The NYPD has been watching social media pretty closely lately, but that didn't stop several members of the Crips gang in Brooklyn from using the sites to spread the word about a "Crips Holiday" that was going to happen in East Flatbush yesterday. more ›

An alleged member of the Crips is on trial for murder in the Bronx, and yesterday the judge closed her court room because his associates have allegedly been doling out threats—one witness was even beat up and shot last week The Daily News reports that Brandin Santiago's friends have "flashed gang signs in the courtroom and intimidated witnesses and victim's family members throughout the trial." Which has the Bronx DA's office asking for a closed trial. more ›

If you've been in Queens Supreme Court recently, you may be wondering if there's been a major migration of people from Cincinnati, judging by all the Cincinnati Reds red-and-black caps which seem to populate the building. But the Big Red Machine hasn't kicked the Mets out of Queens' heart just yet; members of the Bloods have appropriated the Cincinnati insignia to get under the skin of their rivals, the Crips, and to show solidarity with fellow soldiers on trial. "They should not be coming into this courthouse wearing their colors. This is our territory, not theirs," says Mariela Palomino Herring, the chief of the Queens district attorney's gang violence bureau. more ›

The Post's rantin' Steve Cuozzo is in rare form today with his takedown of the new plaza planned for the Barclays Center/Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. Cuozzo calls the design "singularly malevolent in its ugliness," and "more conducive to hosting a Crips-Bloods scrimmage than the intended upscaling of the neighborhood." The best part? When "He Who Yells At Cloud" lays the blame for this "travesty" at the feet of the project's biggest opponent. more ›

It seems that rival drug crews are not only sharing lookouts and customers (perhaps in homage to Stringer and Prop Joe's Utopian vision of criminal enterprising)—they're sharing weapons too! Police believe that they've noticed a new trend amongst gangs in NYC, with rivals sharing guns rather than heading out of state to restock their illegal firearms. more ›

The tragic murder of 15-year-old Brandon Bethea triggered the investigation that led to a massive gang takedown in Queens. Bethea was killed by a stray bullet in 2008 in a Far Rockaway project, shot by a gang member firing into a crowd. The gunman's arrest sparked a wiretap investigation that took down 104 people identifying with "Flocc," a gang alliance between members of the Crips and the Bloods. "It was that investigation that got us up on the phones as we learned about the [gang] activity in that area," Deputy Chief Robert Boyce told the Daily News. more ›

A nearly two-year long police investigation, "Operation Under Siege," revealed over 100 suspects, dozens of guns, and piles of drugs, all in connection to a plot to assassinate cops. The team behind this plot? A strange alliance of the Bloods and the Crips, traditionally rival gangs. They allegedly set aside their differences to plan the assassinations of patrol cops in projects in the Rockaways. Police Commish Ray Kelly said one gang associate "intended to position himself on rooftops and shoot police officers who were compromising his business in Far Rockaway and South Jamaica." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg said judges need to crack down on those arrested for the Easter "Wilding" riot in Times Square. "We are not going to tolerate behavior like that, and I think -- if the district attorney really prosecutes -- that will send a message," he said on his weekly radio show. Even though 350 cops were assigned to monitor the yearly Easter Night gang initiation, four people were shot and 33 were arrested. more ›

Police are looking for those involved with the fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old near Prospect Park on Friday afternoon. The Daily News reports that "a dozen suspected gang members" are being sought for Roldanalonzo Castro's death—"Investigators believe Castro, a member of the Dominicans Don't Play gang, was targeted for revenge by members of the Crips and Patrias, police sources said." Castro had been with his girlfriend when he was "hit with a baseball bat and stabbed with a machete Friday afternoon near the Prospect Park Tennis Center on Parade Place." He later died at the hospital. more ›

15-year-old Leo Perez, a student at Graphics High School in midtown, was in the wrong place at the wrong time Tuesday afternoon when a gang fight broke out on at Eighth Ave. and 49th Street, conveniently located near the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square hotel. Police sources say that around 3 p.m., Isaiah Taitt, 17, of Brooklyn, a member of the Latin Kings gang, was confronted by three Crips. "They motion for him [Taitt] to take your hands out of your pockets. He takes his hands out. He has a knife. They jump him," a source tells the Daily News. Perez was one of bystanders who saw Taitt being kicked and beaten, and when he broke free from his assailants, he brutally stabbed Perez, mistaking him for one of the Crips. more ›

Cops broke up a major drug ring and arrested fifty suspected dealers operating out of a Far Rockaway housing project. After making 174 undercover purchases in six months, police raided the Hammel Houses, the Post reports. According to the Daily News, officers cuffed 45 suspects including members of the Bloods, Crips, and Money Over Bitches gangs. Police seized 41 bags of crack, 230 bags of marijuana, and smaller amounts of heroin and Oxycontin. Ten of the suspects had been arrested in a bust two years ago, and police continue to search for 13 other suspects. Queens Narcotics Capt. Thomas Marren says cops will pay close attention to the nearby Carleton Manor housing project so the dealers can't easily relocate. more ›

A menacing text message saying, "Oct. 21st starts gang initiation week they are rumored to try to kill 140 Woman.PLZ FORWARD This can save our women!" frightened some northern NJ students, but police say the so-called "Red October" gang initiation rites are an "urban legend." Newark police director Gerry McCarthy said, "Every Halloween, people were talking about gang initiation, but there is not a shred of evidence to prove that it's true." In NYC, gang initiation day is allegedly April 12. more ›

Yesterday, the funeral of 13-year-old Kevin Miller was held in a Jamaica church, a week after he was hit by a stray bullet from gang gunfire. Queens DA Richard Brown also announced that a second suspected Crips gang member was arrested for Miller's murder, "This case is another example of the mindless gun-related violence and street gang mentality that turns our streets into battlefields and too often takes innocent lives and recklessly endangers public safety." more ›

A 17-year-old teenage girl was fatally shot early yesterday morning when gunfire broke out at a party held at the Elks Plaza on Fulton St. in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Nyasia Pryear, who was shot in the neck, was an honor student at Nazareth Regional High School and her relatives say she was looking forward to attending college in the fall. Two other teens were injured in the melee. more ›

The police have arrested two teens who are accused of luring a cop "into the line of fire" in Bed-Stuy on Sunday. Cops say a 15-year-old "purposefully distracted a cop": The teen first spoke to a uniformed patrol cop, headed into a Chinese restaurant and gave some food to a group across the street from the cop, and went back to talk to the cop. Then an 18-year-old, Bloods gang member Keith Myers, allegedly fired at the cop from across the street. Myers, who claimed he was firing at a different car with a Crips member pointing a gun at him, was charged with attempted murder and weapons possession. The other teen, also a member of the Bloods, was charged with attempted murder, acting in concert and reckless endangerment. more ›

A is for Apple..B is for Blood and C is for Crip? The Daily News has a disturbing story about gang-member parents indoctrinating their children from birth in gang life. Before they can even speak, some of these tots can flash their signs and are adorned with gang colors and accouterments. Are gang-themed line of onesies far behind? more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 120th St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan, a stabbing on West 31st St. in Brooklyn, and a fall victim at MoMA in Manhattan.
• The New York Yankees took first place in franchise spending, with a total payroll of $218.3 million last year. The World Series-winning Boston Red Sox payroll totalled $155.4 million to finish a distant second.
• The New York Water Taxi is terminating its South Brooklyn service between Sunset Park, Red Hook, and Wall St. at the end of this month.

Police arrested a suspect in the shooting of 11-year-old Tyshaun Falconer as he stood in the doorway of his parents' home in Springfield Gardens, Queens. The suspect is identified as 19-year-old Michael Peterson of Elmont, Long Island. Peterson allegedly went to the Falconer home and when Tyshaun answered the door asked for his older brother Tony. When the younger brother answered that he was not home, Peterson is accused of shooting him once in the chest. more ›

A happy event turned violent early Sunday morning when the manager of a Brooklyn catering hall fired at three guests, and by the time the police caught a second shooter, one person was dead and four others were wounded. A baby shower at the El Barandillo banquet hall on Atlantic Avenue turned into a fight between members of the Bloods and Crips - all of whom were invited to the shower. El Barandillo manager Omar... more ›

After a protest in East Harlem, baseball cap manufacturer New Era has agreed to pull Yankees caps from store shelves. A number of caps seem to refer to the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings and became a controversy during a back-to-school shopping trip. more ›

The NYPD revealed that they have arrested four members of the Crips gang who robbed four bodegas in Queens in just three hours on Sunday. Queens DA Richard Brown says that the four, Gregory Burrowes, Jeremy Edwards, Keon Gill, and Ryan Carter would target mom-and-pop stores, with only bandannas covering their faces. They "walked down the street robbing one bodega only minutes after having robbed another." more ›

Mayor Cory Booker unveiled new technology to help fight crime in Newark. The plan is called "Community Eye," and it will "marry audio gunshot-detection technology with a series of remote-control public surveillance cameras into a network," according to the Star-Ledger. Booker hopes to put 100 cameras and audio gunshot-detection machines to work, as the Newark Community Foundation has promised to raise $3.2 million for the effort. Booker said, "When all the cameras and gunshot detectors are up, we will have about 8 square miles of the city covered." more ›

Yesterday's reports about the number of people arrested during the 50th annual Puerto Rican Day Parade were incorrect: While numbers like 80 and 173 were offered, today the NY Times reveals 208 people were arrested, due to police concerns about the Latin Kings. However, there's some question as to whether more people without gang connections were arrested during the sweep. more ›

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. more ›

The police are still trying to understand what happened during yesterday's morning stabbing of a 16-year-old student. Mark Tyrell, who attends Chelsea Career and Technical high, was stabbed repeatedly on East 14th Street after emerging from the Union Square subway station. Police believe the incident started on the subway platform when Tyrell ran into some people. When Tyrell was chased out, he was attacked outside a pizzeria, where an employee told the NY Times, "One of them grabbed a screwdriver or a nail or something and started hitting him." more ›

Yesterday, hundreds of people gathered for two different marches in Queens to protest the police shooting of Sean Bell, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield and police conduct in the community overall. A chapter of the NAACP organized a march of hundreds of people from Jamaica Avenue and 168th Street to where the shooting took place, at Liverpool and 94th Avenue. The other march was organized by the New Black Panther Party, which started at the shooting scene and ended at Jamaica and 168th, and offered much angrier words. more ›

Gothamist always likes a gun bust where the NYPD gets to pose in front of the cache of weapons found, but yesterday's gun bust was like Christmas morning: A gun bust of over 100 firearms including an arrest of one of the dealers sitting in a porta-potty with 17 guns! The gun runners had concocted a scheme to meet the detectives (undercover, for "Operation Tripod") in one location and tell them the guns would be at the porta-potty, but the police were able to bust all of them. The NYPD is very pleased with the arrests, as the unusual thing is that this gun ring was based in Ohio (which, among Virginia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, is where most of the illegal guns come from), and cops usually just arrest the middlemen in NYC. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly continued to emphasize the harm of illegal weapons - 72% of guns in NYC crimes are from out of state. more ›

Not a great way to start a school day off. Not at all. more ›

The NY Times wonders why there are such big cars in the city, as many auto manufacturers are bring teeny tiny "city cars" to the International Auto Show, like the Renault Zoe. Apparently, the Times didn't get the memo that NYers will try to find ways to maximize their space, from getting mini-storage at a warehouse to mini-store on wheels in the form of an SUV. Plus, bigger is always better, ain't it? Anyway, Gothamist was amused by the failed introductions of smaller cars (like the Smart car) to the U.S.; again, when New Yorkers see their American brethren driving across country in their souped up SUVs, clearly there's a envy factor. So that's the illogical explanation as to why there are not only Hummers in the city, but also those ridiculous SUV limos carting the prom kids in town. more ›