain disorders.
They're disruptive failures.
As far as Sharif's death - it's unlikely that old guy traveled all the way up to the park just to punch some drug-addict in the chest on a whim - I'm sure there were prior incidents that led up to that confrontation.
One of these dirtbags got stabbed the other night - this is just another example of losers attracting more losers and bringing their problems into a neighborhood where they don't belong. "
Hamilton wrote on Jun 29, 2009 12:44 PM:
" your response is so lame even for a 17yr old, I don't know how you can call Jamar a grief stricken friend, when he is nothing but a street punk who tried to kill a family man for asking them to tone down their language in front of his children.
It's odd you and your ilk demand respect , but give none to the community you disrupt
As far as calling anyone creepy, take a look at your so called friends, they are all resemble misfits from another planet, I've seen this group and I get the impression that the your so called girls friends , are nothing but pot head lesbo's.
I'm sure your parents are impressed by your collection of drug users. "
It's odd you and your ilk demand respect , but give none to the community you disrupt
As far as calling anyone creepy, take a look at your so called friends, they are all resemble misfits from another planet, I've seen this group and I get the impression that the your so called girls friends , are nothing but pot head lesbo's.
I'm sure your parents are impressed by your collection of drug users. "
joe wrote on Jun 30, 2009 9:45 PM:
" im tired of everyone making this sharif kid out to be a saint. everyone knows he and his friends sold and did drugs all the time, and that they are part of this pack of kids harassing people in the park all the time. its also known that sharif and his buddies beat up the kids whose father came back to confront these hoodlums. then sharifs mentor rickie who was wacked out of his face went crazy and attacked the father. and when rickie and sharif were chasing the father he collapsed. "
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Hamilton wrote on Jun 28, 2009 7:23 PM:
Cops from the 78th pct say: "In most cases, the teens are doing nothing illegal"
Yet one of these punks puts a boxcutter against Rallis' chest - and the cops let him go - even though the punk admitted to having 4 open court cases!
If this isn't encouraging their behavior, what is it?
I guess the term "illegal" is subject to wide interpretation in the 78th pct.
And the officials' statement "While the teens could be responsible for affecting residents quality of life, no violence has erupted from their presence since Abdallah’s death" is an outright lie.
A parent asking the skateboarders to stop screaming profanity in front of his child was attacked by a group of them - and struck with a skateboard so forcefully, that several of his vertebra were damaged.
After being confronted with a video of the incident, the police were forced to act and finally arrested 2 of the punks..
That's not a violent incident?
I understand that the police are given directives to lower crime statistics - but why not start eliminating crime instead of lying? "