A Car Break-In Affects The Fat Beagle & Kelly's Office Encourages Attendance To Tomorrow's Meeting

Yet another theft in the neighborhood, this time hitting the The Fat Beagle crew. Ashley Burke-Deming Weavil, who along with her husband Matt is in the process of opening a restaurant in the former Palmeras space (1021 Church Ave. between E 10th and E 11th Sts.), writes about Thursday’s incident:

It is unfortunate that our van got broken into when it did, because not only was it filled with my usual catering equipment (fryer, a plethora of serving platters, serving utensils, tables, coolers, linens, random table decor etc) but due to remodeling, I had jam packed it full with brand new kitchen equipment for the restaurant (a salamander, grill, all of our dinnerware).

Honestly, had it just been the catering equipment, then it would not have been such a huge blow, but the kitchen equipment was brand new and will take awhile to recoup. Oddly enough, I had only put the major equipment in the van for a day and a half. The police questioned whether someone could have been watching as I loaded it up, but I would prefer to not think of that.

Three sets of police and their sergeants came because the theft was considered grand larceny, then an evidence unit came to take fingerprints. Thankfully I had all the serial numbers to report for the new equipment (though of course insurance won’t cover any of it), and the police were fairly certain that it would never be recovered.

Our area is so beautiful and filled with such gorgeous homes, which gives us a false sense of safety. I am routinely shocked by the daily break-ins, thefts, and street crime.

Hopefully the police will find whoever is to blame (in our case, just look for a large party with an elegantly set table, all the fixins,’ and equipment to boot!)

Ashley says despite losing the equipment, she is still hoping to open in mid-July.

This is just one in what seems like a major onslaught of crimes in the area this month, so please remember that the final 70th Precinct Community Council meeting of the season is tomorrow, June 26, at 7:30pm at the UCP building (175 Lawrence Ave. between Ocean Parkway and Seton Pl.)

Why should you go? Detective Martin Brown, community liaison to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, was kind enough to reach out to us about recent safety and communication issues within the 70th Precinct, and put it this way:

… the PC placed the Insp [Inspector Rodriguez] in the 70 pct for the purpose of addressing yours and your neighbors’ public safety concerns and issues. Please ask your neighbors to attend 70 pct community council meetings whenever possible. He is there to give you answers to these questions. The Insp. can’t be expected to fix these issues if he doesn’t know about them.

So, there you have it–if you have been a victim or have been feeling less safe in the neighborhood as a result of the home and car break-ins, shooting, violent mugging, bike and rim thefts, dangerous driving, other crime, or simply poor police response time recently, please make it a priority to attend.

Especially if you feel like previous attempts to reach out have failed, showing up in person and speaking directly to the police will be the best chance we have at effective communication with local law enforcement. The more people make a statement, the better off we are–and no one else is going to do it for you. Please come, make your voice heard, and help improve the neighborhood for all.