Precinct Boss Denies Speculation
Contrary to belief, crime has not risen near the Pan American Hotel since it was converted into a temporary shelter for homeless families, the commanding officer told the 110th Precinct Community Council during its meeting last Thursday, Sept 11, in Corona.
Deputy Inspector Ronald Leyson stated he completed a radius crime analysis within 1/3 of a mile near the hotel located at 7900 Queens Blvd. and found that, since families were moved into the converted homeless shelter in June, crime has decreased.
Leyson said 33 crimes have been reported in the area over the last month, representing a “a very marked decrease,” compared to 40 in the same period last year.
“I’ll give you the good and the bad,” he said. “If crime had gone up, I would tell you that. … Statistics show that the crime since the opening of the homeless shelter-the Pan Am Hotel-has decreased in the area.”
Some domestic crimes have been traced back to the Pan Am–individuals calling too often or harassing someone–but there have only been a few incidents originating at the hotel or involving its residents, according to Leyson.
“Seven crimes were reported inside the hotel this year as opposed to none last year,” he said. “So if you take those seven crimes away-and those crimes are those that are somewhat consistent with a homeless shelter-now you have 26 crimes versus 40 crimes in the area.”
Crime is also down in the seven major felony categories: murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and auto theft, he said.
Though crime reports have lessened since families began living at the converted shelter, Leyson urged residents that witness illegal activities near the Pan Am, or anywhere in the precinct, to call police and make a report, and reminded attendees that solely because a persons is homeless or struggling, they are not automatically a criminal.
Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together (COMET) members continue to post statistics claiming crime is increasing, and defend the numbers by noting not all the complaints have been reported.
The issue was highlighted in a post on the blog “Queens Crap.” Anti-shelter activist and COMET member Christina Wilkinson, in the comments section, wrote “Reported crime may be down, but there have been a lot of incidents reported to COMET that have not been reported to the 110 because the complainants are afraid of retaliation from the shelter residents. There are drug deals, merchant harassment, shoplifting, dine-and-dash type incidents.
She further claimed in her response that these incidents have not been reported in the English language press, but were chronicled in a Chinese language newspaper published on July 10.
Remembering 9/11
On the 13th anniversary of the attacks, Leyson led a solemn observance and commemorated the sacrifices of both those that were killed that day and others who were felled by health conditions contracted by working in the debris at the site. In agreement with Precinct Council President Evelyn DeCoursey, he showed a video–previously unseen by anyone outside of the NYPD– honoring the service and sacrifices of New York’s Finest.
Leyson saw it for the first time in November 2001, and said there wasn’t a dry eye in the room after it was shown.
“It’s not for public consumption, but I thought it was important to share with you,” he said.
“It’s a very powerful video and I wanted to share it with everybody,” DeCoursey added.
Leyson also asked the group to bow their heads and observe a moment of silence in remembrance of those killed by the attacks.
The 110th Precinct Community Council now meets on the second Thursday each month at 7 p.m. at Flanders Field VFW Post 150, located at 51-11 108th St. in Corona. For more information, call the 110th Precinct Community Affairs Unit at 1-718-476-9310.
