Woodhaven residents said a civilian patrol could help deter crime in places like the London Planetree skate park, where gang members have allegedly set up shop. Anna Gustafson/The Forum Newsgroup
Watch out criminals, looks like Woodhaven’s about to have a new big kid on the block.
Citing concerns about everything from alleged gang activity in the new skate park to muggings and graffiti, Woodhaven residents hope to soon launch a civilian observation patrol that would help take down criminals in their neighborhood.
“We’ve had a number of crimes in the area, and there’s a general sense that we need to do something to feel like we have better control over what’s going on in our community,” Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association President Ed Wendell said of the civilian patrol he hopes is on the streets by the end of the year.
Wendell and other WRBA members are working with Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) and the Glendale Civilian Observation Patrol, or GCOP, to form the organization that would send out neighborhood volunteers to watch for crime in the area that they would then call into the 102nd Police Precinct as soon as it’s witnessed.
Residents and area leaders said they have been particularly concerned about such incidents as the 17-year-old girl who was stabbed 11 times steps from her Woodhaven home at the end of July and the attempted rape in Forest Park last spring, when a 23-year-old woman was attacked by a man wielding a stun gun. Additionally, Wendell said a WRBA member was recently mugged near the London Planetree skate park, located on the border of Woodhaven and Ozone Park. According to Wendell, police told the mugging victim that the skate park has become a hotbed of gang activity – specifically the Latin Kings.
“The reason GCOP and I went to Woodhaven about the patrol was because of the attempted rape that happened in the park, and GCOP wanted to step up patrols in the park and we thought it was a good idea to extend it into Woodhaven,” said Miller, who was a member with the Glendale group for close to two decades.
Miller, GCOP and Woodhaven residents met in the assemblyman’s office last week to discuss the ins and outs of forming the organization, and the legislator said they plan on soon sitting down with the 102nd Precinct’s deputy inspector.
“Having a good civilian patrol brings a lot to that community,” Miller said. “It adds to the number of eyes and ears out on the street, preventing crime from happening.”
In Glendale, for example, the number of graffiti arrests skyrocketed thanks to help from the neighborhood’s civilian patrol that was founded in 1976. Leaders in the 104th Precinct, as well as civic representatives, have called the group an essential part of fighting crime in the area.
“If you’re driving through a community, and there’s no graffiti, it puts a good light on your community,” Miller continued. “Patrolling the area makes it safer, and you can use the patrol for special functions like a parade or a street fair.”
Wendell said he hopes to have about 25 to 30 members to begin with, all of whom would be trained before hitting the streets. The WRBA president said he’d like to send out three to four cars on a shift with two people in a car – and Wendell said residents would like to start with about three shifts per month. In the beginning, the Woodhaven patrol would likely align themselves with GCOP and try to go out around the same time as the Glendale group in the case that they need help or advice.
“I love the officers, but they don’t live here and don’t have a sense of the history of this neighborhood,” Wendell said. “If I see a woman several times on a corner that I know has been the home of prostitution for 35 years, that’s something I can pass along. Or if I see cars parked along Park Lane South and see guys walking into the park, that’ll raise a red flag because that’s where they used to sell drugs. People who have years of history to fall back on could be very, very useful to police. We’re people patrolling our own backyard.”
Those interested in joining, or getting more information, should email the WRBA at info@woodhaven-nyc.org. Participants will have to be 18 years of age or older, and they will be required to go through a background check.
By Anna Gustafson
