Dromm Visits COMET Meet, Talks Present, Future Plans

COMET President Rosemarie Daraio (seated) looks on as City Council Member Daniel Dromm addresses the crowd. (photo: Sam Goldman) The area’s newest lawmaker came to the Monday, Mar. 1 Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together (COMET) meeting at Bethzatha Church of God in Elmhurst to talk about his work so far and his future plans.

City Council Member Daniel Dromm told the crowd that his Jackson Heights office is “off to a good start,” with 30 of 48 constituent cases solved at the time of the meeting.

Among the issues solved are tree plantings, pothole filling and social service requests.

Dromm also told the crowd that he wants to add seats to School District 24, adding that he hopes to persuade the Department of Education to lease the Blessed Sacrament School building in Jackson Heights.

The topic shifted to health care, with Dromm telling residents that Elmhurst Hospital Center is straining to accommodate the increase in clients stemming from the loss of nearby St. John’s Queens Hospital.

As a mitigation measure, he wants to add more primary care facilities to the area, to prevent residents from “using Elmhurst (Hospital) as a doc- tor’s office,” leaving the staff to tackle more urgent cases.

Finally, he shifted to quality-oflife issues. “We have a lot of plans,” said Dromm. “I believe in the broken windows theory.”

One plan involves getting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to lease some of the commercial spaces at the 74th Street/Roosevelt Avenue transit hub, which Dromm claims is quickly becoming dilapidated inside.

He then took questions from the crowd, including one from Ellen Kang on how he plans to help small businesses in the area.

Dromm pledged to “cut that red tape” and reduce the amount of paperwork necessary so small businesses get up and running faster.

104th Precinct

Capt. Raymond DeWitt, the precinct’s executive officer, announced that 2009 saw every crime but burglaries drop in the 104th Precinct.

DeWitt added that burglaries rose 40 percent over the past 28-day period, with five happening in the portion of the precinct serviced by COMET. One felony assault, two grand larcenies and one auto theft were also reported in COMET territory over that period, P.O. Thomas Bell of the Community Affairs unit reported.

Of the five burglaries in COMET land, four took place in residential properties, Bell noted; the fifth was at a construction site, where copper wiring was stolen.

DeWitt also stated that the precinct has run several fencing operations—“ like a reverse sting”— where undercover officers attempt to purchase stolen property. Twelve fencing arrests have been made so far by the 104th Precinct from 11 operations at 27 locations.

Finally, arrests have increased by almost 11 percent in 2010, DeWitt stated.

108th Precinct

Det. Juan Toro’s report was short—no crimes in the 108th Precinct occurred in COMET’s neck of the woods, according to the Community Affairs officer.

110th Precinct

Det. Richard Garland of the 110th Precinct Community Affairs unit reported a “little uptick in crime” precinctwide, with robberies, burglaries and felony assaults all increasing over the past 28 days.

In the two sectors that are in the civic group’s territory, four grand larcenies, four burglaries, one auto theft, one felony assault and one rape (a daterape) were reported.

Garland noted that the common denominator in all burglaries throughout the precinct were that they all take place during work hours and involve criminals who attempt to enter homes through the backyard.

To combat the rise in crime, Garland announced that the 104th Precinct is loaning 17 officers and one sergeant to help.

Other news

Jeff Gottlieb, representing State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, announced that a bill that would regulate freight train exhaust—an issue that has plagued portions of Maspeth and Middle Village— is ready, but the three lawmakers involved in the effort (Addabbo, Assemblyman Mike Miller and City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley) are checking to ensure the language doesn’t interfere with federal statutes.

Lydon Sleeper, representing Crowley, blasted the plan to cut student MetroCard funding.

He also noted that Crowley is working with Department of Transportation staff to aid in the regulation of commuter vans, an ongoing problem in COMET’s neighborhood.

COMET’s next meeting and will take place on Monday, Apr. 5 at Bethzatha Church of God, located at 85-20 57th Ave. in Elmhurst.