Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams today urged seniors in Park Slope and throughout Brooklyn to share a series of crime prevention tips with their neighbors, following a number of local attacks on the elderly.
Last Wednesday, an armed robber reportedly assaulted 91-year-old Elizabeth Gioino, shoving her into the vestibule of the building where she has lived for the last 45 years and choking her repeatedly. She and her 50-year-old neighbor had a gun pointed at them during the incident and were robbed of about $370.
Police are also investigating this crime in connection with a home invasion last month in the same neighborhood, where an attacker reportedly pistol-whipped a 71-year-old woman and stole hundreds of dollars from her.
Adams visited the Park Slope Center for Successful Aging yesterday to discuss the tips with members, part of his broader effort to outreach with seniors across the borough. Information, focused on activity at home, while traveling, and when banking, can be accessed on his website by visiting brooklyn-usa.org/seniors.
“The best weapons to combat crime against seniors are education and preparation,” said Adams. “I ask all of Brooklyn’s elders to pay attention to our important prevention tips. In One Brooklyn, we look out for our own.”
Borough President Adams’s visit followed up on his announcement in Park Slope last Friday of an increased $1,000 in reward money that he is personally offering, in addition to the $2,500 offered by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), for information about Gioino’s attacker; he also wrote a personal check to cover her financial loss from the incident.
“The borough president’s visit to our center today was much appreciated,” said Brenda Westphalen, director of the Park Slope Center for Successful Aging. “Our members were shaken by the recent hold-up at gunpoint of one of our neighbors. Given Borough President Adams’s background as a member of the NYPD, it was very reassuring to have him present specific actions that our members can take to remain vigilant and safe while at home and when they are out and about.”
