By Phil Corso
All four Community Board 11 officers were re-elected for another year Monday, including Chairman Jerry Iannece, who was given his fifth and final term with the group.
Iannece’s next term as chairman will also be his last, he said, as the board’ bylaws do not allow officers to serve more than five years.
“Thank you, I think,” Iannece joked after the board re-elected him.
Moving forward, however, the chairman urged board members to begin to think about who could take over his position next year.
The board also re-elected First Vice Chairwoman Christine Haider, Second Vice Chairman Dennis Novick, and Third Vice Chairwoman Laura James.
At the March meeting of CB 11 at Bayside’s MS 158, at 46-35 Oceania St., 111th Precinct Commanding Officer Jason Huerta warned of the area’s recent battle with burglaries, which he said were making a slight comeback. Since late last year, the precinct has been working to address the ongoing burglary reports, but Huerta said the number of incidents has been growing once again alongside car break-ins and robberies.
“It seems that every time we catch one group, we get another,” Huerta said. “We’re asking the community to safeguard their property and be vigilant.”
According to the most recent crime statistics between Feb. 18 and Feb. 24 for the 111th Precinct, which covers neighborhoods in northeast Queens, the number of burglaries recorded this year to date was up to 41 from 31 incidents when compared to this time last year.
The only other crimes to increase this year to date were felony assaults, which rose from six to 10, and robberies, which jumped from five to 17, the 111th Precinct said.
During the new business portion of the meeting, several board members, including Bayside activist Janet McEneany, stood up to urge the community to attend an upcoming forum discussing the effects of increased flight noise in northeast Queens.
The town hall, sponsored by state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and state Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside), will take place March 14 at 7 p.m. inside the Bay Terrace Jewish Center, McEneany said.
McEneany, who has been leading a local resistance to the Federal Aviation Administration’s implementation of new departure and arrival paths out of LaGuardia Airport, said she would be soliciting questions from the community to ask elected officials at the meeting.
The board also discussed a committee report involving a proposed slow zone in Auburndale, which board member Henry Euler said would be a welcome change to his neighborhood. Euler has been pushing for a slow zone in the area between the Clearview Expressway and Francis Lewis Boulevard for some time, he said, and would be glad to see the speed limit reduced from the current 30 mph to 25.
Bayside staple Frank Skala, however, thought otherwise.
“It’s all a hoax,” Skala said with assertion. “When you see a cop pull over one person going more than 25 mph, you let me know.”
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
