Bay Ridge residents use Internet chat room to crackdown on crack house

BY MATTHEW LYSIAK
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

Tuesday, November 27th 2007, 4:00 AM

A group of Internet-savvy Bay Ridge residents has punched through the gray world of HTML-code anonymity and is trying to clean up its neighborhood.

Local business owner Jason Miller was joined by a group of fellow cyberactivists in an effort to push officials into action against a suspected crack house allegedly located on quiet, tree-lined 93rd St. between Third and Fourth Aves.

Miller, in a speech at Community Board 10's October meeting, went short of directly naming the location or even calling it a "crack house," as do many in the community, instead spelling out his concerns as a local resident and business owner.

"I have personally witnessed suspicious activity," said Miller. "Not only does this alleged activity pose a direct threat to the safety of community members, but local businesses in our area have had to tolerate acts of vandalism, panhandling and customer harassment from the people who frequent the location."

The group, who met several months ago on chat site www.Bayridgetalk.com, has used the chat room as a launching off point in hopes of instigating real world change.

But residents of the house in question have a different story and say they are the ones being harassed. A man named Joe, who says he owns the property, dismissed the chat- room-group-turned-activists' talk as cyberbluster.

"There are rumors going around about everyone's house, I don't know what to tell you," he said. "We're not bothering anyone."

The inside of the house, which is currently for rent, appeared orderly during a recent visit, with no outward signs of drug use; the few people there appeared affable. The owner added that he is currently in transition and hopes to sell the house shortly.

Tax records list the owner as A. Terrone and show the property as three years behind in its taxes, a total debt of about $24,000.

The police wouldn't discuss any ongoing investigations, but CB 10 Chairman Dean Rasinya made clear that officials are addressing the issue.

"We are aware that this has been an ongoing problem," said Rasinya. "This board has been speaking to the 68th Precinct and they are taking this matter very seriously."

Miller's speech was months or maybe even years in the making, he said, and came as a culmination of local frustrations over the often-speculated-about crack house.

Miller, who lives directly behind the house, said he got the ball rolling several weeks ago after realizing that many others on the local chat board shared his concerns.

A neighbor of the home applauded the group's effort.

"This house has been a nuisance for over a year now," said one neighbor. "Everyone on the block knows what's going on. Someone needs to step in before somebody gets hurt."