Capt. Martin Briffa of the 102nd Precinct took questions about crime in Richmond Hill and Woodhaven at the Precinct Community Council meeting. Behind him, Maria Thomson presided over her last meeting as president. Forum Newsgroup photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.
The 102nd Precinct continues to battle noise complaints and is tightening procedures to slap on heftier penalties, Capt. Martin Briffa told the 102nd Precinct Community Council on June 19.
Briffa said officers are now encouraged to issue summonses for extreme noise without a courtesy warning. “The policy is right now, if we feel that it’s breaking the law, we will issue a summons, no warning,” Briffa said.
Noise complaints have been a repeated topic at the Community Council meetings, and they have ramped up as the weather gets warmer.
“It’s a big problem in this command,” Briffa said. “We’re trying to address it.”
He gave the audience an example of an especially hefty period for complaints—the previous weekend.
Briffa worked the 3 p.m. to midnight shift on June 16 and said by 9 p.m. there were 17 noise complaints in the 311 system.
“It was Father’s Day. There were a lot of parties,” he said. Using the new policy, officers handed out five summonses that night and 11 total through the weekend.
They each carried a $450 fine.
The captain also briefed the audience on a home invasion that took place in May and ended with an armed chase through Forest Park.
Near 94th Avenue and 106th Street, police responded to the break-in.
Briffa said two armed men thought there was $50,000 inside the house and were trying to steal it. “It seemed like people that knew the family,” he said.
One was carrying a 9-mm handgun, and one had a .38-caliber revolver. When police pulled up, one of the perpetrators surrendered on the stoop of the home, Briffa said, but the other took off toward and eventually through Forest Park.
“A chase ensued, and he threw the gun away, thank god,” the captain said. He was chased down and arrested with his partner in the crime. “He had a whole history of crimes and just came out for manslaughter,” Briffa said. “He did 15 years, so he’s back in prison.”
Elections
The Community Council also voted on a new president on Tuesday. Latchman Budhai, a Community Board 9 member, replaced Maria Thomson of the Director Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation.
“Thank you so much for giving me the honor to serve you,” Thomson said, handing off the position to Budhai.
The Community Council’s next meeting will be on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. at The Moose Lodge at 87-25 118th St., Richmond Hill.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
j.dobruck@theforumnewsgroup.com
