By Madina Toure
After serving for two years as commanding officer of the 109th Precinct, Capt. Thomas Conforti has been transferred to the Crime Prevention Division where he will serve as commanding officer.
He will be replaced by Deputy Inspector Judith Harrison, who previously served at the 112th Precinct, according to Vanna Partridge, the precinct community council’s president. Harrison will be at the council’s June meeting.
In his new position, Conforti is currently a deputy inspector and will eventually become an inspector.
In a May 13 farewell message on the Precinct Community Council’s Facebook page, Conforti said the precinct had the lowest number of robbers “in modern times” in 2014 and the lowest number of stolen autos and burglaries in 2015 since the 1960s.
He cited the NYPD’s IdeaScale website, which started in the 109th Precinct, as a major achievement under his leadership. IdeaScale is a web-based platform where residents post their quality of life concerns.
“Community-wise, the strength of the community/police partnership has never been stronger,” Conforti wrote. “The dedication that each civic association demonstrates is incomparable. It shows the great pride and concern that each of you have for your community.”
He also touted a new community policing program in which the precinct’s coverage area was divided into six areas—College Point, Whitestone, Flushing, Bay Terrace, downtown Flushing and Auburndale—each with 10 officers who would be dedicated exclusively to one area.
“In just over one month, the results are phenomenal and, more importantly, there are more police officers on the streets of Whitestone, College Point, Flushing and (additionally in) Kissena Park now than have been there in the past 20 years,” he added.
Partridge shot down a rumor that Conforti was being reassigned in light of the ongoing investigation into two police officers who were charged with taking bribes from karaoke club owners in exchange for protection from police raids. She said commanding officers are usually transferred every two to three years.
“This is also due to the fact that he worked closely with IAB (NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau) to help bring this to light,” Partridge said. “So this transfer is giving him more responsibility and leading to a promotion path.”
Conforti’s ties to the precinct are deep. He recalls visiting the arcade at Adventures Inn on Linden Place and 28th Avenue in his early years; buying his first Walkman on Main Street; working at Stern’s Department Store on Roosevelt Avenue, where he met his wife, and going to Fort Totten for the annual summer carnival and fireworks.
He resided in the 109th Precinct area from 1997 to 1999 while he was working as a sergeant in the Bronx, and he has been assigned to the precinct for seven years, serving as both detective commander and commanding officer.
Partridge said his lasting legacy was that he always sought to interact directly with residents.
“He embraced social media and he was able to connect with the community, through IdeaScale especially, and through that he was able to help them with their issues,” Partridge said.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
