Lynn and I were informed by our landlords, and later saw the fliers posted around the neighborhood, that in the last month there have been 3 break-ins on 47th Street between Skillman and 39th Ave., and one stolen vehicle. It seems that the break-ins were usually accomplished by kicking in basement doors, or by going through sliding glass doors - all between 11am and 3pm. So please be on the lookout for any shady characters walking down the street with 3 laptops and a crowbar - that kind of thing. And take a minute to think about the security of your house/apartment. Secure those sliding glass doors with a door jam or locking bar, get an alarm system if you're really paranoid, and at the very least post BEWARE OF DOG signs on your back doors.
It should go without saying that you should have renter's insurance, and please make sure to backup all those files on your computer! I personally use SyncBack which is completely free and does it's thing every Saturday night at about 3:00am without me having to lift a finger. And every month or so I make a DVD backup of the latest month's files and store it at my office in case we did get broken into and lost everything (or in case all three of my hard drives failed, which is not outside the realm of possibility).
Three break-ins in a month is bad, but it certainly could be worse. In 1990 there were 2,062 burglaries in the 108th precinct. In 2007 there were just 564 - an 84% drop!
Keep your eyes and ears open and use common sense. Unlike the guy parked near our apartment who left a bunch of cash on his dashboard ...
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Keep an Eye Out: Sunnyside Neighborhood Watch
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9 comments:
Hi, I live in the neighborhood (and am one of the neighbors burglarized). A friend of mine who lives around 50th Street and 39th was mugged last night and had her nose broken. Please let's all stay aware. Thanks.
Crikey, Anonymous, I'm sorry to hear that - both about you and your friend. Have the cops at the 108th been helpful? Any leads? Are they increasing patrols in the area? Any other details you could share might be helpful.
I don't want to share too much because, yes, well, i'm becoming paranoid (unfortunate i know). But yes, 108th is VERY aware and asked that we all really keep our eyes open (ie the neighborhood watch posters, etc). That said, knowing that muggings are now a possibility in addition to having your house broken into our quite unnerving.
Our place was broken into over the summer, again in the Gardens through the backdoor, but at night. They took a flatscreen tv, laptop, our rolling cart to carry it away and a pillowcase to cover it up. All that to say, it's worth taking a look at people using those carts too. Another potential scary part is that our nanny noticed some guys walking around the neighborhood the other day looking in windows. They had the carts with them, as if they were sorting through the recycling, but they weren't going through any trash/recycling on my block (45th between Skillman and 39th Ave.)
It's really outrageous. I can't believe the level of crime happening in this neighborhood. Very upsetting. I love this area (and i've lived all over the boroughs). I hope the cops step up patrol. My roomie walked home last night around 10:30pm and didn't see a cop anywhere in sight.
Have you noticed that most of the fliers have been pulled down. Was this a political or city enforced action or just the bad guys? I would be happy to keep taping them up.
A neighbor told me he saw 3 strange men loitering around Hamilton Court on 47th St. Tuesday around 1 pm.
I definitely think those signs need to go back up. I don't see why concerned neighbors would tear them down. My friend who got mugged apparently is going to have a long recovery. They did some damage. These guys that are doing this stuff mean business. Let's keep an eye out for each other and ask our 108th precinct to kick up patrols...
Update on the mugging: I found out that the person who was mugged in our neighborhood sustained serious injuries including a broken nose, fractured cheekbone/eye socket, sprained hand and damaged teeth. It will be a 6-12 month recovery. This is unacceptable and outrageous. Please let's rally to protect our neighbors and streets.
Is there any sort of watch program for the Kew Gardens area? there are people I have heard of being mugged during the day and houses and cars broken into and I never ever see the police here - all this on the block where Kitty Genovese was murdered- I would like to think that people are more aware these days but I wouldn't count on anyone.
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