70th Precinct Community Council
JANUARY 2017 Meeting Minutes
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Wednesday, January, 25th 2017
7:30 PM
P.S. 249 The United Cerebral Palsey Center
175 Lawrence street, Brooklyn, New York Officers
Ed Powell, President
Mary McRae, Vice President
Maria Hazelwood, Treasurer
Nathan Thompson, Secretary
Giselle Nakhid, Sergeant-at-Arms
NYPD, Elected Officials & Other Guests
DI James Palumbo, Commanding Officer
Captain OMalley, Executive Officer
Officer Mike Smith, Community Affairs
Det. Kim Walker, Community Affairs
Marty for Congresswoman Yvette Clarke
Mike Gregorio for Senator Felder
Shawn Campbell for Community Board 14
Becky Stern for Councilmember Greenfield
Taryn O’Brien for Kings County DA’s Office
Jacob Gold for Council Member Jumaane Williams
Walter McQueen for East 21st Street Tenant
Soumia Chraibi for Council Member Mathieu Eugene
Ramona Cabreja for Council Member Mathieu Eugene
Himself Assemblymember Robert Carroll
Rona Taylor for Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte
Vicky May for The Street Vendor Project
Imani Henry for Equality for Flatbush
Pinkus Hikind for Comptrollers Office
Penny Ringel for the Mayors Office
Reverend Jean F. Beaulieu, Mohommad Nazir, Rabbi Perlstein and Yahuda Eps Clergy Liaisons
Roz Sokol for Steve Cymborwitz
Tovah Chasinough for Councilmember Duetsch
Wayne Lamont and Walter Mqueen for East 21st Block Association
Eric Kumar and Taryn OBrien for District Attorneys Office
Valentin Morales Vamos Unidas
Aziz Putt and Raja Azid Pakistani Merchants Assoc
The regular monthly meeting of the 70th Precinct Community Council was called to order. PCC President Ed Powell greeted all and invited everyone to join him in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
He then acknowledged the various representatives of public officials and other distinguished guests present at the meeting (see above).
1.Robert (Bobby) Carroll.
Bobby introduced himself as the replacement for Jim Brennan. He has been on the job only 3 weeks. He grew up in the neighborhood. He invited us to call 718 788 7221, (his number) with any issues. His office is on 7th Avenue between 13th and 14th street. He explained that 1/3 of our state budget is connected to federal dollars. He took questions and got one about Senator Felder's bill to undermine the City Council's Plastic Bag fee. Bobby strongly supports getting rid of bags. He reminded us that nyc generates a billion bags a year. And that we can all avoid paying anything extra if we only carry a bag.
2. Jacob Gold for Jumaane Williams
Invited anyone with immigration issues to a forum on February 8th.
3. Eric Kumar from the District Attorneys Office
Announced their Human Trafficking event. He explained that the traditional definition of "trafficking" is not the only one. He spoke of local residents who are used for labor at far below minimum wage. Attending the event will educate us on this subject. January 26th.
4. Tovah Chasinough for Councilmember Chaim Duetsch
Tovah announced that the Councilmembers office will provide free tax service every Sunday from now until tax day. She also reminded us that they offer free legal service twice a week, every week. Just give them a call.
5. Rona Taylor for Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte
Rona announced Assemblymember's State of The District Address, on Feb 9th at Brooklyn College. She also announced that the office is moving. By March first they plan to be at 1312 Flatbush Avenue.
6. Valentine Morales from Vamos Unidas (and interpreter Gretchen Begley)
Valentin presented a speech about how much he appreciates the NYPD and asked us all to say a prayer. It became clear that he had a longer message for the CO which he pursued after the meeting.
9.) Ed Powell introduces the newest Executive Officer (XO) Megan OMalley.
10.) CO Palumbo Presents
The CO introduced Captain OMalley and highlighted that she has history in the 70th and should be abled to hit the ground running. He then introduced the Cop of Month Honorees.
But first he told us about a robbery in progress at a local jewelry store. He explained that a local citizen (who was present) got involved and helped two Officers capture the robber. The CO called up Officers Tamir Raja, David Vasquez, and citizen Shameel Ahmed and presented each with awards.
The CO then went through a few recent statistics. For the year 2016, the precinct ended the year down 14% in major index crimes. Murders went down 71% (5 vs 17 the previous year). Rape saw an increase (25 vs 18) but out of the 25, 24 were cases in which the victim and perpetrator were known to each other. Robbery is down 33% (237 vs 351), Felony Assaults down (down 1%). Burglary is down 37%. (180 vs 284). Grand Larceny down 1%. Grand Larceny Auto is down 14%. Shootings are down 50%.
The CO attributes this success to community relations between the liaisons, DAs office, NCOs. They analyzed trends over the last 4 years and focused on those areas.
11.) CO highlights some of present Team.
The CO introduced Officers Barrieli and Galloti who were there to register cel phones on the spot through Operation ID. He introduced NCO's who were present, citing that program as one reason the numbers look so good.
12.) Recent Updates
In the Northern area of the precinct, there was a man randomly assaulting people. He was arrested and was clearly unstable. They connected 9 assaults to him. He admitted having no idea why he did it. Video surveillance was helpful. An Officer recognized his photo.
The single stranger rape attempt was solved also by an Officer who recognized an image from video.
He added that their had been a homicide today but an arrest was made immediately.
The CO also cited a horrible traffic fatality in which a victim attempted to hop a ride on the back of a truck. The truck left without even knowing. But they caught up to him in the next precinct. Traffic fatalities are a focus of CO Palumbo this year.
And last but not least, he thanked everyone who participated in the Coat giveaway.
13.) CO Takes Questions
Duane Joseph asked about the protocol for getting video from building owners to help solve crimes. The CO said either individuals or Officers can do it. They try to have someone who is knowledgable. They have technical people who will come out.
Walter McQueen thanked Officer Smith for reaching out and keeping him in the loop on local events. He is a Community Liason and he is supposed to be updated. But Mr. McQueen had to take a moment to comment on how well the program was working. He pointed to CO Palumbo and said "I have been here a long time. This guy is a step above."
A man pointed out that he has an ongoing problem of harassment. He is concerned that the landlord is using a device to shake his apartment to harass him to get him to move out. He noted that older people are moving out. The CO explained that he gets inundated with noise complaints. He agreed to meet privately with the man after meeting.
A woman wanted to thank Sgt Blain (head of the NCOs) and that she was pleased with the support coming from her NCOs Officer Sesay and Callendar.
Another woman asked about what they are to do with Officers who are not being good community builders. She acknowledged a change since CO Palumbo took over. But she said there were incidents of false arrests, threats, and abusive language from some Officers. The CO responded that his Officers are supposed to treat people as if they were their family. But he acknowledged that in a 35,000 person force, some trouble will slip through the cracks. He cited, transfers, mediation, and training as some of the methods they use for dealing with complaints.
The CO explained that when he arrived in the 70th last year, there were 167 Officers in here. Today the number is 284. And the civilian complaints have gone down.
A store owner on Coney Island Avenue who had been a victim a couple of years ago, explained that NYPD beefed up the presence for a while but then it went down. She claimed crime is going up in the area. The CO pointed out this does not go with the figures. She wanted to hear about the long term plan. She owns three stores and is there 10 hours a day. She was looking to talk big picture. They agreed to continue the talk after the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Nathan Thompson
Minutes of January 2017
70 Pct. Community Council, NYPD
