By Peter Sorkin
About 150 people packed into a tiny meeting room at the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church at 69-05 Ditmars Blvd. in Astoria Heights to ask new Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik about increasing police presence in the neighborhood. covered by the 114th and 115th precincts.
Kerik, who replaced Howard Safir in the top spot two months ago, said he had already added 15 new cops to the 114th Precinct. He also praised the Giuliani administration for its efforts to reduce crime.
“We are building bridges to the community in New York City,” Kerik said. “Crime has been reduced by 57 percent over the last seven years since the mayor took office. We want to continue that.”
Among the community leaders who showed up at the meeting were U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) and state Sen. George Onorato (D-Long Island City).
Astoria Heights resident Rose Marie Poveromo, president of the United Community Civic Association for the past nine years, said she has been very pleased with the new commissioner.
“I happen to be very fond of Kerik because he has been very responsive to community concerns,” she said. “There was an uncomfortable relationship between the Astoria Heights community because we're a heartbeat away from Rikers Island. Some of the commanding officers were not very good neighbors but when Kerik became corrections commissioner, he set the record straight.”
Many who attended the meeting were very concerned with increasing police presence in the 114th and 115th precincts.
The 114th covers Astoria and Long Island City. The 115th Precinct covers Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and Corona.
“We'd like to see more beat cops,” said one woman in the audience. “We want to see visible numbers. All of the communities want more beat cops. We all need more beat cops even though crime is down.”
“The 114th and 115th precincts have been just great,” Poveromo said. “You call them up and you need them and they're there. That's why the plea was made directly to the top guy.”
Poveromo, who attends meetings at Rikers Island once a month, said that her organization hopes to continue working with the police.
“We hope that the same rapport exists now that he is NYPD commissioner,” Poveromo said. “He is that kind of guy. He's a very hands-on man. He's definitely very alert to community problems and community concerns. We are only wishing him well as the new NYPD commissioner because there are bigger and better things before him.”
