Queensbridge Houses (Jim Henderson)
Oct. 2, 2018 By Tara Law
The number of people murdered or shot in the 114 precinct this year has increased significantly compared to previous years, according to NYPD data.
Nine people have been murdered in the precinct for the year through Sept. 23, compared to just three for all of 2017 and two in 2016. The neighborhood has not experienced a year with nine or more murders since 2010.
The NYPD also reports that a total of 26 people have been shot in the course of 18 shootings in the precinct, compared to eight shootings with eight victims during the same period last year.
The precinct’s commander, Deputy Inspector Oswaldo Nuñez, attributes the jump to increased violence at Ravenswood and Queensbridge Houses.
Twelve of the 18 shootings have taken place in public housing, Nuñez said.
114th Precinct boundaries (Astoria and Roosevelt Island)
Many of these shooting are caused by rivalries between “crews”— small gangs with between 15 and 30 members, according to Nuñez.
Of the 14 active crews in the precinct, 12 are based in public housing. There are five known crews in Queensbridge Houses, four in Ravenswood Houses, two in Astoria Houses and one in Woodside Houses, Nuñez said at a precinct meeting earlier this year.
In recent months, however, a longtime rivalry between crews based out of Ravenswood and Queensbridge appears to have ratcheted up, Nuñez said.
The killings and shooting are over often over seemingly minor issues, Nuñez said.
“A lot of the shootings are over disrespect,” Nuñez said. “Trivial things. It could be about a girl, a history of not liking each other. Retaliation. It’s hard to pinpoint.”
Nuñez pointed to a shooting on Sept. 21, in which a 21-year-old man was shot twice in the buttocks at Astoria Houses. The people believed to have been involved in the shooting were known to have held a grudge against one another, Nuñez said.
The precinct has taken steps to deescalate the violence by deploying more officers at the public housing developments at night, when many of the crimes have been taking place, Nunez said. More officers are being assigned to street duty and are working overtime hours, he added.
To a lesser extent, some high-profile domestic murders have also driven up the murder rate for 2018. For instance, on July 30, a man killed three people— including his five-year-old son— on 30th Drive.
Such crimes are “very difficult to prevent,” Nuñez said.
Nunez said the numbers also appear high this year because in previous years the crime figures were “remarkably” low.
Nuñez said that a certain level of fluctuation from year to year is to be expected.
“I think we’re just having a bad year,” he said. “Crime goes up and down.”
Community leaders who work with residents at Queensbridge and Ravenswood Houses said that there is a lot of tension right now between crews at the respective housing developments.
“Its seems as if the territorial beef between Ravenswood and Queensbridge has been ramped up,” said Bishop Mitchell Taylor, the senior pastor of Center of Hope International, a non-denominational church located by Queensbridge Houses.
Taylor said that the rivalry between the two developments has been a recurring problem for the community for many years.
At the same time, Taylor praised the efforts of the 114 Precinct. He said the precinct has developed a line of communication with the public housing community.
“I think the NYPD has made great strides in terms of public outreach and communication, but there’s always more to do,” Taylor said. “They are very actively reaching out to me and to other community leaders.”
Carol Wilkins, the president of the Ravenswood Houses Tenant Association, said that she’s noticed an increased police presence in the development. The key to combating violence in the housing developments, Wilkins feels, is to “build community.”
“There’s so much hated, and we’ve got to open our eyes as a community and combat this hatred,” Wilkins said.
114th Statistics through Se… by on Scribd
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96 Comments
Ah the dirt bags and mutts running loose in our neighborhood thank our socialist mayor and making the cops run with their tails in between their legs can u blame them?? Thank all your neighbors for voting for a socialist worm . Its just going to get worse . Much worse wait until the holidays.
First homelessness hits a record high and now I read that rape and murders are up for the year. What the hell is this mayor and the rest of the politicians doing? Are they trying to turn NYC into Detroit? WTF!
WAKE UP DE BLASIO!!!!
Speaking on behalf of the gang-banging community, I would have to say that the current administration’s lenient take on crime has, if nothing else, empowered me and my criminal chums to commit more heinous acts of violence and theft than in years previous.
At our September roundtable, we were just discussing how Giuliani and Bloomberg left us all in quite a tizzy. Stop-and-frisk had so successfully taken away all our guns that we were on the verge of going straight!
Then De Blasio took office like a godsend! I don’t need to tell you, but a man can now walk down the street, sparkle in his step, TEC-9 over his shoulder, and there’s not a thing the police can do about it. I often see cops sitting in their patrol cars and blow kisses at them with one hand while holding a fully armed mini-gun in the other.
In closing, allow me to confirm your very perceptive suspicions that the decriminalization tactics of De Blasio’s City Hall are the reason for the recent spike in crime. Kudos, crusty old white people of Astoria!
Be cool fool….
“The number of people murdered or shot in the 114 precinct this year has increased significantly compared to previous years, according to NYPD data.” This is CITYWIDE and this is what happens when you decriminalize many quality of life crimes and take away stop and frisk.
Low to mid level crimes go down while shootings and rapes go up.
? agree
Wrong! Decriminalizing smoking pot has not led to gun violence! Furthermore, guns were found in less than .2% of all stops from stop-and-frisk. If it really worked, there’d be tons are evidence to support it.
Here’s some actual hard data for you, moron!
https://bit.ly/2EhT7aM
https://wapo.st/2pQfbiN
https://wapo.st/2pS9Ves
New York Civil Liberty Union data? What’s next Huffppost? Moron? How old are you 16? Stop and frisk deterred many criminals from carrying guns. The current increase in shootings proves that we need to bring it back. Stop being ignorant and open your eyes.
Only 1.9 percent of frisks in 2011 turned up weapons.
A weapon was found on only 1.8 percent of blacks and Latinos frisked, as compared to a weapon being found in 3.8 percent of whites frisked. White people were TWICE as likely to be packing lol.
Stop/Frisk kept morons from carrying guns but common sense doesn’t work with IDIOTS like you!
The apologists will always find an excuse for the criminals. Laws are requested, written, and become part of legislature after drawn out battles to hopefully ensure a just society. America isn’t perfect but she’s pretty awesome, we recognize errors and make amendments. We evolve. People that can’t conform with society and break the law have to suffer consequences or else everything gets real messy and dangerous pretty fast. Our current leaders want to decriminalize everything in order to tout lower incarceration rates. That’s blatant manipulation. I don’t think anyone thinks it’s good for the police to do nothing and watch people shoot it out, deal drugs, and watch our streets become stinky toilets with catatonic stoned zombies all over. If that’s ok with you, pls keep voting for super liberal candidates that don’t have a clue.
Well Said!!!!!!!
Get Off My Lawn!!!!!
I’m just hoping that the crime starts drifting out of the Jects and starts reaching the Hipsters , so that they can get a taste of the real New York City Hahahaha
Yeeeeeaah! I’m with ya, buddy. Everybody should know what it’s like to constantly live in fear. No one should ever be happy living in NYC. Hahahahaha
Politics and race aside. How about we live like civilized people. Hold a door open for the next, say thank you when necessary, help an elderly cross the street, praise the people who protect us when needed. Morals not excuses. Don’t see any of this on a daily basis in Nyc where I work hence I don’t live there. It’s uterrly repulsive.
So are these “crews” just roaming around our neighborhood? Wake up De Blasio, it’s time to bring back stop and frisk. It’s not about being PC, it’s about letting cops to their jobs to keep us safe.
Yes please
YES! Who cares that no one can find actual evidence that shows that stop and frisk worked. And sorry, black people, but I’m not gonna be PC for you sake: despite all the research that shows you were disproportionately singled out by the police and found to be innocent, you were still guilty of being black. So stop being little babies and let the police do their job!
? Race Card Alert ?
Queens bridge aka the O.K. Corral. Is the largest project in America. As a cop assigned in Queens for more then decade late 80’s till 2003, I had a number of close calls there. Air mail, a toilet, hit a housing RMP, meant to strike me and other uniform cops, thrown from the roof. In another incident I arrest 5 teenage wolf pack in courtyard. And was surrounded by more then 100 gang members, armed w pit bulls and I can assume other concealed Weopens. I had to pull my gun to save the two cops w me, the victim and remove my prisoners. Then the 114 Calvary arrived. I have also caught gun toting robbers w stop nd frisk and other felons committing robberies. Saving citizens lives, like many other pro-active cops only goal. High teck cameras ran by narco unit, and ER cops going in full force the only answer.
You are obviuosly lying.
A lot of this, at least the domestic stuff, is a result of the increasingly transient nature of Astoria’s population. With increased gentrification comes neighbors who don’t know each other from Adam. In the old days, shame prevented a lot of this. People feared being embarrassed in front of people they knew.
Mary the big reason crime has drastically increased is that this mayor is soft on crime. He decriminalized many quality of life crimes, took away stop & frisk, eased the NYCHA felony ban and put many restrictions on officers.
Availability of guns. That is what is making the unfortunate difference here. Gun laws across the country are more lax than they were 10 years ago. That makes it easier, and more likely, that guns are going to be imported into NYC. Add to that the increased pressure that people below middle class are feeling with the increased cost of everything, crime is going to be more likely. Petty crime encourages gang crime/organized crime, and you end up with turf wars.
Stop and frisk does nothing but create lawsuits. It is also illegal to do it, and regardless, it is not possible for deBlasio or any other mayor to “bring” it back. Obvious partisan BS in comments stating that.
The crime rate was significantly higher in the “good old days”.
The crime rate started decreasing in the mid 90’s up until last year. This mayor’s garbage policies have changed that.
Young, affluent people moving into a new neighborhood, spending their disposable income on new and local businesses, and effectively causing a real estate boom doesn’t have any effect on gang violence in housing projects! This has nothing to do with “gentrification,” Mary Finn! You just can’t deal with change and you’re pining for the ‘good ole days’ when you imagine you mattered. And to say that “shame” is what kept people in line is deplorable.
Thanks Deblasio
The WORST mayor
The projects have always been crime riddled and where most of the crime in this area of Queens occurred. No more low income housing or housing projects.
YES! I couldn’t agree more. No more low income housing or housing projects—that way all these people will just be homeless. No one help them and eventually they will just die, which would be great. If all the people that live in housing projects (every last one of them) just died and disappeared, I promise you, crime in Astoria would vanish. The cremation industry would get a huge boost, the morgue would be really busy—it would be a huge boom to our economy! It’s win-win, really. Why aren’t more people supporting this!?
The 114th precinct commander said the majority of the shootings are happening in the housing projects. SHOCKING!!!
FACTS
If this Mayor were able to pick himself up out of the pockets of the real estate developers, he’d be able to see what’s really going on in this city. Worst Mayor ever.
Soon NYC will be like the movie Warriors.
Deblasio needs to go.
It’s only going to get worse while Deblasio is in office.
This mayor might end up being worse than Dinkins.
His soft on crime policies are starting to show their true colors.
The crime rate has decreased since 2014 though…
The crime rate started decreasing in the mid 90’s up until last year. This mayor’s garbage policies have changed that.
FACTS
I can’t believe the vast number of criminals contained in such a small area.
…but enough about Trump’s cabinet.
This is ASTORIA POST. It talks about Astoria news. Focus on the topic at hand. Go to CNN or Fox News to discuss Trump.
Point taken, but you know where tRump came from. You know the kind of people that his father “worked” with. Criminals. There’s a connection. The only difference is the socio-economic status of the criminals. The policies of the Repub party, headed by tRump are a factor in the economic pressure that drives crime, and once the recession hits, will likely create even more pressure. tRump affects crime. tRump and Repub policies are a driver of crime in Astoria, and everywhere else. So, perfectly valid for mega again to bring it up. No point in hiding one’s head in the sand on this fact.
ONCE AGAIN – This is ASTORIA POST. It talks about Astoria news. Go to CNN or Fox News to discuss Trump.
Yes let’s blame Trump, Wallstreet, Hurrican Florence and the Easter Bunny. Everyone except the people responsible for pulling the trigger.
Might as well disable the comments section on this one.
Don’t believe the mayor’s fudged statistics cause crime is up city wide.
But yet Mr. JVB says there is no crime in the projects –
Shootings up citywide.
Don’t bother cause facts are irrelevant to these idiots
And rape plus homelessness.
FACTS
I live in Brooklyn & work in Astoria. The same thing is also happening in my neighborhood in BK.
Disgusting!
Multiple crews shooting each other out in the open. I wonder why these criminals are no longer afraid to walk around with guns?
Why? Because the national discourse has not limited the sale of guns. It’s an epidemic.
That’s BS. Crime has obviously increased because of weaker laws put in place by Deblasio. Criminals are no longer afraid to carry guns.
? agree
De Blasio decriminalized getting caught smoking pot or peeing on the street— NOT about carrying guns, you idiot!
MrWah by weaker laws they mean Debozo getting rid of stop and frisk which was a HUGE deterrent that prevented criminals from carrying guns. Shootings are obviously up because of that. Stop being ignorant! Open your eyes.
MrWah is a troll from the pj’s
Stop and frisk was found unconstitutional by a federal court in 2013.
De Blasio became mayor in 2014.
Hey, dumb-dumb! Stop-and-frisk can still be done, it just has be performed within the definition of the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution. (I suppose you got a problem with the Constitution now!?) And when they changed the policy five years ago, the crime rate still went down.
Truth ?
De Blasio is the worst
☝️☝️☝️ Fake dislikes
☝️More FAKE Dislikes
We are not surprised cause this is what happens when you decriminalize quality of life crimes and put resctictions on police officers.
We need to bring back stop and frisk asap
Not going to happen. It’s been deemed an unconstitutional practice. Drop it.
Shooting are up and our voices will be heard. Bring back Stop and Frisk!!!
Yes please
We definitely need to bring it back after hearing about the new crime stats
Not True. Stop and Frisk was not deemed unconstitutional. It was the way NYPD used it that was considered unconstitutional.
https://www.factcheck.org/2016/09/is-stop-and-frisk-unconstitutional/
It took Giuliani & Bloomberg 20 years to clean up NYC. Deblasio will take us back to the grimy 80’s.
???
Best mayors ever.
“The precinct’s commander, Deputy Inspector Oswaldo Nuñez, attributes the jump to increased violence at Ravenswood and Queensbridge Houses. Twelve of the 18 shootings have taken place in public housing, Nuñez said.”
The majority of Astoria’s & LIC’s crime is from the projects. FACTS!
I’ve been saying this for 30 years.
Facts is that the rest are lunatics who are not from the projects. Life is cheap now and people lack self-respect. The recent murder of a man conned out of his money, apartment and job and murdered by a “friend” is a typical example. In the old days, you would not dare do this because the so-called “friend” would have already had his reputation assessed by the old timers who knew everyone and everything. More turnover is allowing the wicked to get away with more.
Mary Finn, I imagine you’re in your 60s or 70s. You’ve lived in Queens your whole life. You likely didn’t move more than 1 mile from where you grew up as a child. You’ve barely travelled or seen the world at all. You haven’t even gone to Manhattan for much in your life. You still refer to the place you get your haircut as the ‘beauty parlor’. If someone comes over to your house, they’re expected to bring cake or pastries. You go every week to get the super market circular and cut coupons…. am I right on any of these?
These criminals will end up blaming, Trump, Wallstreet and the Easter Bunny.
1) Bring back Stop & Frisk.
2) Increase police foot patrols.
3) Strictly enforce evictions for any NYCHA residents convicted of serious crimes.
Preach!!!
3 common sense solutions.
Yes please
Stop and frisk!!? You would like that all of you “light skin complextions” would because it would not affect you at all stop and frisk is profiling!!!
“Light skin complexions”. Here we go again with race card. Rape and murder rates are up. Pls bring back stop and frisk.
? Race Card Alert ?
? agree
Welcome to Deblasio City!
Crime has increased citywide not just Astoria.
? agree
FACTS – Homelessness, Rapes and Shooting are all up!!!!!
Ravenswood and Queensbridge are in Long Island City, aren’t they? The 114 Precinct serves both Astoria and Long Island City neighborhoods. These incidents are alarming regardless, let’s just be accurate.