Phone Thefts A Problem For 110th Pct.
For his efforts to collar a robbery suspect last month, an officer from the 110th Precinct was honored at the 110th Precinct Community Council meeting last Monday, Mar. 18, at Flanders Field VFW Post 150 in Corona.
P.O. Seungjin Huh was on routine patrol with a sergeant on Feb. 12 when the two received a call for help from a cab driver.
On the way to the driver, Huh saw several people chasing an individual down the street and ascertained it was the man who robbed the driver.
The officers apprehended the suspect without incident, and the complainant positively ID’ed the man.
Deputy Inspector Ronald Leyson, commanding officer of the 110th Precinct, said the perpetrator had several robbery arrests and narcotics history.
“This was a calculated robbery that was foiled by good police work,” he said.
Leyson and Community Council President Evelyn DeCoursey presented Huh with a plaque donated by the Times Newsweekly for his work.
Crime report
In giving his crime report, Leyson said that phone snatchings are still a major issue. Individuals-usually teens and young people-are waiting on MTA platforms, snatching smart phones and escaping by train.
“In their own words: ‘We’re here to make money,'” Leyson said, quoting one of the perpetrators.
The assailants are selling the stolen phones to bodegas in Queens South, Leyson said.
“They’re getting up to $350 for an iPhone 5 or Galaxy III-cash,” he noted.
There is also an uptick of stolen property at the mall, and the precinct is adding a third uniformed officer to the area, Leyson said.
Generally, crime in the precinct is being reduced.
Over the last 28 days, crime is down 17 percent in the seven major categories. Leyson admitted the precinct had an increase in rapes with two reported for the month of February. He stated that both were domestic rapes-the aggressor was a spouse, not a random person.
“They’re known perpetrators- not that that’s any less alarming,” he added.
Leyson said the precinct is continuing to stem the tide of burglaries and grand larcenies.
Burglaries are down 30 percent grand larcenies have dropped 11 percent. For the second year in a row, auto break-ins are down 20 percent year to date, Leyson told the council.
There has been an increase in felony assaults, which Leyson attributed to a looser definition of “felony assault” that was applied a few years ago.
The precinct continues to wrestle with assaults in and around bars and night clubs. Leyson said individuals are being over-served and becoming victims, or they are getting belligerent and fighting among themselves.
He said individuals often hit one another with belt buckles-which are not considered weapons while being worn. Leyson called it “The Corona Special.”
Parking issues allayed
The 110th Precinct has addressed a slew of parking issues plaguing residents. The idling “Mundanza” moving trucks that were a fixture along Roosevelt Avenue and Corona Plaza have been cleared out, Leyson said.
City Council Member Julissa Ferreras called the clearing-out a victory for the neighborhood, adding the trucks took up valuable customer parking in front of businesses and were a general eyesore.
“We finally got our plaza done and nobody can see it, because there’s trucks blocking everything,” Ferreras said.
Ferreras credited Capt. Ralph Forgione, executive officer of the 110th Precinct, for spearheading the initiative.
Leyson told attendees that the precinct continues to work to remove illegally parked cars with “for sale” signs that have been parked throughout the precinct. He said on Mar. 1, officers towed 11 cars and issued 34 summonses for illegally parked cars.
Year to date, 50 cars have been towed, he added.
“It’s lucrative for these people to be putting these cars out there and selling them with no overhead and not having to pay proper business taxes,” Leyson said. “It’s a neverending cycle; it’s something we’re going to stay on top of.”
Other news
A request was funded in 2012 for a new NYPD station house, and Ferreras said Flushing Meadows Corona Park would be an ideal spot.
“We need a safe place for our officers to be-one that doesn’t contain asbestos,” she said.
During the borough board’s budget meeting, Ferreras requested $11 million in 2014 for design and an additional $56 million in 2016 for construction.
A resident asked how response times would be affected if the station house was located at one corner of the precinct, suggesting individuals in western Corona and Elmhurst might not receive prompt service.
Leyson told the individual that response times are not affected by precinct location. In the event of an emergency, roving patrol cars, which are already in the area, respond to emergencies.
Ferreras added that the city conducts safety studies before moving precincts.
The move would not be immediate, Ferreras said. Council members have a full plate with the expansion of the U.S. Tennis Association’s National Tennis Center and the Willet’s Point Redevelopment Plan-she hinted the latter would be the first to be certified in the coming weeks, and the USTA decision would come before the council between June and July.
