A prominent anti-gang activist with ties to City Hall is accused of threatening to sic the Bloods on his Brooklyn neighbor.
“I’m going to get my people, the Bloods, to come handle you. I’m going to have you killed," activist Shanduke McPhatter told his neighbor, according to a criminal complaint.
The former Bloods member’s group, Gangstas Making Astronomical Community Changes, has been a fixture at protests against gun violence alongside prominent politicians since it first partnered with City Hall in 2014.
Last month, McPhatter, who founded the group, attended a meeting with Mayor de Blasio and received a proclamation from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has contributed city funds to G-MACC for years. The Mayor’s Office to Prevent Gun Violence listed G-MACC as a resource for recently-released Rikers Island inmates. The advocacy group received more than $1.5 million in city funding between 2014 and 2018, according to its most recent non-profit tax filing.
But McPhatter’s recent arrest for threatening his neighbor, who works in traffic enforcement for the NYPD, as well as a recent federal takedown of a Rikers Island contraband ring, have raised questions about the anti-gang group.
Two of the people charged in the bust have ties to the advocacy group, which includes former gang members who know first-hand the danger of street life. A G-MACC staffer and McPhatter’s brother are among those charged with the smuggling operation allegedly involving crooked correction officers.
City Hall said it was unaware of “the extent” of the allegations involving G-MACC. The group is no longer providing re-entry services to former Rikers inmates as the city conducts a review.
“The described allegations are unacceptable and of great concern. To ensure G-MACC is able to serve our neighborhoods in a manner that reflects the values of our administration, we are requiring the organization to strengthen their internal protocols and procedures," City Hall spokeswoman Avery Cohen said.
