While the violent crimes of shootings and murders have risen drastically in some of the city’s poorer communities, the property crimes of burglary and grand larceny auto a.k.a auto theft has also risen considerably in the relatively quiet 68th Police Precinct covering Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.
According to the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) latest statistics, burglaries within the precinct has increased 140 percent for the year with 72 reported burglaries thus far in 2020 as compared to 30 at this time in 2019. Auto theft has increased nearly 65 percent with 56 reported cars being stolen thus far this year as compared to 34 at this time last year.
With these two property crimes up KCP asked State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend, Gerritsen Beach, Manhattan Beach, Marine Park) and his Republican opponent Vito Bruno in the upcoming November election about these alarming statistics and confronting the prospect of increasing crime.
Sarah Anders, a campaign spokesperson for Gounardes, assured Kings County Politics that he was fighting to ensure the area remains safe.
“Senator Gounardes…[has] been working with the 68th Precinct to address these crimes of convenience, and he will continue to do everything possible to maintain the safety and security our families expect in our community,” she said.
Bruno, a former nightclub owner and entertainment businessman, responded with a promise to support the efforts of police amid this new challenge. “If elected I will work hard to make sure that our police officers have the funding they need to protect us and themselves in an increasingly dangerous and violent city,” said Bruno.
“When it comes to funding, our communities in South Brooklyn continue to get the short end of the stick and unlike Senator Gounardes, I won’t bow down to the party bosses while our neighborhoods are increasingly unsafe and our police officers are attacked and disrespected purely for political gain. We need to work on improving communication and understanding between police departments and the residents they serve and I promise that I will fight against the reckless anti-law enforcement policies being implemented by Mayor de Blasio and his radical political allies.”
Anders rebutted Vito’s promise, calling his integrity and resume into question. “It’s truly incredible to see a club promoter who spent much of his career on the wrong side of the law try to claim the mantle of law and order,” Anders said.
“Nowhere in this word salad does Mr. Bruno offer any concrete plans for making our city better, more just or safer — just the same old tired fear-mongering and dog whistles that he thinks will distract from his empty record.”
Bruno parried these allegations and accused Gounardes of downplaying his accomplishments and naivete over law and order issues. “It’s unfortunate but totally part of the desperate Gounardes campaign playbook to cast ridiculous personal aspersions against anyone with whom they disagree,” said Bruno.
“I came from a poor family of immigrants, went to Brooklyn Tech, then graduated with a degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute. Nightlife was indeed one of the celebrated aspects of my career just like the several platinum and gold records I executive produced among other ventures. Senator Gounardes’ abysmal record of abandoning public safety and unfairly attacking law enforcement is self-explanatory and I’d be happy to offer him several ideas on how to correct his mistakes.”
