Home Reporter_20190926 by Rustam Kerimov

10• EAGLE NEWS MEDIA— A SECTION OF HOME REPORTER AND BROOKLYN SPECTATOR • Week of September 27 – October 3, 2019

OPINION IT’S ALL RELEVANT

ome Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights Democratic politicians want you to believe that crime is down in the community. They like to refer to a report that says that the 68th Precinct represents one of the safest areas of the city. Well, as they say, it’s all relevant. Many categories of crime in the city have increased noticeably in the past year. That includes the official police-reported figures for the 68th Precinct. So far this year, robbery numbers have jumped 50 percent, burglaries are up 2.9 percent, felony assaults are up 2.9 percent, grand larcenies are up 1.9 percent and overall crime is up 2.2 percent. So, if you feel that you are not as safe as you used to be, if you worry about walking home from the subway after 10 p.m. and are fearful

of leaving your home for a three-day short vacation, welcome to the new world of Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights where the elected officials want to tell you that things are great, and that you do not know what you are talking about even if the official crime statistics prove you right. I suppose it is all relative. Crime is going up faster in other parts of the city, so I guess we should feel fortunate. It is also worth noting that the PBA and Sergeants Benevolent Association are actively moving these crime statistics around the media. They know the increase in crime is not the fault of the men and women of the NYPD. They will point at management policies of the mayor and the top brass

that have made it much more difficult for the police to do their jobs. They will reference new state laws that have made it harder to hold those arrested awaiting trial. Some will talk about the ultra-liberal parole board that releases cop killers and others will bring up the Brooklyn DA who gives many, including those arrested for illegal handgun possession, a second chance. And who can have this conversation w ithout mentioning the criminal court judges the mayor has appointed that do arraignments and the many liberal judges sitting in Brooklyn? Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights is not safer. It is not safer when the big story on the news is the arrest of an alleged attempted rapist. The police get a hearty

BY JERRY KASSAR

Crime is going up faster in other parts of the city, so I guess we should feel fortunate. congratulations, but the fact remains that there was an attempt. The same goes for those knocking seniors over to steal from them, or the many cases of deliveries being stolen from front porches and backyards. Get real, Bay Ridge/ Dyker Heights Democratic politicians — we do not feel as safe as we did a few years ago because we are not as safe. The statistics prove it. ***

FACT OVER FEELING

n 1990, New York City recorded 2,245 murders, the apex of a decades’ long, upward trend. That was about eight times the 289 seen last year, which was the least in seven decades. By every objective measure, crime is the lowest it's been in our lifetimes. And yet, some continually tell us we are living in a crime-ridden community and no one feels safe on our streets after 11 p.m. They say that when people feel unsafe, the community is unsafe, regardless of what any stats show. In a 2016 CNN interview from the Republican National Convention, Newt Gingrich countered the fact that violent crime across the country was down, saying, “The average American… does not think crime is down, does not think they are safer.” He added that the FBI figures showing the contrary mean “liberals

have a whole set of statistics that may be theoretically right… but what I said is equally true: people feel more threatened.” We shouldn’t ignore how people feel, but feelings don’t trump reality. Maybe one of the reasons many people feel unsafe, despite the facts, is because certain leaders, nationally and locally, frequently tell them they're unsafe, despite the facts. As per NYPD statistics through September 15, Southern Brooklyn crime is still trending downward. In the 62nd and 68th precincts covering City Council District 43, violent crimes of murder and rape are down 50 percent and 20 percent respectively, compared to last year. If we expand to include the 61st and 63rd, which are the others in the four precincts covering State Senate District 22, we’ve seen a

Reciting statistics gets tedious and as you get very specific, you can find some slight upticks from last year in a particular southern Brooklyn precinct for a particular offense, but the overall trends are still downward. Granted, the 71 people burglarized in the 68th Precinct in 2019 don’t care much that 26 years ago the number

This week, in Federal District Court for the Western District of New York, the New York State Conservative Party filed an Amicus Curiae brief in support of Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the implementation of New York’s Green Light Law. The Green Light Law allows undocumented aliens who are residents of New York State to obtain a driver’s license. In many parts of the state, DMV operations are conducted by the local county clerk. A number of clerks have filed for preliminary injunctions because these elected officials believe this violates their oath of office.

They maintain that the law will lead to voter fraud as well as create public safety issues because an official government ID will be issued by New York State without requiring that a Social Security number be provided and relying on foreign documents that cannot be verified. There is also the issue of the rule of law that argues that aliens residing in the United States illegally cannot be issued a driver’s license. The six Republican members of Congress from New York have written to the United States attorney general asking him to review this issue. No Democratic congressmembers have signed onto this letter.

MATTER OF FACT

reduction in robberies of 33 percent and a 51 percent drop in burglaries compared to just nine years ago.

COMMON SENSE

BY JAY BROWN

of burglaries was astronomical in comparison, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t all 90 percent less likely to be the victim of a burglary today, because we are. Ordinary citizens and the NYPD have all played roles in making our neighborhoods as safe as they have ever been. To tell people that the facts on crime are insignificant and they need to be afraid, is an insult to everyone who has worked to create the safe communities we call home. It’s an affront to the local police who last week apprehended someone wanted for an attempted rape in Bay Ridge and arrested two suspects in a string of 15 burglaries across Southern Brooklyn.

There are crimes, like handle-surfing and deliveries stolen from stoops, that are more prevalent today and need to be addressed. Those who want you to feel like crime is surging tell you about them every chance they get, eagerly harping on each anecdotal instance. Now that their preferred candidate is no longer in office, they appear to be rooting against the neighborhood as they look forward to telling us how bad it’s become, again, despite the facts. Scoffing at inconvenient facts has become epidemic. Last Friday, students from around the world led a global climate strike, but many in positions to do something about the most existential threat we face, still deny the settled science on climate

change. Sixteen-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg participated in the event here in New York City, in between testifying before Congress and addressing the United Nations. After she expressed at the U.N. how angry she was over the current state of inaction, President Trump mockingly referred to her as “a very happy young girl.” On Fox News, Thunberg, who is on the autism spectrum, was referred to as “mentally ill” by one guest and host Laura Ingraham compared her to Stephen King’s Children of the Corn. Facts are facts. Feelings and insults cannot change them. We can’t fix our problems if some are unwilling to accept the realities surrounding them.

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