A small number of community members attended the 104th Precinct Civilian Observation Patrol’s (104COP) last general meeting of the year inside Christ the King High School on Thursday, Nov. 10.
During the meeting, 104COP President Elizabeth Delacruz recognized the successful participation of neighborhood-wide events, including the 52nd Annual Glendale Kiwanis Halloween Parade on Oct. 31. She also welcomed a member from Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar’s office. Rajkumar was the only elected official represented at the meeting.
Leading the conversation for the majority of the meeting was public safety, especially as crime continues to plague the city.
“As you all well know, crime in the subway has spiked so bad that, as I was telling my family the other day, now it’s usual to hear someone was pushed in the subway, someone was stabbed, murdered, mugged, violated,” Delacruz said. “It’s becoming a norm in New York City.”
The violent mugging of a 66-year-old man in Juniper Valley Park in October was also referenced by Delacruz as an example of how the crime wave has reached the confines of the 104th Precinct.
NYPD crime stats for the 104th Precinct also revealed a rise in crime year to date. The precinct responded to 13 transit-related crimes so far this year, along with 57 more robberies and 80 more grand larceny auto cases compared to this time last year.
The 104COP encourages those who wish to be part of the organization to reach out through its website and reminds potential candidates of its prime directive to help observe and report.
