The new commander in charge of the NYPD's Police Service Area (PSA) #4 talked with residents last night about a series of high profile violent crimes on the LES this past summer. It was Captain Tom Hogan's first Community Council meeting since taking over PSA4, which is responsible for protecting 40-thousand people in the city's housing projects. He said PSA4 has actually seen a 1.5 percent reduction in crime, year to date, compared with the same period last year. But Hogan added:

I'm a little concerned because in the past 28 days we're up significantly. Increases in violent crime are being driven by robberies in the Baruch and Wald Houses and we've found a concentration of drug activity in the Laguardia and Riis Houses. In 28 days in Baruch we've made 32 arrests, issued 97 court summonses. In the Wald Houses we've made 23 arrests and issued 36 criminal court summonses… We have representatives from the Narcotics Division here. About a week ago they executed two summonses for narcotics and drugs at the Riis Houses so we really are trying to concentrate our resources where we find our biggest problems. Guns are always an issue. In the past 28 days PSA4 has arrested three people for the possession of guns. Year to date we've arrested 10 people for the possession of guns.

Hogan also addressed the recent murder of Glenn Wright, a college student visiting his grandmother at the Baruch Houses, near Delancey Street. Noting that a suspect is already in custody, he emphasized that Reynolds was apparently not the intended target:

Some of you may be concerned about the stabbing death we had at Baruch… It was really a tragedy. But the victim, it was a case of mistaken identity. A 21 year old kid who had no criminal history was mistaken for someone else by one really bad guy who lives uptown… the victim was mistaken for someone else who had robbed one of the murderers' friends.

Later in the meeting, Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh also discussed the Wright murder and the more general concerns in the community that violent crime is on the rise:

I visited recently with the family of Glenn Wright. It is not the first time I have visited with the family of crime victims in our community. But there is a perception that we've had an increase in gang activity in some parts of our community. I don't know that the stats would show it, but there have been a few very high profile and very unfortunate incidents of violence. I just want to say that organizations like this (the Community Council) are on the front lines of figuring out how we can work together to solve it. Our police officers are really on the front lines, putting themselves at risk. But our office, we are trying to figure out ways we can be of assistance." 

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