Major Arrests, The Hunt For 8th Avenue Robber & More Notes From The 66th Precinct Community Council Meeting
At his first solo 66th Precinct Community Council meeting, which took place April 16 at CB 12’s offices on 13th Avenue, commanding officer Captain Kenneth M. Quick provided a detailed view of what the precinct has been doing since its last council meeting.
His most insistent message, repeated several times, was for people to call 911 for any suspicious incident.
“Nothing is not serious enough,” Captain Quick said. “Every 911 call gets checked out.”
To emphasize how important he viewed neighbors’ input, he added, “It’s the community who helps the precinct do its job, many times pointing it in the right direction.”
The precinct made several noteworthy arrests the past month, the captain said:
- A man was arrested for snatching bags on 8th Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway. The Detective Squad got a confession, and the District Attorney’s office assisted by setting high bail.
- Two men were charged with breaking into cars on 54th Street and 18th Avenue. This is usually a hard crime to catch, the commander explained, but in this case the civilian patrols helped identify the men. Many of the crimes committed in the 66th are done by people who don’t live here, Captain Quick said.
- The four rapes that occurred in the precinct in the past 28 days were committed by people known to their victims. Three have been arrested and the fourth will be arrested soon.
For the past two months, the captain said, a man with a firearm has been robbing Asian women on 8th Avenue as they return home at night from work. The police have confirmed three robberies and suspect two or three more. The man follows the women on their walk home from the bus and robs them in deserted locations.
To narrow the area on which the police are focusing, the 66th Precinct met with the casino bus companies requesting they curtail their drop-off points to two. The precinct has also increased its midnight patrols and assigned additional plainclothes officers to the area.
(The Bensonhurst Bean just published an article about the arrest of a 20-year-old man charged with robbing Chinese women as a hate crime. A precinct spokesman said this bust is not connected to the robberies described above.)
But the assignment of additional plainclothes cops on 8th Avenue does not mean, Captain Quick assured this reporter, they are not also monitoring Kensington at night. The 66th is safe, Captain Quick emphasized. Nonetheless, he recommends group travel at night or taking shelter (say at a local deli) whenever people feel uneasy, and calling 911 so the police can confirm whether the incident was “nothing.”
Other Crime Prevention Tips From Captain Quick
To protect against car breaks, he recommended controlling what people see in your car. Do not leave laptops or other valuables on the seat. Even a cup holder with spare change in it, he said, is an inducement to rob.
Park your car under street lights so it is in a well-lit location; make sure your car doors are locked; and buy a hub cap lock.
“It’s not fool-proof,” he said, “but it helps.”
As to extended summer vacations, he recommended hiding the silverware. Last summer it was frequently stolen from neighborhood apartments while residents were away.
Thanks to an assist from Borough Patrol, thus reducing the strain on the precinct’s resources, last month’s religious holidays went smoothly, he said. The traffic agents did a good job of moving traffic along, keeping streets free of congestion.
The ID NYC Municipal ID Card
The NYPD is a major partner in the promotion of the new ID NYC municipal ID card, regarding it as a valid form of identification, a spokesman from the mayor’s office said at the meeting. The card gives you free membership to all kinds of cultural institutions,including museums, discounts at movie theaters and on prescriptions. It also opens doors to school buildings, city services, a bank account, or the public library. More than 100,000 New Yorkers already have one.
Any city resident over the age of 14, whether a citizen or an immigrant, is eligible for the card. All that’s required is proof of identification. The city is opening a new office in Sunset Park at 434 59th Street to handle the overwhelming demand for these cards. Call 311 to make an appointment or visit the NYC ID’s website here. Other Brooklyn locations are at the Brooklyn Library on Grand Army Plaza or the Dept of Finance Business Center, located on the first floor at 210 Jorelmon Street.
The 66th Precinct Community Council will host a street fair with entertainment on Church Avenue between E. 2nd and E. 3rd streets on Sunday, May 17. The next council meeting is Thursday, May 21, at CB 12’s office, 5910 13th Avenue, at 7:30 p.m. If you have any questions, call the precinct at 718-851-5601. To keep up to date with information about the precinct until the next meeting, you can follow them on Twitter.