Bushwick Learns About ‘Safe Surrender’ Pgm.
Individuals with outstanding warrants for civil summons will get a chance to have their warrants resolved, it was announced during the 83rd Precinct Community Council Meeting last Tuesday, Mar. 19 at the precinct’s Bushwick stationhouse.
The Kings County District Attorney’s Office is holding two days of warrant abatement with a program called Project Safe Surrender at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, located at 212 Tompkins Ave. in Bedford- Stuyvesant from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, Mar. 29 and 30.
The court and attorneys will be available to resolve any outstanding summons warrants for minor crimes such as littering, trespassing, consumption of alcohol in public and possession of marijuana.
Participants need only bring an ID-non-photo IDs such as birth certificates will suffice, according to Anita Alexander, the project’s point person at Mt. Pisgah.
Alexander said 99 percent of participants successfully resolve their summons, and more than 1,500 people have benefitted from the program so far.
However, felony, DMV and MTA warrants cannot be resolved through the program.
Alexander said she does not encourage people with warrants for more serious crimes to show up.
The program also offers social assistance in the areas of health, housing, employment, employment training and education.
More information is available at www.projectsafesurrender.org or by calling Alexander at 1-718-388-3900 ext. 46.
New bike delivery rules
P.O. Damarys Franco of the 83rd Precinct Community Affairs Unit explained to attendees that several newly implemented rules for restaurants and their delivery personnel take effect April 1.
Restaurant delivery drivers who ride bicycles must begin wearing neon reflective vests with their restaurant’s name and the operator’s identification number on the back.
The measure should allow residents to easily identify and report delivery people that violate traffic laws or create unsafe conditions, Franco said.
According to information from the Department of Transportation, business owners must also provide a helmet in good condition, a numbered business ID card, headlights and tail lights, a bell, working brakes and reflective tires or other reflective devices.
Fire safety
Lt. Vincent Sianato of the FDNY gave a fire safety presentation and handed out smoke detector batteries to the residents in attendance.
He also told attendees that fire hydrant caps are available free of charge from the station.
To obtain a cap, any resident 18 years or older must show a valid ID at the fire house. The station keeps a record of individuals who have received a cap to prevent giving multiple caps to the same block, Sianato said.
Crime report
Overall, crime is on the decline in the 83rd Precinct.
Deputy Inspector Anthony Tasso told the council that crime in the seven major categories is down 22 percent for the month and 17 percent year-to-date. Burglaries are still the precinct’s largest problem, he said.
Police Officer Thomas McBride noted that there has ben a “huge improvement” in the number of narcotics crimes over the last seven years.
Tasso said the much-maligned bottle recycling plant on Stewart Street has been closed until its owners can right all the violations the site has incurred. In addition, an illegal night club at 7 Granite St. has been shut down.
Residents have complained that speeding is a precinct-wide problem, Tasso said. He told the council that traffic in the neighborhood moves slowly and the speeding observed may be a matter of perception. People in the neighborhood are used to seeing cars inch along in the traffic on major thoroughfares-when a vehicle moves at the speed limit, it may appear to be speeding, he said.
He added that the city conducts speed studies when there have been numerous speeding-related accidents, but there have not been enough in the neighborhood to warrant an investigation.
P.O. Thomas McBride told attendees about the Formal Trespass Affidavit Program (F-TAP), wherein residents of multiple-dwelling apartments can allow police officers to patrol common areas and stairwells to stay the sale of narcotics.
Once a landlord signs up, the NYPD receives keys to the building’s hallways and may come during times when residents have observed increased traffic in and out of the building.
Building owners are required to post signs that read: “Tenants and their guests only.”
The 83rd Precinct Community Council generally meets on the third Tuesday each month at 6:30 p.m. at the precinct’s stationhouse located at the corner of Knickerbocker Avenue and Bleecker Street in Bushwick. For more information, call the Community Affairs Unit at 1-718-574-1697.
