Crime

The Year in Crime: Murders Down, Robberies Up, Police in Spotlight

The year began remarkably well for police in the 52nd Precinct, which encompasses the Norwood News’ primary coverage area. Early on in 2012, investigators went to great lengths, including a trip to North Carolina, to track down two suspects wanted for the murder of 59-year-old Bimal Chanda, a Bengladeshi man who was beaten to death in his University Heights apartment, apparently during an early morning robbery, in late October of 2011.

Crime Watch: Another Murder on Decatur

Early Sunday morning, police responded to a 911 call of a male shot in front of 3089 Decatur Avenue, just south of East 204th Street in Norwood. Upon arrival, officers found 46-year-old Gary Rodriguez with a gunshot wound to the torso. Emergency Service workers took Rodriguez to Montefiore Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. There have been no arrests made and police say the investigation is ongoing.

Bronx Notes: Peace Walk

The King of Glory Tabernacle and The Groundswell Group are holding a “Call for Peace” walk on Wednesday, Nov. 28, departing from Olive Branch Hall, 2019 Grand Ave., at 6 p.m. The walk will proceed down Burnside Avenue to the Grand Concourse, then up Tremont Avenue, down Harrison Avenue, back to Burnside Avenue, and return to Olive Branch Hall. For more information, call (917) 660-4216, (718) 294-7280, or (718) 585-1190.

Sector George: The Most Dangerous Neighborhood in the Precinct

On a recent Friday afternoon, off-duty firefighter Eddie De La Cruz leisurely walks past Bainbridge Avenue along East 196th Street and stops in front of Our Lady of Refuge Church to chat with Father John Jenik, the parish’s longtime leader. They both greet people passing by, mostly parents with their kids, with pleasantries in English and Spanish. The only sense that this interaction is happening in the most dangerous neighborhoods in the 52nd Precinct, and one of the toughest in the northwest Bronx, is a handful of young men wearing hoodies and expensive sneakers milling menacingly in front of a six-story apartment building down the block. They’re on the lookout and waiting to take over these streets when darkness comes.

Editorial: Honoring the Good Guys

The police and community need each other to combat crime and keep our streets safe. It’s a symbiotic relationship that needs nourishing. And the council breakfast helps feed that relationship. It also introduces us to some often overlooked heroism.

Police Relations Exposed in Council, Court and Class

The police department’s most controversial crime prevention strategies are coming under increased scrutiny with politicians debating their merit and the court system ruling on their constitutionality. In the meantime, the question in the Bronx and elsewhere in New York City remains: Are tactics like stop and frisk and Operation Clean Halls “putting a distance between police and communities?”