Grand Larceny Leads the Way in Upper East Side Crime

By [Megan Finnegan Bungeroth] While crime throughout the city remained relatively flat in 2011's the year-to-date statistics show a slight uptick, 0.36 percent, as of Dec. 25's the Upper East Side can celebrate a dip in crime rates as the 19th Precinct came in at 2.23 percent fewer crimes in 2011 compared to 2010. The precinct, which covers the blocks between Central Park and the East River, from East 59th to East 96th Street, serves an estimated population of 217,063, according to the New York Police Department. While the stereotypically ritzy Upper East Side now has a reputation for generally safe streets, it hasn"t always been so. Crime is down a staggering 87.28 percent from 1990 to 2010, and this recent decrease is another notch downward for the crime rates for a precinct that saw 14,691 crimes in a year two decades ago, versus 1,796 in 2011. â??In terms of overall crime, the ongoing issue is grand larceny; far and away that"s the largest issue, said Nick Viest, president of the 19th Precinct"s community council. â??If you add up all the other crimes that are listed, there"s still significantly more of that than other crimes, it"s actually down this year. â??Manhattan, and the Upper East Side and Upper West Side have become remarkably safe, said Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission. He said that petty larceny, thefts of items valued at less than $1000, has been the biggest issue for Manhattan in the past year, much being kids snatching electronics from other kids. â??You have to remind people to be vigilant's we still live in a city. As of Dec. 25, there were 1,208 instances of grand larceny reported at the 19th Precinct, second only to petty larcenies at 1,544 (which don"t count in the official totals calculated for CompStat), down 4.5 percent from last year but still the second most prevalent crime, with burglary at a distant third with 244 instances. Even in the comfort of New York"s safest community, Aborn predicted that the next big public safety issue is going to be cyber crime, like identity theft and credit card fraud. â??There is not a single person who should think they"re immune to cyber crime, Aborn said. â??People who aren"t careful will learn that lesson very quickly. Cyber crime may be the new street crime. He suggests that people vigilantly track their online accounts and shred every bit of personal information they throw out to prevent being victimized. â??We need a citizenry that really knows how to protect themselves. Unlike with street crime, we can"t rely on the cops to do all of this, he said. Viest said that the community council will be making a bigger outreach push in 2012, hoping to increase attendance at the council meetings, which are held the first Monday of every month, and get more local residents involved in keeping the streets safe. â??It"s important; the police rely on the public a lot to help them solve cases, Viest said, recalling the arrest of an alleged sexual assailant who had targeted a senior citizen in a disturbing and violent crime. Police apprehended the suspect after a swift and robust public response, with neighborhood associations, residents and politicians covering the area with flyers. â??Fortunately, with the advent of more and better security cameras, it helps them move quickly. They also have access to a very good database of information, Viest said. â??It"s very important that the public is part of creating safety in the community. Looking ahead to this year, Viest said that there might be uptick in felony assault, since the definition recently changed to include grabbing someone by the throat, but that in general he expects another safe year for the Upper East Side. â??The challenge, as always, for the police is really manpower, Viest said. â??We really need as many police officers out in our area as we can get.