Where Ditmas crosses Flatbush, it changes over to Ave D. On this corner are three different bodegas, a liquor store where the owner gives you a free bottle just for coming in, and two pharmacies. A laundromat is in clear view too.
photo courtesy of google maps
photo courtesy of google maps
The dollar vans, passenger vans and small buses that ride up and down Flatbush picking up passengers for $2 a ride, all honk their horns trying to attract customers. You can hear cars accelerate and decelerate as they approach the stoplight. People talk around you.
Flatbush Ave is busy, and many people walk along pushing grocery carts, or carrying bags. The sidewalk is cracked in some places, and pushing carts can be difficult– constantly getting the wheels stuck in some crack. Some just came from C-town, picking up provisions for the week. Some guys hang out in front of one of the delis. They call out to some of the girls.
Cassidy Peek, a former student of Brooklyn College and a former resident of the Residence Halls, wrote an article detailing the street harassment she dealt with during her time living there. She talks about being showed pornography on a man’s phone, or being beckoned to from a car and told to get in. The Residence Halls, located around Flatbush & Farragut, are only 3 large blocks away.
Her experiences of being called out to can be found in front of this same deli most days. Sounds of, “hey beautiful!” and “you look gooooodd” which change into angry curses when the men are ignored. I have yet to see them not be ignored.
How safe does this leave residents feeling? The air is cheerful; people keep their heads down but don’t seem to be walking in fear. I didn’t feel comfortable openly taking photos because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. If we look at the last calendar year according to the NYC Crime Map, and consider the area between Ocean Ave & Flatbush Ave, Newkirk and Dorchester, we can get a better sense of the statistics.
photo courtesy of nyc crime map
There have been 7 burglaries, 19 felony assaults, 27 grand larcenies, 3 grand larcenies of motor vehicles, 1 murder, and 9 robberies. The option to search for rape is currently down.
For better or worse, there are always a lot of police nearby. Two sit waiting in this van, not far from where the murder happened back in July, while 4 other officers pour out the doors and start walking down the street. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of crime. The neighborhood doesn’t feel carefree, residents still are cautious, but the area certainly doesn’t feel dangerous. The officers being nearby almost seems excessive some days. This extra enforcement leads to a tension in the air that is almost tangible at times. Within the context of police brutality on the rise, and Flatbush being historically African American, the relationship between the law and the populace is not at ease, or friendly.
There always seems to be a siren going, either from the police or from ambulances bringing people to the physical rehab center at Ditmas and 21st, or the fire station those few blocks down at Farragut and Flatbush. It is a rare day there are no sirens whatsoever. They whirl past at full speed, and traffic has learned to get out of their way quickly.
You can hear them from inside a Mexican restaurant very close to that corner called El Ranchito Poblano that always leaves its door open on warm days. They serve a variety of Mexican fare intertwined with “Pasta alla Vodka Sauce”, burgers, and a full continental breakfast. It’s the breakfast that keeps me coming back. I met my friend there one morning, in which we shared pancakes, and each had some form of eggs, potatoes, and toast. Based off the food alone, you would think you were sitting in a iHop, if not for the “mexican” decor. It was an absolutely traditional American breakfast. My eggs were scrambled with american cheese. My bacon was crispy. My coffee was light and sweet. Even my friends homefires, which usually morph with the type of restaurant making them, stayed very standard, with just some onions. Breakfast is served all day there.
photo courtesy of google maps
They recently replaced the sidewalk along parts of Ditmas, changing over the cracked mess to smooth perfection. I no longer look where I step with such caution. A small patch of grass that used to be overgrown and strewn with trash, was switched over to rough gravel that is relatively trash-free. Slowly things are changing. The buildings are all brick and stone with cracks in between or in the concrete holding it all together, but they seem to be slowly being repaired. Perhaps it’s a product of spring, and good weather. Or a sign of something else entirely.
