By Alex Christodoulides
Pilkington is transferring to the Forest Hills-based Queens Detective Bureau next month and seemed to be looking forward to the challenges of the new position.”I'll be working for the detective bureau out of the 112th Precinct, but I'm covering all of the south. They're nowhere near as violent in the north as in the south,” he said. “Just recently there was a guy shot three times in the head in the 101 [Precinct in Far Rockaway], and a guy stuffed in the trunk of a car that was set on fire that happened to be a 2004 Porsche” near the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.Debbie Cohen, president of the 110th Precinct Community Council, praised Pilkington's ability to bring down crime in Elmhurst and Corona with the small police force available to him.”It's a miracle, with the number of officers we have, the amount of crime we have,” she said.Napoletano briefly took the podium to note a 21 percent reduction in crime from Feb. 28 to March 16 over the same period in 2007, but said robberies were up in the precinct.”Robberies have been our problem,” he said, noting that there have been five commercial properties held up in recent weeks, two each on Corona and Woodside avenues and one on Grand Avenue, where the suspect appears to be a Hispanic male who is making off with $50 to $100 from each place.”If he's armed, just comply,” said Napoletano, who urged store owners to have their surveillance equipment working. “You have no idea how much that can help.”On the subject of Pilkington's departure from the precinct, Napoletano said he had known the outgoing commanding officer since they both worked in Flushing's 109th Precinct.”I'm glad he's a friend of mine, and I still call him quite often” for advice and ideas since captains often consult with each other, Napoletano said.Pilkington said the decision to leave the precinct had not been easy.”This was one of the hardest decisions because this is the best bunch of guys I've worked with,” he said of the 110th Precinct. “They've kept me entertained, kept me sane. I've thoroughly enjoyed my experiences with this group because of the environment we work and live in.”Reach reporter Alex Christodoulides by e-mail at achristodoulides@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
