Bay Ridge residents relieved after DA announces major drug bust
Residents and community leaders in Bay Ridge expressed relief in the wake of Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson’s announcement on Monday about a major drug bust that shut down a sophisticated narcotics network in their neighborhood.
“I’m so happy. Now maybe our neighborhood will finally be free of rampant drugs,” one resident told the Brooklyn Eagle on Tuesday, the day after the arrests were announced.
“We’ve been complaining to police and to our elected officials about drug dealing on our streets for years. You walk out your door, particularly if you live near Fifth Avenue, and see people dealing drugs right in front of you. I can’t tell you how many community meetings I’ve gone to where people are talking about the drug problem. I was beginning to worry that nothing was being done about it,” said the resident, a senior citizen who has lived in Bay Ridge for more than 30 years. She requested that her name not be printed.
On Monday, Thompson, and Police Commissioner William Bratton and Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst) announced that indictments had been handed up against six defendants who were charged with operating narcotics, steroids and marijuana phone delivery services in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park and Bensonhurst.