Pessimists attending the March meeting of the 108th Police Precinct Community Council might feel their gloomy outlook had some justification. At the meeting, at Sunnyside Community Services on 39th Street, 108th Precinct Commander Deputy Inspector Thomas Kavanagh said that more than 45 percent of precincts in the city (34 of 76) are reporting gains in index crimes, and the 108th must be counted as one of them. Felony assaults and grand larceny auto had far greater numbers than in March 2009, while homicide, rape and robberies stayed even. During the question period, the latest hot trend in crime, tire and rim theft, was reviewed. Also gone over was the case of a Long Island City man whose aversion to noisy children led him to a disturbing act and statement.

The commander reported that a shakenbaby incident that led to the infant’s death was classified as a homicide. The two rape incidents reported involved persons familiar with each other. A number of robberies occurring in Woodside in the area taking in streets numbered in 50s and 60s near Queens Boulevard involved Asian- American women who were knocked down, often at bus stops, by assailants who then fled with their purses. That the assailants might actually be one person has not been determined. There were 15 felony assaults, up from last March’s five, but most led to quick arrests, the commander stated. The burglary count is on the rise, with prime areas being Sunnyside south of Queens Boulevard in the 40s and Woodside in the 60s near 37th Avenue. The commander said that in many instances there were few broken windows, since the perpetrators had been able to get in through windows helpfully left open for them. A man carrying burglary tools was arrested on Queens Boulevard. Notable commercial burglaries occurred at KFC, 57-11 Queens Blvd., and Game Stop, on the northwest corner of Queens Boulevard and 48th Street. Grand larceny was off slightly, but grand larceny auto was increased by half (though actually down from the month before). The hot brand for auto thieves is Toyota; not so surprising is the news that a few victims left their keys in the ignition while away from their automobiles

When asked about attrition in the Police Department, Kavanagh said that since the academy classes of 1990 and 1991 were not large, the retirement number this year and next should not be large either. He foresaw no new strength, but no great losses, either. He suggested that a lessening in quantity is being offset by an increase in the quality of detection, and cited the case of a burglar operating on Skillman Avenue before being arrested last year. The perpetrator was caught through identification of his DNA. The commander said that in years gone by, his case would have gone unsolved.

A man in the audience described being the victim of a car stripping. On 49th Avenue, near 11th Street—not far from precinct headquarters, he emphasized— the tires on his Infiniti were all stolen. Lieutenant Mark Wachter said that tire and rim stripping has become a citywide problem, with side mirrors also in demand. He said that strip gangs will take hours of preparation on target automobiles, loosening lug nuts, then going away and returning to loosen more of them, then finally returning, putting blocks under the cars and pulling tires and rims of with efficient dispatch. He said that wheel locks are no impediment, citing a case in which locks didn’t prevent a thorough wheel-strip of a high-end Mercedes on a street in Forest Hills. People may be glad to live in quiet neighborhoods, but quiet streets in the early morning can be hives of crime, such as was described, Kavanagh said. Wachter said that planting a high-end car on such a street, in hope of trapping thieves who come around to strip it, has its limits. The car model for such a sting operation may not be the one that thieves are currently targeting.

The arrest of a man in Long Island City who had demonstrated a great deal of hostility toward children disturbed the attendees. He lives near P.S. 150, on 43rd Avenue at 40th Street, and had for some time made it known that he found the children in the schoolyard intolerably noisy. It got to the point where he painted some unpleasant graffiti for the kids to read and later went to City Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer’s office at 47th Street and Queens Boulevard to complain and suggest that if the children persisted in being noisy he might have to take action with a rifle. He was detained by police for questioning.

Kavanagh concluded the meeting with a note on cutbacks; specifically, that next year’s St. Patrick’s Parade, on the first Sunday in March, would see 25 percent less police coverage than had been provided in the first decade of its existence.