70th Precinct Community Council Ventures North

In a rare visit to the northern end of the precinct, the 70th Precinct Community Council’s monthly meeting was held at the Flatbush Reformed Church last night. Deputy Inspector Eric Rodriguez hadn’t been inside the church’s newly renovated auditorium–badly damaged by a fire in 2010–and indicated that he’d like to meet in the “absolutely beautiful” room more often. Reverend Daniel Ramm said he hopes this is the case, and we couldn’t agree more.

In addressing crime in the area, DI Rodriguez shared the following (after presenting some awards for outstanding service to precinct and auxiliary officers as well as giving a quick shout-out to our crime map):

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: Crime is down 10% for the year overall, 3 homicides this year compared to 4 last year, rapes are up 2 with 6 compared to 4 last year, and robberies are up 5 (as always, he emphasized the difference between robberies and grand larcenies, which is that robbery involves the use of force or threat of force).

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: A couple of weeks ago, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Senator Chuck Schumer announced that they had an agreement with phone companies to compile a database of phone numbers within the next 6 months, so that “if you steal a phone, it’ll be useless on the streets.”

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: These are central to some of the crimes they see–many of which occur on the transit system. He wants to encourage people to limit their use of cell phones and other devices while walking, riding the train, or driving. If you’re unaware of what’s going on around you, “you not only have the potential to become a victim of a crime, you also have the potential of being in an accident…a lot of the car wrecks we’ve been seeing, a lot of pedestrians getting hit, a lot of victims of crime are paying attention to their phone and not their surroundings.”

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: Two types of vehicles appear to be targets for theft–Econoline vans (such as the one belonging to local band Lucius stolen last week) and later-model cars like ’96 Hondas. These vehicles are often broken down for parts, which are becoming more valuable as parts for older cars become harder to find. He reiterated that car owners should not leave anything of value–from electronics to change–in their vehicle.

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: Three kids stole a phone by the Beverley train station last week, the 70th was able to track the phone down Flatbush Ave where the kids were trying to sell it, and they were subsequently able to make an arrest. Rodriguez emphasized that it’s very important for owners to know and remember their passwords so that they can do this if your phone is stolen.

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: If there is a house, building, alley, or street near you where you saw fireworks being lit last year or if you know of anyone selling fireworks, Rodriguez would like you to let the 70th know ahead of time so that they can try to stop it from happening this year. Amateurs lighting fireworks can be a highly dangerous situation. In fact (and we weren’t aware of this), he particularly mentioned that sparklers are illegal and that he’s seen children get severe burns from them. So not only no bottle rockets or fire crackers–no sparklers!

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: These are a growing concern. Please be aware if your kids (or others on your block) are having one or planning on having one. The precinct is aware that they are “becoming too big” (partly because of Facebook) and can lead to violence or other crimes being committed.

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: They need your help to get guns off the street. “We’re doing everything we can,” he said, and tips from the community are vital in these efforts. According to the NYPD site, if you know someone who is carrying, selling, or using handguns illegally, call anonymously 1-866-GUN-STOP. There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

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: Even though May Day is not until next week, there will be a march down Flatbush between the Junction and Parkside on Saturday. He said they will get information out about it for people driving along the route (although we haven’t been able to dig any up). Generally, the annual march is quick and uneventful, but he has some concern about Occupy Wall Street joining to make it more complicated this year. The likelihood, though, is that this won’t happen as OWS’s main focus seems to be May Day itself.

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: Rodriguez wanted to remind everyone about the extensive community and youth programs the NYPD offers.

DI Rodriguez then took some questions from the audience. A resident of Marlborough Road asked about the recent daylight mugging that occurred there and expressed, on behalf of his Prospect Park South neighbors, a growing anxiety about rising crime in the area. Rodriguez said that they were making progress on the case, having identified the perpetrators via a video from a McDonald’s, but that he didn’t want to go into too many specifics about it.

A gentleman from the 25-35 Tennis Court Tenants Association mentioned several officers by name, then brought up the issue of what happens when cops get transferred out of an area that has gotten to know them. “How do we approach these new officers?” he asked. Inspector Rodriguez emphasized that the named officers were still with the precinct, but that, in an Impact Zone (as part of Operation Impact, originally launched in 2003), patrol officers are assigned from a graduating Police Academy class. When another class graduates (in the summer), these officers are then placed in precincts and are replaced by new graduates. He feels that these “energetic kids” are a real boon for the precinct. However, he did not address the concern that this constant changeover of neighborhood officers has a negative effect on community relations. He did remind all groups that you can contact the precinct when you’re having a meeting, and Rodriguez will make every effort to attend.

As someone who lives nearby East 17th and Albemarle Road, I asked about an incident there in which some shots had apparently been fired from a white car last week at around 11:30am. DI Rodriguez referred me to Captain Matthew Harrington, the precinct’s Executive Officer and head of its Impact Zone. Harrington said that he didn’t have specific information about that incident or about reports of shots fired at around 10:30pm earlier this week, but that he was aware of them. In general, he said that his officers are continually making traffic stops in which they recover weapons lying in plain sight.

Some other relevant announcements:

• The East 21st Street Block Association is looking to make work in conjunction with other block associations. If you or anyone you know is interested, they hold a meeting on the first Wednesday of every month at 7pm in the auditorium of the Flatbush Reformed Church (same location as the meeting last night).

• The NYPD is now accepting applications for the Summer Youth Police Academy. Application forms (available here) will only be accepted by mail and must be received no later than June 22.

: As always, Rodriguez couldn’t stress enough the importance of the 70th receiving communication and participation from the community. Please make sure to get on their email list by emailing 70pctcommunityaffairs@nypd.org and if you have any tips, please call Community Affairs at 718-851-5557.

Speaking of participation, Community Council President Ed Powell announced that they are forming three new committees. If you are interested in getting involved in either the Special Events, Fundraising, or Youth Services Committees, please contact Ed asap at powelle@assembly.state.ny.us (he works for Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs during the day).

Community Council meetings take place on the last Wednesday of each month at 7:30pm. Next month, it will return to United Cerebral Palsy at 175 Lawrence Street. For those who live on the northern end of the precinct, a police van will be available to pick you up and return you after the meeting. The free van will leave from the corner of Flatbush and Church at 7pm.