| Author | Message | ||
     lumpyhead Citizen Username: Lumpyhead Post Number: 325 Registered: 3-2002 |
Four shootings were reported in Irvington yesterday. Three wounded and the one dead man was 18 and from Maplewood. The gunmen were seen wearing red bandannas fleeing from the 1st shooting. Irvington is involved in the state's Distressed Cities Program and is on extra state aid to try and combat it's problems. NJ State Troopers have been called in and are working out of the 16th Avenue precinct. It seems Maplewood has a very scary neighbor. Hopefully our police department will be able to patrol our borders to prevent the crime from spreading. | ||
| bklyntonj Citizen Username: Bklyntonj Post Number: 24 Registered: 7-2003 |
I'm with you Lumpyhead. Whatever it takes to keep our Maplewood community safe. My condolences to the Maplewood boy's family. | ||
| njphilf Citizen Username: Njphilf Post Number: 40 Registered: 4-2002 |
Hopefully, the police can hire the neccessary officers. As I recall from the last weeks TC meeting, they are down 4 policemen. Time for the TC to step up to the plate and do something. | ||
| ccm Citizen Username: Ccm Post Number: 47 Registered: 8-2001 |
I hope our police force is aggressive in rolling our crime problem back and keep Irvington's problems away from our town. thelight, can you shed any light on this? Do you guys do anything special near the Irv. border to keep | ||
| ccm Citizen Username: Ccm Post Number: 48 Registered: 8-2001 |
I hope the police are able to keep this problem away from Maplewood by aggressively policing the areas bordering Irvington. Agressive enforcement of traffic laws and speed limits on roads such as Parker and Elmwood may also have deterrent value. Thelight, can you shed any light on this issue? | ||
| Aaron Friedman Citizen Username: Java_drinker Post Number: 223 Registered: 8-2002 |
CCM - So true, Elmwood Ave seems more like Elmwood International Speedway these days. Frankly I don't care where you're from, people have got to slow down. If, as a bonus, we can keep bad-actors out of Maplwood this way, then I'm all for it. The hoodlums who broke into my car (on Elmwood) and stole some personal items were picked up, and guess where they lived? Yup, Irvington. | ||
| notehead Citizen Username: Notehead Post Number: 620 Registered: 5-2001  |
I met a woman in her late 50's who grew up in Irvington. She said it was a great neighborhood, full of well-kept homes and friendly neighbors. It's really a tragedy how far the town has fallen - and it becomes our problem when criminals from there commit crimes in Maplewood and South Orange. | ||
| bobk Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 3229 Registered: 5-2001 |
Here is a post I made on this subject in the Virtual Cafe. Posted on Tuesday, July 1, 2003 - 10:36 am: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the weekend I had an informal discussion with one of the MPD officers who indicated that this would probably be a problem for us since "drug dealers have to make a living" and if it gets to hot in Irvington they will move into Maplewood. This has apparently happened in other towns when a task force moved in. I believe the main agency providing the additional officers is the State Police. Also, the area in front of the Dunkin Donuts on Springfield is a favorite drug dealing location because it is on the Union line and the dealers move from town (and county) to town depending on which police force is in the area. I believe several months ago JGBerkeley posted about watching drug deals there while having lunch(edited to add at the Subway). | ||
| doublea Citizen Username: Doublea Post Number: 225 Registered: 3-2003 |
Yesterday's Police Blotter in the News-Record reported that three juveniles, ages 6,9 and 10, were arrested for breaking into parked vehicles in a South Orange municpal parking lot and taking cell phones. No mention where they lived. | ||
| Popo Citizen Username: Popo Post Number: 16 Registered: 1-2003 |
Was the boy who was killed in the Irvington shooting a CHS student? He was an 18-year-old Maplewood resident. | ||
| thelight Citizen Username: Thelight Post Number: 60 Registered: 8-2001 |
Greetings All, In response to the above posters who inquired about what the Maplewood Police force is, or will be doing, to combat the growing menace of the expected flow of crime from Irvington into our great community. As far as "official" briefing that we are given from our Command, I do not believe our Chief has sent down any real plan of attack. As many of you may recall, some months back, our Chief was quoted as saying that there is no gang activity occuring in Maplewood! If anyone can provide a link to the article in the Maplewood paper where he made this statement, please add it to this thread, I'm sure the article would make for interesting reading at this critical time, in the aftermath of the poor soul who lost his young life in the Irvington shooting. As usual, the Maplewood Police Force will continue to do our jobs and protect life and limb. Even with the mass exodus of the Officers who have left the Department, and with the expected numbers of seasoned Officers that will be submitting there papers to Management, the remaining Officers will do our best to keep this Town of ours, a shining jewel in a sea of dispair! Thank You, The Light. | ||
| JerryC Citizen Username: Jerryc Post Number: 6 Registered: 12-2002 |
This issue is a great concern to me for two reasons. One, I live fairly close to the Irvington border and have been noticing a marked increase in the number of "gang" type groups walking around the neighborhood. This practice of all of the kids wearing the same white T-shirts disturbs me as the explaination I've been given for them doing it is that it would make it harder for them to be ID'd as the result of a crime. My car has been broken into and mine and my wife's cell phones stolen. I also had a telescope stolen from my inside front porch (silly me forgot to lock the door). My next door neighbor's house was broken into. Second, as an active member of an organization trying hard to revitalize Springfield Ave, it is impossible to ignore what happens in Irvington. Unless someone wants to consider putting a moat in or iron gates at the Irvington/Maplewood border on SA, the increasing crime will inevitably spill over. This will make it much more difficult to attract business to the Ave. What can we do about this Police problem? What are the reasons for the high turnover in police staff? How can we turn it around. | ||
| AZ Citizen Username: Azaltsman Post Number: 151 Registered: 1-2003 |
How much does a moat cost? Maybe with a few armed sentries it may be worth it. I'm willing to kick in a few $$$. The moat could double as a swimming pool for the Irvington refugees bent on using ours. It can double as a skating rink in the winter. We can charge admission to pay for the moat.  | ||
| AZ Citizen Username: Azaltsman Post Number: 152 Registered: 1-2003 |
Hey, if half the residents in Maplewood (about 12K) donate $8 couldn't we hire two more cops? Sounds like we have a pressing issue. I say we cut down on the paper clips in the school budget and get some men/women in blue to help out here. | ||
| cody Citizen Username: Cody Post Number: 343 Registered: 5-2001 |
Most of the teachers I know are buying their own paper clips and other supplies out of their own money. But I agree we need to listen to the police officers and find out what is needed to keep us all safe. Maybe a town-wide event as a fundraiser? | ||
| Aaron Friedman Citizen Username: Java_drinker Post Number: 224 Registered: 8-2002 |
Why is this solely our problem, where are the Irvington cops? In the last 3 posts I have read about us kicking in money, us (ok he was kidding) building a moat, and us spending less on school and more on cops? This is nuts folks, the problem begins and ends in Irvington. Now if they need help, they can hire extra cops with all that Maplewood tax money they get from us every quarter. | ||
| JerryC Citizen Username: Jerryc Post Number: 7 Registered: 12-2002 |
Good point Aaron. Our county taxes are absurd to begin with. The state and the county have a real responsibility to get the situation in Irvington under control since the town itself obviously can't. Irvington is out of control and has become CamdenII. A lot of county effort is being focused on downtown Newark because it is higher profile, there are more big investors and it has much greater political implications. Does Irvington even have a mayor anymore. I seem to remember reading that she was run out of office for some sort of corruption. I guess that the posters here are just looking for something that WE can do given that no one else seems to want to step up to the plate. Also, some of the comments about our police understaffing go beyond just the Irvington issue. I don't know the details but it seems that we just don't have enough patrol units on the street in general and the turnover rate seems high. | ||
| Joan Citizen Username: Joancrystal Post Number: 1774 Registered: 5-2001 |
It's time to do some regional planning in law enforcement - beyond anything that already exists. Boundary areas, several blocks in either direction of the Maplewood/Irvington border for example, should become joint interest areas rather than demilitarized zones. The anti-crime initiative in Irvington should extend for several blocks across the borders of each of Irvington's neighbors. | ||
| copihue Citizen Username: Vperalta Post Number: 32 Registered: 1-2003  |
I don't have faith in regional planning, because Irvington cops are not capable of keeping the crime in their town under control, so, why should they worry about us? We have to worry about us. I wish it weren't this way, but that's what it looks like to me at this time. I went to drop off a student of mine home last summer who lives on Springfield Avenue in Irvington -- beautiful old building. The gang members were on her back door, the mother forbids the kids to go outside even in summer; there is gang violence in the school. When I went to buy moving boxes at Ryder, not knowing what was going on in Irvington at the time, I was driving in my Audi station wagon looking for the shop. I could see the drug dealers with their eyes on me on a Sunday afternoon in plain sight of everyone, and there were two dozen people on the street doing business. Have those cops take care of my security? no. I am not implying that they are incompetent. It sounds as if they have more than they can handle. | ||
| John Davenport Citizen Username: Jjd Post Number: 76 Registered: 2-2003 |
I think the lesson we should take from this is not that we should build a moat, but that we need our state and federal government to come up with dramatic plans to make fundamental changes in places like Irvington, Camden, Detroit, East St. Louis, South LA, Benton Harbor Michigan, and probably about 20-30 similar sized townships across the US. I'm not sure what should be done, but when things reach the point they have in Irvington, massive social engineering is needed. |
