22 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 12, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Murder and rape on the rise in Queens despite overall crime drop
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@qns.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
Despite the New York Police
Department reporting a decline in overall
crime citywide and in Queens through
the fi rst half of 2018, murders and reported
rapes are on the rise.
Th e NYPD released an offi cial statement
about the crime statistics on
July 10, and Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Police Commissioner James O’Neill also
answered questions about the numbers
the same day at the 40th Precinct in the
South Bronx. According to O’Neill, the
NYPD remains focused on the specifi c
areas in the city that are responsible for
the spikes in severe crimes.
“While the overall crime rate continues
to fall in New York City, it remains
our top priority to forcefully combat the
spikes in murder and other crimes where
we know persistent pockets of crime still
exist,” O’Neill said in the statement. “Our
mission will always be to relentlessly pursue
the relatively small percentage of
criminals responsible for the majority
of the violence in our city. New Yorkers
deserve nothing less than our very best
work in that regard – every day, in every
neighborhood.”
In Queens, the 110th Precinct covering
Corona and Elmhurst is one of those
pockets of crime. Th e precinct reported
the highest number of rapes in the borough
so far in 2018 with 25, an increase of
257 percent over the same time last year.
Th e precinct also experienced the highest
number of robberies in the borough with
158, though that is a slight decrease of 4.2
percent in the area compared to last year.
Moreover, the 110th Precinct has seen
the highest rise in total number of reported
crimes through the fi rst six months of
2018 compared to last year with a 13.8
percent increase.
Th e number of reported rapes increased
by 45 percent in Queens overall and
by 33 percent citywide. When asked if
there is any sort of initiative or awareness
campaign by the department to
lower the the number of rapes, NYPD
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner O’Neill hold a media availability on crime statistics and announce that construction has begun on the new
40th Precinct Station House. 40th Precinct, 257 Alexander Ave., Bronx. Tuesday, July 10, 2018.
Chief of Department Terrance Monahan
explained that an increase in reported
rapes doesn’t necessarily mean that the
crime is being committed more oft en.
“I mean rape, we always know, has
been an oft en under-reported crime,”
Monahan said. “Th at’s the one crime
we see going up that you’ve got to
weigh that it’s actually a good thing
because more people are coming forward.
Especially when we see it in domestic violence
cases because those are the ones that
never come forward. Now, we’re seeing a
huge uptick in people coming forward.”
With regard to murder, Queens has
seen an 11 percent increase in 2018, while
the citywide increase is only one incident
higher than in 2017. Many of the
Queens murders have taken place in
Patrol Borough Queens South, with the
105th Precinct having the most at six and
the 106th and 107th precincts both having
four.
Th roughout the borough, the number
of shootings has increased by 16 percent
in 2018.
Yet, with overall crime decreasing in so
many parts of the city — down 1.8 percent
citywide and 4.5 percent in Queens
— de Blasio said that the city is on pace to
break records set last year for the lowest
crime levels in decades.
“Again, that makes this the lowest sixmonth
period for overall crime in the
Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Offi ce.
modern era,” de Blasio said. “Now that
said, we know that everything we are
doing has to be felt in every community.
Th is vision we have of neighborhood
policing, precision policing, we are not
satisfi ed until we see the results happening
absolutely everywhere.”
Notable decreases in crime in Queens
include the 100th Precinct, which had the
lowest number of reported rapes, robberies,
burglaries and grand larcenies in the
borough, as well as the largest decrease in
total crimes at 27.5 percent.
Th e 102nd Precinct, 104th Precinct
and 111th Precinct have also experienced
crime drops of at least 10 percent so far
in 2018.
Douglaston intersection to receive a new traffi c signal
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
A Bayside lawmaker hopes that a new
traffic signal on Northern Boulevard
in Douglaston will help make the road
much safer.
Councilman Paul Vallone announced
on Tuesday that the Department of
Transportation (DOT) has approved
the addition of a traffic signal at the
intersection of Northern Boulevard
and the Alley Pond Environmental
Center.
“The community has asked for this
for years and I’m happy that the DOT
the thousands of students, parents and
requests from community residents.
heard our call,” Vallone said. “A traffic
teachers that visit APEC each year.”
The DOT stated that the traffic signal
light at this intersection will go a long
Vallone said that he had long sought
will be installed in the coming days.
way towards improving the safety of
the new traffic signal after years of
“We are very happy that the DOT
has moved forward with this safety
improvement. We consider APEC a
real asset to the community and the
addition of a traffic signal to improve
pedestrian safety is very welcome,” said
Victor Dadras of the Douglaston Local
Development Corporation. “We have
supported this for years as part of our
goals for the safety of our community
and we thank the DOT.”
Safety along the stretch of Northern
Boulevard near APEC has been the
topic of much conversation and debate,
as local residents and bicyclists have
debated the construction of new bike
lanes along the roadway. Some claim
that the bike lanes, as currently constructed,
have contributed to more
accidents and other problems.
Photo: Google Maps
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