Lindenwood Alliance Discusses Crime in Howard Beach by Stephen Geffon - Leader-Observer

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More than 50 people attended the Lindenwood Alliance’s most recent meeting at the Rockwood Park Jewish Center in Howard Beach last week, a good showing for the young civic association.

“This shows we have issues in Lindenwood that need to be addressed,” said the group’s co-founder Joanne Ariola regarding the number in attendance.

The Lindenwood Alliance was founded last December by Ariola and Christina Gold to promote cooperation between residents, police, and elected officials in the area.

“Each little area in Howard Beach has its own very specific issues, and we wanted to have a unified voice for Lindenwood,” Ariola said.

Ariola told the audience that burglaries and auto thefts were two major issues in the community, which 106th Precinct Community Affairs Officer Brenda Bratcher discussed at the meeting.

Bratcher reported that in Lindenwood during 28 days between February and March, there had been one robbery, one felony assault, three burglaries, two grand larcenies and two auto thefts. She said the burglaries in the area have occurred between 76th and 88th streets and 149th and 156th avenues.

According to Bratcher, among the most frequently stolen items were money, jewelry and electronics including cameras, computers and large screen televisions. Bratcher said that in most cases the perpetrators entered apartments from the fire escapes.

“If you see anyone suspicious entering or exiting a property, don’t wait, call 911,” she said.

Bratcher told attendees that there was a recent home invasion at 149th Avenue and 88th Street. Since there was an ongoing investigation into the incident, she said she could not provide any additional details. However, she was able to say that there were four alleged perpetrators involved, two of whom have been captured.

FBI Special Agent James Capozzi also addressed the residents and asked them to participate in the FBI’s InfraGard program, designed to help keep the city’s infrastructure safe from future terrorist attacks.

“By raising your awareness, you are better positioned to let us know what you might see that we should respond to,” he told the audience.

Though still not widely known, InfraGard has been in existence since 1996. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took over responsibility for InfraGard in 2003.

The effort is an association of businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies and other participants dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the U.S.

Today, InfraGard’s protection efforts involve a close working relationship between the FBI and the private sector, as well as other agencies, including DHS, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Small Business Administration.

Membership in the InfraGard program is free. To join, or for further information, contact infragardteam@infragard.org or visit infragard.net.

Lindenwood Alliance Seeks Unified Voice by Bryan Yurcan -Queens Chronicle

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Joanne Ariola, left, and Christina Gold, the cofounders of the Lindenwood Alliance, listen as Debbie Velez of Phoenix Security, a private firm that patrols some parts of Lindenwood, speaks.

A new alliance has formed in Lindenwood.

About 30 people who live in the small section of Howard Beach met Tuesday for the first meeting of a new civic group, dubbed the Lindenwood Alliance, designed to promote cooperation between residents, police and elected officials in the area.

The idea for the group started as conversations between two Lindenwood residents, Christina Gold and Joanne Ariola.

The two had never met before attending a meeting of the 106th Precinct Community Council in October, where both raised concerns about quality of life and increasing crime in the area. They then began speaking over the phone and the idea for the Lindenwood Alliance was born shortly thereafter.

“Each little area in Howard Beach has it’s own very specific issues, and we wanted to have a unified voice for Lindenwood,” Ariola said. “It’s not so much a civic, but an alliance.”

Gold said she initially attended the community council meeting a few months ago because she was concerned about the lack of police presence in Lindenwood.

Since that time, she said, the situation has gotten a little bit better.

But the goal of the Lindenwood Alliance goes deeper than just addressing crime-related issues,” Gold said.

“We want to reconnect the community with not only the 106th, but elected officials as well,” she said. “And we want to talk about the good things happening here also.”

Some residents who attended the meeting did express concerns about the police protection in Lindenwood, specifically requesting more patrols around the park at PS 232, where some residents claimed teens often gather to drink and sell drugs.

106th Precinct Community Affairs Officer Ken Zorn praised the group for forming and expressing their concerns to the Police Department.

“The more people get involved, the more the higher-ups hear you and the better chance we get for more resources,” Zorn said.

Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) also said it is important for residents to get civically involved to help improve quality of life issues, especially in the current
economic climate where budget cuts may mean less police officers on the street.

“There’s 8,000 less cops in the city than there was 10 years ago,” he said. “It’s absolutely critical that communities step up to the plate and form alliances like this one. We need as many anti-crime deterrents as possible.”

Gold said she had noticed increased patrols in the Lindenwood area since Thomas Pascale took over as commanding officer of the 106th Precinct last month.

Though it lacks a formal governing body now, Gold said the alliance will work on seeking volunteers for its board and begin drafting bylaws shortly.