Viewing NYC Articles Categorized Under Violence

[WATCH] Mini-Doc Follows Brooklyn Man Wanting a "Jump-In" Initiation Into Local Crips Gang

2017-11-28T10:30:00-05:00

In this excellent mini-documentary profile from VICE, follow JT, a Brownsville man who is about to be initiated via a violent "square-in" with the Silent Murder Crips. Hear what drives him and his crew to join a gang, how they believe they are protecting their neighborhood, and what it means in society as a whole.

For JT, a young prospect making his way into a local branch of the Crips in Brooklyn, joining the gang is about family: Getting close to a group of men that care about him, and are willing to back him up if he ever finds himself in trouble. But getting initiated isn't easy. We followed JT through the process of getting made to see what drew him to the gang, and to hear why he's willing to be "squared in"—suffering a brutal beating at the hands of his best friends.

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[VIDEO] Learn All About Sunset Park's Street Gangs in the 70's and 80's Straight From the Source

2016-12-19T13:57:36-05:00

New York City was a crime-filled place in the 1970s and early 80s, a place where street gangs, muggers and violent criminals ran loose in the streets without fear. While much of the history in that era is focused on Manhattan and The Bronx, Brookly saw its fair share of criminal and gang activity.

In this video from BRIC TV, watch as local gangster historian King Klast gives you a tour of Sunset Park, and the gangs that used to roam there.

Since the late 90’s, King Klast has maintained an online destination that documents this history in the form of http://www.classicnystreetgangs.com/. In 2010 he became a member of The Assassinators (who are now a community organization) and took part in consulting for the documentary Rubble Kings. […] he discusses the various crews that ran Sunset during the 70’s and 80’s, and shares his first-hand experience with the violence that persisted at the time.

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Watch The Warriors Take One Last Subway Ride Home in Costume

2015-09-26T08:19:36-04:00

The Warriors is a 1979 cult movie about street battles between gangs from Brooklyn to The Bronx. In it, a gang known as "The Warriors" are wrongfully accused of the killing a rival gang leader, and have to try and get home to Coney Island while every gang in the City tries to get revenge.

A battle of gigantic proportions is looming in the neon underground of New York City. The armies of the night number 100,000; they outnumber the police 5 to 1; and tonight they're after the Warriors—a street gang blamed unfairly for a rival gang leader's death.

In this video from Rolling Stone, watch as The Warriors return to Coney Island 36 years later for one last journey on the Q train.

Download The Warriors on iTunes or purchase on Amazon.

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The Lower East Side's Yom Kippur Riot of 1898

2015-09-24T11:15:16-04:00

Yom Kippur is the most important Jewish holiday of the year. It is customary to fast for 25 hours over the duration of the holiday, a tradition that goes back thousands of years.

In places of dense Jewish settlement like the turn-of-the-century Lower East Side, most restaurants would close down on Yom Kippur to observe the holiday, and to avoid tempting people with the smell of food or opportunity to dine.

In 1898 however, a small cafe at Canal St and Division St named Herrick’s decided to stay open, resulting in an angry mob of thousands of protesters storming the store and rioting in the streets.

Many offenders were chased down the street for fear of their lives. Eventually, the angry protesters even managed to storm the restaurant again where they “overturned tables, smashed dishes and threw crockery at the proprietors.” One diner was doused in hot tea. Another diner, with his three friends, happened to be military and ‘fired off a revolver to attract police’, scattered the crowd in fear. Police did arrive, with clubs drawn.

Check out the full writeup for more on the Yom Kippur riots of 1898.

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Rare Security Camera Footage of Violence From Inside Rikers Maximum Security Prison

2015-04-24T15:26:04-04:00

Warning: This video contains graphic violence.

Rikers Island is home to a maximum security penitentiary run by the New York City Department of Corrections.

The prison rarely make news for treating prisoners well, in fact, they have had a string of horrible incidents happen over the past few years, most recently when an unsupervised prisoner under suicide-watch managed to commit suicide using a bed-sheet.

Now, The New Yorker was able to get their hands on 6-minute long security camera footage showing horrendous beatdowns of a single prisoner by both a guard, and his fellow inmates.

This week, The New Yorker obtained two surveillance-camera video clips that depict the dual horrors of Browder’s years in jail: abuse by a guard and by fellow-inmates.

See the accompanying article for the complete backstory on mr Browder and the incident caught on tape.

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