Police Address Worried Sunset Park Residents

By Jonathan Stroud
Special to The Lookout

February 4 -- Police tried to quell fears, promised more patrols and urged residents to form neighborhood watch groups during a meeting Wednesday night in Sunset Park, which has been hit with a recent string of burglaries.

Police -- who said they will send Crime Alert flyers to 7,000 households in Sunset Park --
also encouraged the 70 residents who attended the meeting to immediately report any suspicious activity and gave out phone cards listing who to call in case of an emergency.

Wednesday's meeting at Mt. Olive Church was organized by Friends of Sunset Park in the wake of 19 reported burglaries in the area since December 2, six of them within a few square blocks of each other in the southeast section of the neighborhood.

Some residents said they worried about their safety and theorized that the burglaries are linked, because some of the homes that have been hit are close to each other.

"The burglaries are so close to home," said Kristi Speiser, a Sunset Park resident. "To me, it sounds like professional robbers that have been watching the neighborhoods," she said, expressing a concern echoed by many in attendance.

Police, however, maintain there is no evidence to support that the incidents are linked.
While not ruling out that possibility, they said the burglaries were carried out in a way that does not constitute a pattern.

Lt. Frank Fabrega, the police department spokesman, said the department was trying to rejuvenate the neighborhood watch groups in the area and stressed the importance of getting residents involved.

"We need residents to be the eyes and ears of your community," he said.

Fabrega explained how to identify a suspect to the police, told residents exactly who to call and gave safety tips, such as urging residents not to take action against suspicious individuals.

"Call us. You never know what these people are thinking," he said.

Fabrega also told residents to be alert and ready, but not to worry. "They're legitimate fears," he said, adding that an effective neighborhood watch could help curb the problem.

Zina Josephs, president of Friends of Sunset Park, said the situation was urgent and that Crime Alert flyers would be available if residents wanted to pass them out on their blocks.

While some residents said they were frightened by the burglaries, others took them in stride, but urged residents to take action.

"I'm not scared," said John Reynolds, a Friends of Sunset Park board member. "Burglaries take place when people aren't home."

Reynolds said he did not believe the burglaries represented a spike in crime, but hoped the concern generated would lead to more neighborhood watch groups being formed.

"Sometimes incidents shed light on the issue," he said. "We're not accustomed to having much crime in Sunset Park."