Burglaries, especially residential break-ins, in Greenpoint and North Williamsburg are up this July compared to last year, according to the NYPD.
There have been 22 in the past four weeks in the 94th Precinct, compared to just nine in the same period in 2019. Burglaries across North Brooklyn, an area the NYPD defines as ranging from Greenpoint to Brownsville, have also exceeded last year’s numbers.
Jane Minehan, who lives in Greenpoint, can directly attest to the fright of finding a burglar scouring her apartment.
On July 8, Minehan awoke in the early morning to the gleam of a flashlight in her living room. After creeping to the end of her bed, she saw someone rummaging around her jewelry box. She yelled, and the thief crawled out of the open window in her ground floor apartment through which he entered. The suspect didn’t take anything of value, except for a tote bag of loose cash and coins from other countries.
“For two weeks I didn’t sleep,” she said, talking about the period after the break-in. “I would sleep during the day.”
Sarah Hanson, who lives in North Williamsburg, also had a recent run-in with a burglar. A light sleeper, she woke up on July 17 to scratches at a window near her bedroom. When she tiptoed up to the front of her apartment, she saw someone cutting slits in her window screen.
“I got you motherfucker,” she remembered yelling to scare him away.
Minehan and Hanson’s early morning scares are part of a rash of 14 residential break-ins this July, says Kathleen Fahey, the 94th Precinct’s Commanding Officer. There have also been seven commercial burglaries, which include a string of vandalized businesses near Nassau and Norman Avenues, and two truck burglaries.
“The increase in residential burglaries has caused concern,” Fahey said in a statement.
The 94 Pct has recently experienced an uptick in commercial & residential burglaries. Make sure you lock your doors & windows at night & when you’re not home. Follow those tips along with the ones below, & call 911 immediately if you see anything suspicious #Greenpoint pic.twitter.com/N3H6CibhOb
— NYPD 94th Precinct (@NYPD94Pct) July 18, 2020
The 94th Precinct attributes at least three of the recent break-ins to one suspect, a white male with blond hair and a thin build.
To deter this suspect or any other from intruding into neighborhood apartments, the precinct advises residents to close and lock their windows before leaving their house. The department also suggests being wary of buzzing in any unknown visitors, among other tips.
Minehan and Hanson don’t need any more warnings to secure their homes. Hanson is haranguing her landlord to install bars in her front windows, and Minehan has installed a new air conditioner in the window in front of her apartment to block would-be burglars.
“I have always felt safe on my street,” Minehan reflected. “This is the first time that I feel that my safety has been violated.”