The number of rapes reported in Williamsburg nearly tripled in 2011, with 23 compared to eight the year before, the Brooklyn Paper reports. Rapes also rose in Greenpoint, to three in 2011 from one in 2010. Residents are worried the trend will continue into the new year, which got off to an ominous start: on New Year’s Day, a woman was grabbed on Maspeth Avenue at 4 a.m. and raped in a parking garage, according to police. An anxious community met with police last week to discuss safety. “We have officers monitoring the bars out at 4 a.m.,” Williamsburg’s deputy inspector assured locals. “We’re out there in uniform and we’re out there in plain clothes.” Two weeks ago, police made an arrest in the case of a woman who had been raped in the backseat of a cab in May by the driver.
The Paper reports:
Police sources say the victim knew the perpetrator before the attack in more than two-thirds of cases in Williamsburg and all of the cases in Greenpoint—making it even harder for officers to prevent. “Unfortunately there isn’t much that we can do to stop these types of crimes,” a Greenpoint cop told The Brooklyn Paper.
In August, Councilmember Diana Reyna suggested the rise in sexual assaults might not suggest that more were being committed, but that more women were stepping forward to report them.
Numerous and previous discussions have been had prognosticating an upcoming crime wave. The most recent one extended from an article on CB1’s regulation of bars and restaurants in the area. I highly recommend reading the comments section for most, but not all, observations:
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/51…