Car Windows Smashed on Friday Night

On 44th Street, at least three ** now it's five ** cars had windows smashed, and at least one car had its contents searched for valuables, on Friday night. On our way up to the park on Saturday we saw two tinted windowed cars with smashed windows, and up the block there was one more car with a window smashed in. One long-time resident, who claimed a tinted-windowed car, said that it had happened over night. He didn't volunteer any information about theft, but another resident said that her car had definitely been searched for items after already losing a window.

This block has not seen too many vandalized cars over the last few years, at least not on the house side. On Wednesday early evening, some youths were seen hanging around the block and acting like they wanted to smash in a windshield, but they ran off when they saw someone on the sidewalk. It doesn't seem like they'd be the ones who took the time to return and break into cars to steal stuff, but you never know.

A vandal and a thief has to have a pretty good feeling that no one will see them/notice them to break into and rummage through three cars on a residential street. Just one more reason for all of us to be vigilant and to err on the side of caution. If you see suspicious activity, even if it seems innocuous or just "out of place" and not serious, call the precinct or 911. Really! I have it on good authority that the 72nd Precinct WANTS us to do that.

from the June Community Council Meeting:

...suspicious persons on your block, looking into cars, or behaving in strange ways can warrant a 911 call. A passed out person on the street or in the park warrants a 911 call. The incident where a woman was being used by teens as a shield could be a 911 call. 311 should be used for nuisances and quality of life issues. We can also call the Community Affairs office at 718-965-6326 to report QoL issues. The phone is attended until 10 PM.

This was communicated by Captain Simonetti, and now we have Captain Jesus Raul Pintos. I am sure that Captain Pintos feels the same way.