By Kelsey Durham
Two members of the NYPD were honored by their commanding officer at the 111th Precinct this week after they racked up more than two dozen drunk driving arrests over a three-month span.
Officers Anthony Giordano and Michael Miron were presented with awards from Deputy Inspector Jason Huerta at the precinct’s monthly community council meeting Tuesday night.
Huerta said the two officers, recognized as Cops of the Month for February and March, made 25 DWI arrests within the precinct from January to March.
“As you know, Bayside is a nightlife attraction and one of our responsibilities at the 111th is to make sure people are safe from drunk drivers,” Huerta said. “Too often, lives are cut short by drunk driving, and these officers were progressive about the issue.”
Huerta said DWI arrests are an important part of what the precinct does and praised the night patrol officers for consistently being alert and catching offenders. Miron said the majority of their arrests were made along Bell Boulevard near Northern Boulevard, where a stretch of restaurants and bars often have patrons in and out until the early morning hours.
Huerta also thanked the highway units that patrol the Clearview and Long Island expressways as well as other highways that surround the Bayside area and said their extra enforcement also helps keep the streets safe from drunk drivers.
“We have very active officers here and we’re always very on top of this problem,” he said.
During the monthly meeting, Huerta also warned of the ongoing Green Dot pay card scam that he said the precinct continues to have a problem with.
He said callers contact people, posing as an agency, and ask for money, usually telling the person that they owe money on a bill or a family member is in trouble. The caller then convinces the victim to purchase a Green Dot card and put money on it before they cash it out and steal the dollar amount put on it.
Huerta said the perpetrators running the scam usually target the elderly but advised everyone to be careful if they receive a phone call asking them to put money on a Green Dot card.
The NYPD is asking anyone with information about the scam to contact their local precinct or the Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
