Browsing Tag

crime

Brooklyn Heights, News, Police Blotter

Police Seek Brooklyn Heights RadioShack Robbers

November 24, 2012

Police have released a photo of a “person of interest” they say may have information pertaining to a trio who robbed the RadioShack on Montague St. on the afternoon of October 28, as well as two others in Brooklyn and Queens.

In each incident, three males allegedly entered the establishments while wearing ski masks, brandished weapons, and corralled the employees to the back of the stores while they made off with cash and electronics. In the third such incident, at a RadioShack on Liberty Ave., the man shown here was observed talking to a store employee before the robbery occurred. As a “person of interest,” he is not necessarily considered a suspect, but is sought for questioning.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/52232

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News

D.I. Mark DiPaolo Leaving 84th Precinct Command for New Assignment

October 23, 2012

Deputy Inspector Mark DiPaolo, who has served as Commanding Officer of the 84th Precinct for the past four years, is being reassigned by the NYPD to command the 90th Precinct, in Williamsburg. His successor at the 84th will be Captain Maximo Tolentino.

D.I. DiPaolo offered these parting words:

Though I am excited about the challenges and tasks of [my new] assignment , I would be remiss in not admitting that I will miss the Precinct and community that I have called home for the last four years. I would like to thank all the members of the community for their past cooperation and help in reducing crime. I will miss the bonds and relationships that were formed. I truly appreciated the partnership created that is needed to be successful in running a Police Precinct. I would sincerely like to thank members of the community for the their sympathy and support during the tragic event that took the life of P.O. Alain Schaberger.

In closing, I am comforted by the fact that the 84th Precinct is getting a great choice in Captain Maximo Tolentino as its new Commanding Officer. I have no doubt that with the assistance of Precinct personnel and this wonderful community there will be continued success in our goal to always make this community a safer place to work and live.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49622

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Brooklyn Heights, News, Police Blotter, Real Estate

Brazen Burglar Hits Two “75s”

October 11, 2012

Police are looking for this man who is wanted for burglarizing an astonishing seven apartments in the Heights early Friday morning.

The first five incidents occurred at 75 Henry St. between 4:30 A.M. and 6:00 A.M. on October 5, where the suspect allegedly gained entry to five apartments, each time being caught in the act by occupants.

Deciding to try his luck elsewhere, he moved south to 75 Livingston St., where surveillance footage shows him entering the lobby past a guard and boarding the elevator.  He attempted to hit two apartments in this building between 6:25 A.M. and 6:35 A.M., but was again thwarted.

No property was taken in any of the incidents.

 


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49201

From the Web

BHB Reader Claims: Car Vandals Hit Remsen Street

October 8, 2012

And we thought it was just us. A few weeks ago some thug stole our hubcaps from our car parked on Columbia Heights. Add that to the random cars we’ve seen on blocks around the area and this reader dispatch to what appears to be a War on Cars in Brooklyn Heights:

Remsen Street tires slashed! My girlfriend moved my car today, only to find it had a slashed tire. She then walked up and down the block (near the corner of Remsen and Hicks) and found that 4-5 other cars had slashed tires.

Unbelievable!


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48987

From the Web

Cobble Hill’s Sugar Shop Hires Security Guards After Rash Of Robberies

September 13, 2012

Cobble Hill candy store Sugar Shop has hired two part-time security guards for $500 a week, after a rash of summer robberies. Former football linebacker Andre Young, 23 (pictured, right), is among those standing guard to make sure there are no repeats of an August 25 flash mob where 40 teens swiped Now and Later taffies, Pop Rocks and Nerds, according to The New York Daily News.

The owners of the Baltic Street business, Jennifer Bischoff and Sara Houchins, opened five months ago and never expected the store—which mainly sells high-end $9 chocolate bars and $10.99-per-pound jelly beans and gummies—to become a consistent crime target. Sugar Shop was also part of a July 4th burglary spree where a lone crook broke into several Cobble Hill businesses, including Dominic Cusimano funeral home on Court Street and Picnic baby clothes boutique on Amity Street, taking money and computers, the News reports.

Then came the August throng of shoplifters: Four days after the flash mob, a smaller group of teens visited the store stealing sweets. Troye Pryor, Young’s boss and owner of First Rate security, the firm hired by Sugar Shop, noted, “Times are different. It’s rough out there.”

Bischoff has complained to the 76th Precinct, asking cops to send out more foot patrols: “It’s rare to even see a cop car in this neighborhood. They are heavily watching Red Hook. There are more dangerous crimes happening in Red Hook, but we want to be safe, too.”

(Photo: NY Daily News)


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7825

From the Web

Police Blotter

Brooklyn’s 76 Precinct Offers ‘Cash for Guns’ Initiative September 15

September 7, 2012

Capt. J. D. Schiff, Commanding Officer for the 76th Precinct of Brooklyn, has alerted the CHB that on Saturday, September 15, the NYPD, NYC Council, Kings County District Attorney and NYPD Brooklyn Clergy Coalition will sponsor a program that pays cash for any operable firearm. They are offering a $200 bank card for a handgun and $20 bank card for a rifle/shotgun. He stresses: “No questions asked.”

The Brooklyn Gun Buy-Back Program takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Evergreen Baptist Church: 455 Evergreen Avenue, between Woodbine Street and Palmetto Street. No active or retired law enforcement weapons are accepted. The 76th Precinct is located at 191 Union Street in Brooklyn.


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7812

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Police Blotter

Bank Robbery At Brooklyn Heights’ Sovereign!

September 4, 2012

Police are seeking three men suspected of hitting the Sovereign branch at 195 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights at about 10:20 a.m. last Thursday. The New York Post reports that one of the thugs barked at a teller, “Put all the money on the counter! No dye pack! And don’t make me use the gun!” The teller complied, and the robber stuffed a wad of bills into a bag as an accomplice served as lookout. The third then whipped out a black semiautomatic pistol from under a newspaper and yelled, “I don’t wanna shoot anyone!” All three then fled with an undisclosed amount of money. A pic of two of the bank robbers is here.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/46978

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Events, Police Blotter

84th Precinct: Crime Down 78% In Past Two Decades, 10% Over Past Year

August 10, 2012

Crime has caved 78% in the 84th Precinct over the last two decades and 10% over the past year, according to the 84th Precinct Community Council—comprising the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, DUMBO and Vinegar Hill. An all-out celebration of safety was held Tuesday at Borough Hall for the 29th-annual “National Night Out Against Crime,” which builds relationships between cops and the communities they police.

Leslie Lewis, president of the 84th Precinct Council for 22 years, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “We’re here to celebrate the success of the partnership between the community and the police. When this all started, it was too dangerous to walk around at night; nobody was on the streets. Now there are people on the streets, development everywhere. It’s a very different world. Because of the success of the partnership, developers started to spend money and encourage people to move here. It’s directly related.”

Cops from the 84th precinct grilled up hundreds of burgers and hotdogs at Tuesday’s celebration, with Deputy Inspector Mark Di Paolo serving as ringleader. He told the Eagle, “When it first began in 1984, this was a night where the community came out to feel safe, not victimized. Now, 29 years later, it’s more to celebrate how this partnership brought safety to the community.”

Crime is down 10% in the 84th Precinct overall this year, and down 5% in robberies, 22% in felony assault, and 60% in stolen cars.

Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that the 84th Precinct “is very responsive to local community needs as well as keeping a handle on the bigger issues in the precinct—terror targets, the bridge, etc. They give equal attention to big and little stuff.”


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45411

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Brooklyn Heights

Aggravating Assault: Graffiti Appears To Be Escalating In Brooklyn Heights

July 31, 2012

When well-traveled NYC graffiti “artist” Lewy BTM tagged the Brooklyn Bridge with his trademark squiggle design late last month, it was noted that the last time the national landmark was so adorned was during the Clinton era, in 1998. The same spot 199 feet above the East River was marred to great infamy in 1988 by brothers “Sane & Smith,” who scribbled 5-foot letters on the Manhattan tower of the iconic Bridge.

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn Heights, it appears graffiti vandalism is on the rise. BHB has reported on previous incidents, including April’s “NYPD Don’t Trust” spray painted on a Remsen Street sidewalk and along a Henry Street wall. Recent walks around the nabe are revealing more and more random sightings of defaced mailboxes, walls, light posts and commercial buildings. Are you seeing more graffiti in your area, as well? (See photos below the jump.)

For commercial properties, graffiti removal is the responsibility of the landlord; and for residential buildings, the owner or coop board—although NYC.gov says that New York’s Anti-Graffiti Task Force will remove the mess free of charge. In any case, there’s no good reason for the Heights to resemble the New York City of the 1970s again. Hopefully, we can keep it clean with tenacious calls to 311.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45050

From the Web

News, Police Blotter

NY1 Reporter Vivian Lee Attacked While Covering Story in Cobble Hill

July 27, 2012

NY1 veteran reporter Vivian Lee was attacked by a whacko woman in a white sheet in Cobble Hill Friday morning. DNAInfo.com explains that Lee was reporting on the death of Richard Schwartz, 61, who was killed after lightning struck a church steeple and sent debris tumbling to the street Thursday night.

A woman draped in a sheet climbed into an NY1 news van and began using Lee’s makeup and snacking on food, according to Lee and a witness. When the reporter told her to leave, the woman allegedly took a swing at Lee. “The van’s driver grabbed the woman and hauled her out of the van. As the three stood beside the van, the woman swung again, this time punching Lee in the neck. The driver wrestled the woman to the ground and held her until cops arrived and took her away,” DNAInfo says.

Lee was not seriously injured, and an ambulance was not called. (Photo: DNAInfo)


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7656

From the Web