Group Sounds Alarm To Beef Up Precinct
Following a recent series of armed robberies in the eastern section of Glendale, local residents called for more police officers to be assigned to the 104th Precinct during a joint meeting of the 104th Precinct Community Council and the Glendale Civic Association (GCA) last Wednesday night, Jan. 25, at The Shops at Atlas Park Community Room.
Capt. Michael Cody, the 104th Precinct’s commanding officer, told attendees that police are continuing to search for the two bandits involved in a series of stickups that hit the Glendale area and parts of the 102nd and 110th precincts last fall. The pattern involved a pair of men who, while riding motorcycles, held up pedestrians at gunpoint.
The most recent incident in the Glendale area took place on Dec. 1, 2011, and in the days that followed, Cody dispatched the 104th Precinct’s Mobile Command Unit to be stationed in the eastern area of the neighborhood. He explained that the unit served not only as a deterrent but as a “secondary police station.”
“It was successful,” the captain said, pointing out that no other rob- beries fitting the pattern have occurred in nearly two months. Even though the robbery series “went stale,” Cody maintained that detectives are continuing their probe into finding the suspects responsible.
The Mobile Command Unit has been taken off the streets for upgrades, but Cody noted that once those adjustments have been made, the truck will be back in the 104th Precinct and stationed in communities on a rotating basis. He also indicated that the precinct is training more officers to operate the vehicle.
Kathy Masi, GCA president, observed that the mobile unit should be back in Glendale “once in a while,” adding the recent robbery pattern- combined with reports of area burglaries and fights among students near the Glendale/Forest Hills border- has left some in the community with an uneasy feeling.
“For some reason, we’re feeling that there’s more crime than ever before,” she said. “We’re not used to this.”
Dorie Figliola observed that the increase in crime in the area could likely be attributed to increased development over the years.
“We’ve never had an Atlas Park or a Home Depot” or other stores close to Glendale previously, she said. “Of course, we’re going to have a little more crime.”
Cody noted that the precinct is doing its best to increase security in the area, pointing out that 20 additional officers were brought to eastern Glendale to patrol the neighborhood following last fall’s robbery pattern.
He also advised residents to do their part to help police catch potential criminals by reporting suspicious activity to 911 immediately.
One local homeowner claimed that he tried to report a recent burglary at his home, but that the officer who responded refused to take a report. Captain Cody explained that, following his own investigation, the officer in question was “called to the carpet” and reprimanded.
“I hold my officers accountable,” he said.
Pressed by an attendee about how more officers could be assigned to the precinct, the captain and others in attendance stated that residents should contact their local elected officials and be active in community groups advocating for additional resources for the NYPD.
“We need to get it across to the elected officials that we need more services in Glendale,” Masi said.
The year in review
At the start of the session, Captain Cody reviewed the previous year’s crime statistics, informing members that while the precinct finished down for the year in overall major crime, there was a slight increase in felonies reported in Glendale.
Approximately 1,721 crimes were reported to the 104th Precinct in 2011, down from the 1,740 cases handled the previous year, Cody said. In the eastern Glendale sector of the command, there were 126 crimes tallied, up from 110 in 2010, including 18 robberies, 14 assaults, 25 burglaries, 38 grand larcenies and 21 auto thefts.
Many of the felony assaults reported in the eastern Glendale area and throughout the command were domestic in nature, Cody stated. Among the grand larcenies reported in Glendale included thefts of credit cards, unattended property and tires and rims from parked vehicles.
But during the 28-day period that concluded on Jan. 22, the eastern Glendale sector had only two reported burglaries and one auto theft, the captain stated. Both of the breakins occurred at businesses in the vicinity of Myrtle Avenue and 79th Street; the lone car theft reportedly occurred along 78th Avenue.
Captain Cody stated that the precinct recently made a “good arrest” in the Liberty Park section of Glendale, as officers stopped three males who allegedly stole a delivery vehicle off a street. Reportedly, the suspects led police on a pursuit that eventually ended in Bushwick with their arrest.
“The suspects each had a prior history,” Cody told residents. “We were glad to get them off the streets.”
Improving services
Since taking over the command in June, the captain noted that he made a number of administrative changes designed to better serve residents in the area, including making accident reports available at the precinct 24 hours a day. He also stated that the precinct’s two executive officers- Captains John Travaglia and Neil Walsh-have increased efforts to remove reported derelict vehicles from the streets and are investigating troubles related to complaints made to the city’s 311 hotline.
“I’ve tried to improve relationship between cops and the community,” he said. “I told my officers to appreciate where they work,” adding that the 104th Precinct ranks among the precincts witl the lowest crime rates in the entire city, with most of the problems reported by residents dealing with quality of life matters.
Regarding schools, Cody noted that he has worked to assign additional crossing guards at locations where needed, including in the vicinity of P.S./I.S. 119 in Glendale. Officers have also increased efforts to combat parking violations around schools within the command during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal.
Stopping graffiti
Lt. James Lombardi, the precinct’s special operations coordinator, noted that he has assigned the Conditions Team to respond to complaints of vandalism and other quality-of-life problems reported to the 104th Precinct’s Community Affairs Unit.
Lombardi explained that the precinct has increased its efforts to rid the 104th Precinct’s confines of graffiti vandals. Under the supervision of P.O. Justin Dambinskas, the precinct’s graffiti coordinator, the lieutenant noted that the command “has gone from last to number one in New York City in graffiti arrests,” with “95 percent of the vandals” taken into custody from the Glendale area.
“We have destroyed several crews” who have tagged the community, Lombardi said. He noted that the precinct has also participated in cleaning up 1,200 vandalized locations around the confines.
Traffic
A Glendale resident informed the captain that a number of school buses leaving the Yeshiva Godolah on 88th Street on weeknights are allegedly committing a number of traffic violations, including going through red lights at the corner of 88th Street and 77th Avenue.
Masi elaborated on the problem further, claiming that the school buses have been traveling off a route agreed upon by yeshiva administrators and civic leaders.
“They get to the yeshiva down 76th Street and are to exit the same way westbound,” the GCA president said. “For some reason, they’re shooting down 88th Street and going through the light.”
Masi noted that she along with City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley will meet with the yeshiva’s administration about the matter.
A Doran Avenue resident also asked police to investigate earlymorning activity at a warehouse on nearby 72nd Drive. Reportedly, trucks have been noisily moving around the warehouse at around 6:30 a.m., disturbing the resident’s sleep and the rest of others living nearby.
Other residents noted that large trucks have regularly blocked residential driveways on other area streets including 84th Street between Cooper and Doran avenues.
Both conditions would be investigated by the precinct, Cody said.
The 104th Precinct Community Council holds joint meetings with other civic groups in Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village. Their next meeting has yet to be announced. For more information, call the 104th Precinct Community Affairs Unit at 1-718-386-2431.
