STREET RENAMING CEREMONY FOR OFFICER THOMAS MARRINAN

 

 

Street Renaming Ceremony

Saturday, September 23rd

1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

 

The intersection of Church Avenue and E. 3rd Street will be named Thomas Marrinan Way to honor the late NYPD officer.

 

Retired Transit Police Officer Thomas Marrinan was shot to death at that site--just about a block from his home--on June 7, 2021, while defending an elderly man who was being harassed by a much younger man.

 

Everyone is invited to join Officer Marrinan's family and friends at the ceremony on Saturday, September 23rd, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the intersection of Church Avenue and E. 3rd Street in Kensington.

HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS FROM THE NYPD

NEW YORK TIMES LAWSUIT AGAINST THE NYPD

If it's successful, a lawsuit filed against the New York Police Department yesterday by The New York Times would make more information about crime available to the public. The Times says there is "a pattern and practice by which the police avoided providing material that the State Freedom of Information Law said must be released."

Two of the requests made by The Times are of particular interest--the NYPD's crime incident reports and hate crimes databases:

One example of the department’s reluctance to give out data involved statistics for minor crimes — offenses like misdemeanor thefts and assaults, marijuana possession and sex offenses other than rape. The department acknowledged last month that it had not forwarded the data to the state since 2002. It was one of only two police agencies in the state that had not done so.

Because those statistics for minor crimes are withheld, this blog's posts about reported crimes only include felonies.

To comment on this post, click on the post's title. Underneath the post, click on "Post a Comment."

DNA LEADS TO ARREST

From The New York Post:

The guys from CSI would be proud.

Investigators pulled DNA from a suspect's cigarette butt and busted him for an August home invasion in Brooklyn, authorities said yesterday.

Paul Gaity, 23, was released after being questioned on an unspecified criminal case at a Brooklyn station house in September, sources said.

Police tested his cigarette and got a DNA match with a cap found in an alley near the scene of the Aug. 23 burglary on Beverly Road in Kensington, sources said. He was arrested Tuesday.

FELONIES REPORTED TO THE 66TH PRECINCT, NOVEMBER 8-NOVEMBER 15

The 66th Precinct informed us of two felonies in Kensington that were reported to them during the week of November 8th through November 15th.

Burglary: November 11th, at 114 Beverly Road, in front of Walgreens. An unknown perpetrator broke the lock on a truck door and removed cartons of cigarettes.

Burglary: November 12th, at 1411 35th Street, between 14th Avenue and Dahill Road. An unknown perpetrator entered an apartment through a bedroom window and removed money and jewelry.

FELONIES REPORTED TO THE 66TH PRECINCT, NOVEMBER 1-NOVEMBER 7

The 66th Precinct e-mailed us about three felonies in Kensington that were reported to them during the week of November 1st through November 7th.

• Burglary: November 1st, at Sandwich World, located at 789 McDonald Avenue, south of Ditmas Avenue. Unknown perpetrators entered the store and removed cash and a checkbook. No arrests were made.
• Burglary: November 1st, at Unimobil, located at 512 Ditmas Avenue,between E. 5th Street and Ocean Parkway. Unknown perpetrators broke the lock on the gate and removed cellphones and calling cards. No arrests were made. 
• Assault: November 3rd, at 411 E. 9th Street, between Cortelyou Road and Ditmas Avenue. An unknown perpetrator struck a civilian with a cane after a dispute on the street. No arrests were made.

ASSAULT ON LOUISA STREET

Three young men--possibly teenagers--were beating up a man on Louisa Street at 10:00 this morning. A neighbor saw them and yelled, and the men ran away. The neighbor then called the police. The thugs stole the man's wallet and phone.

WARNING GIVEN TO JEWISH INSTITUTIONS

The NYPD has issued an advisory warning to Jewish institutions--synagogues, schools, centers, and all other institutions--to be aware of any suspicious, unexpected packages that they might receive. The warning was precipitated by the discovery of packages on UPS and FedEx planes that contain explosives. The packages were intercepted on their way to synagogues in Chicago.

NEIGHBORS RESPOND TO HATE LETTER SENT TO MOSQUE

Several members of the Kensington World's Fair Organizing Committee have sent their reactions to the hate letter received by the neighborhood mosque. Their responses are printed here with their permission.

Annie Ferdous

That is a shameful act for humanity. We don't want it to happen here or anywhere. Let's stay together against such an uncivilized crime.

Jasmina Nikolov

If the Kensington World's Fair taught us anything, it's that we, as a community, embrace the cultures, religions, and backgrounds of everyone who lives here. All neighbors must unite against any hate crimes directed to fellow Kensingtonians. We need to stand with our brothers and sisters to let the world know that hurtful words and actions are not welcome here.

Bridget Elder

We all live here in Kensington together, and while we might not agree on everything, we must be civil and kind to one another. There is no place in Kensington for bigotry and cowardice. The ignorance and venom of this vile act will, not be accepted by this Kensington resident. We must build bridges, not destroy them.

Maggie Tobin

As an immediate neighbor of the Masjid Nur al Islam on the corner of Chester and Church Avenues, I would like to publicly state that many of us in the community find this blatant display of hatred despicable and very unsettling. Though we have had our issues over the years concerning our quality of life and the volume of the call to prayer, we are appalled that this sort of cowardly bigotry would happen to one of our neighbors.

I hope as a community we can reach out a hand and help them feel welcomed here in Brooklyn. After the Kensington World's Fair this past Sunday, I know many of us felt a real bond with our neighbors and that our vision (see below) had been accomplished, at the very least, for the day.

In a neighborhood as diverse as ours, I think we all need to make an extra effort in moving towards our goal of being a unified, cohesive, and respectful community.

Maggie Tobin

West Kensington Action Group

Vision Statement for Kensington World's Fair:

Our vision is to bring the people of Kensington from all backgrounds together for an exciting day of music, dance, art, food and fun! Through communication, education, and the arts we can build a cohesive and vibrant community. We believe that as we all come to understand, respect and know one another, we can create one strong and unified voice and be better advocates for our community!

The Kensington World's Fair Committee

FELONIES REPORTED FOR THE 66TH PRECINCT, OCTOBER 10TH THROUGH 17TH

During the week of October 10th through 17th, thirty-two crime complaints were reported for the 66th Precinct: four robberies, six felonious assaults, nine burglaries, ten grand larcenies, and three grand larcenies auto.

See the CompStat report for comparisons to 2009 for the same week, the past twenty-eight days, the year-to-date, and two, nine, and seventeen years ago.

NOT WANTED IN KENSINGTON

Acts like this and the beliefs that lead to them are not wanted in Kensington. We're sure the police would welcome any information about who is behind it.

Cops are investigating a disturbing letter that was recently mailed to a Kensington mosque.

The secretary at the Masjid Nur Al-Islam Mosque on Church Avenue near Chester Avenue was opening the mail Thursday afternoon when he found the letter, which included a drawing of a man throwing stones at a woman on the floor, sources said.

Under the picture were anti-Muslim slurs.

On another piece of paper in the envelope was a typed statement with more anti-Muslim slurs and a reference to 9/11.

The enveloped [sic] had a return address in Houston.

CRIME IN THE 66TH PRECINCT

Robberies are up city-wide. For the week that ended this past Sunday, they're up 29% over 2009. For the twenty-eight-day period that ended that day, they're up 18.8%. Police attribute the robberies to teens and pre-teens who are stealing cell phones and other personal electronic devices.

This sharp increase in robberies led to a meeting today of the highest ranking uniformed officer and the Chief of Operations with the heads of the NYPD's eight borough commands, and the detective, housing, and transit borough chiefs. 

At last night's meeting of the Albemarle Neighborhood Association, Detective Vincent Galeno of the 66th Precinct's Community Affairs division and Sgt. Mike Andreano of the precinct's Conditions Unit* heard residents enumerate one crime--or attempted crime--after another:

• break-ins into homes,
• cars broken into,
• gang-related activity,
• fights between groups of teenagers,
• a violent homeless man who lives in the Church Avenue subway station,
• hooky parties (where children who are supposed to be in school are drinking and smoking in homes where no adults are present),
• noise,
• prostitution, and
• loitering.

Detective Galeno and Sergeant Andreano were aware of most of the problems that residents described. The precinct is monitoring them in unmarked patrol cars and vans.

In addition, the precinct uses "bait vans" that entice criminals with valuable items placed in the vans that are visible from the outside. When the vans are broken into, the criminal's activities are recorded.

The co-president of P.S. 230's PTA asked if the precinct could send someone to the school to speak to students about gangs, and Detective Galeno and Sergeant Andreano said that it will be arranged. 

A note about loitering: the police can't arrest people who are loitering for purposes that aren't constitutionally prohibited: begging (unless they're being aggressive), asking another person to engage in sexual activity (engaging in sexual activity in a public place, however, is illegal), and loitering in a transportation facility and not being able to give a satisfactory explanation of why they're there.

As of a week ago, an NYPD officer is permanently stationed at the intersection of Church and McDonald avenues. He rides a scooter, and his name is Officer Shum. Hopefully, his presence will have a positive effect on the number of crimes affecting our neighborhood.

Please notify us of any crimes you see or hear about. Let's work together to improve the area. Our e-mail address is karmabrooklyn@gmail.com.

* The Conditions Unit responds to persistent conditions, such as gang activity, graffiti, noisy bar patrons, public drinking, unruly teenagers, drug sales, prostitution, and quality-of-life issues in general.

66TH PRECINCT REPS TO SPEAK AT ANA MEETING

Albemarle Neighborhood Association Meeting

Thursday, October 21st, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Numerous complaints about the amount of crime in Kensington were made by attendees at the September 16th meeting of the Albemarle Neighborhood Association (ANA). In fact, so many people had complaints that the meeting ran twenty minutes overtime.

Because ANA wants these problems addressed, its Program Coordinator, Phoebe Fleitman, has scheduled Detective Vincent Galeno and Police Officer James Vaughan to speak at the October 21st meeting.

Please attend the meeting so that you can speak out about your complaints about crime, your interactions with our precinct, and your observations about the amount of police presence in our neighborhood.

The meeting will be held at the Flatbush & Shaare Torah Jewish Center, 327 East 5th Street, corner of Church Avenue. Enter through the wheelchair-accessible entrance at street level.

Click on the labels (66th Precinct, Crime, Police) under the pencil icon on this post to read additional posts about crime in Kensington.

FELONIES REPORTED 9/20/2010 THROUGH 9/26/2010

66th Precinct

72nd Precinct 

The figures represent felonies that were reported to the NYPD. Not all crimes are reported by their victims, so the figures can't accurately depict the actual number of crimes committed.

NYPD COMMISSIONER MEETS WITH COMMUNITY

At a Town Hall Meeting on Monday night, close to 200 residents met to discuss recent crimes in the neighborhood with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Deputy Inspector John Sprague (the Commanding Officer of the 66th Precinct), Brooklyn Chief Joe Fox, and two New York City Councilmembers--Brad Lander, who represents Kensington, Boro Park, Windsor Terrace, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront, and Park Slope, and Vincent Gentile, who serves on the City Council's Public Safety Committee.

The meeting was held in the office of Councilmember David Greenfield, who represents Midwood, Boro Park, and Bensonhurst and also serves on the City Council's Public Safety Committee.

Hopefully, Kensington can have a meeting like this sometime.

NO MORE TICKET QUOTAS

Residents will be happy to learn that they should be seeing a reduction in the number of unfairly-issued tickets for small violations, such as cars that are double-parked, parked at expired meters, or parked in no-standing zones.

A New York State labor law was recently amended so that police officers can no longer be penalized if they don't meet a predetermined and arbitrary quota for tickets, summonses, arrests, or stops of individuals suspected of criminal activity within a specified period of time. The fear of being penalized for not meeting a quota had led officers to write tickets when it wasn't appropriate.

Quotas are eliminated for state, local, and general violations or crimes that merit a ticket or summons. Officers can now use their power of discretion and find other ways to correct the situation, such as simply admonishing someone.