Photo: QueensPost
Oct. 9, 2011 By Christian Murray
Burglars have targeted two Sunnyside apartment buildings on 40th Street–and the residents want answers.
Residents from the buildings turned out at the Police Precinct 108 meeting in Sunnyside last week claiming that their respective buildings have been broken into 8 to 10 times in recent months. They claim that when they call 911, the police have been slow to show up.
At 47-39 40th Street there have been 3 burglaries this year, according to police records; while at 47-25 40th Street, the adjacent building, there have been 7 burglaries/petit larcenies year to date.
Despite all these crimes, one resident, said: “I haven’t seen more police in the neighborhood…and it is really scary when you know an intruder has been inside your house.” Then, she said, “I see pictures [of potential perpetrators] and they all look like the same skinny guy with a hoodie over his face,” she added.
Powell said he would send out his crime prevention officers who would try to put in place a “clean hall program” where officers, with the building owner’s permission, are cleared to be able to walk throughout the building. Furthermore, they would evaluate the lighting at the back of the building, the positioning of the video cameras, and windows/entrances.
Powers said “They are not going to break into the hardest building on the block…” he said, adding that the police will help deter burglars.
Across the precinct (which covers Sunnyside, Woodside and Long Isalnd City) total crime was up 9 percent in September. There were no rapes or murders. Meanwhile, robberies dropped 45% and burglaries fell 13%. However, the number of grand larcenies more than doubled, accounting for much of the increase.
Year to date, crime is flat.
The police said that they arrested a man in September who had been snatching women’s iphones or cell phones across northern Queens while riding on his bicycle. The perpetrator confessed to 5 grand larcenies, three of which were in Woodside.
