Far Rockaway far from safe

Mourning the murdered has become a familiar routine at the Redfern Houses in Far Rockaway, Queens. First there are the makeshift memorials, with flowers and candles and a smattering of personal items. Then, the dead often get more permanent epitaphs scrawled on the walls of the apartment house they called home, remembered by nicknames like “peanut” or “dimplez.”

Murder, From Front to Back, in a Project in Queens

And then there is vengeance.

Invariably, those killed are young. Sometimes they are the intended targets, other times they are not.

But most are victims of a private war that has been playing out at this housing project for years. A war over money, turf and drugs — growing increasingly deadly as guns have become more prevalent.