Assistant District Attorney Nigel Farinha briefed parents and students on indicators of gang activity, on the rise in Northern Manhattan.
Symbols are a staple of the fashions that our children wear. They appear innocently on baseball caps, basketball jerseys, even on beaded necklaces. But sometimes these symbols mean something more when they are worn on the streets of our community.
That was one of the lessons learned on Tuesday, March 15 when concerned parents, students, and teachers gathered at P.S. 152 Dyckman Valley School in Washington Heights to learn about preventing and identifying gang related activity.
"Gangs: 101" was presented by the Manhattan district attorney's office and the 34th Police Precinct in an effort to educate the community after a recent hike in local gang activity.
"Parents are our first line of defense to help us fight gang violence, it starts at home," said Jocelyn Minaya, from the D.A.'s community affairs office.
Nigel Farinha, deputy unit chief for NYPD narcotics gang unit, said that teenagers are given a choice everyday when they walk out of their homes headed for school. "When our young people walk along these streets, everyday somebody is pulling them in a different direction. Our kids are walking on a thin line, and it's easy to fall off the right path," Farinha said.
Farinha briefed the audience on how some teenagers show what gang they are affiliated with based on indicators, such as an article of clothing's color, tattoos, graffiti, rosary beads, bandanas, and hats. "I'm not trying to pass on fashion, but sometimes these can get unassuming kids who wear it into a lot of trouble because of the established gang tradition," said Farinha.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. said his office has seen an increase in violent crimes in the last year with over 325 cases involving knives and guns. In about a fourth of those cases, the suspects were 18 years old or younger.
The Bloods gang represents about 40 percent of active gang members in the city, and the Latin Kings about 15 percent. Young groups of Dominicans who call themselves Trinitarios or Dominicans Don't Play (DDP) represent about five percent and Mexican gangs about 10 percent of the city's organized gang activity. The two last groups are growing. According to the NYPD, Dominican gangs are responsible for about 35 percent of the total crime activity in the 34th Precinct.
Gang members often flash and even go as far as declare their gang affiliation in plain view. Bloods honor the number five, and predominantly wear black and red. Latin Kings also honor the number five and don shades of gold, brown, and khaki. Dominicans Don't Play honors the number three. Both DDP and the Trinitarios wear the national colors, while Trinitarios pair them with lime green.
NYPD officials urged parents to become more involved and vigilant in their children's lives and to take an active role in their interests, their school, and who their friends are.
"Kids who end up in gangs are seeking a sense of belonging, they're looking for a family and, even though no kid will admit it, they want structure," Farinha said. "They should be getting this at home, and not on the streets." He urged parents to get children involved in athletics, the arts, and other extracurricular activities, and not to turn a blind eye to the world of social media where gangs openly recruit and advertise their criminal activity.
"If you don't know who your kids are speaking to, you're leaving the back door open; we cannot tolerate this kind of behavior," Farinha added.
A mother of three who was present at the event, and did not give her name, said she thought the workshop had been helpful, and that she was happy her children, all under the age of 16, attended. "It's good that we can have this [workshop] so parents and children can become educated," she said. "I learned some things today that I never knew about."
The event became emotional when local resident Maria Maldonado shared her story. Maldonado's 17-year-old son was stabbed to death in October 2008 when two gang members approached him to steal his leather jacket. As he removed it, they fatally stabbed him in the chest. "I never got the chance to tell him that I was waiting for him that day, to let him know how much I loved him," said Maldonado, who shared her story urging parents to become active and responsible in their child's life. "These are our kids and we need to learn what they're doing."
