06-11/23 p 01-06 11/22/06 9:51 AM Page 1 OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP Established 1973 Volume AA, Number 24 November 23, 2006 Watch Your Wallets Urban Composting: An Introduction to Brooklyn-based Pickpockets Composting Resources At The Coop By Johannah Rodgers f you were wondering accept leaves collected in By Masha Hamilton about those brown paper both brown paper and plastic Ipackages that have been bags. But beginning next n unprecedented rash of pickpock- appearing on area stoops year, leaves must be put in eting has hit the Coop in recent over the last few weeks, the paper bags. Paper leaf bags Aweeks, prompting the staff to issue mystery is about to be solved. are better than plastic for sev- a written warning to watch your wallets. They contain paper leaf eral reasons, including the It’s also increasing the urgency of the collection bags, compliments fact that they decompose work of an advisory group mulling over of the Sanitation Departmen- naturally with the leaves, ways to redesign and streamline the t’s Composting Project. And resulting in a cleaner, higher Coop’s entrance and exit. they are free this fall, but will quality compost product that Six cases of wallets lifted from have to be purchased in the the city can return to resi- Coop members have been reported future. dents through various free, since Aug. 30. All involved bags left The bags of leaves are compost giveback events in unattended while shoppers ran to being be picked up on a spe- the spring. grab items or looked away. In one cial Sanitation route twice instance, the bag hung on the back of ILLUSTRATION BY OWEN LONG this month—the last day Household Waste a stroller. In the other situations, is Saturday, Nov. 25—and While leaf composting is bags were left in shopping carts. members took other members’ personal prop- transported to one of the important, yard debris make Police have arrested one suspect, with the erty, cash, credit cards too…. Ultimately, city’s three composting sites. help of Coop members. But one more is still members need to take personal responsibility This year, the city will CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 at large. for their belongings like they probably do in The two “artful dodgers,” a man and a other stores in the city,” she said. woman, were working separately, and neither of them were Coop members. Coop Cooperation Leads To First Arrest In two cases, videotapes showed they With the aid of Coop staff and a squad entered through the exit. In the other cases, leader, police were able to arrest one man they managed to slip in through the entrance, allegedly responsible for at least three of the without being asked for identification. incidents. However, a woman allegedly “This is the worst I’ve ever seen of stealing responsible for the two most recent incidents members’ personal property,” said General at the time of this writing—October 15th and Coordinator Joe Holtz. 17th—has not yet been detained. “People feel more secure here,” said Gen- After the first incident, which a Coop shop- eral Coordinator Tricia Leith, who has per reported to the staff but declined to report worked closely with the police in an effort to to the police, Coop staff reviewed the video- solve the crimes. tapes and found an image of the male Holtz agreed, noting that some members shoplifter, Leith said. have told him “this is the only place in the The same man struck again on September world where I leave 22nd and a third my purse unattend- time on October 9th. ed.” And in fact, he It was not clear from said, the idea that the videotapes who the Coop is a safe “This is the worst I’ve ever seen of stealing was responsible for a JANDA BY JUDY PHOTOGRAPH place is often borne members’ personal property” fourth incident a few out. “I’ve seen really —General Coordinator Joe Holtz days earlier, on Octo- Leaves in NYC Department of Sanitation paper leaf bags valuable things left ber 5th. waiting for the recycle pick-up. in the open, waiting The Coop, in con- for Coop members to junction with the Next General Meeting on December 19 come pick them up.” police, took several The General Meeting of the Park Slope Food Coop is held on the “But leaving purses or tote bags in carts is a steps. The man’s picture was circulated among last Tuesday of each month.* The next General Meeting will be bad idea,” added Leith, particularly because staff members. A new sign was posted over the Tuesday, December 19, 7:00 p.m. at the Congregation Beth Elo- many shoppers may have more cash on them entrance/exit area—a “pickpocket alert.” him Temple House (Garfield Temple), 274 Garfield Pl. Please note than usual in order to pay for their groceries. At every shift change, the staff made a point that the meeting day is earlier than usual because of the holiday. “Though this rash of pickpocketing is The agenda will appear in the next Gazette and will be avail- unusual, we have had cases in the past where CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 able as a flyer in the entryway of the Coop beginning Wednes- day, December 6. For more information about the GM and about Coop governance, please see the center of this issue. Thu, Nov 30 •Wordsprouts: Alcohol Can Be a Gas, 7:30 p.m. Fri, Dec 1 •Film Night: Occupation Dreamland & Dreams of IN THIS ISSUE Sparrow: Two Perspectives on Iraq, 8:00 p.m. Coop Sat, Dec 3 •Pub Night: Yule Be Welcome, 7:30 p.m. GM Report: Committee Elections/ Retirement Policy Changes . 3 Tue, Dec 5 •Genetically Modified Food: Why Are We Fighting It?, Getting My Membership Card . 5 Event 7:00 Coop Hours, Coffeehouse, Puzzle . 6 Thu, Dec 7 •Food Class: Gluten-Free Italian, 7:30 p.m. Coop Calendar, Workslot Needs Highlights Thu, Dec 15 •Coffeehouse: René Collins and Toni Blackman, Governance Information, Mission Statement . 7 8:00 p.m. Community Calendar . 8 Look for additional information about these and other events in this issue. Letters to the Editor . 9 Classified Ads . 11 06-11/23 p 01-06 11/22/06 9:51 AM Page 2 2 November 23, 2006 Park Slope Food Coop, Brooklyn, NY Pickpockets At The Coop pocketing has again drawn membership. attention to the Coop’s less- “Sometimes, when people CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 than-ideal entrance and exit come from the office en- of pulling aside incoming office staff worker to come system. The entrance and trance, it’s confusing to me, entrance and exit checkers verify that the man in the exit shifts are critical and dif- too. We assume they are and advising them to be par- store was indeed the one in ficult jobs, Leith and Holtz members, but on the other ticularly vigilant. And police the photograph. both said. hand, the office allows non- sent in a team of plainclothes They followed the man as “We want the entrance members to enter (the officers, who spent time work- he wandered through the workers to be welcoming, office). There are so many ing undercover in the Coop. Coop, visually confirmed his and yet they have to stop things to keep track of, and The decision to share the identity and then summoned people who are just walking that stops you from monitor- man’s image with staff mem- the police. Officers arrested by,” Holtz said. They also ing as well as you should,” bers is what ultimately led the man on the sidewalk as have a number of other agreed Erin McGill, who has to his arrest. he left the Coop, Leith said. responsibilities that might done the job for about two On October 22nd, as an He did not resist. He had a distract them. Exit workers, and a half years. off-duty staff member stood long record of drug and theft too, can get preoccupied In a 10-minute walk in line to pay at the register, violations. counting the number of bags through the Coop that same she noticed a man walking in One case closed. “But the a shopper is carrying out, day, I found four bags unat- through the exit, and she rec- woman is still out there,” and thus miss someone slip- tended in carts. One in the ognized him from the photo- Leith noted. ping into the store through LONG BY OWEN ILLUSTRATION produce section was com- graph. She put down her own the exit. pletely unzipped and wide groceries, notified the squad Redesign: A Solution? A nine-member advisory might allow for additional or open, and I stood beside it leader and asked another The recent spate of pick- group has been meeting for a larger lockers. for several minutes to wait for couple of years to consider the member to return. She ways to make the entrance Entrance Workers said she hadn’t noticed the and exit more efficient, but Overworked written warning and had no Holtz is quick to note that any A chat with entrance work- idea some members had redesign plan is very much in ers on a recent Sunday at been pickpocketed within the developmental stages. midday showed clearly how Coop doors. Among the ideas under overworked they are. Within The redesign plan is realis- consideration is extending about 10 minutes, the two tically a couple of years away the Coop by eight feet to the Coop members working the from being solidified, “stoop line” of the street.