We Need Cops!

Hey Blaz:
We Need Cops!

Too Many Shootings,

Too Few Cops!

COMMUNITY BOARD

NEWS N’ VIEWS

by

Father Richard F. Gorman

Chairman

Community Board #12 (The Bronx)

BRONX, NEW YORK, MAY 22- Our newly arrived Commanding Officer at the Forty-seventh Precinct, Deputy Inspector Raul R. Stephenson, is certainly receiving his “baptism by fire.” The number of shootings as of late has placed our Precinct in the top tier of shootings in our beloved Borough of The Bronx and the entire City of New York.

I trust that the good Deputy Inspector has not, and will not, become disheartened. I suspect not. Something tells me that he is fired up to make our numbers in this category go down and stay down. I can tell you that my colleagues and I on Community Board #12 (The Bronx) stand ready to support our Commanding Officer in any way that we can. I can tell you that one course of action for which the Community Board will be advocating will remain sizably increasing the number of Police

Officers in our Forty-seventh Precinct.

Traditionally, our local Precinct has been routinely short-changed when it comes to the assignment of new and/or additional Police Officers. In terms of territory required to be policed, the “4 – 7” ranks right near the top in our Borough. I hasten to add that the confines of the Precinct are by no means contiguous and compact. The Woodlawn Heights neighborhood juts out on the northwestern margins of Bronx Community District #12 and the Pelham community that includes that portion of The Bronx that bears a Pelham Manor / Westchester County Zip Code and that one must traverse through Westchester in order to access correspondingly hangs out like an appendage along the District’s northeastern boundaries. This geographical idiosyncrasy, with its nonconforming peculiarity, does not make for easy patrolling.

Add to this the fact that the population of Community Board #12 (The Bronx), thanks to the haphazard, pro-development-despite-the-detriment policies of the prior Municipal Administrations of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, has substantially shifted upward and you have, in my humble estimation, a cogent and reasonable argument that more cops are called for in the “4 – 7,” and sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, One Police Plaza, “1 – P – P,” as it is affectionately called, the Headquarters of the New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.), stubbornly clings to the outdated and specious argument that the Precinct is adequately staffed by a sufficient number of cops.  Maddeningly, the powers-that-be at Police Headquarters cite alleged scientific and statistical support for this rather unscientific determination that totally and obviously ignores the aforesaid significant facts. They routinely allude to the rather mysterious and not-ever-to-be-faulted “RAND FORMULA” that supposed provides a systematic, precise and infallible methodology for assessing how many Police Officers are needed and justified in any given command.

“RAND FORMULA” be damned! Whatever it is, it does not suffice for our Forty-seventh Precinct. We genuinely and straight away need more Police Officers and we should not continue to be short-changed. A new Administration sits tall in the saddle at City Hall. It has promised to be more attentive to the needs and concerns of our neighborhoods.

Let it hear this concern of Community Board #12 (The Bronx) and be attentive to this need.  Mayor Bill de Blasio has promised and signaled that he is neither enamored nor bound to the priorities and approach of Administrations past. This issue of ours would be an excellent opportunity and venue to so demonstrate.

Our men and women in the Laconia Avenue stationhouse do an outstanding job protecting us day in and day out. It is about time that they got more help to do so. They deserve it . . . . . . and so do we! What do you say, Your Honor? May we have more cops . . . . . . PLEASE?!?!?

Until next time, that is it for this time!

Knocked Out

Knocked Out

2 Arrested for Assault

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 21- Two Co-op City men have been arrested in connection with an assault on a 51-year-old man, who lost consciousness after being beaten up, police said this week.

The 51-year-old victim, whose identity has been withheld, was transported to Jacobi Hospital for treatment. He reportedly sustained bruising and swelling to his left eye, cheek and face. The injuries ultimately caused him to lose consciousness.

Arrested in the assault on the unidentified local man in the vicinity of the Einstein  Loop Shopping Center were Adalberto Torres, 21, of Hunter Ave., and Andre Nelson, 23, of Einstein Loop.

Nelson and Torres, who were reportedly known to their victim, were charged with third-degree assault in connection with the beating and with possession of 23 bags of marijuana in their possession. The suspects were arrested two days after their alleged assault, being apprehended in an area opposite 140 Elgar Place.

Co-op City’s Public Safety officers reportedly played a key role in apprehending the suspects, who face only misdemeanor charges because they didn’t use weapons in their attack.

Public Safety officers were the first ones to spot the suspects based on a description that was supplied to them.

The arrested men reportedly confessed to their crimes after being turned over to 45th Precinct officers for the processing of the suspects’ arrests.

Cops on Lookout for Perv

Cops on Lookout for Perv 

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, APRIL 16- Cops are asking for the public’s help to catch a perv who touched a teenage boy near a school.

At around 5:35 a.m., the man in his 20s approached a 13-year-old boy at Boynton and Lafayette Avenues. The man pulled the teen’s pants down and touched the boy’s buttocks. The boy pushed the groper away and the suspect fled. The incident took place near a school and Soundview Park.

Police released a photo of the suspect who is described as Hispanic or a light skinned black man in his 20s. He is 5 foot 10 and 140 pounds.

Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

Cops Fatally Shoot Alleged Bank Robber

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 27- A suspect wanted in an armed robbery at a Chase Bank ATM was shot and killed  as he fought with police on Davidson Avenue in Morris Heights.

Cops say James Torres, 44, was hit two-times in the chest at just after 4 a.m. on Thursday, December 26 after the confronted officers. Torres was shot during the scuffle with a pair of uniformed officers from the 46th Precinct. Torres later died at St. Barnabas Hospital. 

A loaded .380 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. Police say Torres had an extensive criminal background with three felony convictions and 22 misdemeanor convictions for a host of crimes including assault, robbery, weapons possession and an assault of a police officer.  

Grinch Rips Off Playstation

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 19- Looks like a Bronx Grinch really did steal Christmas. Police are asking for the public’s help in trying to catch this holiday crook.

Investigators released a photo of a man, they say, robbed a University Heights family of their Playstation video game system, TV and an undetermined amount of cash. 

Cops say the crook pushed in a window air conditioning unit to gain access to the house. Once inside the crook made off with the items.

Police have identified the suspect as Angel Yambo, who is 39 years, 5 foot 9 and weighs 190 pounds. 

Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are confidential. 

Tags: Grinch, Christmas, NYPD, Robbery

'Loko' Bandit at Large

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, DECEMBER 18- Police are asking for the public’s help in trying to track down a gunman who stuck up a convenience store and a parking garage. Investigators are hoping a sketch of the suspect will spur tipsters to call.

The gunman struck most recently around 4 a.m. on December 5. Cops say the man walked into a 7-Eleven store on University Avenue and took two cans of Loko beer from the refrigerator. The suspect placed the beers on the counter, whipped out a handgun and demanded cash. The 58-year-old female clerk put $100 on the counter and the gunman fled with the cash and the beer.

Detectives from the 46th Precinct have identified the convenience store bandit as the suspect wanted for sticking up a parking garage. At around 6 a.m. on November 28, the suspect entered RG Parking Garage on Loring Place South. He went up to an employee at the garage, displayed a handgun and demanded cash. The worker forked over money and the gunman fled.