Vehicle owners from across the borough have been expressing their frustration over criminals stealing both their vehicles and their auto parts, as well as what some see as the NYPD’s inaction on the issue. As of May 11, year-to-date Bronx auto theft statistics were up 8.1% (to 1,531), and for the 28-day period ending May 11, they were up 19.1% (to 386). The latest reported statistics, including auto theft, for the 52nd, 50th and 46th Precincts specifically are included further below.

 

On Sunday, May 11, Norwood News asked Francisco Marte, a Norwood resident and president of the Bodega and Small Business Group (BSBG), about a video he posted to TikTok showing a vandalized car on Webster Avenue and East 205th Street in Norwood.

 

“Almost every day, someone comes to tell me about that,” Marte said, referring to stolen cars or auto parts. “This didn’t happen before. They hit two cars this morning; they broke the windows. I don’t know why they broke the windows. I don’t know why they break them because people don’t leave stuff inside cars.”

Of the video he posted which showed a vehicle resting on milk crates, Marte said, “He’s my tenant, in my building here, and that was his car that they stole four tires [from].”

 

The vehicle owner who declined to be identified later spoke to us in Spanish through Marte, as translator, and was asked if the incident happened on Webster Avenue. “Yes,” he said. “I left it right here last Thursday night and when I opened the store at five-something in the morning, all four tires were gone.”

 

When we asked the owner if he called police, Marte replied, “He said he didn’t call the police because about three weeks before, they broke into his store and stole and the police never did anything, so we don’t report everything that happens.”

 

Regarding the break in at the man’s store, Marte continued, “He spoke with the police, and they [allegedly] said, ‘Well it’s very hard to catch them’ so the police are not doing much.” The video captures the suspects in the act of stealing the tires but their hooded sweatshirts makes it difficult, if not impossible, to identify them.

According to the car owner, four tires for a new Honda CRV SUV cost him nearly $2,000. Later, translating for a second Spanish-speaking car owner who lives in the new, eight-story building at 3160 Webster Avenue in Norwood, Marte said, “Last week, a guy parked a new 2025 car and went shopping for the house.”

 

He went on to say that the man and his partner decided to leave their groceries in the back seat of the car until morning. “That night, they broke in,” he said, adding that the couple’s groceries were stolen. The Webster Avenue resident alleged seven other car owners from his building also had something happen to their vehicles, that a bike thief was captured and beaten by residents, and that the NYPD allegedly told callers they would need to bring the suspect into the precinct.

 

Norwood News was unable to substantiate these claims because no dates or times of the incidents were provided by the resident. As president of BSBG, Marte said he intended to speak with the commander of the 52nd Precinct about what could be done to combat the problem. He said he planned to suggest visiting local tire and auto repair shops to “check that everything that they have there is legit and not stolen.”

 

Another resident who declined to be identified recalled how years earlier, his cousin and a friend were arrested for auto theft and were sent to “Spofford,” a now-closed, juvenile detention facility in the South Bronx. The resident recalled, “Because they had a connection with the chop shop in Hunts Point.”

A chop shop is a place where stolen vehicles are dismantled so that parts can be sold or used to repair other stolen vehicles. “So, this has always been a thing for years and years,” the resident said. “I guess it still goes on.” Norwood News found two recent videos on social media apparently filmed in The Bronx and posted to TikTok by “bolivarjhan.”

 

One shows a vehicle with its four tires removed. The poster of the video wrote, “How unpleasant it must be to arrive in the morning and see your car like this.” The second video, also seemingly filmed in The Bronx, shows a stolen vehicle, later recovered with the steering wheel taken apart seemingly to extract and steal the airbag.

 

As the camera pans around the street, it shows a second car that had its tires removed. Other videos shared with Norwood News show cars being broken into seemingly on the Reservoir Oval in Norwood at night time by a group of hooded people.

 

Meanwhile, residents in and around New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)’s Watson Houses, located in the Soundview section where a NYCHA parking lot is run by Laz Parking, are fuming. They allege they’re also the targets of car thieves.

 

According to multiple sources, Laz charges residents around $300 a year, and non-residents around $1,455 a year to park on the private lot. However, residents allege anyone can pull into the lot, steal vehicles and auto parts, park their vehicles, and even use the space as a motel.

Norwood News reached out to Laz Parking as well as to NYCHA ‘Parking Inquiries’ for comment. We did not receive an immediate response. We will share any feedback we receive.

 

We also reached out to the NYPD to inquire about the number of vehicles stolen from this lot in the past year, and for statistics on the Apple AirTags pilot program launched in The Bronx in April 2023. We did not receive an immediate response but will share any feedback we receive.

 

As reported, AirTags are small, Bluetooth-enabled devices that can be attached to items, including vehicles, and tracked using the “Find My” app on Apple devices. The NYPD also uses global positioning [tracking] technology. A “Star Chase” vehicle mounted GPS launcher, for example, deploys a GPS tracking tag onto a suspect’s vehicle.

 

Once the GPS tag sticks to the vehicle, it communicates positional data to the CoreView mapping platform in real time. “Law enforcement can then plan and coordinate an informed tactical response to make a safe arrest while maintaining community and officer safety,” an extract from the company’s website reads.

Electronic tracking cards, once activated, can also track the location of a stolen vehicle. Free airtags to help track stolen cars have been distributed by the NYPD at prior crime prevention events to help address car theft.

 

We asked Bronx residents for their thoughts on the recent rise in auto theft as part of our latest Inquiring Photographer series. Click here to read the opinions they shared on the topic.