It's a little cooler in bk these days, and I don't just mean the weather. Apologies to my avid reader (not a typo) for all the dead air, but dIaMoNd has been a busy girl. My brother and I decided, around the time of the last entry, that we needed to make serious moves. While I learned new things on the streets of bedstuy, we figured we could learn things on another street in brooklyn, that were good.
It has definitly been one of the more difficult processes of my life - finding roomates, rooms, and apartments and ultimately how to pay for all of it (still sort of working on that one). After about a month and a half of looking, I was ready to give up. We found a great roomate, meg. After placing a deposit down on a place, the real estate company held on to out money and led us to believe we had it, and told us two or three days before moving in that we didn't. But ultimately everything seems to be working out for the best, and we are now in ...park slope! i hope, dear reader, that you won't be concerned that this will turn into a lengthy baby bjorn/book club review. dIaMoNd will still be reporting from the streets and staying down to earth.
It seemed that most of my problems were solved the day I moved in, that I was leaving them behind me in the stuy. As we were finishing the final load of boxes and cleaning at our old apartment, I noticed a woman standing across the street from my apartment, in front of the children's playground. I watched her set down her shopping bags, drop her blue jeans, and pee on the sidewalk. This was at about 3:00 in the afternoon, and all of the children from the local school had come to play. I called to my brother, we couldn't believe what we were witnessing. The children in the park began to heckle her through the chain link fence...
"Yo, lady, how you gonna pee right there."
"Miss my little sister is right here why you peeing right in front of her there's a bathroom right there..."
and indeed, the children spoke the truth. She was less that 100 feet from a public bathroom, located in the playground. An adult crossed the street and also pointed the restroom out to her, and walked away. A few minutes passed and I continued about my business, only to then notice that she decided it was time to wipe, and the pants were back down, little white tissue sprinkling the sidewalk. The children swarmed around her on their bicycles and scooters, Lord of the Flies style. When they started throwing hackysacks and rocks at her, we decided it was time for yet another 911 call. We managed to make it another 45 minutes, and the coinciding arrival of the police force (a gentle reminder, the station is three blocks away) trumpeted our departure.
A night on the town in celebration was in order, and I went into the city for a co-worker's birthday. I came home late (of course) and spotted a police officer outside of my door as I crossed the street. I asked her what was up, and she stared at me, and rolled her eyes. "Um...the rape..." she responded. "The rape..." I asked, innocently.
"Um...you don't see all the signs everywhere...um...how could you not know."
"Well, I just moved in yesterday...think you could fill me in."
And so, a man, or men, have been attacking women in Park Slope on their way home from Yoga/Work/Juicebar/Aquatots. Eleven incidents to date, I believe.
I felt exhausted.
"Listen...I just moved here. From Bed Stuy. To get away from this."
"Well," she answered, "It's a good neighborhood, but you need to be careful."
I thanked her, and headed towards the door. She stopped me.
"Oh, and miss....from what we can tell, you fit his profile exactly."
Great.
This is all sloping a little downward (p.i)...and i don't mean it to. I really like this place, a lot. Meg and I went to a safe slope rally and marched down the avenue, chanting things like "Hey Hey Ho Ho this rape culture has got to go!"
The good thing is, about this whole situation, is that in Bed Stuy, I think the screams are silent. This is the sort of thing that probably just wouldn't take precedence in the old hood - not when people are being shot.
Am I happy to hear about these troubles? No. But I've learned, from where I've lived, to protect myself, and be smart and safe. I'm guessing that's sort of what a brooklyn girl does. More to come on all of the positive things I am experiencing here in brooklyn, check back on an update on my new favorite place in the city.
Much love... <>*$dIaMoNd*$<>
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