A woman was killed at East Harlem’s Lincoln Houses just days after some of the top Democratic mayoral candidates — Bill Thompson, John Liu, Bill de Blasio, Christine Quinn and Anthony Weiner — spent the night there in an effort to bring attention to the conditions faced by public housing residents, authorities said.
Olivia Brown, 23, was shot in the groin and the hand when a woman known around the projects as Mohawk Michelle opened fire just outside the Lincoln Houses on Park Avenue near East 132nd Street at around 3:30 a.m., cops said.
Brown was taken to Harlem Hospital in serious condition, officials said. She was pronounced dead later in the afternoon.
Mohawk Michelle fled and is currently being sought by cops.
“They killed her for no reason,” said Crystal Brown, the girl’s grief stricken mother. “When they [the politicians] came out that was a photo op. They weren’t there for the people. They were there for their own votes.”
“I would like them to know that I lost my daughter.” Brown added. “If they had done their job sooner she might still be alive.”
Other residents shared Brown’s feelings.
“The politicians left yesterday and now it’s back to normal,” said resident Tara Martin, 40. “When the politicians were here there was a lot of police officers and their presence was known in the buildings and outside in the community.”
“It shouldn’t take a politician to come to our neighborhood to have them address the issues at hand,” she added.
Police and residents believe the shooting is related to an ongoing dispute between the two women, police sources said.
Residents who know both women said Mohawk Michelle instigated a fistfight earlier in the night that left Michelle beaten and embarrassed, witnesses said.
“Michelle and her friends got drunk and came over and bothered her [Olivia],” said Larelle Walker, 48.
“Olivia beat her up and Michelle left and came back [with a gun] and said ‘What’s up now, b—h?’ and shot her in the stomach.”
The killing comes three days after five of the leading Democratic candidates spent the night at the Lincoln houses to see what life is like for public housing residents.
Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson spoke to reporters outside the building where Brown was shot and used the opportunity to blast NYCHA and the Bloomberg administration for not installing enough surveillance cameras in public housing complexes.
“These cameras may have helped police identify and find the coward who resorted to gun violence early this morning,” Thompson said. “Instead the family in Lincoln houses wait and wait. I want to be crystal clear. As Mayor I won’t wait. Because the families behind me can’t wait.”