Crown Heights, NY – A new civilian watch group in Crown Heights is bringing together blacks and Jews in a neighborhood once synonymous with racial tension.
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If all goes as planned, a Caribbean-American pastor could share a car with an Orthodox Jew on the NYPD Civilian Observation Patrol – or blacks might volunteer for Friday night shifts, when their Jewish neighbors can’t work.
“It’s a quantum leap beyond what it was in 1991,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, referring to the riots that rocked the community nearly two decades ago.
About 50 residents have signed up for the police-sponsored group, completing 60 hours of training before they got black jackets, ID cards and hybrid cars with NYPD emblems.
“You are now officially the eyes and ears of the department,” Kelly told them in a dedication ceremony outside the 71st Precinct.
There already are Jewish patrols in the area, Shomrim and Shmira. In the past, there’s been friction between the two – and with the black community.
In April, off-duty Shmira members allegedly beat a black man, the 20-year-old son of a cop – sparking a police investigation and fanning racial tensions.
Members of the Shomrim and Shmira groups said they welcome the NYPD-backed patrol in the neighborhood.
But while several Shmira volunteers have joined, Shomrim members have shunned it so far.
Shmira member Levi Huebner, 40, signed up and said the NYPD is “giving us resources and training to do the job properly.”
The job may be more important than ever with budget cutbacks translating into fewer police officers on the streets.
Richard Green, director of the Crown Heights Youth Collective and a patrol organizer, said he hopes to make it “a massive movement.”
Police brass hope it will be a unifying one.
“Ideally, we’ll have one patrol that incorporates everybody,” Kelly said.
Crown Heights resident Alexis Kennedy, 25, a Brooklyn College student, was surprised – and slightly skeptical – to hear about the multicultural patrol.
“To have the two communities working together is an awesome idea,” she said. “Will it work? I don’t know.”
Yes it will work. It’s a sad thing that Shomrim is more concerned about exclusivity than neighborhood safety, despite what they say on their blog. Note how Shmira members joined…Shomrim didn’t.
making claims about organization that one of their own hit black thug is disgusting to throw finger somrim made up false accusation and gave over pictures to the police of shmira members and this black thug just picked any guy out there is no proof that a guy from shmira beat anyone up for some reason i smell mosserim over here is shomrim tryiong to set people up
The CH Jewish patrols have become nothing but small time mafias. A couple of good guys are still left on each patrol but most of the volunteers are lowlives who make more trouble than the criminals. Hopefully this new patrol will work and both dysfunctional Jewish patrols will be marginalized.
History Always Repeat Itself
in 1991 the riots came to crown heights after seccesfully the police instituted the C.O.P
but all the young readers dont know that Rabbi marlow gave a psak din when the riot started that only jews should patrol the streets even on shabbos
Just what we need: the same thugs who attack us on shabbos, but now with fancy jackets. This is just an excuse to take cops off the streets. The reality is, except for when shmira picked on the wrong shvartzer, it’s the blacks that attack jews. It sounds fishy that the blacks would want to join this force–who do they need protection from? Brooklyn college students and artists?
TO: CH RES (comment #1 )
crown heights rocks (comment #2 )
#5 (and all the other jealous mad and angry haters out their…
Yeah, there’s anger everywhere. I’m surprised at it because the people that are angry are the people who are “winning” (you have the C.O.P). Their people are” winning elections”, they’re winning on the “policy battles” and they’re still mad. They’re still angry. They’re perpetually angry! They’re perpetually enraged. And people have asked me why.
I don’t know. I can’t relate to being mad all the time. I don’t want to be mad all the time. I don’t want to wake up mad. I don’t want to go to bed mad. I don’t want to spend all day mad. There are a lot of people that do it, though, and I, frankly, I don’t understand it. It’s not something that I want to try to parse and analyze. All I know is that they’re not the people are going to get anything done. The constant complaining and whining and anger has got a root cause somewhere, and it all equals is unhappiness and dissatisfaction. And they end up striking out at people like Krinsky (Aguch-Merkoz), Shomrim, Hershkop, Shemtov, this Rov and that Rov etc… and blaming everybody else for the fact that they don’t feel very happy, when in fact they need to look inward.
Get a life!
What crime did Shomrim do? Exist?
There is no limit to doing Chesed! There is no Hasogace Gvol when it comes to helping other!
“Members of the Shomrim and Shmira groups said they welcome the NYPD-backed patrol in the neighborhood.
But while several Shmira volunteers have joined, Shomrim members have shunned it so far.”
As a volunteer in Shomrim I reserve the RIGHT to us my RIGHTS!
I don’t want anybody telling me (or anybody else) what to do, who to hang out with.
As a volunteer who TRULY wants to help others (Jews and non-Jews), I don’t need to join to COP, I don’t need a special ID etc… I don’t even need to be in Shomrim, the reason I am in Shomrim is that it gives me more of an opportunity to help people (because as a person I want to help wherever I can), I as a individual am NEVER OFF DUTY when it comes to help!
I joined Shomrim because this is MY Chevra; my tyep of people. You have no RIGHT to demand from me who I choose to do my busness etc…
Mind your own buesness.
P.S. My Shomrim coordinaterss have always said, that if another group of good younger light (good fellows) wanted to form a 3rd or 4th and even a 5th group that goes out and patrols our streets and helps others when ever where ever, then fine, thats good, they will even train and give them good advice etc… As long as each one does his thing without stepping on the other etc…V’dal, then the more the better. In every relationship (even in a marriage, everybody has his Maala and Chesrone. The husband is good at this and not good at that and so to with the wife, since they are married and live together they work it out (sometimes they are great doing things together, sometimes it’s better they do what their good at alone). If they can’t work it out and g-d forbid (for both their good) they need to get a divorce, it should also be in a peaceful manner etc.. V’dal.
I think this is an excellent idea. Maybe we’ll all grow up, put our differences aside, and work together.
SHOMRIM keep up the great work
they have 2 rabonim
2counsels
2 nitzigim
and now…. 3Patrolls
oy vey
I am happy to see this BUT
the macabees first started due to lack of responsibility and sensitivity from the NYPD
Yes we came along way since then
But i feel that the NYPD having a joint patrol of all comunities will do benifit only from the political point of view but as soon as a real issue arises, a ratial one…. we are ALL up a creek.
i have no idea what is going on between between these 2 patrols nor do i care even though i live here… the fact that one patrol has joined its own members in such a patrol with its risks does say somthing about them that i personally dont like.
i think even though from its looks that they will remain a seperate entity from the current shmira patrol it will politicly make the shmira patrole binding to the NYPD in the long run, something with there current rack record… eclosed in this artcile is a bad idea.
to mendy #11 . is that the exuse you use when shmira masered 7 shomrim members? how about the time shmira had it out with them? was shomrim there to maser them? stop looking to justify mesira. shmira had the opertunity to screw shomrim and they took it. there day is yet to come!!