MPCA Meeting - Who Are the Police Looking Out For?

 

At Wednesday night's Morris Park Community Association meeting Captain Kentish of the 49th Precinct was on hand to give the crime statistics for the precinct. Overall Captain Kentish said total reported crime was down by one for the week ending February 12, 2023, but car theft or GLA went from four for the same period in 2022 to thirteen in this reporting period or a gain of 225%. He said the reason was that people leave their cars running while going into a store and when they come out their car is gone. He also mentioned that a Tic-Tock Dare is to steal Hyundai and Kia cars. 

Twenty-six car have been picked up from the streets of the 49th Precinct, seven were reported stolen, eight were abandoned, and eleven for other reasons. The Precinct received over one thousand 911 calls since the beginning of the year, and ninety arrests have been mae alone at the Rite-Aid Drug store around the corner from the MPCA. Crime Prevention Officer Mederos spoke about the new Smoke Shops that are opening up all over the Precinct. He said that the police are no longer allowed to confiscate any illegal merchandise including Marijuana, because it is now up to the Sheriff's Department to do that. He said one of those stores nearby was robbed last week so now the police are protecting the illegal smoke shops from being robbed by patrolling around them and going inside to see if everything is all right. 

Questions that came up included two about the Just Home proposal at Jacobi Hospital to house sick current Rikers Island detainee or inmates there, and allowing them to be free to go into the community and on mass transit alone and have unchecked visitors. Captain Kentish answered that the police would only be involved if a crime was being committed and they were called. More police patrols were called for by different community residents.

Other community subjects that came up after Captain Kentish left including the closing of St. Francis Xavier school nearby the MPCA, and how it will impact the community. The student population is at a low of one-hundred and fifteen children who will be merged into nearby St. Clares school. The ubject of the local Councilwoman already in favor of a Bally's Casino by the Trump Links Golf Course in Ferry Point came up but the councilwoman' representative had no information on the Casino. The Senior Center at the MPCA on Bronxdale Avenue will be open from 10 AM - 2 PM, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Captain Kentish (middle) giving the crime Stats for the 49th Precinct. 

Crime Prevention Officer Mederos points to the nearby Smoke Shop that was robbed, and how the police are going to visit the Smoke Shops to try to keep them from being robbed.