By Craig Giammona
Speaking at a sparsely attended 113th Precinct Community Council meeting, Johnson, who is the precinct's commanding officer, said she had deployed seven of the 12 new officers she recently received to foot patrols on Rockaway Boulevard in response to the robbery situation.”We've really started to control that,” she said.There have been 52 robberies in the precinct – which covers St. Albans, Hollis, Springfield Gardens, South Ozone Park, South Jamaica and Addisleigh Park – so far this year, compared to 30 during the same period last year. This included 18 robberies in the second week of January, Johnson said.And while Johnson said the increased police presence on Rockaway Boulevard was necessary to control crime, two local clergy members said young people continue to tell them they are being harassed by officers.”Some of these white officers come in this neighborhood like cowboys,” said Pastor Doris Johnson, who specifically complained about the situation on Rockaway Boulevard. “They stop everybody. They're harassing kids coming home from school.”Johnson responded that she was “trying to squash the crime up there.”Rev. Charles Norris of the Bethesda Baptist Church told Johnson he was glad that black officers were leading the three precincts in southeast Queens, but he said he was concerned that the commanding officers were not relaying community concerns to the rank-and-file.”Do you tell them what we tell you?” Norris asked.Johnson then invited Norris or any other member of the clergy to attend the precinct's three daily roll calls and address officers directly.Johnson also said Monday that there has been an increase in the number of shootings so far this year in the 113th, with five compared to one during the same period last year. This includes an unsolved murder that occurred recently at 169th Street and Linden Boulevard. The 113th reduced the number of shootings in 2006, but the current rate is troubling, Johnson said.Reach reporter Craig Giammona by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.By Craig GiammonaCrime is down slightly so far this year in the 113th Precinct, but there has been a spike in robberies and an increase in the number of shootings, NYPD Deputy Inspector Kristel Johnson reported Monday.Speaking at a sparsely attended 113th Precinct Community Council meeting, Johnson, who is the precinct's commanding officer, said she had deployed seven of the 12 new officers she recently received to foot patrols on Rockaway Boulevard in response to the robbery situation.”We've really started to control that,” she said.There have been 52 robberies in the precinct – which covers St. Albans, Hollis, Springfield Gardens, South Ozone Park, South Jamaica and Addisleigh Park – so far this year, compared to 30 during the same period last year. This included 18 robberies in the second week of January, Johnson said.And while Johnson said the increased police presence on Rockaway Boulevard was necessary to control crime, two local clergy members said young people continue to tell them they are being harassed by officers.”Some of these white officers come in this neighborhood like cowboys,” said Pastor Doris Johnson, who specifically complained about the situation on Rockaway Boulevard. “They stop everybody. They're harassing kids coming home from school.”Johnson responded that she was “trying to squash the crime up there.”Rev. Charles Norris of the Bethesda Baptist Church told Johnson he was glad that black officers were leading the three precincts in southeast Queens, but he said he was concerned that the commanding officers were not relaying community concerns to the rank-and-file.”Do you tell them what we tell you?” Norris asked.Johnson then invited Norris or any other member of the clergy to attend the precinct's three daily roll calls and address officers directly.Johnson also said Monday that there has been an increase in the number of shootings so far this year in the 113th, with five compared to one during the same period last year. This includes an unsolved murder that occurred recently at 169th Street and Linden Boulevard. The 113th reduced the number of shootings in 2006, but the current rate is troubling, Johnson said.Reach reporter Craig Giammona by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
