Crime up in “Little Guyana” in New York

Crime has picked up in a Queens Little Guyana precinct surrounding the newly opened video gambling resort. Reports say that the 106th precinct that covers the glittering new racino (combination of races and casino gambling) at Aqueduct has seen a spike in crime but the report did not say who were the perpetrators or victims of the crime.

A large number of Guyanese and other immigrants are settled in the area. Also, it’s unclear to what, if any extent the gambling operation can be tied to the spurt of crime in the 106th Precinct. Guyanese in the greater Richmond Hill area have been complaining of being victims of crimes committed by outsiders. The spurt in crime has worried Guyanese community advocates in the greater Richmond Hill area. Community leaders had opposed the introduction of casino gambling on precisely that ground and its impact on schools surrounding the casino. Guyanese have also been victims of police abuse and harassment in the neighborhood and the report made no mention of these complaints.

The crime reports say that in November, the first month the casino opened, petit larcenies

in the precinct rose 53.3 percent to 92, from 60 in the same month in 2010.

There were 41 misdemeanor assaults, compared with 26 in November 2010, a 57.7 percent increase. In December, petit larcenies went up 8.2 percent compared with December 2010, and misdemeanor assaults were up 31 percent. During the months immediately before the casino opened, the two quality-of-life crimes had been trending downward.

It’s not clear how many crimes occurred on casino property-but there were at least three: a car was stolen from a parking lot; a dropped wallet was snatched in the racino by a patron; and one gambler tried to use a counterfeit bill in a slot machine.

A spokesman for the racino, Stefan Friedman, was quoted in the N.Y Post as saying, “Our commitment to keeping criminal activity out of the project has resulted in extremely few incidents on or around the casino property.’’ Betty Braton, head of the local community board, was quoted as saying “both the Genting Co. (which operates the racino) and the NYPD have been responsive.”

“Both . . . are making every effort to ensure that visitors to the casino continue to experience their visits safely.’’

A Guyanese sits on the 106th. Police Community Board. Guyanese community leaders say since the introduction of gambling, the community has attracted an increasing number of would be thieves lurking for an opportunity to strike at unsuspecting victims and they are calling on the police to step up patrol in the area surrounding the casino.