Parolee responsible for car break-in spree

From LIC Post:

The police believe that they have nabbed a man responsible for a large number of neighborhood auto break-ins.

Long Island City—from Court Square through Hunters Point—has been subject to about 60 auto break-ins in recent months, according to Captain Brian Hennessy, the commanding officer of the 108 police precinct. However, an August 24 bust has brought that spike to a halt, he said.

Hennessy said the police caught the perpetrator breaking into the cars by wrapping his fist up in clothing and punching the windows.

They arrested Rafael Medina, a 45-year-old from the Bronx, who was out on parole when he was busted. He is back in prison.

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Potential safety problem identified in Rockaway

"On B90 street and Rockaway Beach Blvd., new A.R.G.U.S. cameras from the NYPD were installed, but the view is obstructed by these shipping containers in the CVS parking lot. This has created the perfect location for someone to hide and commit crime. Mugging, rape, etc. There also are no street lights, which defeats the purpose of the camera." - anonymous

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Flushing Meadows still #2 in violent crime

From the Wall Street Journal:

Serious felonies rose in New York City's largest parks during the spring months this year, increasing 44% for April 1 to June 30 compared with the same period in 2012, according to a New York Police Department report.

There were 128 felonies in the city's 31 biggest parks from April 1 to June 30, compared with 89 in the same period last year, according to an NYPD Compstat report.

The increase comes on the heels of a park-crime spike of 7% in 2012, compared with 2011—the biggest year-over-year jump in half a decade, NYPD statistics show.

The report didn't include historical data for crime in parks. Crime in Central Park has reached historical lows in recent years, according to NYPD data for the park's precinct. Major crimes fell nearly 73% from 1990 to 2012 in Central Park, according to the NYPD, and robberies went down more than 90%, from 152 in 1990 to 15 in 2012.

Central Park saw the most serious felonies in the spring with 37 reported crimes—including a rape, two robberies and five felony assaults.

Flushing Meadows Park in Queens had the second-highest number of serious crimes with 27, including two reported robberies and two felony assaults, according to the report.

In 2012, there were 354 major felonies in the city's largest 31 parks, up from 331 in 2011.

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Van Bramer's house burgled

"Friday, between 4pm and early Saturday am, there was a break-in at the home of Dan Hendrick and Council Jimmy Van Bramer in Sunnyside Gardens, Queens. According to police at the scene Saturday morning, the intruder came in the front door and went out the back. The back faces a common court with 47th Street and 39th Avenue, so one could escape from another direction than the street entrance used to enter the premises. The house is located in the 108th precinct.

Plain-clothed detectives combed the neighborhood today, knocking on doors to find out if anyone saw anything out of the ordinary in the time. The detectives were called in from other precincts in addition to those of 108 Precinct. They did not reveal if anything was taken.

There is currently a 24-hour surveillance in process, and a fingerprints expert, clad in a white jumpsuit, from the onsite Mobile Crime Scene vehicle, was there Saturday evening taking a thorough inventory of fingerprints from the house.

When we asked whether the door had a Medeco or other lock, the officer said, "I'm sorry, but I cannot discuss an ongoing investigation."

The 108 Precinct which includes an large area of Western Queens, is among the precincts city-wide with a low rate of crime." - anonymous

There's more of the story at Sunnyside Post.

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Problems once again at public pools

From A Walk in the Park:

Police and Park Enforcement Patrol officers working in and around the city pools not only had to battle stiffing temperatures during the heat wave last week but also unruly patrons.

The NYPD arrested at least 13 people in Parks Department pool related incidents NYC Park Advocates has learned.

The charges ranged from Inciting A Riot, Resisting Arrest, Gang Assault, Robbery, Assault, Criminal Possession of A Weapon.

Several pools were temporarily closed to quell the violence and more than a dozen lockers were robbed.

Nice Astoria Pool report here. But my favorite is this one:

Police arrested a Washington Heights woman who created quite a disturbance when she refused to go quietly after putting on a show for pool patrons. According to law enforcement sources, Raiz Nunez, 21, was wearing a pink thong bathing suit with white sandals and dancing, shaking her behind while holding on to a railing in the deep end treating it like a stripper pole. The audience chanted as she gyrated and encouraged adults, and then children to smack her behind which some obliged.

The incident prompted some patrons with children to leave and caused a larger crowd to gather.

"She thought she was on the pole, and this would get her some attention and it did," said an officer at the scene.

She was asked to leave. Things escalated while she was being escorted out by police and PEP officers attempting to remove her from the premises.

"She was saying that she looks good and 'you are all just jealous that's why you're doing this.' She looked liked SpongeBob SquarePants," said an officer referring to the woman's apparent non hour-glass figure.

So for all those people who you hear saying, "I wish there was a free public pool in my neighborhood!"

Trust me, you really don't want one.

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If they could do it in Bay Ridge, why not Flushing?

From WPIX:

NYPD officers arrested 19 people in a prostitution crackdown on various “day spas” and “massage parlors” in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, authorities announced Thursday.

“In this case, there were 19 massage parlors in a relatively small area,” said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. “Now we know that the people of Bay Ridge have back pain, but we don’t think it’s enough to sustain 19 massage parlors.”

The arrests come after a year-long investigation that began after neighbors complained of “suspicious and disruptive activities,” according to the D.A.’s office.

“I hope that these arrests will send a message not only to the communities of Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge, but throughout Brooklyn, that I share their concerns regarding these purported “day spas” and “massage therapists” and we will not tolerate illicit operations that exploit women and blight neighborhoods,” said D.A. Hynes.

The bust was the culmination of a joint investigation by the Kings County District Attorney Special Investigations Unit and the NYPD’s Brooklyn South Vice Unit. Using undercover detectives, surveillance and search warrants, the operation revealed “substantial evidence of prostitution” and a string of work-related and zoning law violations.

The arrests included both workers and owners at 12 different establishments.

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Flushing Meadows is 2nd most dangerous park in City

From Eyewitness News:

Crime statistics over the last four years from the NYPD and compiled by the Park Advocates revealed the five parks with the highest number of incidents:

Central Park had 649 serious crimes, including 13 rapes and 415 grand larcenies.

Flushing Meadows had 387 serious crimes including five rapes and 40 robberies.

Prospect Park had 192 serious crimes including two murders and 92 robberies.

Riverside Park had 194 serious crimes including five rapes and 95 robberies.

And, Crotona Park had 102 serious crimes including 14 assaults and three rapes.

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Rape at Flushing massage parlor

From the Daily News:

Cops are investigating a rape at a Queens massage parlor Saturday.

Sources said the victim was attacked inside the Union St. shop near Northern Blvd. in Flushing at about 5:30 p.m.

Paramedics rushed the woman to Queens General Hospital in stable condition, officials said. Her attacker remained at large Saturday night.

Police sources said they don't know exactly what transpired at the massage parlor, noting there's a "language barrier" between investigators and the Asian victim.

Cops were seen entering and leaving the second-floor business - its windows covered by a neon "Open" sign and pictures of men and women getting massages - for most of the night.

The attack occurred at a time when communities are complaining about the proliferation of massage parlors and spas that stay open late and where workers provide more than just rubdowns.

Yeah, by the way, there's a website where you can find out what's "on the menu" at each massage parlor. Nice, eh?

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Be on the lookout for a masturbator

From the Times Ledger:

Cops are looking for a man who allegedly masturbated on the No. 7 train last month.

A 64-year-old woman observed the man’s alleged lewd behavior just before noon May 13 on a Queens-bound train, according to the NYPD.

It was unclear at what point the woman became privy to the actions of the suspect, described as 5 feet 9 inches tall,weighing 160 pounds and in his early 30s, but he got off the train at the Main Street stop.

Police released an image of the man.

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