Store Window Smashed in Broad Daylight as Teens Continue Terrorizing Neighborhood

By Mindy Cohn

This morning a group of teens were loitering on the street when one of the group picked up a rock and chucked it through the front window of Flamingo Baby and Child before continuing on his way.

The clothing store, located on 20th Avenue and 59th Street, less than two blocks away from Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, has had issues before with teens, given its proximity to the local public school. 

Neighbors have reached out to both Community Board 12 and the NYPD before about the teens, especially after last month's shooting where a fifteen-year-old was murdered on the same street, as reported by BoroPark24 here, NYPD promised heightened patrols after the July 18 incident, which still did not prevent today's vandalism. 

"I was just about to raise the shade when it happened," the Flamingo representative shares with BoroPark24. "That window is a favorite place for the children to stand and look out on the street while parents shop. 

We're just lucky, b'chasdei Hashem, that none of them were nearby. Today's vandalism will cost the store thousands of dollars to repair."

After the incident, which took place at 10:45 this morning, Shomrim was called to canvas the area. When the NYPD arrived on the scene and watched the video footage, they said they were aware of the individual who had thrown the rock and that he had already participated in a number of different illegal actions. 

A shopper in Flamingo at the time of this morning's incident spoke with BoroPark24.

"Every time I notice that particular teenager, the one on crutches, passing my house," she shares, "he scares me. He's always out with his friends, looking for the next bit of trouble to get into. The streets are not safe with him out there. The whole neighborhood, including my children, knows to look out for him and his group." 

The police are still investigating the incident.