Capt. Thomas Pascale, Commanding Officer of the 106th Precinct, addressed the members of the Ozone Park Civic Association about two important issues at their monthly meeting on Tuesday evening.
The Captain first drew the attention of those in attendance when he answered questions from residents who had read an article in Tuesday’s Daily News about what was labeled a surge in crime in the 106th Precinct.
Residents were concerned after State Sen. Joe Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) was quoted in the article, which said that there were increases in crime in areas of the 106th not immediately near the Aqueduct casino as a result of police being removed from those areas and being dispatched instead to the racino.
In his answers, Pascale referred to the article as inaccurate and as containing misinformation, assuring the residents that overall crime was instead actually down in the precinct. Those facts are indisputable according to the Captain because they are based on official department-issued statistics. A look at the COMP STAT report for the first week in May reflects an overall decrease in crime in the 106 year-to-date of 2.66 percent. Grand larcenies—as with the rest of the city—have spiked.
When asked about his reaction to the statement that the article was inaccurate, Addabbo told The Forum that his quotes were based on discussions he had with members of the 106th Precinct Community Council, including its president, Frank Dardani, CB 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton as well as other civic leaders and concerned residents. Addabbo said he was scheduled to meet with the Captain on May 17.
“The bottom line,” said Addabbo, “is that my residents could care less about numbers. They want to see cops on the street.” And as far as “the numbers,” the senator was quick to point out that they are not really dependable. He cited several reasons, such as many crimes not being reported—a point often countered by police sources. They say it is a ridiculous notion to think that serious or substantial crime would go unreported. Pascale gave his thought on that at a recent meeting held at the Lindenwood Alliance. A resident questioned whether most instances of theft are reported and Pascale gave the example of the average set of tires and rims that is the target of many auto vandals—“the set is valued at about $4,000,” the Captain noted. “How many people do you think are going to eat that loss themselves? Insurance companies require a police report to make a claim, which pretty much guarantees one gets filed.”
Addabbo maintains that his priority is getting even more police assigned to the precinct. “No matter what the numbers say, it is clear that the presence of the racino mandates the need for more personnel.” He said that other area precincts in his district got the same number of police as did the 106th when clearly the need here is greater. “The bad thing is that new recruits don’t come at least until the end of the year, if then at all,” Addabbo said. “The only other place to get them is to pull them from other precincts and that’s something none of us ever wants to do.”
On another note, the Captain continued by advising the members to steer clear of the ATM’s at Capital One Bank on Cross Bay Boulevard after video footage from the weekend tapes showed a man installing a card skimmer onto the machine at about 8 30 a.m. on Sunday.
The Captain warned that anyone who uses that machine could find fraudulent charges on their card, as did one man who made a complaint to the precinct on Monday morning.
Police from the 106th were dispatched to the location and posted consumer warnings on poles around the bank. “People have to be aware,” said Community Affairs Officer Kenny Zorn, “that this stuff goes on all the time and banks do not traditionally go out of their way to let people know about it. The police department requires that citizens have the information to best protect themselves and we will continue to let them know about situations like this.”
According to police sources, the average number of visitors that frequent the ATM machine is about 30. That means that during the hours before it was discovered, the card skimmer could have read over three hundred cards.
By Patricia Adams
