Thursday, October 29, 2009

September 2009 Meeting Minutes

70th Precinct Community Council
September 2009 Meeting Minutes


E-mail: 70PctCC@gmail.com
Blog: http://70PctCC.blogspot.com

________________________________________
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
7:30 PM

140 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, New York
________________________________________


Officers Present

Ed Powell, President
Beverley Kilpatrick, Vice President
Rosanne Boland, Treasurer
Mary McRae, Recording Secretary
Nathan Thompson, Corresponding Secretary
Mavis Theodore, Sergeant-at-Arms


NYPD, Elected Officials & Other Guests

Inspector Ralph Monteforte, Commanding Officer
Captain Peter Venice, Executive Officer
Lt. Jacqueline Bourne, Community Affairs
Doris Ortíz, District Manager, Community Board 14
Harvey Rosenholtz, Council Member Kendall Stewart
Shaun Campbell, Assembly Member Jim Brennan
Roz Sokol for Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz
Eli Slavin for Congresswoman Yvette Clarke
Wendy Ann Powell for Assembly Member Rhoda Jacobs
Mark Dicos, Church Avenue Business Improvement District


________________________________________

The regular meeting of the 70th Precinct Community Council was called to order at 7:45 p.m. President Ed Powell greeted all and invited everyone to join him in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. President Powell sadly announced that over the summer we lost our former corresponding secretary and long standing community activist Laura James. Commander Monteforte spoke of Laura James commitment to the community and asked for a moment of silence in her memory. Mr. Powell then acknowledged the various representatives of elected officials and other distinguished guests present at the meeting (see above).

1. Message from Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs – Wendy Ann Powell
Rhoda Jacobs wanted to give an important message; she has a intergenerational program called Jacob’s Ladder in which she take seniors on trips and cultural events. Also, on Sunday, October 18th there will be a Cancer Walk, and if anyone would like to join them please contact their office. Mrs. Powell also took up a donation for the Cancer Walk.

2. Report from President Ed Powell. President Powell introduced Gus Caracappa and James Denofrio of Blair Mazzabella Funeral Home on Coney Island Avenue and commended them for on covering the cost of two funerals for families that lost their child in a tragedy. He also praised them for the beautiful job they had done for Laura James. The two men received a Memorial Thank You Award from the 70th Precinct Community Council.

3. Message from Doris Ortiz. Community Board 14 next meeting wd be October 19th at PS 249 on Caton Avenue – Public Hearing on the Budget. She stated she was happy to support the precinct and to hear all the issues and if there is anything Community Board 14 can help with please contact their office.

4. East 10th Street Block Association presented the Community Council with a decorative plate in appreciation of their services and asked for their continued support.

5. Report from the Commanding Officer. Commander Monteforte stated that anytime you want to see how the precinct is doing you can go online www.nyc.gov/nypd. Commander Monteforte went over the recent crime statistics which indicate that we are doing triple the reduction pace of last year. Last year we were down 5%. This year, we are down 15%. These are current numbers for the whole year to date. The only crime that the precinct is up on is stolen cars (GLA) which is up by 11 stolen cars for the year. He stated that there are a lot less victims in this precinct than last year.

Note: Percentage of Crimes down in the 70th Precinct (Jan. 1st. to Sept. 27, 2009)

Robberies 27%
Rape 64%
Murders 5%
Felony Assault 10%
Grand Larceny 14%

Commander Monteforte stated one of the reasons crime is down is because of Captain Pascal of Brooklyn South Narcotics and commended Captain Pascal for their work in getting drug dealers and drug buyers off the streets. He stated Captain Pascal takes all of our complaints very seriously. The problems sometimes stem from drug dealing. Captain Pascal and his officers and supervisors conducted an operation called Operational Spinal Tap for the past 25 months and investigated two drug organizations on 21st Street and bought over $10,000 worth of crack off of these dealers. They made 75 arrests. These drug dealers will be charged with multiple sales. We owe our gratitude to Brooklyn South Narcotics.

Commander Monteforte gave special recognition to Detective Agapito ‘Junior’ Soler, Detective Hector Rodriguez and an undercover cop for the role they played in the 25 month long investigation of Operational Spinal Tap.

6. Cops of the Month: P.O. Matthew Collyer and P.O. Christopher Niemeyer
Officers Collyer and Niemeyer were on routine patrol when they responded to a call from central to rescue a two year old baby that fell out of a third story window. They were commended for their valiant attempts to save the life of the infant. They also attended the funeral and spent the day with the family.

Commander Monteforte stated that for the first time in many years, there were not shootings in the 3 day period of the Jouvert Celebration. There were six crimes for the three (3) day weekend, domestic violence and two (2) police officers got hurt.

Commander Monteforte gave a citation to Lt. Ferber, Sgt. Kocher and several officers of the Anti Crime Unit for taking another gun collar off the streets.

The Commander also recognized Joe "The Chef" Basso for selflessly committing his time and being there for events when the PCC needed him.

Commander Monteforte prepared a Power Point presentation to show after the general meeting so that those that lived on Cortelyou Road can know what’s going on within their area.

7. Open Forum with Inspector Monteforte.

Members of Ditmas Park West and Prospect Park South made a complaint about garbage cans being stolen.

Members of one Temple asked why there was a lack of police presence on holidays. Monteforte explained that we have 80 Temples in the 70th and that if there is not a dedicated Officer on a given day, then there are cars going back and forth between the remaining Temples all day.

From Prospect Park South, someone asked, how many officers do we have today compared to last year. Commander Monteforte said, “We have around 300 which is roughly the same number as last year. We still have the impact officers and we will be keeping them for the future as far as we can tell.”

There were complaints about some associations not getting notified of PCC activities. The site address was given out as well as a request that those that have complaints take on the role of representatives. One example revolved around a half way house in Caton Park which police have been to on occasion and are working with Community Board 14 to address. Doris Ortiz from Community Board 14 was there to speak on the issue.

Representatives from Beverly Square West brought up that the PS 139 Schoolyard is open at night and has been the site of youth gatherings and making noise.

Mark Dicus from the Church Avenue B.I.D. brought up recent crime activity around the corner of East 18th and Church Avenue. This site has been discussed as a possible spot to place a camera.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary McRae
Secretary

Nathan Thompson
Assistant Secretary

No comments: