FAST SPEEDS ON AREA STS.

As shown seated from left to right, COP104 President Barry Nisenson welcomed 104th Precinct Capt. Raymond Dewitt (the command’s executive officer), City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and P.O. Thomas Bell of the precinct’s Community Affairs Unit. Speeding, homelessness and graffiti were among the issued tackled at the Oct. 21 Committee of Organizations of Precinct 104 (COP104) meeting at Maspeth Town Hall.

“Everything’s going in the right direction,” Capt. Raymond DeWitt, the precinct’s executive officer, told the crowd.

In 2009, major indexed crime has decreased by seven precent, with drops in every category but one— burglaries.

Captain DeWitt did note that over the past 28-day period, burglaries have decreased by 34 percent, thanks in part to a “blast team” on loan from Patrol Borough Queens North. The 104th Precinct has been given “exclusive” use of the team from Assistant Chief Diana Pizzuti, DeWitt said.

In addition, according to DeWitt, the precinct “created our own mini task force,” working with additional personnel provided by the NYPD and the 83rd Precinct to keep an eye on area pawn shops and individuals with patterns of recidivism.

“We’ve been scattered all over the precinct,” DeWitt told Rosemarie Daraio of the citizens of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together civic group.

The precinct is also up in arrests, with 14 percent more collars year to date and over 54 percent more in the previous 28 days.

“We’ve had arrests by patrol personnel, the guys in uniform that you see,” he said, “but most of our arrests come from our plainclothes Anti- Crime, Conditions guys, the guys that you don’t see.”

Graffiti arrests are up over 50 percent in 2009, and five percent more traffic summonses have been issued. DeWitt would add that the precinct “is targeting drivers with cell- phones,” with traffic accidents down by half.

Daraio asked DeWitt about accidents on the Long Island Expressway service roads near Grand Avenue in Maspeth. He replied that “pedestrian accidents are up, but they’re very low,” adding that seven of the eight pedestrian accidents occurred at crosswalks or traffic lights.

Daraio refuted DeWitt’s claim that the pedestrians aren’t paying attention, claiming that speeding cars make the intersection dangerous.

“Just because nobody is getting hit doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous,” she told the executive officer.

Juniper Park Civic Association President Robert Holden asked for the number of speeding tickets the precinct has doled out. DeWitt did not give a number, but claimed that the number is very low.

“That’s not acceptable,” replied Holden, claiming that the busy thoroughfare needs more police presence, including officers trained in the use of radar guns. He added that perhaps the precinct could get additional traffic safety personnel the same way they received additional anti-burglary personnel.

Another resident alerted the precinct to speeding issues along Juniper Boulevard South, as drivers attempt to get from 69th Street to Woodhaven Boulevard.

Handing out speeding tickets would “just be too easy,” the homeowner noted.

“The speeding issue is definitely something we can improve on,” De- Witt stated.

Homeless persons

Another issue brought up was homelessness. In addition to issues (reported in earlier issues of the Times Newsweekly) regarding homeless persons at Cowbird triangle in Maspeth, several residents (Daraio among them) reported seeing persons squatting in a boat parked in a resident’s backyard.

DeWitt told the crowd that they cannot investigate reports of persons on a boat on private property.

P.O. Thomas Bell of the precinct’s Community Affairs Unit assured the residents that he would reach out to the boat’s owner, adding that the Department of Buildings may investigate whether a boat can be kept in a resident’s backyard.

He also stated that Community Affairs officers have been at locations in Maspeth where homeless persons have been known to congregate. While polite, they have refused aid.

“We went out there to do enforcement against them and we’ve issued them summons,” said Bell. “They weren’t disrespectful.”

Graffiti

Finally, graffiti was on the mind of one resident who claimed that vandals have been tending to an area on Hamilton Place near 65th Street, “weed-whacking” the area to make room for their work.

Barry Nisenson, who ran the meeting, alerted DeWitt and Bell to a tow truck operation on Flushing Avenue that was previously summonsed, claiming that the operator “has not learned his lesson.” Holden added that the trucks were parked and double-parked without plates.

The officers said that the precinct would be back, with a “Vulcan op” in the works to target auto body shops throughout the precinct.

Crowley on flyer bill

City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley argued with Holden about a bill she introduced that would thwart a repeat of a recent incident where organizations who were responsible for the Maspeth Street Fair held over the summer were hit with stiff fines.

According to Crowley, the Department of Sanitation went around the neighborhood collecting flyers posted around the area—put up by a local Boy Scout troop on the fair’s behalf—and waited weeks before fining the groups for each flyer posted.

“I’m not really for that. Most of those things end up on the ground,” said Holden. “I don’t care if they’re a not-for-profit. They should know better.”

Crowley countered that the focus of the bill is to prevent the city from “trying to make a quick buck off small businesses.”

COP104 generally meets on the third Wednesday each month at 7:30 p.m. at locations throughout Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village. For more information, call 1-718-651-5865.