14 The QUEE NS Courier • OCTOBER 13, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Photo via Shutterstock Clown sightings and threats made by Facebook users with names like Billy Clownsmith have been made in Queens. Creepy clown sightings and online threats have spread to Queens By Angela Matua amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua If you suffer from coulrophobia, you might want to look away. The recent nationwide craze in which people dress up in creepy clown makeup and make threats and disturbing gestures has arrived in Queens. According to the New York Post, a 30-year-old man reported to police on Oct. 5 that a knife-wielding clown in white face paint, a red wig and oversized shoes stared at him outside of his home at 76th Street in East Elmhurst and made threatening gestures. On Oct. 2, Facebook user “Billy Clownsmith” threatened students and faculty at Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows and Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside, according to a NYPD spokesperson. The spokesperson said the words “Coming to kill y’all on Wednesday. Can’t wait to have fun” were posted on Facebook by the user. The NYPD is currently investigating the incident. Another Facebook user by the name of Stephen Kingclown threatened Hillcrest High School and Jamaica High school, the New York Post reported. “Hillcrest? I will put a bomb of course,” the user warns. “Next is Jamaica High School. Get ya ass ready no joke. I might do it.” The clown sightings began in Greenville County, SC in August where children reported to police that clowns had been coming out of the woods trying to lure them in with money. The sightings lasted about three weeks after the sheriff’s office in Greenville County tripled their patrol force and the reports eventually stopped. Reports of sightings have spread to three dozen states since August and police have made arrests in several cases after people dressed in clown costumes participated in robberies. NYPD Intelligence and Counterterrorism Deputy Commissioner John Miller told reporters at a recent press conference that the threats do not seem to be credible. “We’re tracking it but we don’t see any real threat here,” Miller said. “We have tried to avoid falling into the trap of putting extra police protection or presence in places where we’ve had these.” “Our main message is don’t believe the hype and don’t be afraid of the clowns,” Miller added. Stephen King, the creator of the terrifying clown Pennywise from his novel “It,” has told people that it’s “time to cool down the clown hysteria” on Twitter. TIRE THIEVES TROLLING BAYSIDE HAVE BEEN CAUGHT 111th Precinct boss tells community board By Domenick Rafter editorial@qns.com/@QNS Officers from the 111th Precinct have slammed the brakes on a number of thieves caught stealing car tires and rims across Bayside, the precinct’s commander reported during the Oct. 5 Community Board 11 meeting. Deputy Inspector William McBride said there had been a string of tire and rim thefts in late August and September, as well as a spike in thefts of Ford Econoline vans, in the Oakland Gardens section of the neighborhood. In the 28-day period ending Sept. 25, there had been 10 grand larceny auto incidents in the precinct, up from four a year earlier. “We think the perps were stealing the vans to use to transport the tires that they stole,” McBride said. Several suspects were arrested. He noted that the suspects were mainly from Long Island and other parts of Queens. The precinct command, which includes Bayside, Auburndale, Little Neck, Douglaston and Hollis Hills, has seen an uptick in crime this year, mainly due to a rise in felony assaults and grand larcenies, which McBride said was due to domestic violence issues and scams respectively. He warned residents, especially the elderly, to be weary of scams, including one in which someone calls a person’s home pretending to be the IRS, demanding cash payments or payments via gift cards. “The IRS does not take Green Dot or Visa gift cards,” he warned. “If you get a call like that, hang up. Call the police. It’s a scam.” Deputy Inspector William McBride, the commanding officer of the 111th Precinct, speaks at Community Board 11 Wednesday night. Photo buy Domenick Rafter For the week ending Sept. 25, overall major crimes were down 58 percent in the precinct. That’s despite a 25 percent increase since mid-August and just under 14 percent increase on the year. But McBride warned that despite the large percentage increase, that was because the overall numbers were small, as the 111th Precinct has had the reputation for decades for being one of the safest. He also noted that overall major crime reminds down 4 percent from two years ago. “The trend is still good,” McBride assured. COLLEGE POINT STREET CORNER IS GETTING NEW LIGHTING By Suzanne Monteverdi smonteverdi@qns.com/@smont76 A College Point street corner will soon be brightened up. Over the summer, state Senator Tony Avella received an anonymous letter describing dangerous nighttime conditions at the corner of 11th Avenue and College Place. A lack of street lighting at the location caused hazardous visibility problems, according to the individual. In response, Avella requested that the Department of Transportation (DOT) look into installing street lights at the corner. A subsequent DOT investigation deemed that there was a need for additional lighting at the location. “I was pleased to hear from DOT that my constituents’ safety concerns will be addressed,” Avella said. “This is an excellent example of the good that can come out of city agencies and the community working together.”
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