The June PSA1 meeting did take place on June 26th and captain McCloskey attended along with Lt. Ryan and Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Coelho. There had been some confusion about the date due to misinformation placed on the 15th district web site. Despite that, there were close to 50 residents gathered at Aria Hospital drawn from all areas of Frankford.
Captain McCloskey started out by noting that rate of robbery and burglary are both down in the recent period. Shootings have increased due to ongoing drug activity that has been centered around Foulkrod and Frankford but has been shifting over toward Margaret. He mentioned that they are continuing to put pressure on the prostition issue in the early morning hours on Frankford Avenue and are making it less attractive for the prosititutes to use that area. He also talked about the summer season of block party permits which over which he has veto authority. He will not approve permits for street closures of problem blocks.
Residents of Worth Street noted that shootings in their area are an ongoing problem with only luck lately to account for nobody being hit. The drug dealers are responsible and the McCloskey said he would tip the narcotics team to the problem.
On Trenton Avenue residents say some mornings the prostitutes are causing traffic problems. They asked about a temporary surveillance camera that is available and Lt. Ryan said he would look into that option. The camera would take residents off the hook for conducting their own surveillance.
There is a house on the 4200 block of Paul Street where the back yard is being used for sexual activity. This is not far from what has become a nuisance garage. Work and noise going on at all times of the day and night. McCloskey said he would have a look to see if there might be some more serious criminal activity related going on there.
The 4700 block of Griscom continues to be used by the same drug dealers as in the past. There was a report that a garage on Church Street may be a chop shop. McCloskey said he would refer that issue to major crimes for further investigation.
I had to leave the meeting at that point for personal reasons but John Loftus of the Northeast Times has his complete report on line at this link.
I have been attending the PSA meetings since they were instituted and have witnessed some successes when the community and the police come together to work on a problem. It does not work without both components. The next PSA meeting is scheduled for 7PM on July 24th at Aria Hospital. Unless the police and the residents attend to followup on the complaints at this meeting, we are just spinning our wheels.
Please note that the print edition of the Gazette lists the date for the July PSA at the 17th. This is an error that is still listed on the 15th district web site. Why is it that they let this situation continue? I don’t know.
