Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The 3 Brooklyn Neighborhoods at the Epicenter of Stop and Frisk
Posted by Virginia K. Smith on Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 11:50 AM
After more than a year of pressure from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the NYPD has finally released a little data on stop-and-frisk. The results are exactly what even the policy's mildest critics would have guessed, with blacks and Hispanics — who make up 53% of New York's population — accounting for around 90% of stops throughout the city. By comparison, 9% of those stopped were white, and 4% Asian. Curiously — coincidentally, I'm sure? — there was no data released on the number of actual arrests resulting from the stops.
But where, you might ask, is this productive, morale-boosting use of taxpayer money implemented the most? Brooklyn, apparently. Kings County has the dubious distinction of seeing the majority of New York's stops-and-frisks during 2011 (the policy's busiest year since 2002), with Queens not far behind. Three neighborhoods in particular seem to be bearing the brunt of it.
East New York
The 75th precinct, which encompasses East New York and Cypress Hills, had the city's very highest rate of stop and frisks, accounting for 31,000 of the 685,724 stops in 2011. 97% of those stopped were minorities.
Brownsville
Neighboring Brownsville (the 73rd precinct) was a close second, with 25,167 people stopped in 2011. By comparison, the next most targeted area — East Elmhurst, Corona, and Jackson Heights in Queens — saw 18,156 stops, and the Bronx's 40th precinct had 17,690.
Williamsburg
Never to be left out of anything, at all, Williamsburg had the 5th most stops of the year. Out of 17,566 reported by the NYPD, 88.6% involved minorities, a relatively low number. As of yet, the NYPD has yet to explain its decision to release the data, but does, according to the Post, deny any charges that the insanely lopsided numbers are the result of any type of racial profiling. Just "reasonable suspicion."
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
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About The Author
Virginia K. Smith
Virginia K. Smith is the Assistant Editor at The L Magazine and a Bushwick resident. Her profile picture was taken at Summerscreen, because she is a real team player.
