But questions remain-especially considering that the indictments against the men mention no direct connections to murders or contraband.
To that end, Eastchester Gardens residents and activists held a press conference Thursday denouncing the charges. HD in Effect was on the scene and captured the action before and during the conference.
According to Chino, the raids are the PD's way to adapt to recent rulings-going online instead of in a young man's pockets on the street.
"Since stop and frisk was ruled against in the courts, the NYPD started Operation Crew Cut-they're like capitalizing off the beef that exists in the neighborhood," the Hunts Point resident told us as we walked to the houses from the train station.
"So if two crews are feuding with one another, talking shit to one another on Facebook or whatever it might be, they use those comments and thumbs up and likes and photos where people are together to implicate everyone in conspiracy charges in some shooting that happened years ago, or some intent to sell drugs charges."
Considering that calls to give youth in the Grant and Manhattanville Houses alternative routes to diffuse their anger seemingly went unanswered before the 2014 raids, one has to wonder, is that scenario a common thread in these actions?
Rosa, a community activist who spoke with us before the conference, believes so. Having attended meetings with non-profit organizations that work with at-risk youth, and NYPD officials, she claims the department brushed aside their efforts.
"These non-profits, they do alternatives to incarceration," she said. "They're good-intentioned; they believe that the police could help some of the kids. They were telling the police, 'Let us know when these kids are at risk of being locked up, cause we could divert them.'"
But the officers wouldn't budge, telling the non-profits, "It's already too late with the indictments, detention, surveillance for a long time-they're done," she added.
Before the conference even began, word going around was that someone was telling others it was cancelled. Regardless, the speaking soon began as others filled in front of Building 8 at 1245 Adee Avenue.
"We have a shared interest in having equality for everyone in America. And when I say equality I'm talking about equality of justice," said Joe Black, the Eastchester Gardens resident who organized the conference.
"Time after time, they are raiding communities based on alleged gang activity. What is it that establishes gang activity [to the police]? That would be, if you have a group of three or more, that's a gang. If you live in the projects, which is allegedly a gang haven, if you know someone considered in a gang, you're in a gang."
Black suggested that Councilmember Andy King, who represents that area of the Bronx, stereotyped minority youth as criminals during a recent meeting with mothers of the men charged.
When Black pressed King to tell him what gang members looked like, he responded, "Well, you have to be honest-you know, the ones with the fitted caps and baggy jeans.' He assumes there's two separate groups of people in the minority community," Black explained.
As he spoke, a supervising officer bumped into Black without apologizing, garnering a strong rebuke from Shannon Jones, a member of anti-police brutality organization Why Accountability.
"This is what we're talking about in communities," Jones told the crowd. "I was responded to by [one of the officers] that this area is public and free and clear. Apparently it's not free and clear, when the community that pays rent here cannot gather peacefully without being rudely interrupted. I gave that brother some correction and redirection!"
Jones also promised to address that behavior at the next precinct council meeting.
After reading two Malcolm X quotes to honor what would have been his 91st birthday, speaker Tariq targeted what he called, "This negative stigma about public housing."
"I grew up in public housing, born and raised in public housing," the East New York resident said. "I'm not a gang member. I'm not a criminal. I'm not a murderer. I'm not a drug dealer."
Gesturing to the crowd, he continued: "Everybody here that came out, we're not drug dealers, we're not murderers. The far majority of people who grow up in public housing are good people."
He implored people to "think about how much money it costs for the NYPD to send tanks through here, armored vehicles to pick up 120 young people of color. Every time you see your paystub, and those huge taxes come out, they're using it on us!"
One of the speakers identified herself as a former teacher to 20 of the 120 men arrested in the raid. The NYPD was performing online surveillance on them as far back as 2007, back when they were adolescents, she claimed.
"So you've been watching them since middle school to the age of 21?" she asked. "It sounds like you've just been letting them build up and build up and build up instead of intervening and correcting."
"Those boys were in middle school, and at that time, the police were harassing them then," she added, referencing the well-discussed school-to-prison pipeline. "Pattin' them down at the age of eleven and twelve, pattin' em down, asking, 'Where the fuck you going?' when they're coming from school."
They're getting them ready for jail."
The next meeting to address the raid will be a grand statement two weeks from now, just before the trials begin, per the Facebook event page.