In Praise Of New Mafia Cover Story

Thank you for covering a topic of the utmost importance. Those of us who work with youths in Queens have seen the increasing influence of gang culture in their lives.
Children as young as 12 are courted by older thugs and the trappings of the lifestyle dominate our children’s pop culture. The Department of Education and the local police precincts may paint contradictory pictures of this problem simply because not every child who is affected gets “caught red-handed” in an actionable violation of school policy or criminal law. Parents should question their children’s fashion choices and establish limits. Too often the parent of a child who is posturing like gang-member is quick to brush it off as an act of bravado or a fashion statement.
While we are continually updating our daily academic programs in the city’s schools, children still face a vacuum of moral authority in their lives in the after-school hours of 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Some teachers that I know feel stymied in their efforts to provide positive mentoring, not just academically but socially and emotionally, because many children are already socialized to “the ways of the street” by the time they enter secondary school at age 11 or 12.
Youths respond to legitimate authority figures like teachers, school staff and school safety agents with the same credo that rules the gang world — any “public calling out” must be met by escalation of tension. Schools are overburdened processing disciplinary actions that arise solely from the absence of civility among the city’s youths.
The crucial pre-teen years are not covered in many neighborhoods — many children and parents feel that the children may no longer need structured care. Neighborhood merchants and fast-food restaurant managers deal with these students daily as they gather in public spaces including the local parks. A return to staffed public parks and beat cops who can assist merchants with the after-school traffic of teens would be a start.
Instead, too many continue to follow the path of least resistance — and go where the streets lead them. The streets may be where the mentors need to go to meet them.
Jeanne Manton
Long Island City