Town Hall With Lawmakers, NYPD
A full crowd at All Saints Episcopal Church in Sunnyside listened to City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and the commanding officer of the 108th Precinct take their safety concerns at a town hall last Monday, Apr. 30.
“I live in the neighborhood, just like you all,” Van Bramer told the audience. “We’re all concerned about some of the recent activity.”
To that end, the lawmaker told the crowd that he has asked Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly for additional officers to be assigned to the 108th Precinct, and has also secured $200,000 to go toward surveillance cameras in the precinct.
“I know there are some areas in the district that could use some additional cameras,” he stated, adding that he will solicit suggestions from the precinct as well as local residents.
An overview
Capt. Donald Powers, the precinct’s commander, provided an overview of the precinct in general, noting that it covers 5.1 square miles from Hunters Point to Woodside.
In 2011, the precinct handled 55,454 911 calls from residents and 4,586 311 complaints.
In addition, patrolmen have made over 2,000 arrests and issued over 4,000 criminal court summonses last year.
So far this year, 18,541 calls have come into the precinct.
“The guys do work hard here,” he stated.
Taking a longer term view, he noted that crime has decreased by 80 percent since the NYPD began tracking statistics in 1993. As an example, he noted that 2,123 vehicles were stolen in 1993 compared to 181 in 2011.
“It’s incredible to think we were ever at this level [compared to] where we are today,” he stated.
Returning to the present, he noted that crime is slightly up over the past 28 days compared to this time last year, with burglaries and stolen autos.
For the year, the precinct is up four crimes as of the meeting date (389 in 2012 compared to 385 in 2011). This puts the precinct in the middle of the pack citywide.
“We know in reality, yes, some things are just going to go up,” he said. “But what are we doing to minimize that, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
“Every inch of the 108 is covered by a patrol car, around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, three shifts a day,” Powers assured residents, adding that the precinct also has specialty units such as plainclothes Anti-Crime teams, a Conditions team that covers heavy commercial areas, and parks and transit details.
A satellite office in the eastern end of the command “is not going to be realistic,” Powers told the crowd later in the meeting.
A facility being used by the precinct’s auxiliary squad near the 61st Street 7 train station was recently vacated due to concerns about the site’s structural safety, and auxiliary officers now are headquartered in the precinct’s Hunters Point stationhouse.
Sunnyside Gardens
In Sunnyside Gardens-the subject of recent criminal activity-the precinct has seen three burglaries, no assaults, no stolen cars, two grand larcenies over the past month, the commander stated.
He also touched on two ongoing investigations in the area-one involving an attempted Easter Sunday sex assault, the other being a robbery pattern where a man forces victims at gunpoint to head to an ATM and withdraw cash.
“There’s some very unique things about this pattern,” Powers would later note, referring to the robbery pattern.
Tire and rim thefts “have gone down tremendously,” Powers stated, although he could not pin down a reason why.
Van Bramer claimed that while crime is very low statistically, there seemed to be a “disconnect” between what the precinct is stating and what the community is experiencing.
One longtime Sunnyside Gardens resident expressed concern about crime in the area, and asked what measures they can take to protect themselves.
Powers suggested taking advantage of the precinct’s crime prevention survey program, where an officer will come to a local home and suggest ways to boost safety, as well as ID etching.
Staffing and response times
One resident complained that it took 52 minutes for the 108th Precinct to respond to a 911 call of local “punks” harassing her.
She claimed that officers told her that of the four patrol cars covering the area, three were responding to a major incident.
Powers responded by explaining that the 911 system takes calls and gives them out based on priority.
“There are times-you are correct- it’s going to take us a while to get to a job,” he said. “That doesn’t mean they’re in having lunch. It means they’re on another assignment.”
“Our response time is one of our core responsibilities to monitor, and obviously we want it [to be] as fast as possible,” he added. “I don’t know what happened that night.”
“I am lower now [in manpower] than when I first got here,” Powers later admitted, adding that “we’re always asking for more bodies.”
The commander added that he is expecting new officers to be added to the precinct.
“The 108th Precinct has been understaffed for years,” longtime Community Board 2 member Gertrude McDonald told Powers and Van Bramer. “It’s about time the community supports you in your efforts to get more men in this precinct, and it’s up to the public to be more aware and raise the roof.”
The NYPD’s manpower has decreased from about 41,000 in 1993 to about 34,000 now, Powers stated.
Several residents with quality-oflife issues asked where to report such incidents, such as broken side view mirrors or graffiti. Powers told them that 911 was where to go, as the volume and location of calls will determine where the precinct’s resources will travel.
“The entire area is covered equally. What happens is that 911 calls will drive us to certain areas,” Powers explained. “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”
Complaint classifications
One couple complained to Powers about their attempted break-in being classified as criminal mischief, and asked for an explanation. Powers noted in response that criminal mischief is the classification used when property is damaged.
Van Bramer followed up by asking Powers about rumors that police precincts citywide “either doesn’t want to report certain crimes or reports them different to avoid crime stats looking bad.”
“I’ve heard it all,” said Powers, who told the crowd that he instructs officers to “report things accurately and properly based on the facts at the time.”
If the facts change, “there is a procedure” to reclassify crimes, he added.
“Every one of my cops,” he concluded, “knows the rules of the job.”
More issues
One resident brought the precinct’s attention to the “no man’s land” between Barnett Avenue and Northern Boulevard.
“I do know there is a police presence, but it seems to be more sporadic than routine,” said the resident, to which Powers reiterated that all the precinct’s officers are on patrol when on duty.
Powers also reminded the crowd that they have a “monthly area to speak with us direct”: the 108th Precinct Community Council, which meets on the last Tuesday of the month in Sunnyside.
