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Car thefts on the rise: 111th

By Kelsey Durham

Officers at the NYPD’s 111th Precinct in Bayside announced at its monthly community council meeting Tuesday night that overall crime was down in comparison to this time last year, but the police identified car thefts as a trend they have seen grow since 2013.

Deputy Inspector Jason Huerta said crime was dropping “dramatically” in the 111th Precinct, which covers Bayside, Little Neck, Auburndale, Douglaston and parts of Hollis Hills and Fresh Meadows. The commanding officer said that although overall crime had fallen 10 percent as compared to last August, the number of car thefts had risen to 58 through Aug. 24, compared to 47 at the same point last year.

Huerta said the precinct has seen several cases of Ford Econoline vans and Dodge Caravans being stolen because of their size and storage space, which he said provides thieves an opportunity to use the stolen vans to steal other vehicles like motorcycles and bikes.

“We’ve seen this be the case citywide,” he said.

Huerta said the precinct is also seeing several cases of tires and rims being stolen off cars, mostly Honda Accords. He said thieves can use battery-operated drills to remove them from cars within minutes and usually have a lookout to make sure they are not being watched.

According to the precinct’s statistics, the 111th received seven complaints of stolen tires or rims within the last 28 days.

Police said thieves are also still targeting catalytic converters that can quickly be removed from underneath larger cars, such as vans and SUVs, and sold on the street for a significant amount of money because of the metals and chemicals inside.

“These thieves do the job very quickly, but we have a lot of plainclothes units dedicated to thwarting this type of crime,” Huerta said.

Huerta said the precinct has also experienced an increase in car accidents, but he said extreme weather that the area has seen so far this year may be a factor in the 13 percent rise.

He said pedestrian accidents have remained flat, however, at four so far this year, the same number the precinct’s records show for this time last year, and that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative is partly responsible for keeping pedestrians safer.

Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurh‌am@cn‌gloca‌l.com.