Officers from the 114th Precinct are hoping to better address quality-of-life concerns for Astoria residents through a series of “Safety Summit Meetings.”
Deputy Inspector Peter Fortune, the commanding officer of the 114th Precinct, announced at a community council meeting on April 25 that his Neighborhood Coordination Officers (NCOs) would hold four meetings in May and June to help solve issues in specific sectors.
The NCO program was rolled out in October 2016 and the 114th Precinct was divided into four sectors instead of 13. Two NCOs were assigned to each sector to engage the community and identify recurring problems in specific patrol areas.
The program has been rolled out in several precincts and the NYPD hopes to expand it. According to Fortune, the program has led to a decrease in violence and shootings throughout the city and an increase in community interaction.
Fortune said the officers will discuss crime, quality-of-life issues and public safety. Elected officials will also be present at each meeting. Depending on the sector Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer or Councilman Costa Constantinides will join the meeting. If they cannot make it, a representative will be present.
“We’re looking for a turnout where we’ll all come out, we all sit down — [the] community, elected [officials] and Police Department — to figure out the problems and solutions to your problems,” he said. “We want as big of a turnout as we can get.”
The meeting with NCOs patrolling Sector A (Astoria Boulevard South to 37th Avenue and Steinway Street to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway) will take place on June 1 at Boulevard Gardens Assembly Hall at 54-17 31st Ave. It will begin at 7 p.m.
The Sector B meeting (19th Avenue to Astoria Boulevard North, 20th Avenue to Hoyt Avenue North and Shore Boulevard to 81st Street) will take place on June 7 starting at 5 p.m. at Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden at 29-19 24th Ave.
Those who live in Sector C (Astoria Boulevard South to Northern Boulevard, Hoyt Avenue South to Northern Boulevard and the east side of Steinway Street to 21st Street) can attend the meeting on May 22 at the Boys and Girls Club located at 21-12 30th Rd. It will begin at 6: 30 p.m.
The Sector D meeting (Astoria Park South to Queens Plaza North and the west side of 21st Street to Main Street) will take place on May 25 at 7 p.m. at Queens Library in Long Island City located at 37-44 21st St.
Light refreshments and water will be served at each meeting.
Fortune also went over crime stats from March 27 to April 24 and announced that the precinct has seen a 15 percent reduction in crime since the same time last year. For the reporting period, the precinct has seen no homicides, no shootings, a reduction in grand larcenies by 26 percent and a reduction in car thefts by 55 percent.
Robberies have stayed flat but burglaries and rapes have seen a spike. There have been 5 reported rapes during this period but Fortune said 3 suspects have been arrested while the other 2 are known to police and investigations are ongoing.
Though burglaries are up by 5 incidents the 114th Precinct is on track to see the lowest amount of recorded burglaries since the modern Comp Stat era.
