Russian speakers in New York patrol Brooklyn at night: a story by one of the activists

Serge Cass is a member of the Russian-speaking community living in South Brooklyn. He organized a group called Standing up for NYC to patrol his area. The main task of volunteers is to protect the streets from violence and looting. About why he got involved in this, and what happens in New York during the riots, he told the project Documentary Channel.

About activist

Serge Cass came to the United States in 2000. “I’ve been here for a long time, doing photography and video. I have a studio in Long Island City. It’s very calm there, ”he said.

He lives in South Brooklyn, in the Midwood and Shipshead Bay area. He himself believes that he is part of the Russian-speaking community living here. “I am from the Republic of Moldova. Under the Soviet regime, I learned to speak Russian, French and English. My native language is Romanian, ”he said.

Serge has many Russian friends, he does not make differences in origin. “Because I live in this area, it is very close to me as a family. I have friends who have restaurants. This is very unfair when someone tries to destroy someone else’s property. I express great solidarity with other businessmen, because it is very difficult to build a business in New York. There are many things that prevent this, ”he explained.

Brooklyn attendants

The group patrolling Brooklyn was divided into several teams - each keeping order in its area. “We patrol in groups - 2-3 cars of 2-3 people each,” said Serge. - When robberies and protests began in New York, and not peaceful actions, Tatyana D. and I created a group on Facebook standing up for NYCwho is in favor of New York because they noticed a lot of hate speech. "

For example, the Antifa program is directed against many enterprises organized by the so-called white group. “They use the word white, but the Russian-speaking community is huge. There are people from Russia, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Georgia. There are a lot of us. We all more or less speak Russian. For us, this is a common language in communication, ”said Serge.

In three days it was possible to gather more than 6000 members - "people who think alike." Now, every night, several hundred people are actively patrolling Brooklyn Streets. “We simply observe and provide information to the authorities. We report suspicious activities, gathering people, and certain groups, ”he said. “We are not interested in arresting people, beating them, or bullying them.”

If someone’s behavior causes a suspicion that he has something to do with illegal activities, volunteers will report this to the police. “We are not armed, so it would be foolish to let them know that we are there, because most of them are armed. If they go against us, we cannot go against them. If someone attacked me and pulled out a knife, I would have to apply the movements that I learned in childhood and practiced in the gym, where my instructor taught me. But it’s not so simple, ”Serge explained.

The biggest problem

“Police are in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn. In the south of Brooklyn, she is not. If I am not mistaken, in New York there are only 38 thousand police officers. I met a couple of sergeants from the local police station here, they say they are mobilized in different areas, but there is a shortage. They need them elsewhere, ”he explained.

However, the biggest problem is the indifference of local authorities, says Serge. “The mayor is inactive when it comes to protests. He accuses the police of pointing weapons at the protesters, but he was not there, and he does not know why the police did this. Was his life in danger or not, ”said Serge.

The only thing, says the mayor, is that he does not encourage violent protests. “The third day we have unrest, looting. The National Guard is not mobilized, because they think that now is not the time for this. So when will this time come? Should we wait for our houses to burn before they mobilize the National Guard? Don't they think recovery will take longer than now? ” - asks Serge.

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Another problem is the huge number of public organizations fighting against neo-Nazism and racism. These are adherents of the Antifa movement. “Once they achieve certain goals, they get together and attack. Representatives of Antifa, who disguise themselves as peaceful people, also infiltrate our group, ”Cass said. “The worst thing is that peaceful demonstrators do not even know that among them are Antifa protesters.” They are all over New York, they are organized, get together, maybe they even have a leader. These fellows ride with peaceful demonstrators. And as soon as they reach specific points of interest, they immediately attack. ”

The participants in such organizations do not believe in peaceful protest, they are convinced that the achievement of goals is possible only through damage. “Most of them think that discrimination still exists in their community. We cannot say that all of society discriminates against African Americans just because we need justice. I am completely against racism. For me, the only color is human, it is that you are human. I understand that this is such a sensitive issue, especially slavery in the past. I wish we could go back and do things differently. Society has evolved, many things have adapted, ”commented Serge.

Of course, he admits: the murder of George Floyd by the police in Minneapolis is terrible. However, this is not a reason to blame the whole society, in particular the Police Department in particular. “Not all cops are bad,” said the activist.

Violence comes with the night

When the coronavirus pandemic hit America, many people lost their jobs. Today they are faced with financial difficulties, and the $ 1200 provided by the state in the form of subsidies will not last long.

This can explain why so many marauders appeared against the backdrop of mass protests. New York is still troubled. Violence mainly occurs at night, after 21:00. “Yesterday was quiet. Today, patrols are observing activity around our area. Many suspicious cars appeared. Inside they have plastic bags filled with stones, bricks, etc., ”Cass said.

“A couple of days ago, a couple of guys from our group managed to stop the looting in the Target store. Cars pulled up by people registered outside of New York. While the police arrived, three fled the scene of the crime. It was possible to catch one guy, ”Serge stated.

The actions of the looters are well coordinated. They rush into stores, grab what they want, and run away. “The young men do not leave signs that they are doing this for political reasons. They broke into to steal and then resell it. You cannot feed yourself with a Fendi belt or a Gucci bag. Why don't you collect food donations if you're hungry? ” - the activist is indignant.

Patrolling at night is very difficult. “This is the third night where I only slept 3-4 hours. I'll be here as long as I can, ”said Kass, who continues to work during the day.

Harassment and Looting

There are days when everything is calm, in others - incidents happen.

On June 6, one of the band members was chased by unknown people on a large SUV with Texas numbers. “Nadia is a nurse, she is one of the volunteers. We were able to meet her. At that moment, the marauders fled, because they realized that the activist was running away from them to someone, ”commented Serge. - They drove after her into the red light. I don’t know what their intentions were. ”

One night, patrolmen noticed two men: one was in a mask, the other in a balaclava. Unknown people tried to get inside some room, looked around to see if there was anyone nearby. “When they saw us, they began to cross the street. After a couple of seconds, they were picked up by the Nissan Ultima TLC. They drove at a speed of 85 miles per hour where it was permitted to drive only at a speed of 55. The numbers on their car were fake, ”Serge recalls.

Another incident occurred in the Manhattan Beach area. “There is a New York police officer in our squad. She also patrolled and spotted two guys in the Manhattan Beach area, they left the bushes, pulled something out and put it in a car. There were four men inside. The car began to accelerate along the highway. She warned the cops undercover, told them that at congress 11, some suspicious guys were driving at speed. The police stopped them and conducted an investigation, ”the volunteer recalled another incident.

“When it's over, we'll get back to normal”

As many of the group members continue to work during the day, they set up a schedule to know exactly who, where and when on duty. “Within a week, each team takes a day off so that we can cope with everyday life,” Serge explained.

The group brings together three different subgroups with the same goal - to ensure the safety of communities. “We had a meeting with bikers from the Bratva motorcycle club (from the English Bratva Motorcycle Club. - Ed.) They had a slightly different view of this, but we came to a single peaceful solution, because we have a common goal - to ensure the security of our communities. "

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The protests have stopped, but the streets are still unsafe. While the situation is developing in this way, the patrol group will continue its activities. When the situation improves, the group will probably be reduced to two teams.

“On June 12, a big Black Lives Matter protest is planned in Brighton Beach, in the heart of our community. There are posters everywhere. This day we will be more alert, ”Cass promised. - We know what BLM means. We respect them, respect black lives and so on. We respect all colors, all genders and all religions, we are very peaceful. That's why we are in the USA: freedom of speech, freedom of choice. When it comes to illegal activities, stupid activities - we are against it. ”

Over time, everything will return to square one. “After everything is over, we will shake hands and return to normal life,” Cass summed up