NYPD Deputy Chief David Barrere, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, front right, discusses the Police Department’s plans to fight crime in the Howard Beach area with Councilman Eric Ulrich, center; Howard Beach/Lindenwood Civic President Joann Ariola, second from left; and other civic leaders last week. Photo courtesy Councilman Eric Ulrich
Following a recent rash of criminal activity in the Howard Beach area, residents said they are – tentatively – breathing sighs of relief after the NYPD ramped up police presence in the beleaguered neighborhood over the past week.
After hundreds of residents turned out to a meeting of the Howard Beach/Lindenwood Civic last Tuesday evening to discuss a litany of concerns surrounding home invasions and burglaries, the NYPD deployed the Queens South Task Force to work in Howard Beach and Lindenwood in an effort to supplement the 106th Precinct’s patrol. Additional marked police cars have been in the area, and one of the task force vehicles had a license plate reader that monitored vehicles coming into and out of the area.
A command post truck has been stationed at 160th Avenue between 88th and 89th streets, near PS 207, to assist with what NYPD Deputy Chief David Barrere, the relatively new commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South, called “our burglary deployment plan.”
An increase of police officers have also been assigned to the area for additional police visibility – something residents said they took note of this week.
“With these additional resources, it is only a matter of time before the person(s) responsible for the recent spike in crime is arrested and brought to justice,” Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) said in a prepared statement. “Howard Beach is a safe community, and I will do everything I can to help the NYPD keep it that way.”
Just after last week’s civic meeting, Ulrich met with Barrere, Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff, the commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, and members of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic to discuss the rash of crime that includes five reported burglaries since March 22. According to the NYPD, the burglars broke in through side doors and side windows, and the majority of property that was taken during these crimes included jewelry, electronics, and cash. Police noted that the residences had alarms and/or internal or external cameras that were not activated.
Schiff said that following last week’s civic gathering his officers have been distributing flyers with information about the crimes in the neighborhood.
“There have been an alarming rash of house burglaries this past week in the Howard Beach area, which we have identified as a pattern,” Schiff wrote in an email to the community last week. “There has also been a spread of information about these break-ins that are erroneous. In order to combat this invasive crime and misinformation we wish to inform you of what exactly is going on in your neighborhood and the manpower we have to put into stopping these crimes.”
