NCJ Number
146504
Date Published
1993
Length
401 pages
Annotation
This book chronicles life in one of the most dangerous urban areas of the country, Brownsville-East New York, through the eyes of the young people who live there.
Abstract
The Ville is the Brownsville-East New York section of Brooklyn, one of the most dangerous places in the world. It has a high concentration of methadone clinics, halfway houses, homeless shelters and homicides particularly among young black men. This book looks at daily life in this area from the perspective of law enforcement officers and teenagers who live there. Specifically, the author, a former urban reporter and Brooklyn school teacher, follows the activities of a Housing Authority police officer and a high school student who has been drawn to the other side of the law. Both are trying to gain respect and survive in their own way.