The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

PLG Police Blotter (and update on petition)

Once again the crime fighting team of Fabri & Martinos bring us the crime report from Sector Charlie of the 71st Precinct. The two go over the reports together every few months and identify those crimes that took place in the area roughly known as Prospect Lefferts Gardens...thus crimes as far east as New York Avenue only, and Empire on down to Clarkson.

As always there are a few fascinating crimes. Like the $70,000 in cash stolen from the bodega near the park on Lincoln Road. A blood pressure machine stolen from the inside of someone's house. The story that "doesn't add up" about a man losing $48K while delivering it to an ATM.

Lastly, though perhaps most importantly, I sat down last week with Jack Lewis at the 71st and delivered the petition, signed by 300(!) of you, to add beat cops to heavily trafficked Flatbush Avenue. His answer wasn't no. It was..."I just don't see the numbers there to justify an impact zone." But then he said he said he'd see what he could do. I told him we'd keep the pressure on. Amy A. also met with Martin Brown, the commissioners liaison, and expressed the same thing. Brown says there are federals grants available from the DoJ for community policing. She and I (both grant writers) will give it a shot. Between that, pressure for beat cops, and the implementation of a C.O.P. program...maybe we can make headway. But I'm not giving up on the petition yet. He was very impressed by the number of signees. Feel free to keep adding friends to the list...a copy will be sent to Brooklyn south, the D.A.'s office, and commissioner Kelly's office as well. It's that important.

Now, the gruesome details:


Crime Report
September 22 - December 18, 2012


Robberies


September 18th, 4AM. 570 New York Ave. Cell taken at gunpoint.

October 1, 3PM. 131 Maple. Cell snatched. Perp arrested.

October 1, Noon. 1042 Nostrand. Cell snatched. Perp arrested.

October 6th, 9:30PM. 1116 Nostrand. Attempted robbery with knife. Perp arrested.

October 10th, 1AM. 198 Lefferts. Attempted purse snatch.

October 12th, 4PM. Lefferts and Rogers. Knifepoint $325 taken.

October 15, 11:30PM. Westbury & Flatbush Ave. Strong arm robbery - victim was physically 

held down and two perps went through his pockets.
October 16th, 5PM. Nostrand and Parkside. Cell snatching.

October 22nd, 8:30. 1222 Nostrand. Cell snatching.

October 26th, 6PM. Fennimore and Rogers. Simulated firearm in pocket, took money, electronics and cell phone.

October 30th, 5:20PM. 135 Parkside. Physically took electronics and cell phone.

November 2nd, 8:30AM. 31 Midwood. Two males stole jewelry from victim.


November 6th, 12PM. 595 Flatbush. Victim was delivering large sums of cash to an ATM on foot. Perp forcibly took backpack full of $48k in cash and fled in minivan. Story doesn't add up.
November 9th, 6:30PM. Bedford & Rutland. Purse snatching. Got credit cards and cash.

November 16th, 2AM. 658 Rogers. Cell phone taken at gunpoint.

November 16th, 4PM. Fennimore and Nostrand. Simulated firearm, cell phone taken. Perp arrested.

November 19th, 2PM. 670 Parkside. Cell snatched. Perp arrested.

November 23th, 6PM. 66 Midwood. Punched victim in the face and stole cell phone.

November 24th, 8:30AM. 260 Hawthorne. Cell snatching.

November 24th, 12:45. Ocean and Winthrop MTA station. Cell snatching.

November 26th, 9PM. 1078 Nostrand. Attempted cell robbery. Two arrests were made.

November 29th, 4PM. Ocean and Winthrop. Simulated firearm on bike. Took cell phone. Perp was arrested.

December 1st, midnight. Lincoln and Flatbush. Victim was thrown to floor and property and cash removed from pockets.

December 5th, 5PM. Rogers and Clarkson. Forcibly took $500 cash.

December 5th, 2AM. 1118 Nostrand. At gun point cell and credit cards taken.

December 8th, lAM. Flatbush and Ocean. Purse snatched.

December 11th. Nostrand and Winthrop. Punched victim took $20 in cash.

December 11th, 3PM. 355 Lefferts. Money and jewelry taken.

December 15th, 4:15AM. 248 Parkside. Forcibly removed electronics, cell phone and money.


Murder

None.

Felony Assaults


October 20th, 3AM. 516 Flatbush. Person shot twice in right leg. Unknown perp. Suspicious circumstances.

October 21st, 4PM. Nostrand and Sterling subway. Female sprayed with unknown substance in face causing pain.

October 24th, 2AM. 590 New York. Three assaults, three victims (two males, one female), all attacked by one male. Arrest was made.

October 26th, 10PM. 610 Flatbush. Multiple gun shots, shot in left foot and right hand. Unknown perp.

October 31st, 2AM. New York and Winthrop. Two people had fight, one stabbed the other with a screwdriver. Arrest was made.

November 28th, 2PM. 479 Rogers Ave. Person fired a gun at a fleeing victim. Victim ran down Maple St.


Burglaries

September 29th, 8PM. 2015 Bedford Ave. Came in fire escape, took electronics.
October 3rd, 12:30PM. 234 Fennimore (private house). Came in through read window, took golf clubs.

October 3rd, 5PM. 40 Lincoln. Perp broke front door, took money and electronics.

October 15th, 288 Hawthorne. Came in through rear window. Took electronics and jewelry.

October 18th, 3PM. 115 Lincoln. Front door broken, stole jewelry.

October 19th, 11PM. 17 Lincoln Rd. Commercial store. Came in from side and stole $70k in cash.

October 21st, 5:30PM. 254 Lefferts. Came through front door and stole blood pressure machine. Arrest was made.

October 24th, 8PM. 115 Ocean Ave. Came in through fire escape, stole money and electronics.

October 31st, 8PM. 355 Lefferts. Came through front door. Attempted to take $30k cash and jewelry. Arrest was made.

November 2nd, 10:30PM. 131 Lefferts (private house). Cut hole in window. Arrest was made.

November 6th, 3AM. 17 Lincoln Rd. Commercial store, came in through gate, arrest was made.

November 6th, 9PM. 342 Rutland. Broke in through front door. Unknown property taken.

November 18th, 8AM. 45 Hawthorne. Came in through front door. Stole $300 cash.

November 19th, 10PM. 146 Lincoln Rd. Came in through rear door and stole jewelry.

November 19th, 10PM. 539 Flatbush Ave. Commercial store, came in through front gate, took $180 in cash.

November 21st, 11:30PM. 523 Rogers Ave. Came through front door, took cell phone and keys.

November 22nd, 7:30. 384 Rutland. Front door, took cash and electronics.

November 24th, 4PM. 306 Lincoln Rd. Commercial truck was robbed, took electronics.

December 10th, 1PM. 290 Lincoln Rd. Took electronics.

December 12th, 7:30AM. 1272 Nostrand. Picked front lock and unknown what was taken.


Grand Larceny (No physical force between victim and perp)
September 29th, 11AM. 127 Clarkson. Jewelry taken from person.

September 30th, 6PM. Ocean and Parkside. Cell snatching.

October 2nd, 9PM. Ocean and Flatbush subway. Pickpocket took money and credit cards.

October 2nd, 1PM. 215 Lincoln Rd. Property and credit cards taken from car.

October 16th, 4PM. Winthrop and Nostrand. Cell taken.

October 24th, 4PM. Clarkson and Flatbush. Pickpocket took wallet and $260 cash and credit cards.

October 30th, 4PM. Fennimore and Bedford. Removed electronics from car.

November 7, 4PM. 400 Empire. Cell snatched. Arrest made.

November 29th, 9PM. Lefferts and Nostrand. Cell taken.

December 4th, 1PM. $900 taken from person.
December 4th, 3PM. 655 Parkside. Cell taken.

December 5th, 9AM. Parkside and Bedford. Cell phone taken.

December 5th, Flatbush and Ocean subway. Pickpocket took credit cards.

December 11, 6PM. Winthrop and Nostrand. Pickpocket took credit card and money.

December 21st, 9:30PM. 608 Rogers. Cell taken.


Grand Larceny Auto


October 3rd, 7PM. 1166 Nostrand Ave. 1997 yellow Nissan stolen.

October 6th, 11PM. 409 Lincoln Rd. 99 Black Volkswagen stolen.

October 7th, 8PM. 271 Lincoln Rd. 95 gray Nissan stolen.

October 12th, 9PM. 115 Ocean Ave. 2003 Silver Ford stolen.

October 25th, 6PM. Ocean and Lincoln Rd. 2006 Black Ford stolen.

October 27th 3PM. 159 Winthrop. 1992 gray Nissan stolen.

October 29, 3PM. 25 Rutland Rd. 93 black Nissan stolen.

November 23rd, 1PM. 259 Parkside Ave. 2006 Gray Honda stolen.

November 30th, 3PM. 40 Lincoln Rd. 2007 Gray Honda stolen.

December 12th, 6:30AM. 68 Hawthorne Ave. 1999 Gray Infinite stolen.


Homicide

None

Rape

None

13 comments:

Bob Marvin said...

RE: items that don't add up, this one seems geographically unlikely:

"November 29th, 4PM. OCEAN AND WINTHROP [emphasis added]. Simulated firearm on bike. Took cell phone. Perp was arrested".

Probably just a typo.

Anonymous said...

Two men ran past me firing guns at each other on Maple St II near Rogers at 2pm directly outside the windows of residential homes where young children were playing inside. (I did not get a good look at them for identifying them if anybody wonders that.) And the NYPD doesn't think we need more visible police presence? Then why did those shooters feel so confident they could do that in broad sunny daylight in the middle of the afternoon and not get caught? This was the same way the woman was shot in the head on Flatbush here a few months ago. It was pure chance I myself wasn't shot in the head as I cleaned my sidewalk. Or my child wasn't shot as he played just inside the windows. It was only luck. We didn't avoid getting hit due to some choice I made, like not going out at night or whatever makes people feel more safe because they don't usually do that. I was standing outside my own home on the sidewalk in the middle of the day. Am I trying to scare people? With apologies, I am, because I don't want people to back down on this with the 71st. We clearly need more presence and more attention.

JDB said...

These reports are always scary. How much crime does there need to be to justify extra police presence? Or is the better question: how much political influence is needed?

Thanks to the Q for pushing the petition. I wonder if there is any way to reach more people for the petition. Perhaps we could find some volunteers to get physical signatures at the Prospect Park and Parkside subway stops. I would be willing to volunteer some time.

At least there seems to be a decent number of arrests for some of the cell phone snatchings. I hope people are heading the NYPD warnings to not walk around with your cell phone out. I understand that's the point of a cell phone but they are just too easy of a target and people are too distracted when using them.

Was there any talk about additional cameras? It seems to make sense that the subway stops and Flatbush should be covered with them. The argument from the police that they are too expensive is just insane. You can find them online for a couple of hundred bucks. In addition they greatly expand the reach of the NYPD without the cost of extra officers. Visible cameras are a deterrent. If the cops won't act on it perhaps one of the nabe associations with a 501(c)3 can raise some money for a couple of cameras.

Anonymous said...

Can we as a community speared the collection of a few twenties from individuals to donate towards the purchase of a few cameras? I think that will send a strong message to the 71st Precinct how serious/concern we are about our safety.

Agencja Aweo said...

Świetny wpis. Znalazłem Twojego bloga w google.

Rudy on Winthrop said...

Dear Agencja Aweo,

We, the readers of the Q at Parkside and the residents of Caledonia, would like to introduce you to two of our friends, NERDZ and NY1.

Kiss kiss!

Bob Marvin said...

Translates as "Great post. I found your blog on google".

I THINK the original was in Polish, but the beauty of Google Translate is that you don't need to know what you're translating from.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

According to my data more than a third of the Q's readers are Polish. Apparently, when run together, theQatParkside@blogspot.com, translates (loosely) into Polish: "attractive young women seeking middle-aged chubby bald men for adventures." Thus the confusion.

As for the cameras, I agree that technology suggests that one should be able to purchase cameras cheaply. But they must be maintained, monitored, data stored, impervious to weather, and ultimately, as with anything involving the NYPD or city unions, regulated, controlled and described in detail in the budget. To make matters worse, I'm sure a contract needs to be awarded, meaning multiple bids and procurement processes. The bias in government is clearly towards inertia...change or innovation is hard to come by, and always more expensive than you'd imagine.

BUT nothing stops a private landlord or tenant from taking pictures from their property. Private cameras are used all the time in our precinct to apprehend criminals. I'm not advocating a camera in every pot, but if there's a known drug or crime location, there's nothing stopping you from taking pictures, provided you can stay out of harm's way of course.

Anonymous said...

I am told from friends on Maple 2 that there's a police car parked regularly on the block with 2 cops inside sitting and chatting and eating. Too bad they werent there when the shooting took place near Rogers but seriously, why are they just sitting there? And if they wanted to park and sit, wouldn't the corner of Maple and Flatbush be a much better choice? Im sure most would agree it is! A perfect example of wasted resources!

MadMommaCarmen said...

Anonymous, you are correct. There used to be a car parked on Fenimore and Bedford with two cops inside eating and chatting. After three days of the same o'le, I kindly knocked on their window and asked them why they're not where the crime actually happens. I didn't get a response, they just told me that I should be on my way. By the time I made it back from dropping my son off at school, the car was gone.

Bob Marvin said...

But Carmen; if they parked where crime actually happened, their lunch might be interrupted and we can't have THAT, can we?

Seriously though, as I reported on Leffertswatch a few days ago, my wife saw a bunch of men being frisked outside of Ray's, so maybe something positive IS finally happening at Maple and Flatbush.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha, the first paragraph of your comment! I'm in tears!

JDB said...

The point on cameras would be to avoid government involvement for the reasons you describe. What I think might be helpful is to have a local 501(c)3 raise the money for a couple of cameras that can be installed on the outside of some willing businesses on Flatbush.