Nabe desperate to end constant violence
LIFE IN A WAR ZONE

Jersey Journal
Earl Morgan
Friday, October 03, 2008

"Ma, can we move?" a teenager asked her mother while they stood on the sidewalk Wednesday, watching as Jersey City police searched the street in front of their Stegman Street house for shell casings, the remnants of a late afternoon gunfight.

Two weeks ago, the same neighborhood was rocked by four separate shooting incidents in the space of 24 hours that left two men injured.

This latest incident occurred just a stone's throw from School 15, and only minutes after the school's students were dismissed at 3:10 p.m. In fact, police on the scene questioned two School 15 teachers who had been walking on Stegman Street, toward King Drive, and were forced to duck for cover when the shooting started.

According to police, someone on a bicycle pedaled up to a car on Stegman near King Drive and fired at a vehicle until it drove off. Police said no shooting victim turned up in area hospitals.

"I was on the porch with my daughter and I had my back turned to the street when the shooting started right across the street," said the mother of the girl who wondered out loud about the possibility of relocating.

"I heard the shots and turned around and saw a man firing shots. So, I pushed my daughter into the house and slammed the door."

While residents are thankful no one was killed or wounded, they're angry and frustrated about all the gunfire that's been erupting around them.

One of the gunfights two weeks ago left a bullet lodged in the wall of a daycare center at the Mary McLeod Bethune Center on King Drive. Fortunately no one was in the room at the time.

The stretch of Stegman, between King Drive and Ocean Avenue, where Wednesday's incident occurred, is made up of, with a few exceptions, well maintained one-and two-family homes.

The residents and property owners there say they deserve the right to be able to walk, stand or otherwise enjoy their homes and their block without worrying about being shot.

And it's not only gunfire that has them upset. Residents say that during the summer months the street is often invaded by roving bands of loud and unruly youths who make things generally unpleasant for them.

"We have fights and noise here all the time," said another Stegman Street resident. "We call the police, but they don't always come. Why can't we have more police patrols?"

That woman's next neighbor, who arrived home in his car only to find his way blocked by police tape, unleashed a heated verbal torrent at the police, elected officials, even The Jersey Journal.

"None of you are doing anything," the man said, his voice freighted with anger. "All kinds of things go on this block.

"Sometimes people come here and just fire off shots into the air. No one cares, no one is doing anything about it."

Ward F. Councilwoman Viola Richardson, who arrived at the Bethune Center shortly after Wednesday's shooting, said she cares very much and denounced the shooting incidents.

Richardson said in the next few weeks she will call a meeting of community and law enforcement organizations, as well as members of the clergy, to discuss ways to cope with the street violence and hostility that seems to plague youth in the predominantly African American and Latino ward she represents.

"We need a comprehensive way to deal with this situation," Richardson said. "Whatever we do it won't be just a quick fix approach. We need a plan."

As for why gunfire has been so prevalent in this area of Stegman Street and King Drive, well, police will only officially say they are investigating. But several sources say it is the result of a feud between rival gangs.