By Amanda Moses
On September 28th, the 75th Precinct’s Neighborhood Coordination Officer (NCO)/Crime Prevention Officer Nicholas Rossides held the latest Build the Block meeting at the Brooklyn Sports Club (BSC), inviting the community to discuss their public safety concerns.
A handful of residents within the confines of the 75th Precinct, which serves the Eastern portion of Brooklyn consisting of East New York, Cypress Hills, and Spring Creek Towers (SCT), sat down in the BSC’s Aspen room ready to discuss their trepidation with crime and quality of life complaints.
Similar to the last Build the Block meeting held at SCT, Officer Rossides provided a pamphlet with information warning individuals of scams both over the phone (calls requesting payment through gift card) and in person at banks (criminals distracting a customer and stealing their ATM cards). In addition, to reiterating his warning of such scams, Officer Rossides also explained there have been concerns over car thefts and catalytic converter thefts in the area.
After the COIVD-19 pandemic, there was a rise in catalytic converter thefts throughout the United States. A catalytic converter is a device located on the bottom of the vehicle that helps control the exhaust emissions. The hot exhaust from a car enters the converter, causing a chemical reaction turning carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons into less harmful emissions. If your catalytic converter was stolen, the NYPD states that you will notice this when your car starts with a gravelly roar. This device is made from precious metals and is worth a lot in the auto market.
While Officer Rossides assured residents that there has been a 17.6% drop in Grand Larceny Auto this year, according to the latest CompStat Crime Reports, it is important to utilize preventive measures.
Over the summer, Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD developed a program that provided car theft hot spots with free Apple Air Tags to insert in their vehicle (this allows the owner to find their stolen car through GPS tracking). Officer Rossides says that this program briefly ended, it will start up again soon and the 75th Precinct will inform residents how they can register for one.
Additionally, he added that drivers should purchase an anti-theft device from your local mechanic (this would be a small cage to protect the catalytic converter) or engrave your car’s license plate number to it. The NYPD holds periodic, free anti-theft engravings instillations, which is where a mechanic etches the VIN number of the vehicle on the catalytic converter and shows how the converter heats up (if a thief tries to sell your converter it can be tracked down).
SCT’s Department of Public Safety’s Youth Officer Charles Royster was also present at the meeting and addressed quality of life concerns regarding unleashed dogs, lack of lighting in certain areas at SCT, and reminded residents that if they ever feel unsafe to call DPS immediately.
The 75th Precinct will also be hosting a Blood Drive on October 11th from 12pm to 6pm at 1000 Sutter Avenue. To schedule an appointment, visit nybc.org or call 800-933-2566.
Photos by Amanda Moses
