Mike McLoughlin and Sophia Vailakis-DeVirgilio stand outside her home in Broad Channel, where McLoughlin was attacked by two thieves stealing copper piping from her house that has been vacant since Hurricane Sandy. Anna Gustafson/The Forum Newsgroup
After a Broad Channel man was attacked by thieves swiping copper piping from an empty house on West 12th Road last month, representatives from the 100th Precinct told residents at a meeting last week that police will begin making random patrols of the area in an effort to deter the criminals who have targeted houses left vacant by Hurricane Sandy.
“I’m really, really excited about it – they were so concerned and responsive,” said Sophia Vailakis-DeVirgilio, who owns the house that the thieves hit last month.
Vailakis-DeVirgilio’s longtime f r i end and ne ighbor, Mi ke McLoughlin, was attacked by two men taking her copper pipes when he went to her house to collect mail on June 6 – something he has done for her, her husband and her 10-year-old daughter after the hurricane forced the family to seek refuge in Brooklyn until they could afford to repair their house that was devastated in the storm.
Upon hearing a noise around the back of the house, McLoughlin went to investigate and was confronted by a man exiting the back door with copper pipes.
“He started hitting me, and I got him in a headlock,” McLoughlin said in a previous interview. “I didn’t know he had a partner, who came from behind and started beating me.”
McLoughlin, Vailakis-DeVirgilio and four other residents from West 12th Road attended the precinct meeting – which they were invited to by 100th Police Precinct Community Council President Danny Ruscillo, Jr. – last week to discuss this incident, as well as other thefts that have occurred on a street where about half the homes remain empty because individuals and families cannot afford to move back into their homes after Sandy.
As a result of that meeting, the precinct said officers will make random patrols of Broad Channel streets – which Vailakis-DeVirgilio said could be a big deterrent for criminals who no longer will know if they could run into a cop while lugging piping out of homes.
“And they asked people from West 12th to continue coming to their meetings,” Vailakis-DeVirgilio said. “It was such a positive experience.”
Additionally, NYPD representatives told residents at the precinct meeting that they can contact the police if their house is vacant so the cops can make sure to provide more attention to those sites while patrolling.
As part of the city ’s House Watchers program, Broad Channel residents – and others living in the 100th Precinct – can contact Officer Erich Hilmer at erich.hilmer@nypd. org or by calling (212) 253-3173 to report that a house is empty because of Hurricane Sandy.
Peter Mahon, a Broad Channel civic leader who runs a blog, w12thrd.blogspot.com, devoted to Hurricane Sandy issues, also praised the 100th Precinct, and specifically Capt. Craig Adelman and Ruscillo, for their attention to the problem.
By Anna Gustafson
