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 BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N 22     OV. 12-18, 2021 BTR 
 r 
    
 Eastchester Gardens residents  
 express safety concerns 
 Police  and  residents  discuss  crime  at  Eastchester  Gardens  at  the  49th  Precinct  Council  
 meeting on Oct. 26.  Photo Jason Cohen 
 BY JASON COHEN 
 While Eastchester Gardens is  
 home to the largest gang takedown in  
 NYC history and has had its share of  
 violence over the years, residents are  
 still fed up with the crime in the area  
 and feel unsafe. 
 On Oct. 26, community members  
 voiced  their  displeasure with  the  violence  
 at  the  49th  Precinct  Council  
 meeting. A few recent incidents include  
 two teens that were shot in May  
 and a shooting in September. 
 Theresa Oyola and Denise Wright,  
 lifelong residents of Eastchester Gardens, 
  spoke to the Bronx Times about  
 the crime. 
 Wright, 43, whose brother was  
 murdered  up  the  block,  said  she  appreciates  
 the Police Department  
 wanting to hold events with kids such  
 as barbecues, but the real issue is the  
 lack of funding and programming.  
 She said children need mentoring,  
 tutoring  and  safe  things  to  do  after  
 school and on the weekends. Even the  
 community center where the meeting  
 was held is outdated, she said. 
 As  a  youth,  Wright  remembered  
 how the schools and churches partnered  
 with the housing projects much  
 more than they do today. 
 “When I grew up it was more of  
 a community place where people  
 looked out for one another,” she said.  
 “That community feeling is gone. You  
 don’t even know half the people that  
 live here.” 
 Going forward, she hopes the residents  
 and the police come up with a  
 plan to turn things around. 
 Oyola, 43, added the violence has  
 gotten worse over time and claimed  
 that the police don’t do much to help  
 people. Oyola said there needs to be  
 more  cops  walking  throughout  the  
 development getting to know the residents. 
 “When I grew up it wasn’t like  
 this,” she said. “There’s no police out  
 there.  They  stay  in  their  cars  and  
 don’t come out at all.” 
 With four kids, Oyola doesn’t feel  
 safe and might have to look at moving  
 if things don’t improve, she said.  
 Her anger was not only directed at the  
 police, however. She also pointed out  
 that NYC Councilman Kevin Riley  
 was not at the meeting and wanted to  
 hold his feet to the fi re for the violence  
 in the Gardens. 
 “You got all these people you vote  
 in and they do nothing,” she said. 
 However,  in  a  separate  interview,  
 Riley, who  grew  up with  a  father  in  
 jail and often got into fi ghts as a kid,  
 told the Bronx Times that he understands  
 why  many  kids  turn  to  violence. 
  While Eastchester Gardens  
 and other parts of the borough have  
 always been known for crime, things  
 are different today because of social  
 media, he said. 
 Often,  beefs  brew  on  Instagram  
 or Facebook, which leads to 13- and  
 14-year-olds  killing  each  other,  the  
 councilman said. He added that recently  
 a kid was on Instagram Live  
 and shortly after, was murdered by a  
 rival gang. He told the Bronx Times  
 that since being elected to the City  
 Council  in  December  2020,  he  has  
 been in Eastchester Gardens on a  
 weekly basis. 
 “When it comes to addressing the  
 violence, we have been working with  
 the stakeholders in Eastchester,” he  
 said. 
 According to Riley, the problem  
 is the division between young people  
 and seniors as many youths feel they  
 aren’t listened to. Like Wright, he  
 agreed  that  there must  be more  programming  
 such as game nights, basketball  
 tournaments and after school  
 clubs. 
 Riley said times have also changed.  
 When he was a teenager in Baychester  
 it was about going to the movies,  
 playing sports and Xbox or going to  
 a  school  dance;  today,  it  seems  kids  
 would rather pick up a gun. 
 “If we actually want to make a difference  
 and help these kids, we have  
 to fi gure out what they need,” he said. 
 Detective Jay Sturdivant, of the  
 49th Precinct Community Affairs Offi  
 ce, told attendees at the meeting he  
 planned  to meet with his Commanding  
 Offi cer Deputy Inspector Andrew  
 Natiw and work with Riley and the  
 residents to make things safer. 
 
				
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