Lizzie on Underhill writes: “Just wanted to alert everyone to a mugging that took place last Friday afternoon, around 3:45pm, on Underhill Ave. and Prospect Pl. My neighbor was the victim, and he wrote a rather humorous account of the situation below. Tell everyone to watch those little iPods!”
THE STORY: “It was a bright and sunny Friday afternoon at about 3:45 in the P.M. Walking up Underhill Avenue from the Clinton Washington stop on the C train (I usually take the more reliable and trustier B train but it was out of commission as a result of a fire), I was enjoying a particularly heady live version of Scarlet Begonias by the Grateful Dead (a 1978 recording, very nice) when I noticed a group of about 7 or 8 young men hanging out outside their building (this was right between Prospect and Park on Underhill). As a teacher, large groups of 15 year old kids usually do not faze me in the least, so I continued walking, optimistic and confident.”
“As soon as a I got close to them, several of them got behind me (I saw one walking behind me with a large metal pole, which I assume he was planning on using to hit me on the head should the mugging not go according to plan) and one got in front of me and pushed me. He put his hand under his shirt and told me he wanted my iPod. Having heard of hustles much like this from my students, and having been in much stickier situations as a high schooler growing up in the third world myself, I assumed he did not have a weapon so I told him “I don’t think so” and pushed past him. He got back in front of me, pushed me, and pulled out a box cutter which he pressed against my stomach.”
“He then repeated his demand for my iPod, I considered my options, and then decided it was not worth getting sliced up for. I called him an asshole, and handed it over. As I walked away, I heard them laugh and then run down the block. On my way back to my apartment, I stopped by the deli and picked up a nice 40 ounce bottle of Bud Light (on account of me being on a diet), thankful they took neither my wallet or my watch. I called some friends, had a few beers, and mourned the loss of my sweet little silver mini iPod.”
Sorry to hear they’re getting so bold as to pull that crap in the day time. Underhill is indeed sketchy there, by St. Marks. I walk my dogs on Underhill, and yesterday stopped a teenaged guy from harrassing a young woman near tears, {sharp words like “What’s going on? Do you need help?”}, and he thankfully left. Thought later that may not have been a smart thing to do, but it was my first response.
I have a feeling this is going to be a wild old school/new school clash of a summer.
I hope you reported this to the police.
I know sometimes you figure it’s over and you’re not getting your ipod back so why bother but it’s important for the sake of the neighborhood.
If these incidents happen it’s important to report them immediately, like within 5-10 minutes of it happening. The police will respond right away and will often take you for a little cruise to find the guys. There’s a high probability that you will see the punk that took your ipod within a couple of blocks and he’ll be arrested.
This has multiple benefits:
1) you might actually get your ipod back
2) it sends a message to the kids that this isn’t going to be tolerated. If they get away with it they’ll do it again, if they don’t, they won’t
3) it sends a message to the police that they need to step up their patrols.
I bet you’ll see the kid again if you watch for him. Regardless, be sure to report it so the police are aware of what happened.
When we came back from the subway yesterday evening at around 6:30, there was a cop car (containing two cops) at the intersection of Prospect and Vanderbilt. Wonder if that’s in response to this.
Does anyone know our precinct number? The NYPD website doesn’t make it easy to figure this out. I’d be interested in calling them and finding out what they’re doing and whether there has actually been an increase in crime, or merely an increase in me hearing about it.
I echo the post above.
If you didn’t report it it did not happen. This is my block and it should be reported for the sake of everyone in the neighborhood.
It’s the 77th
Thanks, Quig. Here are the local crime stats:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/chfdept/cs077pct.pdf
Don’t get too distracted by that first column on the left, which is only week-to-date. There seem to be a lot more robberies than I’ve heard about, although many of them may have been outside what I think of Prospect Heights; the precinct extends pretty far east.
I agree that this should be reported. Even though there is a precinct on 6th and Bergen (the 78th precinct), most of Prospect Heights is in the 77th precinct, which is at 127 Utica Avenue. Phone # is 718-735-0611.
I think it’s sad that this happened but I’ve got to say that I’m not really that surprised. I’ve noticed that iPod owners have the bad habit of parading their little status symbols around. If you have an iPod, keep it in your pocket or something. You probably have a playlist, so use it instead of fiddling around with it all the time. And get a pair of inconspicuous headphones. It may not look as cool as the white buds but you’ll feel a lot better not making yourself a target and holding on to that toy.
I live on Underhill between Dean and Bergen and this is scary. Please report it. Remember – there is a junior high school there in the same building with PS 9 and if you think these kids were jr high age maybe you should scope out the exit (they only exit on Bergen closer to Underhill) and maybe you will see your culprit. Again sorry to hear about your loss and thank goodness you were not hurt!
Definitely report this ASAP. Little sh*tbirds like this need to be taught a lesson, hopefully by being arrested and shown that they are not as “bad” and invulnerable as they think.
I agree that it is very important to report incidents like this because if there is no formal report it’s as if it never happened in the eyes of the local precinct. This story is just another reminder that we should all be aware of our surroundings (especially in the afternoon when school gets out and at night).
Not to make light of the larger safety issue here, but I must say the increasing reports of iPod muggings make me laugh (ruefully). Anybody too poor to afford their own $200-300 iPod is also too poor to have access to a PC. And if they’re ripping an iPod off someone with a lot of Grateful Dead on it, these budding thugs had better be Deadheads — that’s the only music they’ll be able to listen to on it. Unless they find a buddy with a PC, cables and access to all of the music they like, the iPod is going to become a paperweight very quickly. (Never mind the iPod’s built-in, irreplaceable, difficult-to-recharge battery.)
In other words, stealing someone’s iPod is like stealing someone’s pair of designer eyeglasses; sure, it’s expensive, but it’s useless to the thief. I realize this is something only a geek like me reflects on, and that I sound a bit naive here — a thief simply thinks, “iPod: cool, expensive…me want” — but I wonder if word will eventually get around the city that iPods are useless to steal.
Unless you’re a drug addict, in which case you just want the cash, of course.
I think that all the news reports about it have made iPod stealing into a thing to do. ALso, I’m sure that the thieves are happy to have the iPods as trophies or happy to sell them and get a little money, crackhead or not.
Not sure if this is related or not, but I saw an ambulance outside my bldg. on the corner of St. Marks/Underhill Avenue on Friday around 5:30pm. When I asked a group of kids what had happened, they noted that one of their friends had been “shot”…I highly doubt anyone was shot, being that there was no blood, and no report of any shotgun noise(s) from neighbors who were home at the time….
Just wondering if any of the kids I had approached may have been so bold as to hang around after having stole the noted iPod (and give me the fake story)….ah, well…kids will be kids, right? No…..
Re; Ambulance, I walked with my daughter right by after “it” happened. I saw a girl in a ambul-chair with her ankle propped up and a car at a funny angle.
My guess? kids goofing in-between cars and someone got bumped. Yes, I mean bumped – she didn’t look like she was in much pain and nary a bullet to be found.
I guess kids say the darnest things. If someone had been shot, they would have said it was a tactical nuclear strike.
Random blogging
Now, when I have lots of random thoughts and ideas in my head, I seem to fizzle out of writing them here after sharing them…
The reason why theres so many people stealing these little things is because they are easy to sell and every kid want one. Kids who don’t have one would try to get one and thats when they steal it from people who paid for it. Im getting my 30g video in like 3 days and i already ordered a pair of black earphones cause if you don’t want your ipod gone this is a must have!…the ipod ones are bad anyways. I live in a place were theres not that much crime…in fact there has never been a murder here ;/ but im still going to protect my precious ipod.
Ipod thiefs SUCK!!! and they shoudl get their heads cut off with a plastic knife so it hurts even more!! get a life idiots
If we want to be seirous about stopping crimes like this, we should at least – both to the NYPD and on this excellent website – describe:
1. The exact address or directional corner where the perps were hanging out and where it happened, time of day, day of week, plus any notable or unusual circumstances.
2. A full description of the perps, regardless of how poliitcally incorrect it may be. If they’re black, say it (no matter how obvious it might be from the nature/location of the crime).
3. If they’re kids, note any adults present who might have been asociated with them.
The first thing in stopping crime is to know as precisely as possible who is doing it, how, where and when.
Any degree of accectance or tolerance of crime, no matter how minor, only invites more of it.