Plaques & Roses At 66th Precinct Meeting: Overall Crime Down; Felonies & Robberies Up

The NYPD’s 66th Precinct Community Council met last Thursday, February 25th, at the Royal Community Care Center on Coney Island Avenue to honor the memory of its long-time corresponding secretary, Mohammed J. Alam.

Crime statistics for 2016 thus far were also reviewed — overall felonies are down, but robberies and felonious assaults in the precinct are both up, the NYPD said.

The Community Care Center serves as home to several Pakistani organizations: among them the Royal Banquet Hall, the Pakistan Muslim League (in) USA and the Pakistan American Community Club, whose chair, Mian M. Fayyaz, has just been appointed to the 66 Precinct Community Council (far right in photo above).

Honoring A Long-Term Member Of The Community

The 66th Precinct took time to honor its corresponding secretary, Mohammed J. Alam, a Bangladeshi native, who did well in his new country. Mr. Alam raised a family, ran a home-improvement contracting business in Brooklyn and even won the NYS lottery. He passed away last October at 58.

In presenting a plaque and rose bouquets to Alam’s widow and his college-age daughter, Captain Kenneth M. Quick, the commander of the 66th, said, “Looking at the crowd tonight, he must have been a kind man.”

More praise came from Council President Mark Katz, Treasurer Kazi Hossain, and VP Felix Burgos Jr., who called Alam, in a letter written to the Council, “a successful community leader, a loyal and joyful man.”

Keeping An Eye On Robberies & Assaults

Discussing crime in the 66th Precinct, Captain Quick said overall felonies are down 17 percent (relative to the same point last year), or 9.76 percent for the past 28 days.

Burglaries have also dropped sharply relative to last year.

But robberies are up 30 percent during the last 28-day period (from 10 by this point last year to 13 this year). And there’s been a 200 percent jump in felonious assaults, from 5 to 15.

Of the felonious assaults,12 have led to arrests, Captain Quick said, and he expects another arrest shortly.

Whether an assault is a felony or misdemeanor, Quick explained, depends on the weapon. Using your fist is usually a misdemeanor, but picking up an item like a table and throwing it at someone would most likely be charged as a felony.

Cops of the Month

Relentless pursuit pays. Two perps grabbed a man’s wallet on December 28th as he walked home on Avenue M. Surveillance tapes showed them kicking the victim afterwards in what Captain Quick called a “brutal and savage attack.”

Taking it personally, Detective Mariana Zakhary couldn’t rest until she’d found and arrested the perps 3 days later on New Year’s Eve. The case will be prosecuted.  Detective Zakhary is the 66th Precinct’s January Cop of the Month.

In February, Officer Joel Ramirez and partner Officer Alter arrested 4 perps several blocks away from where they had attacked a man at Avenue O. A young woman had set up the victim, asking him if she could borrow his phone to make a call. When he refused, the perps struck. Other incidents in the area show a similar pattern, Captain Quick pointed out. All four perps had a criminal history.

Officer Joel Ramirez is February’s Cop of the Month.

Since the last Community Council meeting, Captain Quick took a 5-day trip to Israel as part of a delegation headed by Boro President Eric Adams and sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Inc.

Commanders of several NYPD precincts, former NYPD officials, Community Board 12 Chair Yidel Perlstein, and business leaders met with Israeli heads of state, members of the police force, and other Israelis. The trip was “very informative,” said Captain Quick, “especially from a  counterterrorism perspective.”

As the meeting ended, people pulled out their cell phones to record their appearance with Captain Quick. Almost everyone there had his/her photo taken. Mrs. Alam’s women friends posed with him in several configurations. Men from the Pakistani organizations took separate photos, and finally the Council people joined in for photos with Captains Gonzalez and Quick. After that, everyone nibbled on McDonald’s fried chicken. By the end, even Mrs. Alam was smiling.

Come celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at the next 66 Precinct Community Council meeting, Thursday March 17 at 7:30pm.

The meeting will take place in its usual spot, the CB 12 headquarters at 5910 Thirteenth Avenue, between 59th and 60th Streets, in Boro Park, Tel: (718) 851–0800 or Pct (718) 851–5611.