By Stephen Stirling
Piekarski said though the drop of 1.5 percent decrease over 2005 was modest, it is still impressive considering crime in the Precinct has dropped more than 70 percent in the last 13 years. “The hard work that these men and women did was just amazing,” he said. Robbery, auto theft and grand larceny rates showed the largest declines, according to the Precinct's crime statistics, with each falling more than 5 percent. The murder rate, as it did in several areas of the city, showed the steepest increase for the year, doubling to 10 murders up from five last year, according to the city's statistics. Piekarski said he had no intentions on letting up.”When I walked into that office after New Year's, I was like a ball of fire. I'm going to keep the ball rolling. I'm not going to give up,” he said. Piekarski used a shooting in Richmond Hill Tuesday afternoon where a young man was shot in the shoulder near Richmond Hill High School as an example, and said he cut his vacation short to address the situation. He said no arrests had been made, but his officers were following strong leads in the case. Community Board members, such as land use committee head Sylvia Hack, voiced concerns about graffiti vandalism in the area. Hack said she had recently seen graffiti on homes in Kew Gardens for the first time. Piekarski said his units have been making steady progress in the fight against graffiti vandals, and that there had been at least 12 arrests stemming from four incidents in the last month alone.Community Board 9 Public Safety Committee Chairman Jim Coccovillo updated the board on the on-premise liquor license for Scooby's Bar and Lounge at 118-07 Atlantic Ave. Board members were originally prepared to vote against a renewal at their December meeting after receiving several complaints from neighbors that the bar and lounge was drawing bad elements into the neighborhood. The board agreed to postpone the vote after the bar's owner countered by saying he had never had problems with police or violence and that any such claims were unfounded.Coccovillo said the 102nd Precinct confirmed that the bar had received some minor summonses for noise in recent months. He said the board plans to continue to assess the situation in the coming months. “We're letting them know that we're going to be monitoring them,” he said. Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 162.
