Deputy Chief David Barrere, the new commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, left, and Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, address concerns about crime at the inaugural Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Tuesday night. Photo by Anna Gustafson
“If they come in my house? They’re going out in a body bag,” Sabrina Vitucci, a longtime Howard Beach resident, yelled, referring to the criminals who have recently been terrorizing her neighborhood as she raised clenched fists in the frustration and anger that was visibly palpable among the hundreds of residents who crowded into St. Helen’s cafeteria Tuesday night for the inaugural meeting of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic.
Addressing Deputy Chief David Barrere, the new commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, and Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, about the rash of criminal activity in Howard Beach in recent weeks, including robberies and burglaries, resident after resident said some version of: I sleep with a baseball bat; I do not want to leave my home; I do not want my children to play in yard; I am far too frightened about my elderly mother or father staying home alone during the day; all I want is to feel safe when I am in the home where I have lived for years, where my parents grew up, where I have raised a family.
“We cannot live afraid to go out of our doors,” said Joann Ariola, president of the newly formed Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic – which was recently born after the Howard Beach Civic Association and the Lindenwood Alliance merged.
Hundreds of residents attended the inaugural meeting of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Tuesday evening to discuss the rash of criminal activity plaguing the neighborhood. Photo by Anna Gustafson
The meeting with Barrere, who was the main speaker at the gathering that drew such a sizable crowd that many of the leaders attending the function made note of it, followed a series of crimes in the Howard Beach area in recent weeks. According to the NYPD, there was a March 22 home invasion on 163rd Avenue and 87th Street; on March 25 a woman went to pick her child up from school around 2 p.m. and upon returning home half an hour later she realized her home on 84th Street between 163rd and 164th avenues had been burglarized; and, just before Tuesday’s meeting took place, there was a burglary Tuesday afternoon on 97th Street during which the thieves nabbed a laptop, jewelry and cash.
Then, just hours after the meeting, there was another burglary reported Wednesday, when a source said the criminals broke in through the kitchen window and tore apart the house at 160th Avenue and 85th Street. Additionally, another homeowner reported that would-be criminal, or criminals, broke into his home at 161st Avenue and 80th Street sometime between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Wednesday but ran when the owner’s dog began snarling at them. Now, the homeowner said they are terrified to leave the house because they are worried the burglar will return with poisoned food for the animal.
A number of residents have said there have been a series of unreported burglaries as well – something which police and civic leaders stressed needs to change. According to a source, one man’s home on 86th Street between 164th and 165th avenues was recently broken into after he left his door open for the woman who cleans his home. When he returned home, the source said two rooms had been ransacked but nothing appeared to have been taken, which is why the owners said he did not call the police.
“It’s becoming like the shoot ‘em up at the O.K. Corral here,” said Ariola. “This is a community where we never used to lock our doors…It’s absolute fear what you’re seeing in this room.”
The civic president also encouraged residents to report criminal – or just suspicious – activity.
“From the smallest to the, God forbid, largest, report it,” she said.
A number of residents stressed they felt there has been a decrease in police presence in the neighborhood, and the NYPD promised there would be
Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic President Joann Ariola urged the NYPD to increase police patrols in the area. Photo by Anna Gustafson
an increase in police activity in the area immediately. Barrere said in an email that the NYPD deployed additional uniformed and plainclothes resources to Howard Beach Wednesday and noted police have deployed the Queens South Task Force to work and remain in Howard Beach and Lindenwood “to supplement the 106 Precinct patrol.”
Also, Barrere said there was a total of six additional marked police cars patrolling the area since Wednesday morning. There will be a command post truck stationed on 160th Avenue between 88th and 89th streets near PS 207 on Thursday, and Barrere wrote “it will remain there to assist with our burglary deployment plan.” There will also be one sergeant and eight community affairs officers assigned to the area for additional police visibility.
“If my community is threatened, I’ll work with you to improve it,” Barrere told residents at the meeting. “My commitment to you…is that I’m going to ensure the people who serve under you will provide effective…and compassionate policing.”
That, residents said, is exactly what they need – because, as one woman said, she was told by a 106th Precinct police officer when she called about strangers on her home stoop that, “I’m sorry ma’am; you’re not protected here. We conduct our work mostly on Liberty and Jamaica avenues.”
By Anna Gustafson
No comments:
Post a Comment