By Phoebe Neidl
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN — Fort Greene and Clinton Hill have been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. “There’s an overall feeling that things are not going right in Fort Greene,� said Paul Palazzo of the Fort Greene Association.

The area has been the scene of several high-profile crimes recently, such as the near-fatal beating of Pratt student Eddy Sanchez and the discovery of human remains among garbage on Walworth Street.

“You get the impression that the sky is falling in Fort Greene,� says Capt. Anthony Tasso, commanding officer of the 88th Precinct on Classon Avenue. “Every time I turn on my TV, my precinct is on. Sometimes I have to recheck my stats after I see the news.�

Despite what we see on TV, says Tasso, crime is down 12 percent overall in the precinct. Speaking before the first general meeting of Community Board 2 after the summer break, Tasso said that robberies are down 12 percent, car break-ins are down 60 percent, rapes are down 67 percent and shootings are down 42 percent.

“We’re not without our problems,� said Tasso. “Residential burglaries have been plaguing us all year.� That crime is the only one the precinct has seen increase, he says. It’s up 13 percent [15 burglaries] year to date. Most of these burglaries happen between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. and are “opportunist� — the culprits come in through unlocked windows and doors, said Tasso.

Fort Greene Park Robberies

Also, the past five or six weeks have seen a spike in robberies around Fort Greene Park during the overnight hours. “We see a pattern,� he said, explaining it seems to be the same three or four individuals, males in their late teens wielding wooden canes.

In response, Tasso has increased patrols around the park. “For the bad guys out there, it sends a message when they see police vehicles. It’s a strong deterrent.� He would like to increase foot patrols, he says, but doesn’t always have enough personnel to do it, citing 911 calls and the increased anti-terrorism duties of the Police Department since 9/11.

Lt. Jeff Petersen of the 84th Precinct, which covers Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill and DUMBO, also addressed the community board meeting on Wednesday night, standing in for the precinct’s commanding officer, Capt. Mark Di Paolo. Petersen had no exact statistics with him, but said that crime is down in every category.

“One thing we have been having a problem with is grand larceny,� he said, specifically bags being stolen at Fulton Mall.

“You can’t just set your bag down and turn around. There are people just waiting for that to happen,� said Petersen. They are starting a campaign nest week in which they’ll “flood the mall with police officers,� he added.

For all the good news that violent crime is down in Downtown Brooklyn, the only announcement that elicited applause at the meeting was that nine summonses had been issued to bicyclists who were riding on the sidewalk.

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