WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MARCH 25, 2021 35
Rajkumar hosts town hall addressing public safety
concerns amid rise in criminal activity in district
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Queens community leaders and
residents were tuned in on
Monday, March 15 for Assemblywoman
Jenifer Rajkumar’s virtual
town hall with commanding offi cers
from three police precincts to address
the alarming spike of criminal activity
and quality-of-life issues in their
neighborhoods.
Rajkumar represents the 38th
Assembly District which includes
the neighborhoods of Woodhaven,
Ridgewood, Richmond Hill, Ozone
Park and Glendale. According to
the Assemblywoman, the number
one concern in the district is public
safety, as she referenced two recent
shootings that claimed the lives of
two young people in Woodhaven,
and three attempted sexual assaults
that occurred at Forest Park and at
nearby subway stations.
“Is it a question of more cameras
at subway stations? Lights in Forest
Park and increased patrol presence?
Is it an increase in mental health services,
more after school programs
to keep our children busy?” said
Rajkumar. “I am hopeful, because all
around our district, well intentioned
heartfelt residents want to help in
the effort to keep us safe and to find
a better way forward.”
While the town hall was meant
to address criminal activity in
the district, residents expressed
their concerns over matters relating
to quality-of-life issues such
as speeding cars, loud music, and
homelessness.
NYPD Commanding Officers
Captain Louron Hall of the 104th
Precinct, Captain Antonio Fidacaro
of the 102nd Precinct, and Captain
John Costello of the 106th Precinct
informed residents about the biggest
and frequent issues their precinct
faces.
According to Hall, the 104th precinct’s
most pressing issue is qualityof
life concerns, receiving a high
volume of 311 complaints averaging
2,400 calls per month.
“Seventy-five percent of our complaints
are related to parking — illegal
parking, blocked driveways
and abandoned vehicles. The other
25 percent is split between noise
complaints, graffiti and homelessness,”
said Hall, who claimed that
the precinct receives the most 311
complaints in the city. As the volume
of calls has increased over the past
year, the precinct has reduced its
response time to those calls by about
an hour.
Meanwhile, Fidacaro said the 102
According to Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, the number one concern in the district is public safety.
Photo courtesy of Rajkumar’s offi ce
Precinct in Richmond Hill is third
in the five boroughs with 311 complaints,
averaging under 1,900 calls
within the past month, all of which
are parking-related complaints.
“Cars seem to be the most prevailing
complaint that we do have, obviously
crime is still an issue and we
have been doing better this year with
a 22 percent decrease year-to-date at
this point in time,” Fidacaro said.
As warm weather is approaching,
Costello said the 106th Precinct’s
common theme is noise complaints,
particularly vehicles with loud
speakers on Lefferts Boulevard.
“As Captain Fidacaro and Captain
Hall stated, it’s also 311 calls about
disorderly groups, noise, drinking
— all quality-of-life issues that
are most prevalent in this precinct,”
Costello said.
During the Q&A segment with the
commanding officers, Bob Monahan,
president of the Greater Ridgewood
Youth Council and head of the Ridgewood
Kiwanis Club, brought to attention
a group of homeless individuals
living underneath an underpass,
where they publicly display their
affection for one another.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth De La Cruz,
president of the Glendale Civilian
Observation Patrol, said people
dining outdoors last year were
approached by residents from the
West Hab Shelter at 78-16 Cooper Ave.
requesting food and money.
“One of the problems last year
was that if you said no, they would
become aggressive,” De La Cruz
said.
In response, Hall said they are anticipating
heavy foot traffic in their
commercial districts as more people
become vaccinated and will be dining
outdoors during the warmer
months, however, there isn’t much
they can do in regards to complaints
of panhandlers.
“It’s obviously a nuisance, but
unfortunately it’s not a crime or
even a violation to beg for money if
they’re not doing it in an aggressive
manner,” Hall said. “And if they do
become aggressive, we can send in
police to handle the situation, and to
at least move along, even if they’re
not aggressive.”
Going beyond quality-of-life complaints
during the Q&A segment,
Kenny Mankowitz, president of the
Forest Park Co-op, asked about the
attempted rapes in the park.
“I understand there was a body
found in Forest Park. We would
like to know what happened? My
shareholders are frightened to go
to the park and to park their cars,”
Mankowitz said.
Fidacaro referred to a November
case of attempted rape in the park
that led to an arrest within 24
hours of the crime, saying that the
suspect is still in jail. According to
Fidacaro, the precinct had a significant
amount of resources that they
called in from the city which led to
the suspect’s arrest.
However, the precinct has yet to
apprehend a suspect in the fatal hitand
run incident in December 2020
that killed South Ozone Park resident
and Indo-Caribbean vocalist, Rita
Persaud, according to community
leader Albert Baldeo who asked for
an update about the case.
Although Fidacaro could not offer
new information about the case, he
said it has not become a cold case
and is still under investigation by
the NYPD Highway Patrol.
“All I can say is that I’m very
pleased with the direction the investigation
is going, and when we have
any updates, it will be provided,”
Fidacaro said.
In regards to issues in the Sikh
Punjabi community in Richmond
Hill involving male youths in a
series of fights, Rose Kaur asked
the 102nd Precinct what kind of
outreach they’re doing to mitigate
the problem.
According to Fidacaro, the precinct’s
community affairs officer,
Iftekher Mashfiq, who speaks the
Punjabi language, made house calls
and visited homes of those who have
been arrested to explain the consequences
of going down that path.
“A lot of them to my surprise, didn’t
understand what an assault arrest
meant to them,” Fidacaro said. “We
sat down with a lot of them and had
very few people that were actually
continuing down that road and it
looks like it helped a lot.”
Fidacaro said the precinct will
continue to monitor the situation.
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