By Maria Clarkmaria.clark@motthavenherald.com
Shirley Flowers was more than just a lifelong resident of the Jose de Diego-Beekman houses which span East 138th, 143d St., and St. Ann’s and Jackson Avenues.
Flowers, who died in May from complications related to diabetes, was Beekman’s most ardent protector for over 30 years, fighting to keep crime and violence from creeping into the 1200- apartment complex.
In the late 1970s, Flowers co-founded a tenant organization to get drugs out of the 38 buildings that comprise the Beekman houses. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she tried to helped fight a ruthless drug gang called the Wild Cowboys that had taken control of the neighborhood while using Beekman Avenue as a crack peddling center.
Flowers set up a tenant patrol in the late 1980s to keep drugs away. A New York Times article from November 5, 1991, describes her sitting alone in the lobby of her building six days a week from morning until night trying her best to ward off suspicious strangers...Full Story Here
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