Can You Dig It?

LAST MONDAY, more than 150 members of Newark's street gangs signed a peace accord.

Some time back, members of the Crips and the Bloods contacted Newark's deputy mayor (which isn't as strange as you'd think: Ras Baraka became deputy mayor through his deep community ties), letting him know that they were interested in a cease-fire. Then, with the city's help, they spent months in negotiations, which finally resulted in the drafting of the 10-point "Newark Street Peace/Cease Fire Initiative." The members who signed the treaty vowed to try and resolve their future conflicts through healthy, spirited debate rather than gunfire.

The 1010 WINS account cited similarities between this scene and an old episode of Hill Street Blues, but we here at New York Press are trying to decide if it sounds more like an early episode of The Simpsons or the opening scene in The Warriors. If it should be the latter, what the hell's going to happen if someone shoots Cyrus? And did they ever get the Orphans to sign this thing?