Reminder: Get Home Safe with Brooklyn Bike Patrol
After a man was beaten by a group of seven over the weekend, now is a good time to remind everyone to call Brooklyn Bike Patrol for a safe walk home at night.
With a string of violent incidents happening in the neighborhood, we wanted to remind our readers that with Brooklyn Bike Patrol’s escort service there’s no reason to walk home alone at night.
BBP is staffed by volunteers who have all gone through background checks at the 72nd precinct (photos of the volunteers can be found here). In addition, they wear bright yellow BBP t-shirts and badges on their arm.
For an escorted walk home at night, simply call 718-744-7592 or email brooklynbikepatrol@gmail.com. Their hours of operation are 8 p.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and 8 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday night, a man was beaten by a group of seven while walking home from the subway on Park Place between Vanderbilt and Washington avenues. The victim’s wallet and cell phone were stolen and he was taken by EMS to Methodist Hospital, where he was treated for a broken jaw, a black eye and several lost teeth.
Here’s a round-up of other violent acts that have taken place in the neighborhood over the past year:
- In December alone, a string of late-night muggings happened by the Franklin Avenue. In the same month, a 16-year-old boy was arrested for holding a man up at gunpoint and dashing off with his iPhone.
- In July, a couple was punched and robbed while standing in front of their home on St. Marks Avenue and Carlton. That same month a 19-year-old man was slashed in the back and head during a failed mugging attempt, while a 14-year-old boy was robbed at knifepoint on St. Johns Place between Plaza and Underhill.
- In June, two men were beaten, kicked and hit with sticks by a group yelling gay slurs at them, near the corner of Franklin Avenue and Prospect Place.
- In June, a woman was held up at knifepoint on Prospect Place between Underhill and Vanderbilt Avenues.
- In May, a 16-year-old was held up at knifepoint by a man near Central Library.
- In March, a woman was pushed and groped inside of a Washington Avenue building, and in that same month an 18-year-old man was mugged of his iPod while walking down Grand Avenue between Dean and Pacific streets
