A photo composite showing various break-ins over the past few weeks in Astoria (Credit: Donnelly Marks)
Residents of Norwood Gardens in Astoria have been advised to keep a close check on their cars and GPS, after a rash of auto break-ins has made them nervous about leaving anything valuable in their cars.
Residents report that areas around 35th, 36th and 37th streets at 30th Avenue have been the worst affected, with the Norwood Neighborhood Association estimating that there has been at least one break-in per night over the last few weeks.
Residents point out that the crimes spike over the weekends, when an influx of outsiders crowd bars and restaurants in the busy 30th Avenue commercial area.
Pearl Thomas was affected when her boyfriend’s parents’ luxury 2007 Audi was broken into. “You know, it’s embarrassing,” Thomas said. “I’ve lived in Astoria for the last seven years and they’ve [the boyfriend’s parents] visited us before and nothing happened. And now, we move into this area and the car gets broken into,” the 36th Street resident said.
The Audi was parked on 36th Street between 30th and 31st avenues when the incident occurred in the last week of March. Luckily for Thomas, the perpetrators didn’t walk away with too much, except for a beloved CD with a collection of sheet music.
Thomas thinks thieves were probably looking to steal the car’s GPS, but couldn’t get their hands on it, as the instrument is built into this particular model.
However 24-year-old John Wagner wasn’t quite so lucky. The photographer who works in New Jersey had his brand new Toyota Corrola broken into twice this year. “It was the first day of my job,” Wagner said. “I had come back from the weekend and get into the car. I keep a few granola bars in the car and I found they were all strewn on the passenger seat,” he said. This is when he noticed his GPS was gone. The next month, his car was broken into again.
Norwood Neighborhood Association’s Donnelly Marks says while these incidents continue to rattle residents, they don’t get reported enough to police. “People need to call 911,” she said, adding that it normally took the cops 40 minutes to get to the scene as it isn’t a high-priority crime. “People are usually in a hurry because it’s a workday — so it doesn’t get reported,” she added.
The break-ins also go unreported, said Marks, as auto insurance doesn’t normally cover the damage. She estimated that the crime rate in Astoria was higher than reported due to unreported break-ins.
While residents have been urged to be more vocal in reporting the misdemeanor crime, some Norwood residents have taken to protecting other cars from a similar fate. Wagner gathered a few other neighbors to form the 36th Street Crime Fighters, a crew that patrols the streets and puts fliers on cars that look like they might be vulnerable to being broken into repeatedly. Cars with prominent GPS on display get notices first. “If you have any evidence of GPS showing on your dashboard, your car will be broken into,” the fliers warn, urging drivers to take their GPS, holder and charger with them each time they leave the car. “We want [Council member] Peter Vallone Jr. to put up security cameras in the area,” Wagner said.
Vallone has said that while the wait for security cameras may be a long one, residents may add cameras to their private properties. “Nobody should leave GPS or any indication that a GPS exists, in their cars,” Vallone said. “I discussed this issue with Inspector Vorbeck at 114th Precinct and we’re encouraging residents to put up more private cameras, take more care with their GPS and cooperate with the police; and allow them to take fingerprints when the car is broken into.
“Often people are in a hurry to leave for work and they say they can’t wait around.” Vallone added that while the police promised increased patrolling of the area for now, Albany’s budget cuts might prohibit that. When asked who might be behind the break-ins, Vallone said he was skeptical that 30th Avenue revelers had anything to do with the rise in crime, saying people who wanted to enjoy a dinner out weren’t likely to be stealing GPSs.
This piece first appeared in Queens Chronicle
