By Beth Sarafraz
Freelance Reporter

SUNSET PARK – Except for a few episodes of vandalism and rowdy-youth issues over the years, Bay Ridge, where 68th Precinct Deputy Inspector Eric Rodriguez recently reported a dramatic 23 percent dip in crime this year, has escaped the gang turf wars of nearby Sunset Park.

Bay Ridge mainly deals with bar noise and occasional unruly teens, but that’s nor the case in Sunset Park.

That neighborhood has been a spike in gang-related homicides. One happened on Aug. 31 inside the park; and another shooting on Sept. 20 at 40th Street and Fourth Avenue left four young Mexican-American men dead.

The specter of violent teenage thugs roaming the streets packing guns and using magic markers to advertise themselves (Sons of Mexico, Wild Chicanos, TMB, Esquadron, Ninos Malos) drove Deputy Inspector Jesus "Raul" Pintos, 72nd Precinct commander, to map a two-front war against the "gangstas.�

One front is using increased enforcement in targeted areas with proactive arrests. The second front enrolls the entire community in the "Gangs 101 Course" taught by NYPD Gang Division cops to other cops. Pintos said that without that, parents would lose their children to the gangs.

Seeking to forge a lasting connection with the community, Pintos organized a "Gang Awareness Forum," presented last month at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church gym with Community Affairs Officers Janet Zhang and Frank Siclari. Crime Prevention Officer Leif Andreassen and Youth Officers Steven Rosado and Marc Florida distributed "Gang Awareness Referral Sheets" prepared for parents to take home to tell their concerns confidentially.

Capt. Cedric D. Raymond, precinct executive officer, described the initiative as "a proactive method to help significantly reduce gang violence starting in the home by educating the parents."

Pintos was confounded by the "disconnect" between parents and their gang member children, tricked out like “Tattoos-R-Us clowns� and dressed like underage streetwalkers and hit men. Pintos recruited “world-class master teacher� Gang Division Det. Rafael Ramos to making a presentation geared just for parents.

Ramos ran through the gang tattoos, such as dots for MI VIDA LOCA (My Crazy Life) and religious icons like La Virgin de Guadalupe (patron saint of Mexico), Ninos Malos (Bad Boys), TMB (Mexican boys) and SDN (Esquadron).

"They mark their territory," Ramos said. "In addition to needle tattoos, they will cut or burn gang names into their flesh."

`Stop It at Home’

Check children's books for gang drawings there, Ramos advised parents, and to “talk with their teachers to see if they're go school or to gang hooky parties.� Kids’ internet activities should be checked for references to gangs using girls to carry drugs and weapons. “There is no better way to stop this from happening, than to stop it at home."

Pintos escorted a grim-faced Mr. Gonzalez. "He is here to testify against the Crazy Boys gang members who on the night of May 17 chased his son, Misael, down 79 Street in Bensonhurst. Misael, a student at Fort Hamilton High School, had just left his friend's Sweet Sixteen birthday party. They caught him, knifed him in the chest and left him to bleed out in the street. Misael died a short time later at Lutheran Hospital. He was 16 years old."

A grieving Gonzalez said Misael asked for permission to attend the party, never thinking it would be the last time he would ever speak to his son and that his son would be killed by gang violence.

Rev. Larry Arreola of Victory Outreach Brooklyn Church at 840 Fifth Ave. announced, "I'm a former gang member, so I can relate to all the pictures shown here, by Detective Ramos. I have a gang tattoo on my chest. It says EAST SIDE CHIQUES. I got it when I was 12. I couldn't wait to join a gang. It broke my mother's heart.�

The church saved him, Arreola said. “A lot of these young guys join because their brothers, fathers and uncles were gang members. But there is hope. We can make a difference!�

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2009 All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law. Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net PAGE TWO TWO GUYS Rev. Larry Arreola of Victory Outreach Brooklyn Church, a former gang member (left) with Community Affairs Officer Frank Siclari. Eagle photo by Beth Sarafraz