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Interactive Map Lets You See What Gangs Are Terrorizing Your Neighborhood
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 14, 2015
Modified Dec 14, 2015
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 14, 2015
Modified Dec 14, 2015
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Gangs and smaller street crews are responsible for nearly half the shootings in NYC, according to the NYPD. The seemingly intractable problem of violent street crews killing and assaulting each other over the slightest dispute has been well-documented, but now the Daily News has created an interactive map that lets you see the names of the various gangs and crews who lay claim to turf throughout the city.
The street crews, which sometimes have just a handful of members, operate on increasingly small slivers of turf, in many cases just one block. But what they lack in size they make up for in violence.
"It’s a fearsome reality: violence for its own sake," NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told the News. “The gun has come to define manhood for these young men, and the willingness to use it has become a rite of passage."
The NYPD estimates that there are 375 gangs or street crews currently operating in the city. The highest concentration is in Brooklyn, where an estimated 130 gangs or crews operate. There are an estimated 87 gangs or crews active in the Bronx, 75 in Queens, 40 in Manhattan, and 13 in Staten Island. As you can see by clicking around the map, many of them have striking names, like the Bundle Boys, Bitches and Money (BAM), Thirsty Three Moet, and Gods Favorite Children (GFC).
As of last week, there were 324 murders in the city so far this year, a 5.5% increase over the 307 homicides reported by the same date last year. The NYPD estimates that gang members were responsible for at least 130 of this year's murders, which is roughly 40%.
"Some of it is Hatfield-and-McCoy-type stuff, but some of it is financially driven,” Deputy Chief Kevin Catalina, the commanding officer of the NYPD Gang Division, told the News.
“A lot of times, it’s hard to figure out what’s driving it. It’s senseless violence. It’s a tremendous problem with us. It’s one of the biggest issues that we are facing right now."
Tagged
crime
street crews
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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