Operation Hochul Drop

THE CITY 

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced the latest in a series of subway safety initiatives, placing MTA police officers, state troopers and 750 National Guard members at some of the city’s busiest stations to conduct bag checks.

Following some headline-grabbing incidents underground — including the slashing last week of a conductor that led to what a top transit official called “some kind of work-stoppage charade” by the transit workers union — Hochul said beefing up the uniformed presence in stations will curb rider and worker fears.

“There’s a psychological impact, people worry they could be next, anxiety takes hold,” the governor said. “And riding the subway, which would be part of your everyday life, is filled with stress and trepidation.”

Hochul unveiled a “five-point plan to rid our subways of people who commit crimes” while standing alongside police officers, National Guard troops and MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber at New York City Transit’s Rail Control Center in Midtown.

The five elements are: deploying about 1,000 more uniformed personnel for bag checks; accelerating the installation of cameras on every train and in conductor cabs; a proposed bill that would allow judges to ban people convicted of assault; expanding the number of mental health response teams; and holding regular meetings between transit personnel, police and prosecutors.

The MTA’s police force, which patrols the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, already posts officers at subway stations connected to commuter rail hubs.

The latest anti-crime effort in the subway comes as NYPD numbers show transit crime in 2024 through March 3 is up by 13% from the same period last year and just last week TWU International President John Samuelsen said assaults on workers have increased by nearly 60% from last year.

“No one should have to go through what Alton Scott went through,” Lieber said, citing the veteran subway conductor who was slashed in the neck last week.

Overall, crime in the subway system is rare. According to the MTA’s latest data from January, less than two major crimes took place per one million riders that month. Major crimes are defined by the NYPD as burglary, felony assault, robbery, grand larceny, rape and murder.

Richard Davis, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, praised the plan to put more police in stations, while saying the union’s calls for beefed-up subway security were ignored for months.

“As a result, riders and workers alike have suffered,” Davis said. “While MTA leadership willfully looked the other way, blood has been spilled.”

Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams — who pinned his absence from the latest subway safety announcement on a scheduling conflict — have previously unveiled multiple versions of plans to cut into subway crime and homelessness by increasing the number of police officers in stations.

In an interview on WPIX-11 Wednesday along with Chief Michael Kemper, head of the NYPD Transit Bureau, Adams insisted the new bag checks would not lead to racial or ethnic profiling. 

“We’re not profiling, we’re random based on the count, a number,” the mayor said. “And people who don’t want their bag checks can turn around and not enter the system. You don’t have to come through and do the bag checks, but they are random.”

City Council kills the Mayor's veto of how many stops bill

NY Post

NYPD cops will be forced to report on even their most minor interactions with the public after the City Council on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of the “How Many Stops Act’’ — which he and other critics argued would threaten public safety.

Adams, who fought the bill tooth and nail in recent weeks, failed to sway the two council members he needed to beat the override — which passed in a bruising 42-9 vote.

The Democrat-led council also voted to override Adams’ veto of another bill banning solitary confinement in Big Apple jails.

“These bills will make New Yorkers less safe on the streets, while police officers are forced to fill out additional paperwork rather than focus on helping New Yorkers and strengthening community bonds,” Adams said in a statement after the vote.

“Additionally, it will make staff in our jails and those in our custody less safe by impairing our ability to hold those who commit violent acts accountable.”

Under the NYPD bill, officers will have to record the “apparent” race, gender and age of nearly every person they question — even someone who could just be a potential witness to a crime, or other of the lowest-level encounters.

Adams, a former NYPD captain, and police advocates had been adamant that the bill would bog cops down in a sea of unnecessary paperwork and slow down investigations.

“Today’s override is one more step toward the city council goal: Destroy the world’s best police

department,” NYPD Detectives Endowment Association president Paul DiGiacomo said.

“Thanks to the politicians, the divide between the police and citizens will grow. And so will retirements of our best, most experienced detectives. Heartbreaking.”

 

Army vet ROTC teacher gets carjacked as auto theft continues to climb

 NY Post

Six armed bandits carjacked a veteran teacher outside a Queens high school, pistol-whipping the educator in front of his family and taking off with his BMW and $7,000, cops said.

Christopher Dash was smacked in the head with a gun during the terrifying 5:30 a.m. heist on Jan. 11 outside Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows – one in a recent series of luxury carjackings in Queens.

Dash, 59, was sitting with his wife and 18-year-old son in their car in a lot behind Horace Harding Expressway next to the school when two Dodge sedans approached and blocked them from leaving, cops said.

Five males and a female got out and brandished weapons while demanding the keys and belongings, the NYPD said.

As Dash, his wife, and son got out of the car, the thieves “forcibly removed” their wallets, taking  $7,000 in cash, a cell phone, ID, debit cards, and laptops. Cops did not know why he was carrying that large a sum of money.

One crook hit Dash in the head with a gun, causing a laceration, police said.

 

104th Precenct: Be aware of your surroundings...

 

QNS

Deputy Inspector Kevin Coleman, the commanding officer of the 104th Precinct, encouraged the public to remain vigilant as felony assaults and car thefts are on the rise within the precinct’s coverage area spanning Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village.

During the final 104th Precinct Community Council meeting before the summer break, membership and attendees met inside Martin Luther School, on 60-02 Maspeth Ave. in Maspeth on Tuesday, June 20

As the meeting progressed, the deputy inspector noted an increase in felony assaults (25%) and grand larceny auto incidents (36%) recorded over a 28-day period. The precinct saw five more assaults and seven more grand larceny auto crimes when compared to the same time period as last year. 

NYPD crime stats in June also reveal an increase in both categories between the beginning of the year and June 18, 2023. 

Coleman says the precinct is “headed in the right direction” when it comes to addressing these crime increases, but he also stressed that residents should not engage or interfere with criminal activity. 

“Whenever this happens — and it does happen — that person that goes to engage the perpetrator either gets assaulted, punched or something else happens and obviously it’s not worth risking it,” said Coleman. “If someone’s stealing something and you try and stop them, more than likely they’re not going to listen to you or stop. They’re going to fight back with you and so we want to avoid that.” 

Coleman said there were two incidents where catalytic converter thefts almost turned deadly as one victim was held at gunpoint after confronting the group of thieves. Another resident was punched after approaching the attacker for being illegally parked at a fire hydrant, Coleman said.

Another example of retaliation by perpetrators was regarding a Facebook post showing a group of teenagers who were testing car door handles along 60th Lane and 59th Avenue, in Maspeth. The teens allegedly vandalized cars along the neighborhood after a resident yelled at the trio, all captured on a Ring camera. 

Police also told residents to first file a police report instead of going to social media platforms. Lieutenant George Hellmer, special operations lieutenant for the 104th Precinct, said many incidents go unreported but make their way on social media. 

“We need somebody to come and make that police report. When we do get the police reports, we follow up on every single one of them. So it’s important that 911 is called and a report is generated because we can know all these things, but we can’t charge the person unless we have a complainant saying ‘that’s my property, they’re not allowed to have it,’” said Hellmer, in response to package thefts concerns.

U.S. Congress comes to the "Safest Big City" to hear true crime stories

City council progressive caucus member tells constituents to never walk alone

 

Queens Post

City Councilwoman Julie Won is calling for residents to walk in groups and to try to avoid walking alone at night following a spate of gunpoint robberies in her western Queens district over the last 10 days.

Won took to social media late Tuesday to ask residents to be more vigilant following two muggings occurring at gunpoint Tuesday morning, Feb. 21, with one incident occurring in Sunnyside and the other in Woodside.

The first incident took place on 44th Street at 11:15 a.m., where a 33-year-old man was set upon, while the second occurred around 15 minutes later on 49th Street in Woodside with the victim being a 59-year-old man, according to police. It is understood that the same two suspects carried out both robberies.

The muggings come after three similar incidents in the neighborhood last week.

“Our community’s safety is our top priority,” wrote Won, who represents the 26th Council district that covers Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City and a portion of Astoria.

“Please be vigilant — walk in groups when possible and avoid walking alone late at night unless absolutely necessary.”

The lawmaker said that in light of the crimes, the 108th Precinct has increased its patrol of the area with extra marked and unmarked vehicles, as well as boots on the ground.

Won is also calling for residents to report all emergencies to 911 and wrote that the 108th Precinct holds its monthly community meeting every fourth Tuesday at Sunnyside Community Services, located at 43-31 39th St.

Albany DA repressed from bringing data proving the bail reform laws have failed

 

NY Post

Thank you for having me here to testify about public safety in New York state. 

I’m going to open by saying something you’ve all heard before; the reforms passed in 2017 and 2019, although they were well intentioned and brought about important changes, have been extremely detrimental to public safety. 

What you may not have heard before is a hard truth: that these reforms have had their most devastating impact on black and brown communities. If you take an honest look at the data — the increases in crime, the victims of those crimes and the location of the most violent crimes — the connection is quite clear. 

I’ll set the stage by taking a look at our practices before the reforms. For statistical purposes I will highlight a large metropolitan county and a mid-sized upstate county. 

One area that commanded much attention pre-reforms was the percentage of people who were being held on bail post-arrest but pre-conviction. Let’s set the record straight: that was always low, even prior to bail reform. In Albany County, 40% of the beds at the correction facility were occupied by sentenced defendants and defendants awaiting trial on violent felonies. 

One 2019 study of the jail population in Queens County found that 95% of the defendants being held pretrial were being held on felonies, 41% on violent felonies. 

The perception that many people were being held on minor charges on low bail amounts was always absolutely false. In fact, the same Queens study showed that defendants being held solely because of their inability to post bail on misdemeanor charges had an average of more than five felony arrests, seven misdemeanor arrests, seven misdemeanor convictions and almost three failures to appear. 

At some point, repeated violations of the law and disrespect for the process has to be treated with the level of seriousness it deserves. 

When bail reform took effect just over three years ago, thousands of defendants were released from local jails. In fact, some judges actually started a “soft launch,” if you will, by releasing some defendants in November of 2019 in anticipation of the new laws, apparently to avoid the mass release of thousands of incarcerated individuals on one day — and perhaps the bad press that would garner. 

Among those individuals suddenly released were hundreds of accused drug dealers, car thieves, shoplifters, burglars, and robbers statewide. 

Members of law enforcement have often been told that the suspension of services during the overlapping coronavirus pandemic was the driving force behind the increases in crime in 2020. While that was undoubtedly a contributing factor, that is not a holistic explanation for the decline of public safety. 

We actually do have a short window of time to analyze that was post-reforms but pre-COVID. That would be the first 2 ¹/₂ months of 2020. Crime had already started rising — by a lot — by the time the coronavirus hit. 

In New York City alone, crime rose 20%, ending a 27-year stretch of yearly crime reductions. Crime was up across the board. Burglaries up 26.5%; robbery up 33.9%; grand larceny up 15.8%; car theft up 68%; petit larceny up 19%. 

What a coincidence that each of these crimes became a non-bail­able offense in 2020, meaning that all those previously held on bail on these charges were released by Jan. 1, 2020. If you deny that the release of hundreds of car thieves, burglars, drug dealers and petty thieves had an obvious impact on crime in New York, you’re denying common sense. 

You don’t need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. 

Additionally, the new law created a new form of release: “non-monetary release.” This allows judges to release a defendant without bail but enables them to impose certain conditions, such as requiring the defendant to report to a pretrial agency, seek employment or wear an ankle bracelet. These conditions could only be imposed if the court found that the defendant was a flight risk. 

This release condition was designed to replace bail, while placing some restrictions on the defendant intended to be more impactful than release on recognizance. These were imposed, essentially, on the defendants who would have had bail set under the old law. If they had a prior conviction or pending case, it would be even more likely a judge would have set bail under the old law. 

If we use the Unified Court System’s pretrial data dashboard, and look at the defendants put into the non-monetary release program, we see the following: 

•  Between Jan. 1, 2020 and June 30, 22, 39.6% of the defendants put into NMR got re-arrested while their case was pending. 

• For those defendants put into NMR who had a prior conviction or pending case (79% of the total), the re-arrest rate was 44.6%. 

• For those defendants put into NMR charged with commercial burglary, the re-arrest rate was 62%. For residential burglary, it was 47%. For grand larceny, it was 56%. For robbery third degree, it was 56%. For petit larceny, it was 67%.

However, even these numbers undercount the full scope of recidivism. They do not count re-arrests during the time between plea and sentence, which can run for weeks or months. They only count one re-arrest, so if a defendant gets re-arrested four times while out on bail, it only counts in Department of Criminal Justice Services stats as one arrest. The implicit assumption in all of this, that a career criminal is arrested every time they commit a crime, is naïve to say the least. 

In the mind of someone who is determined to break the law, the ability to repeat offenses over a short period of time with minimal repercussions serves only to incentivize such behavior. 

Speaking of incentivizing behavior with the removal of consequences, the impact of Raise the Age has been comparably detrimental to public safety. Since the implementation of Raise the Age, Albany County has seen approximately 312 Raise the Age cases, involving only 230 defendants. I only say “approximately” because these numbers can change on a day-to-day basis. 

Thirty-four percent of those defendants have been arrested more than once; 19% percent of those re-arrested were detained as minors. Of those re-arrested, 62% were re-arrested for a violent felony. 

But what do those numbers mean? Those numbers mean that transferring a case to family court often leads to the defendant being returned to the very community that led them down that path to begin with. Violent cases need to remain in the adolescent part to prevent further community harm. 

Back to the bail reform law, we should also look at the literal wording of the law, specifically, the words “least restrictive.” These two words from the Bail Elimination Act are specifically referenced by judges when making a determination on bail. That standard often leads to a demonstrably dangerous person being returned to the same environment and community in which they committed their crimes. This helps neither the community nor the offender. 

I’d like to conclude by saying, despite the wild misconceptions, generalizations and assertions of activists about the intentions of prosecutors, our aim isn’t to lock up as many people as possible, for as long as possible. 

The decade-and-a-half period between the Rockefeller Reforms and Pre Bail Reform in 2020 reflect the greatest gains in public safety in the history of New York state. Prosecutors engaging in intelligence-based investigations and prosecutions applied a tough-on-crime and smart-on-diversion approach that ushered in the age of prison closings throughout New York state. 

We understand the complicated nature of social determinants of crime and agree that those should also be prioritized. 

However, pretending that accountability and the immobilization of criminals isn’t a critical part of public safety is akin to pretending the Earth is flat. 

Just because your echo chamber repeats it, doesn’t make it true.

As a public service in my duty as being somewhat a journalist, here again is the full list of criminal offenses that legislators minimized for the bail reform law that has led to the near 30% rise in crime in New York City:

 2nd degree Burglary of a residence
2nd degree Burglary as a Hate Crime
3rd degree Burglary of a commercial building
3rd degree Burglary as a Hate Crime
2nd degree Robbery aided by another person
2nd degree Robbery as a Hate Crime
3rd degree Robbery
Criminal sale of a controlled substance (multiple counts)
Using a child to commit a controlled substance crime
Criminal possession of a controlled substance (multiple counts)
Criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near a school
Criminal injection of a controlled substance into another person
Criminal sale of a controlled substance to a child
Criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance by a pharmacist
Criminal possession or creation of Methamphetamines
3rd degree Assault
3rd degree Assault as a Hate Crime
Reckless Assault of a child by a day care provider
Reckless Assault of a child
Stalking (multiple counts)
Stalking as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Vehicular Assault (multiple counts)
Aggravated Vehicular Assault
Aggravated Assault on a child under 11 years-old
Aggravated Assault on a child under 11 years-old as a Hate Child
Menacing (multiple counts)
Menacing as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Reckless Endangerment (multiple counts)
Promoting a suicide attempt
1st degree Stalking while committing a sex offense
Criminal Obstruction of Breathing
Criminally Negligent Homicide
2nd degree Vehicular Manslaughter
Aggravated Vehicular Manslaughter
2nd degree Manslaughter
Unlawful Imprisonment (multiple counts)
Unlawful Imprisonment as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Aggravated Labor Trafficking
Custodial Interference (multiple counts)
Substitution of children
Coercion (multiple counts)
Coercion as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Criminal Trespass (multiple counts)
Criminal Trespass as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Possession of burglar’s tools
Unlawful possession of a police scanner
Criminal Mischief (multiple counts)
Criminal Mischief as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Criminal Tampering (multiple counts)
Cemetery Desecration (multiple counts)
Aggravated Cemetery Desecration (multiple counts)
Reckless Endangerment of property
Tampering with a consumer product (multiple counts)
Graffiti
Possession of Graffiti tools
3rd degree Arson
4th degree Arson
5th degree Arson
3rd degree Arson as a Hate Crime
4th degree Arson as a Hate Crime
5th degree Arson as a Hate Crime
Grand Larceny (multiple counts)
Grand Larceny at a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Aggravated Grand Larceny of an ATM
Petit Larceny
Petit Larceny as a Hate Crime
Computer Tampering (multiple counts)
Computer Trespass
Unauthorized use of a computer
Unlawful duplication of computer materials (multiple counts)
Welfare Fraud (multiple counts)
Criminal use of a public benefits card (multiple counts)
Criminal possession of a public benefits card (multiple counts)
Unauthorized use of a vehicle (multiple counts)
Auto stripping (multiple counts)
Theft of services
Unauthorized use of a credit card
Jostling
Fraudulent Accosting
Criminal Possession of Stolen Property (multiple counts)
Forgery (multiple counts)
Criminal possession of a forged instrument (multiple counts)
Criminal possession of forgery devices
Criminal possession of a Vehicle ID Number
Forgery of a Vehicle ID Number
Falsifying business records (multiple counts)
Tampering with public records (multiple counts)
Offering a false instrument for filing (multiple counts)
Insurance Fraud (multiple counts)
Health insurance fraud (multiple counts)
Criminal diversion of prescription medications (multiple counts)
Commercial bribery (multiple counts)
Rent Gouging (multiple counts)
Residential mortgage fraud (multiple counts)
Aggravated identity theft (multiple counts)
Bribery (multiple counts)
Perjury (multiple counts)
Bail jumping (multiple counts)
Obstructing governmental administration (multiple counts)
Obstructing governmental administration with a self-defense spray device
Killing a Police Dog or Police Horse
Obstructing emergency medical services
Obstructing governmental services with a bomb
Escape (multiple counts)
Promoting prison contraband (multiple counts)
Resisting arrest
Hindering prosecution (multiple counts)
Making a false sworn statement
Bribing a witness
Receiving a bribe as a witness
Bribing a juror
Receiving a bribe as a juror
Providing a juror with a gratuity
Tampering with a juror (multiple counts)
Tampering with physical evidence
Compounding a crime
1st degree Criminal Contempt – refusing to be sworn in as a witness
2nd degree Criminal Contempt
ALL Gambling offenses
ALL Prostitution offenses
Providing indecent material in minors (multiple counts)
Riot (multiple counts)
Criminal Anarchy
Harassment (multiple counts)
Harassment as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Aggravated Harassment (multiple counts)
Aggravated Harassment as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Aggravated Harassment of an employee by an inmate
Criminal nuisance (multiple counts)
Falsely reporting a crime
Pointing a laser at an aircraft (multiple counts)
Harming a service animal (multiple counts)
Public lewdness
Illegal eavesdropping
Dissemination of unlawful surveillance (multiple counts)
Non-support of a child (multiple counts)
Endangering the welfare of a child
Assisting in female genital mutilation
Endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person
Endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person
Endangering the welfare of a disabled person (multiple counts)
Promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child
Possession of an obscene sexual performance by a child
Promoting a sexual performance by a child
Possessing a sexual performance by a child
4th degree Criminal possession of a weapon
Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds
Criminal possession of a firearm
3rd degree Criminal possession of a weapon
Criminal purchase or disposal of a weapon
Unlawfully wearing a body vest
Unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a vehicle (multiple counts)
Enterprise corruption
Money Laundering (multiple counts)
Money Laundering in support of terrorism (multiple counts)
Corrupting the government (multiple counts)
Criminal solicitation (multiple counts)
Conspiracy (multiple counts)
Conspiracy as a Hate Crime (multiple counts)
Criminal facilitation (multiple counts)

 

Caption Commissioner Sewell

 

  

NY Post 

City straphangers have been more likely to be victims of crime in the last two-and-a-half years compared to before the pandemic, The Post previously reported.

Killings in the subway system since 2020 have also skyrocketed to the highest annual levels in 25 years as the city grapples with an overall spike in random violence, NYPD stats show.

The system had seen nine murders so far this year as of Oct. 31, compared to six during that time period last year, according to the newly released data, according to the newly released data.

The transit violence that has prompted officials to deploy more police officers underground, with the state footing the bill for overtime.

But noteworthy and heinous crimes have persisted, including back-to-back stabbings last Tuesday night that left three people injured including a good Samaritan. 

Usually I just post a picture and just leave it there, but this capture came from the presser announcing this new deployment and that look Commissoner Sewell was giving Adams while he was reading from a script claiming subway crime was down was just too perfect. 

Also from the same press conference, this picture of Mayor Adams presenting honors to two hero cops is just inexplicable.

"The job doesn't care"

 

NY Post

When Jason decided to join the NYPD in the early 2000s, he did it because he wanted to chase down bad guys, seek justice for vulnerable crime victims and above all, help the people who needed it the most. 

But these days, the longtime cop has become disillusioned with the job, and he’s counting down the days until he can hang up his badge and retire. 

“I hate it, I can’t speak enough terrible things about it,” Jason told The Post during a recent interview.

“I want to actually be free, free of this mental abuse that I’ve been through. I don’t wish this profession upon anyone.” 

The Post spoke with 14 current members of the NYPD, including patrol cops, detectives, sergeants and lieutenants spanning a wide range of ethnicities and time on the force, who painted a picture of a department in crisis. 

While anti-police sentiment, criminal justice reforms and progressive politicians are frequent explanations for the crisis given by police unions and NYPD brass, the officers interviewed for this story say their primary issues with the job come from within.

Those problems stem from mismanagement and nepotism throughout the department, being held to unrealistic expectations, answering to a revolving door of out-of-touch chiefs and working among a force that’s turned its back on itself. 

“You’re abused by your own brothers and sisters in blue and harassed to the point of having thoughts of suicide, then have to deal with the hate from the community while still dealing with everyday life stresses,” said Mark, an NYPD cop. 

“I hate this job.” 

Since 2020, a staggering 9,180 officers have left the job – 36% of whom quit before they were eligible for their full pension – and the NYPD is on pace to see more than 4,000 cops retire or resign this year.

As of Sept. 30, 1,628 officers have retired and another 1,426 quit, the most resignations seen since the post-Sept. 11 exodus in 2002 — and more than 2019 and 2020 combined. 

The NYPD is so desperate to stem the bleeding, community affairs officers have been knocking on the doors of people who passed the exam but never moved forward with the hiring process to encourage them to join the academy. 

“It’s one thing to have a recruitment problem, and it’s one thing to have a retention problem,” said John, who works in a busy Big Apple precinct. 

“When you have both, it’s just a perfect storm for f–king disaster.”

20/20 skiddoo.

 

 NY Daily News 

A crew of thieves stole 20 cars in the course of about 20 hours from a Queens dealership, police said Monday.

The crooks repeatedly hit a car lot owned by a Mitsubishi dealership on Liberty Ave. near 156th Place in Jamaica over the weekend, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig.

The Mitsubishi dealership is not on-site, which allowed the robbers to break into a box where the keys were locked up. After driving the cars off the lot, “they kept coming back,” Essig said.

 The thieves made off with used Acuras, BMWs, Mercedes and Audis ranging from 2016 to 2019 models. None had license plates.

Police believe the vehicles are used in robberies and burglaries.

“We know in the past, these go overseas, but now we’re seeing with autos they’re used in crimes — riding around the city, doing gunpoint robberies in smoke shops, on the street corners,” Essig said.

Man mugged in broad daylight by Juniper Park

WANTED ROBBERY: On 10/13/22 @ 1:20 PM @ 62-58 71 St @NYPD104PCT the unknown individual approached a 66-yr-old victim from behind pushed him to the floor assaulted him while removing his property. The second individual operated the getaway vehicle. Any info call us at 800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/hJhCVsl4Qa

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) October 15, 2022

Glendale warehouse homeless shelter continues to be a pit of despair and violence

 

CBS New York 

 The rough conditions inside a Queens congregate men's shelter with about 180 residents have sparked a city investigation.

It comes after a 27-year-old man experiencing homelessness became a whistleblower, sharing photos, videos and his personal ordeal exclusively with CBS2's Dave Carlin.

"I never saw myself in a position like this, ever a day in my life, no," said the man, who wished to remain anonymous.

He moved to New York from Texas a year ago, landed a job in hospitality working fancy events, but the very opposite of that is where he's been sleeping.

"I make about $27 an hour with that company alone," the man said.

"And it's still too hard to find a place?" Carlin asked

"Yep," the man said.

So, he is experiencing homelessness, surrounded by apparent squalor, drug use and violence inside Glendale's Cooper Rapid Rehousing Center with a population of more than 180 men.

He started taking videos and photos of what goes on inside after being harassed and attacked.

"I do identify as queer," the man said. "I was assaulted multiple times. The police came out, they said it wasn't really their issue, it's something that has to be dealt with internally." 

He says he can confirm what many neighbors are claiming about crime spilling out of the shelter and into the community. 

"A lot of drug dealing happening around the area, people doing sexual activity over by the school right behind the shelter, and I've seen this all first hand," the man said. "I did my due diligence in finding my local city councilman and I reached out to him."

On Wednesday, Councilman Robert Holden made sure the young man was reassigned elsewhere to a hotel room.

"He's talented. We want to help him. He did a service to everyone in New York City, showing the conditions of the shelters," Holden said. "Get him an apartment, that's my goal, to get him an apartment."

"I know that something good will end up coming out of this," the man said.

Something good, according to Holden, is the city shutting down the Cooper Center.

"The mayor is looking at it. So is [New York City Department of Homeless Services] Commissioner [Gary] Jenkins," Holden said.

"This is supposed to be a working men's shelter, but time and time again, we have people that have severe mental illness ... that really don't fit with what the shelter was for," Glendale resident Dawn Scala said.

Holden favors facilities with smaller groups of residents so their needs can be handled more effectively.

"It's a de Blasio leftover. We need to change it ... I don't believe that we should put 200 men in one location," Holden said.

Crime issues are her forte against AOC

FOX News 

Winning the Republican primary with 67% of the votes, a challenger to "Squad" member Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wants to take down the progressive firebrand because she's fed up with crime in New York City.

Congressional candidate of New York’s 14th district Tina Forte told Fox News Digital that people are afraid to be out at night because of the city’s rising crime.

She added that she spoke with constituents directly about crime by going to their homes, businesses, and even on the streets of New York.

"They don't come out at night anymore like they used to," Forte said.

New York's 14th congressional district candidate Tina Forte vows to unseat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (Fox News)

Forte went on to say, "They tell me personal stories to be honest with you." 

"I grew up here, I own a business here, I raised my family here.  I see the difference. I see stores closing earlier than when they normally do. You have a grandma and grandpa who don’t come out for a cappuccino at night anymore.  They don't want to come out or if they are out, they head home because it's getting dark. People are afraid to be out at night. Those are the things I am getting back from people as I meet with them."

Although Big Apple murder rates were similar this year compared to last, other major crimes have surged. Police statistics and polls show that New Yorkers are fed up, Fox News Digital reported earlier this month.

Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the most vocal and high-profile lawmakers to demand the defunding of American police departments. In her own district, major crime has climbed steadily over the past two years.

5,000

 

 NY Post

Catalytic converter thieves are revving up their operations in the Big Apple — citywide, the crime has accelerated by 269%  this year — and  on Staten Island, by a meteoric 670%, NYPD data show.

Across the five boroughs, 5,548 catalytic converters have been ripped off through Aug. 14, compared to the same period last year, when 1,505 were reported stolen, according to the stats.

On Staten Island, catalytic converter thefts rose to 362, up from just 47 the year before, for a 670% increase — the biggest surge in the five boroughs.

“It’s really bad. I’m one shop and in the last few months I’ve done [repaired] 15 cars. Ninety-five percent are Honda Accords,” said Nick Dhouib, manager of Ten Point Auto Repair in New Dorp for the last 30 years. “The people complain about the noise,” he said.

One Staten Island auto repair mechanic pointed the finger at the Garden State.

“I hear they are coming from New Jersey. They jump on the bridge [Goethals or Outerbridge Crossing], take what they can and go back to Jersey,” said the shop owner, who requested anonymity.

Queens leads the five boroughs with 2,092 converter thefts in 2022, compared to 574 in the same period last year — a hefty 264% hike.

In Brooklyn “cat” thefts hit 1,534, up from 403 in 2021, a 281 % spike; The Bronx saw 976, up from 286, for a 241% leap; Manhattan had 584 such thefts so far this year, compared to 195 in 2021 for a 199% rise.

A catalytic converter, which contains rhodium, palladium and platinum, is a piece of the automobile’s exhaust system that breaks down some of the smog which would otherwise come out of the tailpipe.

Crooks can get up to $300 for a standard catalytic converter and up to $1,400 for the part from hybrid vehicles.

 

Sleazy hotel torture chamber

NY Post 

A 59-year-old man was lured to a Queens hotel room on the false promise of sex only to be tortured for hours by two suspects who then robbed him, prosecutors said Thursday.

The victim arrived at Hotel Ninety Five outside JFK Airport in Jamaica on Aug. 6, and paid 19-year-old Destiny Lebron for sex after responding to a prostitution ad, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

But the twisted beatdown began as soon as the victim began to undress, according to Katz.

Lebron allegedly threw bleach in her victim’s face before opening the door to let in her alleged accomplice, 22-year-old Gil Iphael.

Iphael charged the victim, covered his head with a blanket and began punching him while demanding his cash, Katz said.

The two delinquents confiscated the man’s car keys, phone and wallet, officials said. 

When the man refused to unlock his phone, Lebron allegedly burned him with a curling iron until he gave in, according to prosecutors.

The duo tried to steal the man’s money by transferring it electronically before making multiple trips to the ATM to withdraw funds instead, the DA said.

The alleged torture continued for hours.

It really doesn't look that bad from the outside. But the reviews say different.

Holdup at Tiffany's

NY Post

Two brazen thieves on motorcycles robbed a group of people dining outside a fashionable Queens cafe — which is located across the street from the office of Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, a major supporter of defunding the NYPD, cops and witnesses said. 

The masked men dressed in all black rode up on the sidewalk and pointed guns at customers who had been relaxing outside the Under Pressure Espresso Bar on 31st Street in Astoria around 3 p.m. Tuesday, police and witnesses said.

“Hands up, don’t move,” they barked at the victims — and said that if they did move, they’d “shoot,” two employees who witnessed the incident told The Post. 

“Two people came on motorcycles and they pointed their gun outside and took some chains and bracelets from some people outside,” said one of the workers, who declined to share their name.

Another worker said about a dozen people were outside the coffee shop when the robbery happened and called the incident “f–ked up.” 

No one was injured, but the crooks took bracelets and chains from an unknown number of people. They fled north on 31st Street and were still at large Thursday.

The gunplay on Caban’s doorstep comes after she published a letter in February criticizing the NYPD for sending an anti-gun unit to the 114th Precinct, which covers the area.

“Our district is already home to some of the highest stop-and-frisk rates in the city,” she wrote. “Now we will also have to contend with the unit that, despite containing roughly 5% of the force, committed nearly 1/3 of all police murders in the 20 years before it was [previously] disbanded.”

When the first employee was told about Cabán’s calls to defund and disband the NYPD, he broke into laughter and called her a “clown.” 

“I should go talk to her,” he said. 

“Is she serious? She‘s going to defund the police? Ha! She got no good reason, bro.”

He called on police to “find” the men responsible for the robbery and “prevent this from happening” again. 

The coffee shop, where an order of cold brew costs $4.50, is about 140 feet away from Cabán’s office, where staffers refused to speak to The Post about the incident. 

“She is not here right now. She’s currently in a meeting,” a worker said when a reporter asked to speak to Cabán about the incident.

Arverne by the sea blues

 

The Wave

Vandalism, car break-ins, and theft. This has become the norm in Arverne By The Sea over the last couple months with multiple incidents making residents question the area’s safety. The concerns have led some at “The Dunes” section of ABTS looking to hire a private security firm. 

“Over the course of two months, acts of blatant, senseless vandalism [have] increased dramatically,” Qin Chen, the president of The Dunes HOA at ABTS, told The Wave. “We had numerous reports that a group of young teens would go through the community yelling, and destroying property. We have over a dozen homeowners who’ve reported cases of vandalism and property damage, which includes rocks being thrown through windows, car windows being stepped on, and random acts of destruction.”

In addition, some residents of ABTS have reported their packages missing, suspecting they are being stolen off their porches. 

To address these security concerns, the Board met with Captain Chris Dipreta, Lt. Ramos Polanco, and Officer Victor Boamah of the 100th Precinct on July 21, according to The Dunes Newsletter.

As a result of the meeting, the precinct “agreed to provide The Dunes with ‘directed’ patrols throughout the week” in hopes of discouraging crime in the area. The officers also urged ABTS residents to “report every incident by either calling 911 or ‘texting’ 911 instead of calling the precinct directly” and purchasing their own security cameras in the hopes of the video footage serving the precinct in future investigations. 

Chen and other members of the HOA are looking into finding private security as well.

Another Sikh person got mugged on the street by a Gurdwara

 

 PIX News

 A mom of three cried Tuesday as she described being attacked when she left her temple in Queens.

A group of three stole her jewelry and threatened her with a gun. She didn’t wan her face shown because she’s scared for her life. The attack on her is the fifth one against Sikh individuals that PIX11 has reported on since April.

The attack comes comes as the Asian American Bar Association released a report revealing overall hate crimes in New York City have spiked. Activists say they want more done to protect Asian American New Yorkers.

The mom who was attacked agreed. For right now, she’s hoping the people who robbed her are caught and see justice.

NYPD investigators said the robbery doesn’t appear to be a hate crime, but that could change as the investigation continues. They’re still looking for surveillance video and witnesses.

Back the unvaxxed blue

 

NY Post

The city’s vaccine mandate has been put on “pause” for the NYPD so the force can avoid losing nearly 5,000 cops and employees as the weather — and crime — heats up, The Post has learned.

Currently, 91 percent of the NYPD’s uniformed cops and other personnel are vaccinated, City Hall says. That leaves an estimated 4,659 NYPD employees unvaccinated despite a deadline to get the shots by Oct. 29. 

“In a nutshell, no decisions will be made, no further members will be forced to leave until further notice,” said a veteran NYPD sergeant, explaining the unwritten rule. “There hasn’t been any memo, just basically keep everything status quo and if issues arise we will revisit it down the road.”

Last month, an undisclosed number of officers received final notices rejecting their requests for religious or medical exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for municipal employees.

But an unspecified number of requests remain pending, letting cops and others in a state of limbo keep working.

 

Return to the South Richmond Hill Horror

 

Impunity City 

Spring in South Queens is off to a despairingly dangerous start, particularly with targeted muggings of elderly Indian Sikh men in the same vicinity that’s located on Lefferts Blvd near a Guawdara Temple one block west. First was a violent assault on a 70-year-old man going on an early morning stroll and a little over a week later two other elderly Sikh men were mugged and robbed by two men on the same corner around the same time. In both incidents, the criminals knocked their turbans  religious headwear off their heads, giving credence to Sikh community leaders theories of being hate crimes against them.

 

The two men involved in the brutal attacks eventually got arrested after being on the lam for a few weeks, one of them who was involved in both crimes. Yet something caught my eye from the Queens Chronicle report after the young man involved in the second attack:

Two Sikh men were attacked Tuesday morning in Richmond Hill near where a hate crime against a member of the same community occurred last week. One man is in custody and another is still at large.

The incident occurred near the intersection of 95th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard just after 7 a.m., according to police, a block from the Sikh Cultural Society gurdwara.

Officers found the two men, 76 and 64 years old, with minor injuries to the head and body. A preliminary investigation determined that the victims were approached by two men who struck them both on the head and body with closed fists and a wooden stick. The victims were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

The assailants removed religious headwear from the men and stole their money. The incident is being treated as a robbery and a hate crime, according to police.

Hezekiah Coleman, 20 years old, who police say was squatting at 95-54 Lefferts Blvd., was taken into custody and charged with robbery, assault, hate crimes and aggravated harassment, officials said.

Police believe the suspect they have not caught also committed last week’s assault against Nirmal Singh, 70, said Community Affairs Officer Scott Adelman of the 102nd Precinct at the Community Board 9 meeting on Tuesday night.

The 102nd has a directed post at 95-54 Lefferts Blvd., which appears to be abandoned. It is believed that both suspects were squatters there.

“That car will not leave until the perpetrator is caught,” said Adelman.

Sukhjinder Singh Nijjar is the chairman of external affairs and the elections commission at the Sikh Cultural Society. He says the society is working with the precinct and hate crimes unit in the aftermath of the attacks.

He hopes to see increased police presence and is working to get a car permanently assigned for the temple area. On Wednesday, he and a group of about 15 community members met at the temple at 3 a.m. to patrol.

“We’re exploring all these avenues to see if we can have this area covered, not only for our local Sikh community, but also many other multicultural communities in this area,” he said, adding that the society will continue to hold elected officials accountable on delivering on their promises.

Strong words indeed, especially to elected officials who continue to remain insouciant to the rapid rise of crime in Queens and the other four boroughs and most of all to the party all the time mayor Eric Adams. But in the case they should hold the Queens Chronicle accountable for getting the address of the house were the suspects were squatting in (twice in the same article). The actual address is 94-54 Lefferts Blvd, and  this house has a sordid past and currently is casting an ominous aura. I covered this house exactly one year ago right after a man was found dead on the porch one morning, a result of being bludgeoned in the head by two other homeless men.

Evidently, this abandoned house has got even worse and more squatters are occupying it even if they can’t get inside.