Bottled up in Corona(Mexican gangs in NY)

Some nights, Maria Vazquez is afraid to leave her home. After living in Corona all her life, Vazquez,31, has begun bolting herself inside her Nicolls Ave. apartment once the sun goes down, for fear of being terrorized by the neighborhoods street gangs. "You can always hear them outside, yelling, breaking bottles and harrasing people," said Vazquez, a home healhcare worker who lives with her 4 year old son and her 63 year old mother. "Sometimes, they even shoot their guns up in the air, and all we can do is pray." Though overall crime rates throughout the city continue to decline, many Corona people say gang activity is on the rise in their neighborhood, especially around the bustling Roosevelt Ave. commercial district. "There is more of a fear of gangs than ever before," said Councilman Hiram Monserrate(D-Corona), who has been leadiung the charge to bring more cops to Corona. People are afraid to be out at night, to be out alone, because they think these kids will cause trouble." According to NYPD statistics. ther was a 30.7% jump last year in the number of burglaries in the 110th Precinct, which includes Corona. In the adjacent 115th Precinct, which contains a large part of Roosevelt Ave., there was a 45.8% increase in rapes and an 18.1% uptick in robberies. But Monserrate maintains the statistics are misleading-and the situation is actually more dire. He believes a lot of gang activity in the area goes unreported. "People who live in this neighborhood are often recent immigrants who are fearful of the police," Monserrate, a former cop, said. "Some come from countries where the police are corrupt, and others are worried about their documentation status and are afraid of being deported." Monserrate also cited a number of recent high-profile crimes involving gangs last month-including a fatal shootout with cops on National St. and the gang rape of a 42-year old woman in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park-as reasons why some people are afraid to come forward about gangs. "There's a real sense of fear here," he said. The dominant gangs in Corona-who mark their turf with graffiti "tags"-include Los Triviesos(The Naughty Boys),M-18, Los Vagos(The Lazy Boys) and the Knights of Destruction. Often the gangs are created along ethnic lines, broadcasting their presence by hanging the flags of their country of origin. On Thursday during a tour of the neighborhood, Monserrate pointed out that a Mexican flag was flying over Linden Park on 42nd Ave.

Bottled up in Corona
By JONATHAN LEMIRE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, January 19th, 2003

Some nights, Maria Vazquez is afraid to leave her home. After living in Corona all her life, Vazquez, 31, has begun bolting herself inside her Nicolls Ave. apartment once the sun goes down, for fear of being terrorized by the neighborhood's street gangs.

"You can always hear them outside, yelling, breaking bottles and harassing people," said Vazquez, a home healthcare worker who lives with her 4-year-old son and her 63-year-old mother. "Sometimes, they even shoot their guns up in the air, and all we can do is pray."

Though overall crime rates throughout the city continue to decline, many Corona people say gang activity is on the rise in their neighborhood, especially around the bustling Roosevelt Ave. commercial district.

"There is more of a fear of gangs than ever before," said Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona), who has been leading the charge to bring more cops to Corona. "People are afraid to be out at night, or be out alone, because they think some of these kids will cause trouble."

According to NYPD statistics, there was a 30.7% jump last year in the number of burglaries in the 110th Precinct, which includes Corona. In the adjacent 115th Precinct, which contains a large part of Roosevelt Ave., there was a 45.8% increase in rapes and an 18.1% uptick in robberies.

But Monserrate maintains the statistics are misleading - and the situation is actually more dire. He believes a lot of gang activity in the area goes unreported.

"People who live in this neighborhood are often recent immigrants who are fearful of the police," Monserrate, a former cop, said. "Some come from countries where the police are corrupt, and others are worried about their documentation status and are afraid of being deported."

Monserrate also cited a number of recent high-profile crimes involving gangs last month - including a fatal shootout with cops on National St. and the gang rape of a 42-year-old woman in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park - as reasons why some people are afraid to come forward about gangs.

'Real sense of fear'

"There's a real sense of fear here," he said.

The dominant gangs in Corona - who mark their turf with graffiti "tags" - include Los Triaviesos (The Naughty Boys), M-18, Los Vagos (The Lazy Boys) and the Knights of Destruction.

Often the gangs are created along ethnic lines, broadcasting their presence by hanging the flag of their country of origin. On Thursday during a tour of the neighborhood, Monserrate pointed out that a Mexican flag was flying over Linden Park on 42nd Ave.

"The answer is a permanent police presence in the area, and while Operation Impact is putting more cops on the streets temporarily, it's not enough," Monserrate said.

"[The police] are saying they'll do more with less, but if they have less, they'll do less."

He called for the return of the Roosevelt Ave. Task Force, a unit of about 100 cops dedicated to protecting the commercial district. The task force disbanded in the mid-1990s after nearly a decade.

During a hearing at the City Council's Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, the head of the NYPD's gang division - Inspector William Tartaglia - defended his department's efforts to combat gangs.

"[The latest crime] statistics indicate that resources invested by the department to reduce gang crime are having a substantial impact in our city," Tartaglia said, adding that a new community relations unit would soon be on the streets to foster awareness of gangs in Queens.

The Police Department had no further comment.

Me & Julio Down By The School Yard

The mama pajama rolled out a bed
And she ran to the police station
When the papa found out he began to shout
And he started the investigation
It's against the law
It was against the law
What the mama saw
It was against the law.
The mama look down and spit on the ground
Every time my name gets mentioned
The papa said, "Oy, if I get that boy,
I'm gonna stick him the house of detention."
Well I'm on my way.
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the school yard
See you, me and Julio down by the school yard
In a couple of days they come and
Take me away
But the press let the story leak
And when the radical priest
Come to get me released
We was all on the cover of Newsweek
And I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way, I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the school yard
See you me and Julio
Down by the school yard
See you me and Julio
Down by the school yard

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