Greetings to all members of the Juniper Park Civic Association, we hope everyone is staying healthy while we continue to make our way through this pandemic. We would like to take this time to speak on some current trends we have seen here in the 104th Precinct but more specifically in Maspeth and Middle Village.

Throughout these towns, we have seen an uptick in commercial burglaries. These incidents involve perpetrators forcibly making entry into a location by means of breaking a window, pushing in an air conditioner or making entry into a rear door or window. In these cases, perpetrators look to remove money from the cash register and in the case they cannot open it, they will remove the entire register. If you are a business owner or work in a commercial establishment, we urge you to use your roll down gates when closing the location. Also, if you have security cameras, please ensure they are in proper working order and pointed in the correct positions. Another way to deter these individuals is to use lighting inside and outside of your store. If you are interested in a cost-free crime prevention survey for your commercial establishment, please contact the 104th Precinct Community Affairs office.

We have continued to see a slight increase in auto theft in Maspeth and Middle Village, which is synonymous with the trend that we have throughout the precinct. We’ve seen that some auto theft has been a crime of opportunity and can be prevented if necessary precautions are taken. As you have heard us say in the past, do not leave your keys or key fobs in the vehicle because this affords perpetrators the opportunity to steal your vehicle. Another issue that we have seen that directly correlates to auto theft is when people leave their vehicles running while they go into a store quickly. It only takes a second for someone to open your vehicle and drive off. Please do not illegally park a running, unattended vehicle and run into a store! It is imperative that you legally park, turn off your vehicle and safeguard the keys, in order to prevent this crime of opportunity. Following these guidelines, will help to drive down this crime.

Policing and community go hand-in-hand and we know that we cannot achieve our common goal of reduced crime and increased public safety without your assistance. We wish to thank you for the continued strong show of support that this community has for us. As always, please feel free to write or call the precinct with any issues you may have.

We hope to see everyone soon when we can finally have an in-person Juniper Park Civic Association meeting. Please continue to stay safe and healthy.