19thWCA July 28, 2011 Public Safety Meeting Minutes/Thurston Road Street Watch Meeting Minutes

Public Safety Meeting Minutes July 28, 2011

Police Chief Sheppard was in attendance.

Crime Incident Report: Lt. Dearcop

Burglary on Penhurst in which a quantity of guns were stolen.

Robbery arrest on Somerset July 17^th. Gun pointed at individual. Recovered property.

Shots fired call 400 block West Avenue. 22^nd July

Genesee Valley Park homicide. Get together organized on Westside of Park. Several of groups who attended have had conflicts; some came armed. After the murder, there has been a series of shots fired in different parts of the City that are believed to be linked to the incident. Thg Groups that assembled were from all parts of the City, not just from The SouthWest.

House Party on Shelter Street. Police did a “knock and talk” at the house. Shots were fired outside.

Gun arrest on Dr. Samuel McCree Way. Made car stop and got guns

300 Chili Drug arrest

City of Rochester Crime Statistics for the First Six Months of 2011

Statistics were presented for Part I crimes which are defined as assault, robbery, burglary,larceny, rapes,and homicide.

Fewest Robberies in 10 years; 2^nd lowest level in 10 years.

Aggravated assaults down from 2010. Fourth hightest total in 10 years. (120 last year; 122 this year; 113 average. DOWN/RISING

Burglaries (dwellings) are down from last year, but still second highest total in the last 10 years 311 last year; 302 this year; DOWN (RISING)

Homicides in SW down 60% 5vs.2 4 year average is 4.6 DOWN

Rapes 7 last year; 6 this year ; 6.4 average. SAMERobberies 88 last year; 55 this year 98.2 5 year average

Larceny (includes theft from motor vehicles and shop lifting.) 705 last year; 702 this year; DOWN/SAME

Motor Vehicle theft Down 60% Cars harder to steal now because of anti-theft technology. At 25 year low for motor vehicle theft. Down every year in a row. Affordable, electronic handheld devices. Smash and grab devices instead of whole vehicle.

Last 30 days

New burglaries: 26 vs. 19 previous 30 days. up by 6; 3 copper 11 overnight; 6 daytime; 1 evening; remaining unkown

5 cut screens or cut locks.

National Night Out

Frances Johnson Co-Chair Public Safety Committee August 2^nd encouraged everyone to participate in national Night Out on Tuesday, August 3^rd at 5:30 PM. We will start at Wilson Magnet High School in the rear. End up Canalside Shelter Genesee Valley Park. Everything is free. It is a night of fellowship of getting to know your neighbors.

Foreclosure: Empire Justice Center is working on the foreclosure issue. May know more about what to do get in front of them. No one from the foreclosure coalition was present at this meeting.

Railroad Bridge: There is increasing anxiety over the lack of a public safety plan for the UR-PLEX railroad bridge which is being restored to use as a pedestrian bridge. PLEX and the U of R are addressing this issue with the City.

Councilman McFadden’s Thurston Road Street Watch 7 PM

Some kind of crime report Website had been under discussion by the City for several years. Adam advocated for crime mapping and actually brought back the original idea everal years ago from a conference in San Antonio. This administration has embraced it and implemented it in an early format this month. forth with site and with icons.

A tutorial on how to use the site followed. Chief Sheppard: more you know, more can prevent crime. Even an app for that.

The site has been built by www.crimereports.com/agency/RPD They are the largest vendor for crime mapping.

Greece and Irondequoit also have crime mapping built by the same vendor.

Crimereports.com provides the:

1) Ability to enter an address.

2) Ability to look at this on satellite imagery for birds ey view.

3) Ability to select date range; Can go back 30 days.

4) Incident feature. What is libraried are all Part I crimes; robbery, theft, assault, homicides, assaults. Burglaries. Can sort by crime

5) Ability to map sex offenders

6) Ability to choose law enforcement boundaries

7) Ability to state store or home

8) Ability to state if weapon was used

9) Ability to state if the victim relationship to the offender was known or unknown

10) Ability to report a tip anonymously with incident, suspect and vehicle description

11) Ability to upload a photo.

12) Ability to search by zipcode

13) Ability to pie chart different types of crimes

14) Ability to create an alert with a log-in.

Only incidents reported to police are mapped.

There are other sites that have no connection to the RPD

Reports by block, not specific address for purposes of privacy.

It is hoped that the system will cut down the perception of vulnerability in certain neighborhoods. Most subjects and victims know each other. Random violence is the exception rather than the rule. It was repeated that we were at a 25 year low in violent crimes.

There was a discussion of what a PSA (Police Service Area) was. It is similar to the old term “police beat” only about three times larger. There are eleven PSAs on each side of the City; there are six and a half PSAs in the SouthWest.

Meeting adjourned at 7:55.

John Borek, Public Safety Chair, 19^th Ward Community Association

0 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Louise Wu on August 2, 2011 at 8:35am

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the minutes John. Sorry we were not at your meeting (although we always look forward to what Margie and Shannon have to say about these issues)! Just to update on Empire Justice as a foreclosure/eviction resource John mentions. Senior staff attorney, Rebecca Case-Grammatico and chief counsel Bryan Hetherington at Empire have taken a pass on helping with the Ravenwood eviction fraud involving Steven J. Baum Esq. Rochester Take Back the Land, The Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, the Justice Department (RICO anti-racketeering) , and the NY State Attorney General are continuing to work on it.

Local CDC director Joan Roby-Davison, and now your minutes, continue to cite Empire Justice as a foreclosure resource, but caution is probably warranted in recommending them, because they seem pick and choose what they handle, probably having something to do with their funding stream, or their ability to win in a particular situation. Although the scope of the fraud problem with foreclosure factory law firms like Baum's in Buffalo, predatory real-estate operators like Larry Magulli (an REO specialist with Rochester ERA and party to the Ravenwood and the Appleton fraud cases) is understood in other NY jurisdictions, the police and the courts (city marshal Sande Macaluso is also involved in both cases, and may get paid by the eviction, not by city salary) here in Rochester are still behind the knowledge curve on what's happening.

Permalink Reply by Joan Roby-Davison on August 2, 2011 at 1:28pm

Louise: I'm responding specifically to your comments about the Empire Justice Center, and my comments are mine (not those of Sector 4 CDC). I've worked with Empire Justice Center, and its predecessor the Public Interest Law Office of Rochester (PILOR) and its partner agencies (Legal Aid, Volunteer Legal Resource Center, Monroe County Legal Assistance Corp.) for more than 15 years. Much of the information on foreclosures, mortgage fraud and other lending fraud was uncovered and reported on by the staff at Empire Justice Center. If I needed help, they are the first place that I personally would call. Their staff, attorneys or not, are people of integrity. They have been tireless advocates for decent, affordable and lead-safe housing in Rochester and across the state, helping to write and enact legislation that has improved housing in NY State and has been a model elsewhere.

Rochester is not behind the knowledge curve - they may not use the same tactics or strategies being employed in other cities, but they are part of a statewide network of legal services that assist extremely low-income and low-income households.

I appreciate your passion and commitment to helping people who face foreclosure actions and the loss of their homes - I have had people walk into my office (in a previous job) as they were physically being evicted - and it was the first time they had asked for any assistance. Or, others who had hoped that they would be able to find the money to pay the delinquent amount - so they didn't seek help. Those situations happened frequently before the state and federal governments put some funds into foreclosure prevention programs - and the Empire Justice Center was one of the leading voices calling for that resource. I always felt incredibly helpless when the only thing I could do for families was to help them find very belated legal assistance, and find emergency housing for them. No one agency can address every situation - that's why you need to know all of them, and you may need to contact them all. In neighborhoods with staffed, funded neighborhood associations (SEAC, SWPC, Group 14621, etc.), those agencies may be able to help.....Rochester has more resources than most of the upstate cities - I know, because I've visited all of them. Please don't write Empire Justice Center off because they were unable to assist in the situations you listed.

Again - many voices are needed to address the foreclosure crisis, the vacant properties, and the public safety concerns in this and other neighborhoods. If I can help, let me know.

Joan

Permalink Reply by Louise Wu on August 2, 2011 at 2:03pm

Yes, my neighbor needs assistance. She (the lady on Ravenwood) worked with two attorneys while the foreclosure was going on. The bank, Fannie Mae, and their fraudulent law firm, Baum, would not respond to her or her lawyers. She needs legal representation in Rochester. We are mystified why Empire, who promotes themselves as a leader on this issue in our area, would not help her. I think she and her advocates at TBL have taken her just about everywhere else you've mentioned that offers legal services for low income people. All have declined. Or I should say, she couldn't get past their gatekeepers. At Empire, their top Esqs, Hertherington and Case-Grammatico, didn't want to be involved. If you don't know these people personally, maybe there has been a DNA change over there since you worked with Empire? Nothing is static. Center for Constitutional Rights in NY needs a local legal advocate/attorney to go to court with my neighbor here. You know anyone like that, let us know. We need name(s) and contact information. SEAC, SWPC, etc. do they have lawyers?

Permalink Reply by Joan Roby-Davison on August 2, 2011 at 2:42pm

I DO know these people personally (Bryan Hetherington & Becky Case-Grammatico). SEAC, SWPC etc. do not have lawyers.

I still work with several of the attorneys there at Empire Justice Center, especially on childhood lead poisoning issues, a major problem here in Rochester. I will reach out to the legal services that I know, and see if I can get a contact name for you. Do you have a court date?

Permalink Reply by Louise Wu on August 2, 2011 at 2:58pm

If you know an attorney in Rochester who is willing to help, we will get them in touch with the lawyers at CCR in NY. It would be appropriate for them to discuss it further off-line. Many thanks!

Permalink Reply by Louise Wu on August 4, 2011 at 9:20am

Like I said, I always welcome what Sheri has to say. I never said that Sande shouldn't do his job. I said this to Sande. I did also tell him that there is more to it with this giant fraud involving the foreclosure factory law firm in Buffalo causing the Ravenwood eviction. I told him it may be ill advised to continue to execute these court orders resulting from fraudulent legal filings uncritically lest he become party to the class action suits and RICO anti-racketeering cases pending. This is especially the issue with the Appleton eviction because that lady has the deed to the house, paid cash for it (20k HUD property), yet Sande and the ERA agent evicted her without a hearing, and the police assaulted her on her own property. I am glad to hear that Sande was a force for good on your street. I would fully expect him to do a good job for the lawful owners of those properties. In the case of the Ravenwood and Appleton houses it is much more of an open question as to whether the right thing was done. From what I understand, the new Attorney General of NY is investigating the situation now as well. Sande may have the opportunity to discuss the merits of these cases with Eric Schniederman before too long.

Permalink Reply by Margy Meath on August 4, 2011 at 9:59am

"the police assaulted her"....? That is quite an accusation!

Permalink Reply by Louise Wu on August 4, 2011 at 10:23am

Read the story in the D&C. Always glad to hear from you Margy!

Permalink Reply by Margy Meath on August 4, 2011 at 10:52am

I read the story - for those who haven't, the D&C link is here: Appleton Eviction protest

The D&C article says the following:"The police didn't want to see the paperwork and they arrested her and took her to the ground," said Ryan Acuff, a member of Take Back the Land Rochester, the group that called the news conference"

I also read the Rochester Indy Media story and viewed the associated video interview of the woman who was evicted - can be seen here:

Woman evicted from her home

Neither of these stories report or accuse the police of 'assaulting' her.

Permalink Reply by Louise Wu on August 4, 2011 at 12:07pm

Thanks so much for your continued interest in this issue! Here's a national article you may have missed further describing the assault: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/07/22/protesters-liberate-forec... If gabbing her, throwing her to the ground, shoving her face into the dirt, and treating her so ruffly that she winds up in the hospital is not an assault by your standards, then we won't be agreeing on the definition of assault. Which is okay, you are entitled to your view of things, absolutely. Another interesting aspect to Virginia's case on Appleton is that the real estate people took eleven loads of belongings out of her house, much of it antiques from her father's family. She has no idea where they have taken it. I would call that theft. You may define it differently. Which is okay. We all don't have to agree. Virginia will be working on the definition of assault, wrongful arrest, and grand theft in a whopping lawsuit, most likely. Too bad the police man-handled her without figuring out what the story was with the real estate fraud, because that will be taxpayer money involved in their part of the civil suit.

Permalink Reply by DeWain Feller on August 13, 2011 at 11:21pm

We do not know if the police acted inappropriately, so it is very important that we do not make accusations. While I did not witness the 11 Appleton eviction, I have seen cases where people who were properly arrested made false claims of police brutality.

We do need to focus on serious issues with crime in our neighborhood, and we need the police to understand that the neighborhood is behind them.

Police officers are human, and cases of police misconduct do happen. Those cases need to be dealt with appropriately and fairly using the appropriate channels.

Most evictions are simply the unavoidable end result of someone being unable to complete the purchase (i.e., pay off the mortgage) on their home. There have been problems with how some mortgage agencies conduct forclosures, but that does not mean that all evictions are the result of "fraud". Some people with yellow cars run through red lights, but that does not mean that all people with yellow cars are guilty of running through red lights.

As Sheri pointed out, not all evictions are negative. In some cases, the neighborhood is better off as a result of the eviction (i.e. cases involving criminal activity or serious neglect of the property).

If there is a real issue with inappropriate forclosures and evictions, then approriate steps should be taken through approriate channels. However, we need to channel a lot of the current energy around evictions into efforts that will positively impact our neighborhood.

Permalink Reply by Mark Sweetland on August 14, 2011 at 1:05am

That is right. Like organize a block club to improve your street, or join one. Or volunteer to work in the community garden at Ravenwood and Thurston. Or pick up litter on your street.

It is fine to have thoughts for looking out for those who are evicted, etc., very unfortunate for them. The fact is they could have taken action many months earlier to the event. When they are at the point that it occurs, it is a little late.

Block clubs can also make people aware of others problems, and perhaps help. Such as a neighbor suggesting who to seek for help, before the problem escalates to this point. Neighbors can help neighbors. I make it a point every day to check in with those who live on both sides of my house, and speak with those across the street. We have an annual or even two-times a year picnic, so we can get to know everyone. I think these are the kinds of things we need on every street in the neighborhood.