Notes From the 79th Precinct Community Council Meeting: April

Wednesday, April 25, the 79th Precinct Community Council held its monthly meeting:

Commanding Officer's address (Deputy Inspector Bartoszek):

• Crime is up 3.8 percent overall in the precinct for the month April, compared to this same time period in 2011. The stretches from Lexington to Myrtle avenues, between Classon and Bedford avenues have been an area of increased focus for the 79th 
• The 79th Pct will be holding kid-friendly events at the PAL on Mercer: “Last month, a lot of things were brought to my attention,” said Inspector Bartoszek. “We want the perception to be that we’re here for you. I’m always striving to improve community relations. These kid-friendly events are an opportunity for the children of the neighborhood to get to know and become familiar with our officers in a fun setting.”

Q&A Segment:

Question from resident: Can we make sure the kid-friendly events include the officers that are actually out in the community in order to make it an effective exercise?

Answer from Bartoszek: Excellent point. We do that, and we will continue to do that

Q from resident 2: I was followed from Nostrand Ave to my house last week. I’ve called the precinct. But I wanted to put it out there that this is happening and could happen to anyone else. Also my friend was followed yesterday, she told me, on Monroe Street on her way to the YMCA.

A: We have a black male, 6 feet, stalking females. We don’t yet have an I.D. on him b/c he covers his face with a bandanna. But we are working hard to catch this guy.

Q from resident 3: What is the age limit for kids riding their bikes on a sidewalk? My niece was stopped by an officer the other day and he was rather rude to her. He asked her how old she was. She said 13. And then he said, “you need to ride on the street.”

A: I’m not a huge fan for writing a summons for something like that. But we enforce riding the bicycle in the street for safety reasons. There’s no age specific. But to be eligible for a summons, you have to be 16 or older.

Address from PSA 3 (NYCHA Housing) Captain Lola Obe:

• PSA 3 meets the first Wednesday of each month at the Job Corps Center, 7:00 p.m. The next meeting is Wednesday, May 2. We need as many NYCHA residents to come out, because it’s not possible to do this alone
• Our national night out will be August 7 in Armstrong Houses
• We are experiencing a crime problem involving shootings in the Armstrong Houses. As a result, we’ve had the police sky cam moved to 380 Lexington Avenue

--There were no grievances shared on the floor

--Al Thompson gave the secretary’s report for both February and March (since the February report was skipped at the March meeting); there was a motion to not approve the minutes from teh March meeting until the wording could be corrected, concerning the resignation of Demetrius Mills.

Following the acceptance of February's minutes, the meeting devolved into chaos surrounding discension in the board's ranks. Vice President Marion Little wrote and circulated a letter calling for the resignation of President Dr. Kim Best. To read about it, go here.