By Jeremy Walsh
Jackson Heights residents alarmed by the midday shooting of five people on Roosevelt Avenue two weeks ago, turned out in force last Thursday to hear what police and elected officials were doing to crack down on crime in the corridor.
The elected representatives pledged to fight for money for more video surveillance cameras and more foot patrols along the notorious strip, which is already a designated area for the NYPD's Operation Impact beat cop program.
There are several cameras installed on Roosevelt, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst) said, but he noted he was informed that federal funding for the project had run out. Monserrate said he would work to procure "a few hundred thousand" dollars in City Council funding for more cameras, which he said would help deter crimes as bold as the 11:30 a.m. sidewalk shooting near 80th Street.
Police believe the incident was gang-related.
Monserrate also said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said he would work to allot more overtime slots to police officers in the 110th and 115th precincts, which cover the area.
State Assemblyman Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) called on city, state and federal lawmakers to help restore funding for the Roosevelt Avenue Task Force, a dedicated police patrol that operated along the corridor in the 1990s.
But Chief Carlos Gomez, commander of Patrol Borough Queens North, told the audience the shooting on Roosevelt did not happen because of a lack of officers on the street.
"Right now there's more cops assigned to Roosevelt than ever before," he said, noting the city's decision to double the number of Operation Impact officers by retaining the previous year of academy graduates in the program.
He also said most of the overtime slots he can allot to the northern Queens precincts go to the 110th and 115th.
Deputy Inspector Richard Napolitano, the 110th Precinct commander, said he has pulled foot patrols from other areas of the precinct to patrol Roosevelt Avenue.
Some residents blamed the crimes on a proliferation of what they called "girlie bars" in the area and demanded to know why the establishments are allowed to operate.
Napolitano said there are no strip clubs on Roosevelt Avenue. Rather, he said, bars procure cabaret licenses from the city Department of Community Affairs and bring in women who dance with men for a few dollars a song.
"Until the DCA does something about it, there's nothing we can do," he said. "As long as they have a cabaret license, it's not illegal to have women dancing."
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
