67th precinct / population 155,252
Flags from St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Kitts and Nevis fly proudly outside well-kept homes and lush front-yard gardens in East Flatbush, where Jamaican, Trinidadian and Haitian immigrants are also well represented.
Waves of these immigrants have turned around this neighborhood, which was once known as a hotbed of drugs and violence. In the NYPD Community Newsletter in May 2011, the commander of the 67th Precinct, which covers the sprawling neighborhood, said he was amazed by the community spirit. "Never have I seen a more tightly knit community than East Flatbush," said Deputy Inspector Corey Pegues, commending community groups, which had come together while the area was experiencing a spike in violent crime.
That community spirit couldn't have stayed strong without the massive decline in violence that occurred over the years. Total crime is down by 76 percent since 1993, led by an 83 percent drop in robberies. Despite the decline, the 67th Precinct remained in the lower half of DNAinfo.com's list of New York's safest neighborhoods, 40th out of 69 for per capita crime, with 137 major crimes per 10,000 residents in 2010. More worrying still, there remain pockets of deadly violence in the area.
There were 26 murders recorded in the precinct in 2010, up significantly from the 18 recorded the year before, placing it near the bottom of DNAinfo.com's list for that category, at 65th safest of 69 neighborhoods, with nearly two murders per 10,000 residents.
Rapes, too, were on the rise — 48 percent from 2008 to 2010. Still, overall crime was virtually unchanged between 2009 and 2010, with burglaries and felony assaults down 6 percent each, to 405 and 445 respectively, although robberies edged up by 2 percent, to 417. For grand larceny East Flatbush ranks a middling 30th safest, but for car theft, East Flatbush ranks a lowly 59th.
44%
Increase in murders from 2009 to 2010
51%
Decrease in burglaries from 2001 to 2010
Photo: Facebook/Remembering Anthony Mosomillo
Mortally Wounded Officer Mosomillo Saves His Partner
Police Officer Anthony Mosomillo (pictured), 36, and his partner Miriam Torres, 36, visited an apartment on E. 34th Street near Clarendon Road about 8 a.m. on May 26, 1998, searching for Jose Serrano. He was wanted for failing to show up at court, following a minor drug arrest. As the two cops searched the basement apartment with guns drawn, Serrano, 30, jumped out of a closet and attacked Officer Torres. Serrano grabber her gun and fired four shots, hitting Mosomillo, pictured, in the neck and chest. The wounded Mosomillo fired back, killing Serrano. Mosomillo died eight hours later at Kings County Hospital. The police later learned that Serrano, who was on parole, had been arrested in April and released before his fingerprints had been analyzed. That April arrest should have landed him behind bars.
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