Welcome to Fort Green, Brooklyn. This is a beautiful neighborhood of four-story brownstone buildings, independent markets, restaurants, cafes, and one of New York City's oldest parks.
The skeletons in the closet of this rapidly gentrifying community's not so distant past include drugs, gangs, and violence. It seems that some of those skeletons are out of the closet again, both figuratively and literally.
Not too long ago, a deconstructed human body was found on the street across from the park. The body, wrapped in plastic and stuffed into a cardboard box, appeared to have been put out for the Department of Sanitation to pick up with the trash.
I understand that it was the liquid seeping from the box that drew passersby to report the box to the authorities. I was shaken up, not only by the crime, but by it's proximity to my own apartment; less than one block.
Only a few days later, a man walked into a barber shop in Fort Green and open fired. I've willed myself to forget what the casualties were. This incident was a few blocks further than the first from my apartment.
Last night, another human body was found wrapped in plastic and stuffed into a cardboard box on the same street as before, across from the park, less than one block from where I live.
Thinking about these crimes, I hear the old song from Sesame Street, "These are the people in your neighborhood" play in my mind, with a Tom Waits-style creaking, screaching, eerly, spooky accompaniment.
It's hard to imagine who the person is in my neighborhood that would do this.
People in Your Neighborhood
Written by Jeffrey Moss
Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
Say, who are the people in your neighborhood?
The people that you meet each day
Oh, the postman always brings the mail
Through rain or snow or sleet or hail
I'll work and work the whole day through
To get your letters safe to you
'Cause a postman is a person in your neighborhood
In your neighborhood
He's in your neighborhood
A postman is a person in your neighborhood
A person that you meet each day
Oh, a fireman is brave it's said
His engine is a shiny red
If there's a fire anywhere about
Well, I'll be sure to put it out
'Cause a fireman is a person in your neighborhood
In your neighborhood
He's in your neighborhood
And a postman is a person in your neighborhood
Well, they're the people that you meet
When you're walking down the street
They're the people that you meet each day
The baker is the one who makes
Your bread and rolls and pies and cakes
If you want something sweet to eat, go see
The baker in the bakery
A teacher works the whole day through
To teach important things to you
He'll teach you things you won't forget
Like numbers and the alphabet
A barber has a great big chair
You sit in it, he cuts your hair
He'll snip and clip and never rest
Until your haircut looks its best
The bus driver drives fast or slow
To take you where you want to go
When you get in and pay your fare
She will drive you anywhere
A dentist cares for all your teeth
The top ones and the ones beneath
So if you have an aching tooth
He'll fix it quick, and that's the truth
The doctor makes you well real quick
If by chance you're feeling sick
She works and works the whole day long
To help you feel well and strong
The grocer sells the things you eat
Like bread and eggs, cheese and meat
No matter what you're looking for
You'll find it at the grocery store
The shoemaker is always there
To take care of the shoes you wear
With his hammer, nails, and glue
He'll fix your shoes as good as new
The cleaner is the one who knows
How to clean and press your clothes
He'll take a jacket, suit, or vest
And clean it so you'll look your best
The trash collector works each day
He'll always take your trash away
He drives the biggest truck you've seen
To keep the city streets all clean
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